High Blood Pressure = NO BCP's

kristensmom · 07-22-2004, 06:49 PM

I was told by my midwife, since I am being treated for High Blood pressure * chronic *, that I am ONLY a candidate for an ALL progestin pill called Micronor 28's.
She explained some of the side effects too me, .. such as spotting while on this pill, and eventually stopping having periods.
I really feel like this is NOT the right choice of pill for me.
Am I doomed too only this type of pill? Is there any other pill out there that I can take safely, even though I have High Bood pressure?

I am desperate for some answers, and have tried too search this, but I come up empty handed

Can anyone here help me out, if you have any insight about High Blood pressure and BCP's can you PLEASE, PLEASE share with me.

TIA

sigmagirlie · 07-23-2004, 12:36 AM

i dont know anything about this but i wanted to say good luck and that i hope things work out for you...my blood pressure gets high from time to time and my doc still keeps me on yasmin...but i dont know about what your midwife thinks...i do wish you the best though....christie

MariXe · 07-23-2004, 04:04 PM

Kristensmom- I think your midwife is right to be concerned about taking the pill with high blood pressure (i love midwives- i think it is cool that you are seeing one, by the way). even the companies that manufacture them warn against this. also, many pills may worsen insulin resistance (progesterone) or intensify PCOS symptoms and health risks through increased estrogen. If you are taking the BCP for birth control, you may want to switch to barrier and/or fertility awareness methods, and if you are using it to treat your PCOS, it might be helpful to see an endocrinologist who will address the metabolic roots of the condition.

best wishes and (((hugs))) for your frustration. hang in there.

soulfulqween · 07-26-2004, 06:15 PM

she is right to be concerned because HBP is irrated by BCP....However...I take a low dose BCP called mircette...and 12.5mg of HCTZ my blood pressure was elevated for a while and this combo that i thought of brought it down with in a few days..with mircette u take it continously unlike with other BCP which stop the week of your period...HTH

PS micrette is the only one i know of but if u put low dose birth control pill in a search i'm sure something should come up Good Luck!!

MariXe · 07-27-2004, 12:52 AM

kristensmom- re: low dose pills, you will need to talk to your midwife and also find out what works for you, as a comparatively (relative to other BCPs) small amount of estrogen may still be too much for some women with high blood pressure, PCOS, family Hx of cancer, or other conditions. The other thing is that many pills that are referred to as "low dose" have higher concentrations of progesterone, which is not what one wants when she is insulin resistant or has similar metabolic tendencies, as do many women with PCOS. Mircette is indeed on of the first pills many Drs put women on who can't take a higher dose, but it does contain estrogens, so it may not be an option for you. I personally wouldn''t advise it, but you could check and see.
Anyway, I wish you good luck.

Mari

soulfulqween · 07-27-2004, 10:48 AM

Let me give a bit more of my two cents and re structure what I said for the benefit of others.....
of course like w/ EVERYTHING especially PCOS what works for me mght not work for u...thought that was an understood but i will say it anyway....i think it is an understood that u cant just up a take a prescribed med w/o going thru your mid wife or a dr and most certainly w/o research...BUT kristensmom i'm sure that yu know how to do all of that of course u do because that is why you are here....I dont suggest that you take mircette i suggest that you look into it and ask some questions because the intial question was about whether or not anyone knew of a BCP that could be take w/ HBP, also i did not say take the BCP w/o a HBP med....which u may or may not be on currently (but if it is that much of a concern i'd think that u were on one or at least a low sodium diet and if u arent on a HBP then u should look into that as well)...is that better said MariXe???

MariXe · 07-27-2004, 12:16 PM

soulfulqween- sorry... I was just adding my own .02, not so much as a response to what you said (I didn't mean to sound oppositional or nitpicky), but just babbling about what popped into my head. IMO, your posts were fine.

soulfulqween · 07-27-2004, 02:17 PM

no offense taken...its cool...besides u understand the raisin banana thing ew! lol

i didnt mean to sound angry either...i'm blunt like that sometimes

MariXe · 07-27-2004, 02:36 PM

bluntness is fine w/ me bc it is honest, and honesty is always respectable.

re: bananas and raisins-- you really should have heard what the banana-raisin mush *sounded* like! "squish, squish, scrape, squish"... OMG, lol. Is there a "puking" smilie here somewhere???

mandi78 · 07-31-2004, 04:04 AM

I take Yasmin and I have high blood pressure. I also take Atenolol for my hbp and it controls it pretty well. It does suck having to take all these meds but they help keep things under control.

Eva37 · 07-31-2004, 06:04 AM

Hi

i know what you mean!! I cant' take bcp 'cos of my bp too!! I tried the pop pill - progesterone only mini pill and that didn't work for me. It still made my bp go up, and my weight............

Still, as another cyster said, may be it will be different for you

btw - I just had a mirena ius fitted this Feb, and it's made my bp stay the same. So perhaps this could be an option?

hope this helps. pm me if yo want

Eva

soulfulqween · 08-01-2004, 12:48 AM

MariXe i do try to be respectable...lol usually anyways...
HBP is a funny thing it takes time to figure out what is going to work out for u personally...just a tip though...people taking HBP meds watch your potassium levels...as MariXe and i have been discussing I really HATE bananas and they are an EXCELLENT source of potassium, therefore i have had to find other sources...if you lack potassium it makes u feel pretty damn bad...if its ever happened to you or if you have anemia (WHICH I ALSO HAVE DAMN PCOS LOL) the feeling or f low iran and low potassium are very similar...also adding potassium to your diet does help lower HBP...so a few things to eat if you hate bananas add onions, potatoes, dried apricots, blue berries... now of course this all works for me but check with your dr and see if it is something that can work for you as well...its worth a try and maybe BCP along with some of the things that I have mentioned wont raise your BP...just stay on top of it
not that anyone asked but i figured i'd mention it, if someone had told me it would have saved me so trouble...HTH someone