A.new problem ! Yesterday approx,. 5pm I answered the phone to the GP,s surgery.It was a receptionist to tell me my blood sodium was low. It is1 24, normal is 135 to145! She told me the DR said to STOP the blood pressure and have a blood test NEXT Friday. I then asked to speak to a GP .To which I was told wasn,t possible as they were only there for results! Anyway I then decided to phone 111 for advice .I eventually ,after 40minutes spoke to an ANP who suggested I stop over two days and phone a GP on Monday,which I am doing.Now ,to keep as calm as possible until Monday to keep my bp down!! Just to clarify ,it was my bp going extremely high which caused my stroke! By the way ,this message is for anyone,not just Robbiej! I just didn,t know how to do it otherwise!
Hi @Gorrie just thought you might find this link useful to create your own post. It is a bit confusing to figure this site out at the best of times, but particularly with a stroke brain 
@Anna_Moderator or Admin would be able to transfer it to a new post for you, but that probably wouldn’t be until Monday now.
Just click on the blue text above. I’m doing this from my phone so I hope it works out 
Lorraine
Thanks a lot Lorraine! I,ll do that on Monday.Thanks again!
Hope you manage to get it sorted @Gorrie must be worrying for you but try & keep your stress levels down over the weekend. I am sure you will be fine but if you do become worried then call 111 for advice again.
I know nothing about low sodium but I think you’re absolutely right to want to talk to your GP before completely discontinuing blood pressure meds. I surely would.
Hello @Gorrie
I am sorry you have been given distressing news over the phone and are now having to wait to speak to someone.
Having read your post, I hope I can give you some reassurance. What you have experienced is exactly what happened to my Mum. I discussed this in a post in December 2024 - extract as below.
I would suggest you do as advised - stop the BP meds (Amplopedin?) and if you have a BP monitoring device, check your BP. But please do not worry - if it was an emergency or life threatening, 111 would have referred you to A&E.
In Mum’s case she was not on BP lowering meds before the stroke and was only on it post-stroke which was caused by a blood clot.
Mum has never been back on BP lowering meds since she stopped and she has been fine - her BP is normal.
You should wait for your GP to advise you how to address the low sodium levels, but Mum’s case as she was in hospital she was “normalised” with IV drips and then discharged.
The hospital gave no further advice (only stop the BP meds). But we later discussed this with her dietician as the sodium level was still low (though not critical) and for us the dieticians advice, which is what they advise all their patients in this situation is to add a half teaspoon of salt to the water as part of the daily fluid intake.
I am not suggesting you will be advised the same, but please try not to stress.
Mum is totally fine with no BP meds and just a half teaspoon of “additional” salt in her daily fluids.
You will be fine too 
Namaste|
Thanks for reply Mrs 5K. Yes I,m trying to remain calm over the weekend! Definately!
Thankyou,for your helpful reply. I was on Candesarten ,which is known to reduce sodium! I did say this to my GP,especially as I have a tendency to have low sodium. However she said the sodium level.had been "stable"in my last blood test! I,m taking my BP and so far so good! I hope it continues!
You will be alright - just keep an eye on things. Remember the things that are important and don’t panic.
With medication - try to ensure you know how long you should use it for and also the possible side effects e.g. Candesarten is know to reduce sodium. In that case, the GP should have advised you to do something to counter that effect. For example, add extra salt in your diet (as they have told us) or given you some other medication to take that compensates the sodium lower effect of the BP medication.
Anyway, you can relax and wait to speak to the healthcare professionals for their guidance, but always be prepared - read the medication leaflet and ask the pharmacist or GP if you should do anything if/when the side effects kick-in.
Takes care.
Hi @Gorrie
Juts to let you know I’ve created this new topic for you with the replies you had from some of our members. I hope you manage to get a chat with your GP soon.
@EmeraldEyes thanks for tagging me
Best wishes,
Anna
Thankyou Anna. I had a consultation with an ANP.
Cut out caffeine completely. Gorge on blueberries. Doing this has dropped my blood pressure.
Just to say, when I was in hospital, almost a year ago now, having bloodclots in my leg by-passed, that they woudn’t let me home because my “Sodium levels were too low” and kept me for a further week, making 5 weeks in all…no-one actually explained to me what this meant, and I had to read up on it once I got out…they did stop one of my BP tablets, Amlopidine I think it was…I had a headache almost every day for about 6 months, before my GP finally put me back on it…pleased to say that my BP is normal now…
@Puthnabit - how much is gorging? I eat about a handful a day (most days when I remember) but haven’t tried to use it to manage BP. I am conscious of “overdosing” on the good things and so I’d be interested to know what portion size works for you.
Also, I have found more often than not that what works for others usually doesn’t work for me 
For example, I have drunk lots of cider vinegar and olive oil but can’t say I noticed any significant changes to my health - I keep reading cholesterol can be lowered by taking olive oil and cider vinegar.
I shall have to be careful with my words. Of course gorging can be different for different people. I didn’t consider my words carefully enough. So sorry. For me alone and no one else (so please do not do the same) I noticed a reduction in BP after a week of eating a small tray of blueberries daily. Not all at once. But I love fruit so I had some with oats for breakfast, with yogurt for lunch, with veggies at supper. So sorry for the post. I did not mean any harm not trying to influence. Of course, do as you want and treat my input as solely what works for me alone. Me. Not anyone else.
Apology not required. You did nothing wrong
Sorry - my fault. You are not at fault and there is nothing wrong with your post. I just wanted to quantify the amount of blueberries you are eating (gorging on) to see if I can do the same.
I am happy to try any solution that works for others, but as I mentioned in my post, for some reason what works for others tends not to work for me or maybe I don’t follow the recipe to the letter.
Thank you for clarifying and thank you for posting.
I sometimes eat blueberries for breakfast woth my yoghurt. I find them a healthy nutritious thing to have (with my very limited nutrition knowledge). I do need to work on my caffeine intake though. I like a coffee or 3 
i have made small inroads by starting my day with water rather than coffee & I try & drink extra water throughout the day but not always successful. I guess every little helps.
Good to hear you have gound something that seems to be working for you.
Hi, @Gorrie .
How did you get on with the doctors yesterday? Did you get to speak with someone?
Yes Robbiej, I had an appointment with one of the better ANP,s .She told me to restart the Candesarten and it was probably the other medication ?(inaprmide) which lowered the sodium! Anyway I have yet another blood test on Friday so we,ll see!
Personally, I would rather be sure which medication (might) be causing the sodium level to fall
I would question the approach of the ANP when she says it was probably the other medication. I think she should be able to do better than that !!
Just so you know, Mum still struggles to maintain her sodium level even after the BP meds was stopped and so we are giving her the half teaspoon of salt in her drinking water. She is in her 90s and so her low sodium levels may be caused by “age related” changes whatever they are!
You may have a better idea after the Friday repeat blood test.
Take care.