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High blood pressure

Living with It: Changes to diet

Interview 07

Interview 07

Age at Interview: 55
Sex: Male
Age at Diagnosis: 52
Background:

Brief outline:Discovered following a check for a kidney problem.

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Describes how it is difficult to deal with high blood pressure where there are few symptoms to detect it.
Print I think you're conscious of it. Once it's been made aware that you've got it, I think you do think about it because it's the last thing on your mind until you're told. You've got no symptoms - if you had the symptoms, and you were suddenly told, you'd think 'That's lovely. Now I know what it is. Now I know what it's called'. But because you've got no symptoms it is a concern, as I think everybody knows that high blood pressure can be quite serious. I suppose there are people who have lived for years with high blood pressure. And then all of a sudden they go 'bing bong' and they're gone. So obviously knowing it you really should do something about it. Even if it's got to be controlled by a drug.

Discusses family history and his acceptance of high blood pressure.
Print My older brother's got it and my dad's had it, and now my middle brother - only a few months ago - has been told he's got slightly high blood pressure. It was something I just accepted, really.

Explains how a problem with his kidneys led to the discovery of high blood pressure.
Print I've got a disease called 'melo' something. It's basically spongy kidneys. My brother's got it as well. But they don't know how to cure it anyway. I get tiny bits of grit, calcium, or whatever it is, in the stones. They do a yearly check. They're quite concerned about your kidneys because of the blood pressure, and they picked it up about two years ago; but they weren't sure whether it was a bit of high anxiety of actually going to the hospital. So they said make an appointment and we'll let your GP know. They said it was still a little bit high and I could lose a little weight. But since then it's not really been a problem. There is a history of blood pressure in the family.

Concludes that high blood pressure has made him aware he needs to put his life in order.
Print I think a lot of people expect to get it as they get older. Well, it's a condition you get when you get older. You know, it's like; 'I'm fifty now', 'oh yeah, you've got high blood pressure. So what?' I think it just brings an awareness to you that you've got to put your life in order. I mean, me personally, I don't want to take tablets. My answer to that is that I've got to do something. If I don't want to take tablets, I've got to take a bit of weight off. I've got to cut down on drinking. We all really have what I would classify as a reasonably healthy diet. But there are things I could pick at it, so I'll probably have to cut some of my chocolate out.

Explains how a work day routine means it is easier to remember to take tablets on time.
Print I get up early in the morning and you're in a routine, aren't you? I get up at about 5 o'clock to go to work and I normally take my tablets at about twenty to six. But on a weekend, I might not get up until about seven so I'm always a little bit behind then.

Discusses his dislike for taking tablets and advocates a healthy lifestyle as more beneficial.
Print I've only really been having treatment for about twelve months at the most for this blood pressure. I've tried a couple of them, but they were giving me headaches, so the doctor tried me on different stuff. But I think it would be better if they told you honestly - 'It's high and you should do something about it - we shouldn't just give you tablets'. I'm not really a believer in tablets. I'd sooner have a 'rollocking' off the doctor and say 'Right, I want you to get two stone off and I want you to stop drinking'. I'm a great believer in self-help.

Describes how he perceives high blood pressure as a taboo subject.
Print I think there's a lot more awareness about high blood pressure today. Obviously the nation's getting fatter on the whole and you do tend to read a little bit more about it. I still think it's more of a taboo subject between people. It's quite a private thing. People tend to keep it in and then say 'oh, I've had high blood pressure for years', and you're quite surprised. Because it's the sort of subject that's not really spoken about.

Explains how his blood pressure tends to fluctuate, particularly after a weekend of drinking.
Print They picked it up at hospital about three years ago. I went to the doctor and I said the specialist was concerned about my blood pressure and that it was a bit high. The doctor said, 'oh, it's fine - he doesn't know what he's talking about'. But then again, I could say that sometimes even at the doctor's surgery I get anxious. You know, waiting around and that sort of thing. Even when they do a test in there I sometimes think it might be a little bit high anyway. So it could even be a false reading. I had one taken the other day by the doctor and she said it was a bit high and said 'I want it checked again', so I went in to see the nurse and it was down again. Then when I saw her again yesterday, it was back up again. So it seems to fluctuate. And I said to her, I wonder if - I know alcohol is bad for you - but I tend to have a drink on the weekend. I don't drink during the week, but I normally see the doctor on a Monday. And I'm wondering if it's because I have a drink on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, whether it's actually increasing my blood pressure over the weekend. And then it tends to go down.

Criticises the lack of advice on a healthy diet apart from avoiding chocolate and beer.
Print They tell you to do plenty of exercise. Like regular exercise, low salt, and try and keep your weight down. I mean, what else can you do really? Stay off fat. It's a low fat diet they all talk about, isn't it? I could lose weight easy enough, it's keeping it off, isn't it? I'm sure that if I give up drinking tomorrow - I mean, I don't drink a lot, I'm a social drinker. But you go out on a weekend and you might have twenty pints over the weekend. That would be a lot to some people. I think that's what kept my weight up. I read yesterday somewhere about herrings. Now, there is an oil in herrings which is supposed to be very good, actually reduce blood pressure. That was in one of the national papers. They're doing trials somewhere in Scotland on it. And I wondered, 'ah, yeah. I'll rush out and buy a dozen tins of herrings'. I'll see if that's any good for me. You could actually be eating a lot of wrong foods. On the other hand, you would know the right foods, if they told you. But they just say to stay away from chocolate and beer - all the favourite things.

Admits that too much salt in the diet is bad.
Print Well, as soon as she said I've got high blood pressure, as I'm a great believer in self-help, I thought I'll try and cut down on the alcohol and I'll try to cut salt out. I know salt's bad. I used to eat quite a lot of salt, really - probably far too much for my own good. We always had a salt pot on the table. But to be honest, I don't miss it.

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