Do you adjust your blood pressure meds to suit blood pressure readings

After I lost a substantial amount of weight, I noticed my BP was going low. My doctor said to keep a log for a couple of weeks and let him know. Turns out I had some under 100 numbers on top. He said that was too low and halved my dosage. It’s now just right. I take my bp at home about twice a month.

Great question. Please post results of your discussion with doc. Very interested in response. 😊

That is a great question because something underlying, I feel just works for and against my blood pressure. I can have weeks being in 130s-140s and then have weeks of 110s-120s. I don't do anything different. My exercising has been on hold for a while because of Gluteal tendinopathy which basically my hips, glutes and IT bands are painful which could also bring BP up. I don't want it to go low as it makes me feel light and dizzy. That happened before when it went 100/70. I do have Hashimoto's thyroiditis which messes with everything in my body. Once I went off BP meds for a month just to see and bp stayed in 120s-130s. Now, I just stay on my dose and see what happens. If you exercise regularly and BP starts to come down, your doctor might lower dosage.

It might be a great idea, not a just a good one, if your physician understands why you wish to try it and if he/she agrees that it makes sense to do so. Otherwise, nobody here can suggest you undertake modifications to expertly given prescriptions. Because BP fluctuates widely for most of us during waking hours, and even when we are unconscious and abed (it can rise during dreams of a kind, or even if just dreaming pleasantly), skipping regulatory drugs is a bit of a crap shoot. Are you a winner at craps...generally?

Skipping medication doses because your BP reading are normal is ridiculously silly. The reason they are now normal is because you take the medication as prescribed. Your doctor prescribed you the anti hypertension drug for a reason. Just because your reading look good does not mean stopping the medication. You still carry a diagnosis of hypertension if BP is controlled on medication. You aren’t hypertensive one day and not the next.

@jenatsky Thanks, but not talking daily differences -- just morning, afternoon or evening high or normal BP reading differences, and making only slight med adjustments. On 3 different meds -- 2 prescribed for twice a day I take morning and afternoon or evening, and the other in the morning *if* BP is over 111. So I have the opportunity to skip an occasional dose at my discretion. And my levels have decreased overall since these were first prescribed following stroke 10 months ago. Will consult my doctor.

Any medication changes should be discussed and cleared with your doctor. My Dr added a medication to be taken 3 times daily at 50mg. However, my am readings tended to be borderline high and afternoon could be low. I suggested maybe 75mg in the am and then skipping the afternoon dose if my reading was normal. He agreed and this works well. No more late afternoon hypotension episodes.

I was never given a particular time of day for my 3 different meds, but have changed the order in which I'm taking 2 of them -- due to metoprolol causing insomnia when taken before bedtime. Now I take my Amlodipine before bed, instead.