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At the farmer's market today, there was a booth for getting a free adrenal blood pressure screening. Not knowing exactly what that was, I decided to check it out. So they tested my BP twice, the first sitting down: 106/63. The second was after just getting up: 102/63. I was told that because it went down, my adrenals are a bit fatigued, and that I need to reduce my stress. If only it were that easy!

So my question is, is there anything dietary that I can do to improve my adrenal function? I do crave salt, so I use plenty of sea salt on my food.

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what were they selling? – g. Aug 13 2011 at 18:01
Is adrenal blood pressure something different than a regular blood pressure check? – HeatherC Aug 13 2011 at 19:22
+1 - Interesting question. – Atkins-witha-loincloth Aug 13 2011 at 20:14
That is not a big change. – Annie Aug 13 2011 at 23:08
seriously....dont worry about this. – JayJay Aug 14 2011 at 1:37

2 Answers

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What they did was part of an orthostatic BP check. For everyone, BP will be highest when lying down, a bit lower when sitting, and lowest when standing. When there are significant differences between BPs taken in these three postions, then a problem can be indicated. The diffence in yours is negligible/typical.

Some types of medications, dehydration, low sodium, and lots of other conditions can cause sometimes BIG differences between orthostatic readings.When some one presents with for instance an episode of suddenly feeling dizzy or fainting, checking orthostatics would be important. It doesn't diagnose anything, just gives data for further investigation. The "why" must still be ferreted out. Sometimes the "why" is very simple and sometimes it is related to a serious disease process.

And then there are people like me who run a 90/60 BP and sometimes the dyastolic is even lower. This is my lifetime norm. The only issue is rare orthostatic hypotension if I bolt out of bed too fast in the am, or get dehydrated.

Everything is relative to the individual, even given norms.

From where I sit, you have a great BP. Do a happy dance!

As some others asked, I'd be asking: What are they selling....?

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I think it was through a chiropractor's office, but I wasn't entirely sure. They didn't beg me to come in right away to anywhere, so that was good at least. I know it was a tiny difference, but as I do have major stress in my life, it seemed somewhat plausible. But yes, my blood pressure has gone down since starting Paleo/Primal. It used to be more like 117/75. – Heather Aug 14 2011 at 2:16
I'm sure you are working on sleep and hopefully, maybe movement and play - enjoyment that ameliorates some of that stress. :) Don't think for a minute that your question wasn't a good one, it was! What's cool is the news is good. But I think you already know that with the "major stress" factor, you need to be very mindful of what you can do to work with it positively. Depending on what that stress its, that could mean many things...support group...quiet, meditative time...a walk in nature... – Atkins-witha-loincloth Aug 14 2011 at 2:21
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You might have it redone before making a lot of changes. I find that 7 to 7.5 hours of sleep helps with adrenal issues.

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