"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - High Blood Pressure

Anyone have to take high blood pressure medication? Although I eat fairly right and certainly get enough exercise, it seems family history and genetics have caught up with me. The doc put me on hydrochlorothiazide. Does anyone have experience with this drug? Will it make me a slug and affect my riding? I certainly don't want health problems, but I hate the thought of having to take something that kills any real possibilities of riding competitively.

I have been on Meds for Hypertension for 4 years now. It hit me when I was not exercizing properly and is a main reason I am now riding again. I used to take Hyzar/HTC (100/25) and am now on Micardis/HTC (80/25). These drugs have 2 parts one that works on the pressure and the other that works on getting sodium out of your system (that is the 25mg of HTC). What I found was that after long days in the saddle I would get really bad headaches and it turns out it is most likely from a lack of Potasium which is getting sweated out and peed out due to the HTC. What my Doc did was to give me a bunch of samples of just Micardis with no HTC for the days I know I am going to be doing a lot of riding since I wont need the help recuding my salts.

Here is a thread from a year ago with a ton of info: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=194569

I am not 100% sure but I think the hydrochlorothiazide is similar (or the same) as the HTC from my pills and the point is to reduce sodium from your system...it is a water pill (will make you pee a lot...your peeing out the salts) and is the first thing my doctor tried too.

Honestly I don't know if there is a negative impact on my riding...I wasn't really riding before I was on the drugs.

Just googled your med...and you may want to talk to your Doc about this choice.

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/hctz.htm

Given this snip from the second post in the thread I linked:

Thiazide diuretics are very inexpensive in generic form and are some of the most effective drugs for black and elderly patients because of these patients' sensitivity to salt and fluid volume status. Diuretics also may provide symptomatic relief for patients with congestive heart failure who may exercise in cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Bottom line: Thiazide diuretics are not a good choice for most endurance athletes. Their use should probably be considered only for elderly or black patients who have difficulty with blood pressure control, those who have congestive heart failure, or those who need inexpensive medication.

I found the same thing... "not a good choice for most endurance athletes" ... before posting. That's why I did. My doc knows how much I ride and my lifestyle. We play soccer together. I even made a point of reminding him exactly how many miles and at what pace I ride while he was filling out the perscription. He said it shouldn't be a problem. I'm supposed to take it for three weeks and go back, so I guess I'll know more after a few days and a few hard rides.

I have been on an ACE inhibitor (Lisinopril) for about a year. My doc and I decided this was best based on my activity level, and it's very effective.

I had questions about this kind of thing a while ago, I will see if I can find the old thread that had some links to a study about various hypertension medications and their effects. It was geared toward athletes, etc.

I have been on an ACE inhibitor (Lisinopril) for about a year. My doc and I decided this was best based on my activity level, and it's very effective.

I had questions about this kind of thing a while ago, I will see if I can find the old thread that had some links to a study about various hypertension medications and their effects. It was geared toward athletes, etc.
Psst...I liked to it in my first response. :D

Bah. The study I was talking about is the same one Grasschopper linked to. It's definitely worth a read, maybe print it out and take it to your next doc visit. Here's another BF thread discussing similar (I think the same person posted the same article there, too): http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=188951&highlight=hypertension

Good luck...

Thanks.
The linked thread had some good stuff in it.

Anyone have to take high blood pressure medication? Although I eat fairly right and certainly get enough exercise, it seems family history and genetics have caught up with me. The doc put me on hydrochlorothiazide. Does anyone have experience with this drug? Will it make me a slug and affect my riding? I certainly don't want health problems, but I hate the thought of having to take something that kills any real possibilities of riding competitively.

Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic, which seems like a bad thing until you realize that 1. it works, and 2. it's a hell of a lot better than beta blockers or calcium channel blockers, which can slow your HR response, and in fact can totally eliminate it. Not good for the endurance athlete. So all in all, it's a good choice, and SHOULD NOT make you a slug.

Things to look out for, though, that are specific to riding. HCTZ can make you lose sodium and potassium from the kidneys in the urine, so using something like Endurolytes or a similar product during riding/racing might come in handy. Also, make sure you're keeping up with your fluid intake when you ride. It won't be huge, but your body will likely dehydrate a bit more easily than it did before you started the meds.

There are other things to watch out for that I'm sure you read in the handouts, etc. so I won't bore you with them, but as far as riding/racing is concerned, just make sure you're hydrated and you're keeping those electrolytes flowin'. Any issues or questions, talk to your doc. If there are issues, he/she might switch you to an ACE inhibitor, which IIRC is another good one for athletes.