My mum has just been diagnosed with high blood pressure and it looks like she is going to have to have medication for it. The doctor I saw last week said to try to get her to eat garlic or grapefruit but I have failed totally to persuade her. The problem is that she is unlikely to be able to remember to take medication regularly and though I suppose if she forgets to take it it's no worse than not having it, I'm worried she will remember to take it, forget she has, take it again and so on and end up giving herself an overdose. Friends say you can get boxes with compartments for each day's pills, but as she is really hazy about which day it is, that isn't likely to help. If it was possible for her to take the medication in the late afternoon or early evening I could go in and supervise her taking it, but I can't go in in the mornings because I'm a teacher. But everyone I've talked to who takes blood pressure medication takes it in the morning. Does anyone know if there is a reason for this, or should I be able to get something she can take early evening? Though having to make her take it is going to be ghastly....
can blood pressure meds be taken in the evening?
- Thread starter stillcaring
- Start date
Hi stillcaring - one of the reasons for taking the blood pressure medication in the morning is because they often have a diuretic effect and so you wont want your Mum needing the loo a couple of hours after taking them if she has gone to bed. There are other reasons but it really depends on the type of medicine prescribed.
You can buy medicine boxes that sound an alarm to remind the person to take the medication and I think the more sophisticated ones repeat the alarm at intervals until the medicine is removed from the box.
One thought is if you put the medicine in an agreed place in a dose box - could you ring her and get her to take it whilst you are on the phone?
The other thing is whether or not your Mum (and you) have had a care/ carers assessment - which could trigger a carer making a 15 min call to check all is OK and supervise medication so worth a thought.
If taking medication for high blood pressure it is usually thought advisable that it is taken regularly rather than missing days - but I understand how difficult that can be - it had to become something for carers with my Mum because we couldn't arrange to visit at the right time and she would become muddled. It happened at a time she had need for carers to wash and dress so it all got built into one early morning call.
Hope you find a solution,
Take care
Celia
You can buy medicine boxes that sound an alarm to remind the person to take the medication and I think the more sophisticated ones repeat the alarm at intervals until the medicine is removed from the box.
One thought is if you put the medicine in an agreed place in a dose box - could you ring her and get her to take it whilst you are on the phone?
The other thing is whether or not your Mum (and you) have had a care/ carers assessment - which could trigger a carer making a 15 min call to check all is OK and supervise medication so worth a thought.
If taking medication for high blood pressure it is usually thought advisable that it is taken regularly rather than missing days - but I understand how difficult that can be - it had to become something for carers with my Mum because we couldn't arrange to visit at the right time and she would become muddled. It happened at a time she had need for carers to wash and dress so it all got built into one early morning call.
Hope you find a solution,
Take care
Celia
ah, that makes sense. Maybe if I popped in after school though it would be OK as she doesn't go to bed till quite late.
I'm loth to go down the carers route as she would really hate having someone come in every day. We've had a major battle to get her to accept someone coming in once a week to take her to the hair dressers and clean for her and she is still quite difficult with the lovely lady who comes. No doubt in the end she'll have to have someone come in every day but I'd like to put it off for a while longer.
I do occasionally phone her and get her to do things while I'm on the phone and it works some of the time, but other times I find out afterwards that she's lied to me to stop me pestering her and not done whatever it was. And she is as deaf as a post and probably wouldn't hear an alarm. Which is another problem with a carer coming in in the mornings as she probably wouldn't be up to let them in as she doesn't hear her alarm clock. And it's a problem with phoning her as sometimes I have to phone about a dozen times before she answers. And it's an incredibly loud phone!
I'll see what the GP says tomorrow and whether they think that taking them late afternoon would be OK. Or hopefully her blood pressure will be back to normal and we won't have to worry!
I'm loth to go down the carers route as she would really hate having someone come in every day. We've had a major battle to get her to accept someone coming in once a week to take her to the hair dressers and clean for her and she is still quite difficult with the lovely lady who comes. No doubt in the end she'll have to have someone come in every day but I'd like to put it off for a while longer.
I do occasionally phone her and get her to do things while I'm on the phone and it works some of the time, but other times I find out afterwards that she's lied to me to stop me pestering her and not done whatever it was. And she is as deaf as a post and probably wouldn't hear an alarm. Which is another problem with a carer coming in in the mornings as she probably wouldn't be up to let them in as she doesn't hear her alarm clock. And it's a problem with phoning her as sometimes I have to phone about a dozen times before she answers. And it's an incredibly loud phone!
I'll see what the GP says tomorrow and whether they think that taking them late afternoon would be OK. Or hopefully her blood pressure will be back to normal and we won't have to worry!
Good luck with the doc - if they mention prescribing, it might be worth pointing out the ensuing challenges with compliance before they decide on the type of medication as sometimes there can be a bit of leeway.
Celia
Edit to say that whilst I understand your reluctance to become involved with carers - sometimes it is necessary from a safety/ health point of view. Maybe you could barter with your Mum that if she agrees to it, it will mean she is able to keep her independence longer?
Celia
Edit to say that whilst I understand your reluctance to become involved with carers - sometimes it is necessary from a safety/ health point of view. Maybe you could barter with your Mum that if she agrees to it, it will mean she is able to keep her independence longer?
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You should ask a pharmacist why it is important to take blood pressure tablets in the morning.
From memory my tablets relax the walls of the veins which carry the blood therefore the heart does not have to work so hard. Your heart does not work so hard at night as you are asleep, so you need the benefit of the tablets during the day.
That is my understanding of what I was told.
I did not find my tablets were a diuretic at all.
I say DID NOT as I have actually stopped taking them as my blood pressure dropped so much and has stayed low for over two weeks without any tablets now.
From memory my tablets relax the walls of the veins which carry the blood therefore the heart does not have to work so hard. Your heart does not work so hard at night as you are asleep, so you need the benefit of the tablets during the day.
That is my understanding of what I was told.
I did not find my tablets were a diuretic at all.
I say DID NOT as I have actually stopped taking them as my blood pressure dropped so much and has stayed low for over two weeks without any tablets now.
'Edit to say that whilst I understand your reluctance to become involved with carers - sometimes it is necessary from a safety/ health point of view. Maybe you could barter with your Mum that if she agrees to it, it will mean she is able to keep her independence longer? '
Nice idea Celia, but my mum goes ballistic at any suggestion she needs help so bartering is likely to lead to her throwing me out of the house or physically attacking me (luckily she is now smaller than me)
Nice idea Celia, but my mum goes ballistic at any suggestion she needs help so bartering is likely to lead to her throwing me out of the house or physically attacking me (luckily she is now smaller than me)
Hi
You can have meds from the chemist already made up in a nomad system
They come in strips 7 days at a time labelled with sun a dinner plate and the moon
My dad had these and we used to tear the strip off and stand each section on a big piece of paper labelled morning and bedtime... This helped enormously.
Our gp was ok with him doing this. Prior to this dad was taking his morning tabs and evening ones in any order he felt like
Gill
You can have meds from the chemist already made up in a nomad system
They come in strips 7 days at a time labelled with sun a dinner plate and the moon
My dad had these and we used to tear the strip off and stand each section on a big piece of paper labelled morning and bedtime... This helped enormously.
Our gp was ok with him doing this. Prior to this dad was taking his morning tabs and evening ones in any order he felt like
Gill
Personally i'd be insisting on a 15 min morning call, ballistic or not - when she needs more help it wont be so difficult to increase the time.
What time does her alarm go off? book them for 15 mins later, and fit a key safe - she wont have choices then.
What time does her alarm go off? book them for 15 mins later, and fit a key safe - she wont have choices then.
There are many different sorts of medication that will help control blood-pressure. Some people have to take more than one type, because forlots of people, high blood pressure is 'normal' for them and if a medication lowers thepressure their bodies try to raise it back up again. So sometimes, a second type of drug is required to prevent this as well.
The great majority of high blood pressure has no directly identifiable cause although you increase your risk of getting it by smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and over indulgence in alcohol. However, very fit non-smokers can have high blood pressure, whilst obese smokers who do no exercise may not.
The commonest medications used are:
ACE inhibitors. These medications block the action of a natural hormone called angiotensin; this hormone causes the blood vessels to narrow and may also cause water retention.
ARB receptor inhibitors. These also stop the action of angiotensin, but in a different way.
Calcium channel inhibitors. These prevent calcium in the blood causing the blood vessel walls to narrow.
Thiazene diuretics. These medications cause more water to be eliminated from the body.
The choice of medications will be based on the severity of hypertension, the person's age, sex, ethnic origins and how they react to the initial prescription.
Usually, it is recommended to take such medication in the morning, because that is when your blood pressure is at it;s highest, and also if you take diuretic type drugs you will be visitting the toilet more often, and sometimes with urgency. Diuretics at night make many people need to wake up to go to the loo.
There are other drugs but these are usually only used if the ones above are not effective, or they cannot be used for some reason.
Beta blockers were once commonly used, but not so much now that other drugs have become available.
The body manages blood pressure, as it does almost everything, by having two opposing mechanisms in balance - some that raise pressure, some that lower it. People with high (or indeed low) blood pressure are given drugs to alter this to bring them back into the desired range.
As I said, lots of people with hypertension are simply that way - it is "normal" for them, even if it is not desirable.
The great majority of high blood pressure has no directly identifiable cause although you increase your risk of getting it by smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and over indulgence in alcohol. However, very fit non-smokers can have high blood pressure, whilst obese smokers who do no exercise may not.
The commonest medications used are:
ACE inhibitors. These medications block the action of a natural hormone called angiotensin; this hormone causes the blood vessels to narrow and may also cause water retention.
ARB receptor inhibitors. These also stop the action of angiotensin, but in a different way.
Calcium channel inhibitors. These prevent calcium in the blood causing the blood vessel walls to narrow.
Thiazene diuretics. These medications cause more water to be eliminated from the body.
The choice of medications will be based on the severity of hypertension, the person's age, sex, ethnic origins and how they react to the initial prescription.
Usually, it is recommended to take such medication in the morning, because that is when your blood pressure is at it;s highest, and also if you take diuretic type drugs you will be visitting the toilet more often, and sometimes with urgency. Diuretics at night make many people need to wake up to go to the loo.
There are other drugs but these are usually only used if the ones above are not effective, or they cannot be used for some reason.
Beta blockers were once commonly used, but not so much now that other drugs have become available.
The body manages blood pressure, as it does almost everything, by having two opposing mechanisms in balance - some that raise pressure, some that lower it. People with high (or indeed low) blood pressure are given drugs to alter this to bring them back into the desired range.
As I said, lots of people with hypertension are simply that way - it is "normal" for them, even if it is not desirable.
Thanks for all the comments: we went to the GP and her blood pressure was higher again. I explained the situation to the GP and she has prescribed medication that can be taken in the evening. It isn't a diuretic: she said she wouldn't prescribe one that was to someone my mother's age with AD anyway. So now I will have to go in every evening and make sure she takes it which to be honest is manageable as I live only 1/3 mile away and I can send my husband or children if I can't go. Apparently the timing's not that crucial either so it won't matter if it varies by a couple of hours or so.
I know I could insist a carer goes but I think my mum wouldn't accept that and I fear she might attack them and get sectioned which would definitely not be the best thing for her.
Now I'm just trying to get a straight answer out of the cataract surgery people as to whether they will operate now that they know what her blood pressure is. Saying they will decide on the day is not helpful as I have to arrange a nurse to go and do the eyedrops 4 times per day. I am fairly optimistic that she will understand that and be OK about someone coming in to do that so long as they don't try to come too early in the morning.
Why is there always a new challenge?
I know I could insist a carer goes but I think my mum wouldn't accept that and I fear she might attack them and get sectioned which would definitely not be the best thing for her.
Now I'm just trying to get a straight answer out of the cataract surgery people as to whether they will operate now that they know what her blood pressure is. Saying they will decide on the day is not helpful as I have to arrange a nurse to go and do the eyedrops 4 times per day. I am fairly optimistic that she will understand that and be OK about someone coming in to do that so long as they don't try to come too early in the morning.
Why is there always a new challenge?
Hi,
Just wanted to say that Mums GP has always told her to take her blood pressure pills at 6pm in the evening? Mum started feeling dizzy in the mornings and the GP said it was due to the tablets causing a dip in blood pressure. I always used to remind her not to have anything to drink after 9pm apart from a sip of water, and to go to the loo before she went to bed. Never had any problems.
Even though her dementia is in the later stages now and she has sadly recently become incontinent, she still knows that her tablet is due at 6pm and will become agitated if I forget to give it to her
Just wanted to say that Mums GP has always told her to take her blood pressure pills at 6pm in the evening? Mum started feeling dizzy in the mornings and the GP said it was due to the tablets causing a dip in blood pressure. I always used to remind her not to have anything to drink after 9pm apart from a sip of water, and to go to the loo before she went to bed. Never had any problems.
Even though her dementia is in the later stages now and she has sadly recently become incontinent, she still knows that her tablet is due at 6pm and will become agitated if I forget to give it to her
It is not critical. It is much better to take BP medication regularly in the evening than to insist on mornings with a resultant missing of doses.
As I said, mornings are recommended because that is usually when BP is at it;s highest, also, if you are taking diuretic type drugs, taking them at night may result in being woken up for trips to the loo.
The usual first choice for medications are not diuretics though. They are usually ACE type drugs.
As I said, mornings are recommended because that is usually when BP is at it;s highest, also, if you are taking diuretic type drugs, taking them at night may result in being woken up for trips to the loo.
The usual first choice for medications are not diuretics though. They are usually ACE type drugs.
Having got the pills I now know that they are the calcium inhibitor type. THey act fairly slowly so don't have more of an effect just after you've taken them which is why it doesn't really matter.
Anyway she took her first one no problem yesterday. I was anticipating problems getting her to let me have the packet back but I just gave her one pill and then distracted her after she'd taken it and kept the packet. This afternoon should be OK as I'll be with her at the right time. By Thursday or Friday I'll have to come up with some excuse to call in and give them to her. But so far so good.
Anyway she took her first one no problem yesterday. I was anticipating problems getting her to let me have the packet back but I just gave her one pill and then distracted her after she'd taken it and kept the packet. This afternoon should be OK as I'll be with her at the right time. By Thursday or Friday I'll have to come up with some excuse to call in and give them to her. But so far so good.
I've been taking Amlodipine and Perindopril, I have been for the past 15 years and it's never been a problem.
It's always worth reading the leaflet that comes with the tablets as one of my medications and many statins say you must "avoid" grapefruits, whether that means people are going to thrown them at you or taking the tablets make you prone to attack by killer grapefruit I don't know.
K
It's always worth reading the leaflet that comes with the tablets as one of my medications and many statins say you must "avoid" grapefruits, whether that means people are going to thrown them at you or taking the tablets make you prone to attack by killer grapefruit I don't know.
K
I take perindopril and amlodipine too, I take them both twice a day as my BP was spiking with just once a day. As you have found OP, taking them regularly is more important than the time of day with many/most kinds of b/p drug.
