3.5 months in on TRT, feel great other than really high systolic Blood Pressure

[Tonman]

Hi Gents,

So I started TRT on 10/27/2016 100mg per week, then decided to go to 50mg every 3.5 days due to the intense restlessness and insomnia a 100mg shot gave me. After 2 months I decided to go to Defy so I could get prescribed HCG and an AI.

So late December my protocol switched to 70mg every 3.5 days, 500 iu of HCG and .2mg of Anastrozole.

I was feeling amazing, libido is awesome, I have been in the gym 5 days a week for about an hour and half each session, eating incredibly clean, doing a mini version of Gene's NO stack, and getting lean and building some serious muscle.

In late January I felt some irregular heartbeats and felt my chest tightening up like it used to when I was stressed out ( I have lived with pretty intense stress for a long time due to running multiple companies ). I have a decent blood pressure machine at home so I started taking regular BP measurements. For the first few days of this the machine was picking up an irregular heartbeat which has now stopped ( I quit taking the Icarin and the Tadalifil in the NO stack ). But I still have had BP in the ranges of 145-165 / 60-75. The diastolic number has been awesome, but the systolic has me seriously concerned. I don't drink alcohol ever, eat very clean, and have been exercising like a mad man for the last three months. I'm really bummed this has come up. For reference my BP pre TRT usually hovered around 130/90, and I have been prone to anxiety/stress.

All of this prompted me to get labs done on 2/3/17 to see if my Hemoglobin/Hemocrit may be causing this high systolic pressure. My labs came back amazing and are in perfect range for everything. ( Labs at trough levels ).

Hemo 16.1
Hema 46.5
Total Test 970
Free Test 29.4
T4 1.24
Estradiol Sensitive 29.4
Triiodothyronine 3.1

***I can post all the other lab results if you guys think they are necessary but they are all in the middle of acceptable ranges.

Anyways, my GP says TRT can increase BP and cause Anxiety, basically an I told you so is the way it felt, but I scheduled and appointment anyway to see what can be done, its in 4 weeks. I need to get this systolic down, but my diastolic doesn't have much room to go down as far as I can tell. I have also been having some tingly feelings in my hands which I believe is the high BP.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Honestly if I could resolve this BP issue I would be feeling the best I've felt my whole life.


Thanks forum members.

 

[Vince Carter]

I have similar...basic advice talk to your Dr about an Alpha Blocker like Doxazosin (brand name Cardura) to get your BP...should help dialate your blood vessels and bring your BP down. I can run similar numbers in the 135/70 range. Getting your pressure down and dialating your blood vessels can help with if you have any, erection issues.

 

[Tonman]

Thank you Vince. I will keep my appointment for 4 weeks out. In the mean time I think I am going to lower my Test dosage down to 55mg every 3.5 days to see if this helps the anxiety and chest tightness. I haven't had any ED issues thus far, but I can say when I was doing the full NO stack (minus the doxazosin) erectile quality was impressive, my wife thought I was 21 again. It honestly made it hard to concentrate on anything other than chasing her around the house though.

I really don't think their is much else I can do with diet and exercise to bring the BP and anxiety down. Do you think the Doxazosin will help with the anxiety?

When you are saying that you can run similar numbers in the 135/70 range is that after you've taken Doxazosin? I would love to get to a normal range of 120/70 or so.

 

[hva]

I have to take 10mg Amlodipine for systolic and 12.5mg Atenolol for diastolic. It's annoying but nothing else controls my BP. Amlodipine by itself will bring me down to 135/90 at best but with 12.5mg of Atenolol it will sit right at 125/75 and bring my resting heart rate down from 90 to 70. Trying to keep hypertension in check is just a PITA but with the right combination you can get it dialed in. I can't take ACE inhibitors, ARB II, or HCTZ due to bad sides so I'm stuck with calcium channel blockers and beta blockers for now.

 

[Tonman]

hva, is that something you take daily? My resting heart rate is usually great, anywhere from 56 to 70. Does anyone think a drop in test dosage will provide benefits on the anxiety and BP front?

 

[madman]

If you have dropped your test dose down to 55mg every 3.5 days give it 4-6 weeks and have blood work done to see where everything sits.

 

[Vince Carter]

I dont think the course of action is thru HRT dosing per se...it's a super common side effect to see some BP increase, amongst other blood matters like hematocrit and red blood cell increases. If you're on a steady protocol and like what it's doing otherwise, I would not change it. Look to things like Garlic, is another that is purported to have strong BP reducing properties...I'd stay in the supplements stuff if possible.

In the scheme of HRT 70 > 50mg would be a rather large change and isn't really a source to your BP that I'm aware of anyway.

 

[Tonman]

I wonder if I'm having some white coat syndrome even though I am testing at home, getting anxious just measuring it. Just got home from work and tested at 177/93, about fell out of my chair at those numbers. I tested 20 minutes later and my machine does an average of three times and it came up with 148/83 so much better.

Vince, I eat really healthy, hardly any sugar or bad carbs, and I do consume a decent amount of garlic in my meals but nothing I measure. I would love to lower this without any medication but it seems so high right now that it may be impossible with diet alone. Do you feel that I can really get into a reasonable range of 120/80 with diet only ?

Thanks

 

[FeelingLost]

Tonman you did not say how old your are. Where did you get the 120/80 numbers?

What should my blood pressure be according to my age?

[TH="colspan: 3"][/TH]
Age	Systolic BP	Diastolic BP
3-6	116	76
7-10	122	78
11-13	126	82
14-16	136	86
17-19	120	85
20-24	120	79
25-29	121	80
30-34	122	81
35-39	123	82
40-44	125	83
45-49	127	84
50-54	129	85
55-59	131	86
60+	134	87

Anyways, my GP says TRT can increase BP and cause Anxiety,

Interesting my PCP is using TRT to treat anxiety and mild panic attacks.
My first blood test, total T 173 ng/dL

I wear a Polar A360 HRM daily and measure my BP every morning. I've seen no change.

 

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

Tonman, according to your original post, it sounds like you work out a lot and might have big arms. Arms greater than 13" in diameter will read high on standard BP cuffs. This started happening to me about a year ago, and I was seriously concerned I had high blood pressure. I tried a larger cuff and it came back normal. I haven't started TRT yet, but when I visited the Defy office for my physical, the guy who took my BP noted it was high (141/80), and I mentioned that it was probably the cuff. He retested using the old fashioned manual pump which has a larger cuff and it came out 126/80. If you're using a standard size cuff and have big arms, I recommend trying a larger cuff.

 

[Tonman]

I'm 39 to answer the age question. Arm size is around 15-16" nothing to brag about, yet! But I'm going to keep on working towards that 20" mark. My machine at home has two cuffs, one smaller and one bigger for 12" - 16" arm size so I think I have the right tools. I have only used my machine at home to test my BP lately so trying another one or the Dr. office is a good idea to make sure I don't have issues with my home machine. This evening my machine also indicated an irregular heartbeat which adds another mystery layer. I did take 5 mg of tadalifil yesterday (first time in 3 weeks) and wonder if this contributed to the irregular heartbeat as it was considered one of the possible side effects.

Any other suggestions for easing anxiety and lowering BP are helpful. Thanks again for all of the responses, just knowing other guys experience some of these same issues provides a little relief to the anxiety.

 

[madman]

If you can hit 20" arms from 15-16" on a trt dose I would be impressed. Only people I ever knew with 20" arms natty were stalky and thick to begin with as in genetically gifted!

 

[Vince]

There is another thread on High blood pressure from TRT? You may like to read through.
https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?5302-High-blood-pressure-from-TRT