Blood Pressure Meds and their effect

[deleted_user_680e93b]

I had posted this in response to another subject but since i consider myself a follower of the basic principles of what i've learned from the Bill Adam forum i figured to drop it in here and wondered if others have experienced similar things.
I was put on blood pressure meds on march 5th. From the very beginning i have been experiencing some weird things with my playing. I get light headed very easily when i ascend above high G on top of the staff. My lips seem to struggle to maintain my set up, especially when ascending and with that the sound has really gotten thin above high G. Also i am extremely dry and have to drink gallons of water to counteract that feeling, which is fine since i've always been drinking a lot of water everyday.
Basically i'm not looking for medical advice here, but my Doctor told me the light headed feelings will pass after i acclimate to the meds. He described it as Blood Pressure withdrawal. not sure i'm buying into that one.
Anyway, i had a gig last weekend and before we started the band had a couple of beers together as is our tradition. I played well, notes above G were fine, played the double F#'s in Play that funky music with a lot of sip.
so i figured i was good and had acclimated to meds, no dizziness at all thru the night.
I was wrong, the next day doing my ascending scales it started all over again. Light headed above G, and a thin sound and struggled to get to D above high C. this is really strange. its like my chops can't stay focused.
The good news is i've lost 15 lbs since march 5, not that i was that heavy to begin with proper diet and daily 5 mile speed walks, i started at 187. Weighed in this morning at 172, going to get to 160-165, my pressure has dropped 30 points so i'm back in the 120's again. I plan on being off these pills by june 5th, my next checkup. SO if anybody here has had similar reactions to blood pressure meds please share your story. I know their are many different kinds so maybe i need to switch to another type.

tom

https://soundcloud.com/user-528478243/wave-antonio-carlos-jobim

this is a recording i did on march 2nd, before being on meds, at around 1:08 min in i double the melody and octave up. you can hear the sound is crisp and clear. Albeit pitchy here and there, cut me a break for that i'm just a weekend hack and literally recorded this in my basement for fun. But the quality of the tone is vibrant and clear. It not like that now and its a real struggle to play these simple notes with any kind of quality.

thanks for listening and any thoughts.

tom

[tptptp]

Your BP med may contain a diuretic, and you may be a bit volume depleted (dehydrated). This is standard BP therapy, but sometimes isn’t well-tolerated by people who do a lot of Valsalva maneuvers, like high-note trumpet players. This may explain the lightheadedness.
Also, now maybe you’re worried about your playing, and you’re probably changing your approach slightly and losing your edge.
Check with the doctor again. I bet you’ll get it settled soon.
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Craig Mitchell

[Don Herman rev2]

That's a lot of changes physically in addition to the meds. Chances are you need to get the meds dialed in with your doctor (talk with him about all this) then work back to your A-game playing-wise with your "new" body. I have known other players who dieted, lost a bunch of weight, and had to get back to the very basic principles starting with leadpipe playing and sound to gently, smoothly work back to top form. I've had to restart too many times in the past few years and it seems for me mainly a mental problem. I want to be playing like I was instantly (right now!) and it doesn't work that way. If I quit stressing myself out, decide to work back up more gently by focusing on ease of playing and the sound instead of pushing my limits (and beyond), then recovery is much faster (and less stressful).

IME/IMO - Don
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[Billy B]

If you haven't done so, get a blood pressure monitor. Check yourself when you have the episode.


There also seems to be something different in your approach to the instrument between performing and practicing. Most likely you are focusing on the sound when performing and physical stuff when practicing.
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Bill Bergren

[Quigley]

Tom - I had similar experiences about a year ago. The dizziness was a result of a drop in heart rate about 60 - 90 minutes after taking the med in the morning. Two changes were necessary - first, I started to take the med at night instead of morning and the doctor reduced the strength.

I heartily agree that a blood pressure monitor can be your friend.

I also went on a diet and fairly quickly lost range and endurance so I started to hit the gym and pool. That, some Caruso, long tones, flexibilities, and breathing exercises etc worked well. Good luck on your recovery.
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Q.

[deleted_user_680e93b]

Thanks all for the replies.
There is a lot you all have got right i think. I googled the meds, They do indeed include a diuretic which explains the dehydration. I guess its possible i'm manipulating my normal playing because i'm a little spooked by this sudden change. I'll have to keep an eye on that. Didn't really think the weight loss would make a difference since i was quite thin about 5 or 6 years ago, it was only the past 4 years where the stress and weight increased because of a new job. I suppose i just got use to it. I plan on getting a monitor for sure and will talk to my doctor again about my meds, he prescribed me to take them in the morning, but perhaps it would be better at night so they have worked through the system. Its really a low dose so i wasn't expecting side effects, I'll see what he says, maybe something different would help. again this is so new to me that i'm not sure i'm handling it too well, always had that air of invincibility about me when it came to health, but sneaking up on the 60 mark and i guess i'm not the physical specimen i once was.
I'll slow it down a bit i suppose and try to play with a beautiful sound and work my way back up the scale. I have to, most of the stuff my band plays goes above the staff for me.

thanks all,

tom

[Pete]

Tom,

I started having issues with chop swelling with meds that I was on for a while. I talked to my doctor about it. He switched meds for me and it has gotten better.

Pete

[Irving]

Tell your Doc about your side effects. He can probably switch to something else in the same class. When I started taking meds, the first tablet I tried made me really tired. I made the mistake of putting up with it. I finally moved to something else and the side effects stopped.

[deleted_user_680e93b]

thank you guys, i am going to talk with my doctor this week. I think the problem really is the dehydration. I have virtually no saliva when playing now, and noticed tonight that a sip of white wine stimulated my salivary gland and i could play almost like normal for a short time, but since i'm not going to have a glass of wine every time i play i need to get this fixed. Oddly enough, trumpet is the only thing that is really suffering at the moment. But that's enough for me to try something else. Took me years to get a good easy high range and i don't want to loose it now. too many gigs coming up.

thanks for all the replies !!

tom

[Don Herman rev2]

In the meantime try gently scraping your tongue against the roof of your moth or front teeth to stimulate saliva when you play.
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"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley

[Bill Ortiz]

Sorry to hear of your issues with the medication. I'm on a low dose pill and so far ok. Perhaps you doctor may adjust your dosage. Hope it works out better for you :)
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'56 Martin Committee Deluxe #2 trumpet
14B Schilke mouthpiece
Couesnon Paris flugelhorn
Bob Reeves Sleeves and PVA

[adc]

I am 73 and have been taking BP medicine almost all my life (50 years). Since you are taking a diuretic I assume your other BP med is Lisinopril. Its pretty much the Go-to med. Honestly you really need to monitor your BP at home.

I would not be too quick to make adjustments. One things is that sodium raises BP and Potassium lowers it. Lots of potassium in fruits. So that changes things.

Omron Makes the best Monitors. You don't need the most expensive. They are no more accurate. I have the Series 5 for 40 bucks on Amazon:
LINK

If you are sitting and get up quickly and feel light headed you may have low pressure (or bad circulation). Its best to go to an Internal Medicine Doc. Good Luck.

I would not strive to get rid of meds. Meds keep the levels from getting too high during stresses. More recent studies indicate that Acceptable readings of even 5 years ago were too high.
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Too many Old Cornets to Count