Tips for managing blood pressure medications

Posted: 2/1/2023

Sometimes, lifestyle changes may not lower your blood pressure enough and your doctor will prescribe blood pressure medications. Even if you do need medications, it is important to still make changes to your lifestyle like your diet and activity levels. These changes help the medications work better and may reduce how much medicine you need to take.
Managing medication:

- Talk to your doctor, social worker or pharmacist if you are concerned about the cost of the prescription. There are discount programs for many blood pressure medications and Parkland’s team can help you through this process.
- Request your medication refill 5-7 days before you run out. You can set a reminder for the next month on your phone or on a calendar when you pick up your prescription.
- Some over-the-counter medicines may affect your blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about decongestants, herbal supplements or other medicines or recreational drugs you may be using.

It may take some time to get used to new medications and everyone reacts differently to treatments. Talk to your doctor about any side affects you notice so that they can safely adjust your medication or switch you to a different one.