Type 1 and high blood pressure

Mrsc85

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Hi all,
I'm still pretty new to this after being diagnosed just over 3 months ago. My blood glucose control is getting better, I am adjusting to carb counting and generally just getting used to my new way of life. I saw my diabetic specialist nurse today and although she was pleased with my progress she said I should be trying harder! My levels are not normally over 8 and I think I have done pretty well in the last 3 months. She also wasn't happy with my blood pressure and has refered me to my GP who has prescribed me medication to bring it down which is a bit of a shock considering I am 30 years old. They mentioned that it could be something to do with my kidneys and are sending me for tests. I was wondering whether anyone has had any experience of this. It just seems to be one thing after the other, so much so I am dreading going anywhere near a doctor!! I am feeling that I am completly loosing control over my health and any advice would be very much appreciated.
 

noblehead

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Hi @Mrsc85

Did they prescribe the bp meds from one days readings, some people suffer from a condition called White Coat Hypertension which means your bp is raised in a medical setting but is otherwise normal, you could buy a home bp monitor and record your levels at home and show them to your gp to determine if you do have high bp.

btw, I think your doing great if your levels are normally below 8mmol, well done :)
 
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Mrsc85

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Type of diabetes
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Hi @Mrsc85

Did they prescribe the bp meds from one days readings, some people suffer from a condition called White Coat Hypertension which means your bp is raised in a medical setting but is otherwise normal, you could buy a home bp monitor and record your levels at home and show them to your gp to determine if you do have high bp.

btw, I think your doing great if your levels are normally below 8mmol, well done :)
I did a 24 hr blood pressure monitor thingy and that showed it was still high but no where near as high as it was at the surgery.
 

ButtterflyLady

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Hi all,
I'm still pretty new to this after being diagnosed just over 3 months ago. My blood glucose control is getting better, I am adjusting to carb counting and generally just getting used to my new way of life. I saw my diabetic specialist nurse today and although she was pleased with my progress she said I should be trying harder! My levels are not normally over 8 and I think I have done pretty well in the last 3 months. She also wasn't happy with my blood pressure and has refered me to my GP who has prescribed me medication to bring it down which is a bit of a shock considering I am 30 years old. They mentioned that it could be something to do with my kidneys and are sending me for tests. I was wondering whether anyone has had any experience of this. It just seems to be one thing after the other, so much so I am dreading going anywhere near a doctor!! I am feeling that I am completly loosing control over my health and any advice would be very much appreciated.
Don't panic, in most cases hypertension is easily treated with meds and you won't even notice you have it. I was diagnosed with it at 34, and then diabetes at 38ish. My dad has hypertension so it seem to be a genetic thing in my case. I think all they meant by referring to your kidneys is that uncontrolled hypertension can be a strain on the kidneys, but no worries because meds will fix that and your kidneys should be fine. Just keep doing what you are doing, and your 3 monthly blood tests should be able to detect any kidney issues. If you are like me then your next blood tests will show your kidneys are feeling much better.

In a way, you are gaining control of your health because once you know there is an issue you can treat it. Not knowing means you don't have control of your health.
 

tim2000s

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Out of interest, what are your bp readings? The NHS has different rules for diabetics and expects them to remain below 130/70-80. If you are seeing a systolic reading of >130, they consider you to have a high BP. I typically run in the 130-140 range, which the diabetic clinic and GP consider to be too high as I am diabetic.
 
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noblehead

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I did a 24 hr blood pressure monitor thingy and that showed it was still high but no where near as high as it was at the surgery.


Right, well they may start you on a low-dose bp med to bring your levels down and see how that goes, but you should still invest in a bp monitor so that you can check your bp levels at home, they are quite cheap now and can be purchased for under £20, the make Omron is very good and comes highly recommended.
 

Mrsc85

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Out of interest, what are your bp readings? The NHS has different rules for diabetics and expects them to remain below 130/70-80. If you are seeing a systolic reading of >130, they consider you to have a high BP. I typically run in the 130-140 range, which the diabetic clinic and GP consider to be too high as I am diabetic.
My blood pressure ranges from an ok 134/90 to a not very good 170/90.
 

Diamattic

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Sadly diabetics fall under a stricter BP guidleline. So a 'normal' reading for a 'normal person' may be 'high' for a T1D.

However, if you are newly diagnosed at 30 you run the risk of having had T1D for a while undiagnosed, which may have caused damage to the kidneys since no one knew what was happening. So seeing a reading that is 'high' would prompt doctors to want to figure out exactly why its high, as T1D do run a risk of kidney damage but also cardiovascular problems. So keeping BP in check is almost as important as keeping glucose levels in check.

I think people who have a family history of high BP typically start seeing the signs in their 30s, and honestly i would rather be on meds in my 30s and have good levels then be running high in my 30s just to go on meds in my 40s...

The sooner they figure it out, the sooner they can start treating it, which means the less damage it will ultimately do...

I am not a doctor (but you can do research online), but i have found taking Magnesium supplements have lowered my blood pressure a noticeable amount. I bought a bottle of magnesium pills on the drug store over the counter and take one every couple days, or sometimes i just take hot bath with epsom salts instead! I also bought a home BP monitor and test every now and again to ensure my levels are normal (just follow the guidelines - sit with feet flat on the floor, wait silently and calmly for 2-5min prior to test, test with arm out and cuff at heart elevation, take 3 readings in succession and use the average)

BP is something that will raise when just thinking you have high blood pressure, or through the stress of the testing process. So you have to relax and let go of the stress and see what the numbers actually are.
 

ChrisMaleType1

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Hi @Diamattic, it's interesting that you're saying she could possibly have been diagnosed late because she was 30 at the time, I thought type 1 was almost instantaneous? Do you have any information about type 1 developing gradually? I was actually diagnosed at 27 so it's obviously of interest to me. I started to show signs of kidney problems 2 years later despite having excellent bg readings - most of my hba1c were in the 5s.

Unfortunately in my case, the doctor was a bit slow to act, and I was a bit slow to respond. After a year or so of consistently high creatine levels in my urine, and quite high bp results, I was put on an ace inhibitor. I wish we'd acted sooner. Moral of the story - doctors are sometimes slow to act so sometimes it's up to you. I ended up using some initiative and pushing for a slightly higher medicine dose. I gave up smoking straight away and I also gave up caffeine quite recently. The cause of my kidney problems was probably the high bp but I've always wondered whether it's because I had high bg before my diabetes diagnosis.

OP, as others have said you should buy a bp monitor because it sounds like your numbers might be too high. I can recommend you a good one (I think it was under £15) that has a memory and is reasonably compact. I think you should try to aim for a consistent bp below 120/80 and it sounds like you should probably be taking some medication to get it there. I worried about my age (33 at the time I think) when I was put on the medication. You'll soon get used to it, those thoughts I was having disappeared after a month or so. It's always better to be proactive than reactive. There might also be some other things you can do to reduce your blood pressure, as well as medicine.

;) Edit: You're doing really great by the way. I've often take what nurses say with a grain of salt, often they're stressed about other things and forget or don't realize that one size doesn't fit all.
 
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himtoo

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why can't everyone get on........
hi Mrsc85
It is a shock to get put on tablets for blood pressure as well as having to take insulin -- I know I was devastated 21 years ago when first but on a BP med.
The whole idea is to prevent blood pressure causing the other problems later in life such as retinopathy , kidney issues , and heart attack and stroke

By keeping the BP below 130/80 this greatly reduces the risks in the longer term.

well done to you on your first 3 months -- excellent job !:)
sounds as though you couldn't be doing any more ( and still having a life ! )
 

Diamattic

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Hi @Diamattic, it's interesting that you're saying she could possibly have been diagnosed late because she was 30 at the time, I thought type 1 was almost instantaneous? Do you have any information about type 1 developing gradually? I was actually diagnosed at 27 so it's obviously of interest to me. I started to show signs of kidney problems 2 years later despite having excellent bg readings - most of my hba1c were in the 5s.

Unfortunately in my case, the doctor was a bit slow to act, and I was a bit slow to respond. After a year or so of consistently high creatine levels in my urine, and quite high bp results, I was put on an ace inhibitor. I wish we'd acted sooner. Moral of the story - doctors are sometimes slow to act so sometimes it's up to you. I ended up using some initiative and pushing for a slightly higher medicine dose. I gave up smoking straight away and I also gave up caffeine quite recently. The cause of my kidney problems was probably the high bp but I've always wondered whether it's because I had high bg before my diabetes diagnosis.

OP, as others have said you should buy a bp monitor because it sounds like your numbers might be too high. I can recommend you a good one (I think it was under £15) that has a memory and is reasonably compact. I think you should try to aim for a consistent bp below 120/80 and it sounds like you should probably be taking some medication to get it there. I worried about my age (33 at the time I think) when I was put on the medication. You'll soon get used to it, those thoughts I was having disappeared after a month or so. It's always better to be proactive than reactive. There might also be some other things you can do to reduce your blood pressure, as well as medicine.

;) Edit: You're doing really great by the way. I've often take what nurses say with a grain of salt, often they're stressed about other things and forget or don't realize that one size doesn't fit all.


Oh man @ChrisMaleType1 , that sounds scary :/

Well, I have been reading the Diabetes Solution by Dr. Bernstein, and in his book he states that Type 1 can develop do to multiple small attacks on the beta cells rather then just one large one as previously though. He thinks that in cases something triggers an attack and a person may have diminished capacity to produce insulin and this results in glucose spikes after carby meals which creates toxicity to the remaining cells. Prolonged exposure to high BS eventually kills more and more beta cells and those spikes then last longer and longer, killing more and more beta cells. This circle continues until eventually it is discovered and the person is diagnosed with T1D.

It CAN be fairly fast, or take a while to develop, everyone is different and there is no real way to no for any single person.

Do you mind if i ask what your blood pressure readings and creatinine levels were when you began having problems? Did you notice one thing before the other - like did you watch your blood pressure get higher and higher and then start seeing your creatinine levels jump ? I am curious as this may help me, or OP or others diagnosed later in life to avoid the same.

Is everything ok now?
 

novorapidboi26

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I was initially put on Lisinprol about 3 years ago no, so 28.............they explained it as a preventative to keep my eyes and kidneys protected......

so event though I still have hyper tension, I still just kid on its a preventative only......

i believe the kidneys regulate BP, so higher BP can be expected I think.......
 

ChrisMaleType1

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Oh man @ChrisMaleType1 , that sounds scary :/

Well, I have been reading the Diabetes Solution by Dr. Bernstein, and in his book he states that Type 1 can develop do to multiple small attacks on the beta cells rather then just one large one as previously though. He thinks that in cases something triggers an attack and a person may have diminished capacity to produce insulin and this results in glucose spikes after carby meals which creates toxicity to the remaining cells. Prolonged exposure to high BS eventually kills more and more beta cells and those spikes then last longer and longer, killing more and more beta cells. This circle continues until eventually it is discovered and the person is diagnosed with T1D.

It CAN be fairly fast, or take a while to develop, everyone is different and there is no real way to no for any single person.

Do you mind if i ask what your blood pressure readings and creatinine levels were when you began having problems? Did you notice one thing before the other - like did you watch your blood pressure get higher and higher and then start seeing your creatinine levels jump ? I am curious as this may help me, or OP or others diagnosed later in life to avoid the same.

Is everything ok now?

Thanks for the reply and the explanation. I don't think I'll ever know what caused the kidney problems. My albumin/creatine level was normal in Dec 2007 straight after diagnosis, and then a year later it was high at 3.6. I think it went up and down after that for a bit and then stayed 'high' at which point I was put on Ramipril. I think my GFR was >90 in Oct 2014 which is a good reading. The doctor often put my high readings down to unreliable results but he was obviously wrong. Unfortunately I don't have most of my creatine levels with me because I lost the piece of paper. I'll definitely get a print out of my results when I next go to the consultant because I'm interested now. I also had one reading of background retinopathy in one of my eyes in 2010. Thankfully I think my creatine levels have only been moderately high and I think the last result showed a decrease. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse at least.

I'm quite optimistic. As soon as the doctor said he thought I should take an ace-inhibitor I decided to give up smoking, something I've wanted to do for a very long time. Giving up had an extraordinarily positive effect on my mental and physical well-being. I almost feel like a new person now. Almost immediately after giving up I was diagnosed with asthma which was strange but that's another story.

I didn't really check my bp before diabetes, I've always suspected it was high but but I had a lot of stresses to deal with. I was probably afraid to ever check it. I'm on a 7.5mg dose and it's reduced my bp, my average readings are around 120/75-80. It's difficult to say what my bp readings were before the medicine because it was only ever taken by the doctor and we all know how that can affect the readings. I think they might have been around 130/90 but that's a guess really. There's no doubt that I was very stressed in the time leading up to the kidney problems.

I don't explain things by half do I?
 
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ChrisMaleType1

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I was initially put on Lisinprol about 3 years ago no, so 28.............they explained it as a preventative to keep my eyes and kidneys protected......

so event though I still have hyper tension, I still just kid on its a preventative only......

i believe the kidneys regulate BP, so higher BP can be expected I think.......

I didn't know that, it's annoying if that's the case.
 

Diamattic

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@ChrisMaleType1 - Thanks for the reply!

One thing that i have been worried about is that Dr. Bernstein states complications can still arise even with normal HbA1C levels because spikes of high BS (usually post meal) occur so frequently, at such intensity that they impact the cells in the kidneys and eyes, but do not last long enough to influence the HbA1c results. So this is to say someone with 5.5 A1C but having post meal highs can still, and will likely, see complications.

I am mostly probing here as i find whenever i use the BP monitors in pharmacies (the free machines you sit at and they just give you a result.. don't know if you have those there) i get high numbers (like 130-140 / 70-75) So i bought a home monitor and it keeps giving me readings <130/<75 (so good, normal readings) and then whenever i go to my doctor they tell me my reading is find (usually <130 / <75)

Its a pain in the **** because they free monitors are everywhere, so i keep using them and i keep seeing high numbers so i run home to check and get all good readings... Its really messing with my head lol

But to far the numbers i mention above i have always been seeing from these meters, for as long as i can remember so if I am high its not from diabetes.
 
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ChrisMaleType1

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That's another new thing I've learnt, about the post-meal highs. I've always guessed it though. I think I'll test after eating more often now. In my case though, I think my post-prandial numbers are reasonably good because I tend to follow a low gi diet. It's probably time I bought the Bernstein book.

I didn't know it was free to check your bp at the pharmacy, it's useful to know that. Saying that, I've got no reason to doubt my home machine. They're tested before they're sold aren't they.

I'll check out the magnesium supplements sometime. I agree about taking medicine as early as possible, as more of a prevention than a cure.
 
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Diamattic

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Yeah i caved and bought his book after watching a couple of his youtube videos. I mean once i stopped crying (he is blunt and really tells you all the bad things that will happen) i bought the book, and it is very easy to read, its very casually written as if he's just sitting there tell you everything himself.

Well, i should be clear I am in Canada - in pretty much every chain department store that has a pharmacy you can find a BP monitor, and you just sit down and push a button for a free reading.

I have trouble believing that a free machine can be very accurate though... I think i will lay off and just stick with home monitor (an omron, probably same as yours) its giving me numbers i want to see anyway haha
 

ChrisMaleType1

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I think I might have an Omron, I've heard of the make anyway. I'd also be less sure of a free bp result because if you can just sit down like that they might get abused by children and things. Not that I've got anything against children of course.

I've heard great things about Canada, looking forward to going there someday. I thought of asking to borrow your book but that's out of the question now haha
 

LucySW

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Omeon is the best make for home BP meter. All the Anazon reviews ate brilliant, see. Stick with that.
 

Mrsc85

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Hi @Diamattic, it's interesting that you're saying she could possibly have been diagnosed late because she was 30 at the time, I thought type 1 was almost instantaneous? Do you have any information about type 1 developing gradually? I was actually diagnosed at 27 so it's obviously of interest to me. I started to show signs of kidney problems 2 years later despite having excellent bg readings - most of my hba1c were in the 5s.

Unfortunately in my case, the doctor was a bit slow to act, and I was a bit slow to respond. After a year or so of consistently high creatine levels in my urine, and quite high bp results, I was put on an ace inhibitor. I wish we'd acted sooner. Moral of the story - doctors are sometimes slow to act so sometimes it's up to you. I ended up using some initiative and pushing for a slightly higher medicine dose. I gave up smoking straight away and I also gave up caffeine quite recently. The cause of my kidney problems was probably the high bp but I've always wondered whether it's because I had high bg before my diabetes diagnosis.

OP, as others have said you should buy a bp monitor because it sounds like your numbers might be too high. I can recommend you a good one (I think it was under £15) that has a memory and is reasonably compact. I think you should try to aim for a consistent bp below 120/80 and it sounds like you should probably be taking some medication to get it there. I worried about my age (33 at the time I think) when I was put on the medication. You'll soon get used to it, those thoughts I was having disappeared after a month or so. It's always better to be proactive than reactive. There might also be some other things you can do to reduce your blood pressure, as well as medicine.

;) Edit: You're doing really great by the way. I've often take what nurses say with a grain of salt, often they're stressed about other things and forget or don't realize that one size doesn't fit all.