Blood Pressure

[CanDB]

To preface, blood pressure is serious stuff.

On a light side, I have to admit, I never know what my blood pressure will translate to when in the doctor's office. For the most part, it is much higher than when I self measure at home. So to try to prove our home device was faulty, I have taken it to the doctor's office, and sure enough, it is the same as what the doctor's equipment says. In other words, I get super anxious in some places. At least I used to.

Since my doctor retired last year, I have a new one. And today's blood pressure came out quite good, even at the doctor's office. What's going on? Not complaining, but my MO is to do well at home, sometimes lower than I expect, but quite high at the medical appointment. Here's the problem, if you have above average readings in the doctor's office, sooner or later they will prescribe meds. And once on meds, it is hard to change a doctor's opinion on the subject. But if I am average at worst at home, every day, do I need meds?????

Any of you run into this situation.....lower pressure at home, much higher in a stressful situation? I may have mentioned this here before, but my previous doctor's assistant took my blood pressure every time I visited. It annoyed me, because she once did it even though I had 2 appointments within weeks. But this one time I found out I had a bit of a medical issue, though apparently not serious. I was also running out of parking time on the meter. So when she came in to take a reading, I refused. I said, I just found out something that could be a problem, and I may be getting a parking ticket if I don't get moving, so yeah, my pressure will be high today!!!

She understood. We had a good laugh about it before my doctor retired.

:thumb:

[johntbronco]

To preface, blood pressure is serious stuff.

On a light side, I have to admit, I never know what my blood pressure will translate to when in the doctor's office. For the most part, it is much higher than when I self measure at home. So to try to prove our home device was faulty, I have taken it to the doctor's office, and sure enough, it is the same as what the doctor's equipment says. In other words, I get super anxious in some places. At least I used to.

Since my doctor retired last year, I have a new one. And today's blood pressure came out quite good, even at the doctor's office. What's going on? Not complaining, but my MO is to do well at home, sometimes lower than I expect, but quite high at the medical appointment. Here's the problem, if you have above average readings in the doctor's office, sooner or later they will prescribe meds. And once on meds, it is hard to change a doctor's opinion on the subject. But if I am average at worst at home, every day, do I need meds?????

Any of you run into this situation.....lower pressure at home, much higher in a stressful situation? I may have mentioned this here before, but my previous doctor's assistant took my blood pressure every time I visited. It annoyed me, because she once did it even though I had 2 appointments within weeks. But this one time I found out I had a bit a medical issue, though apparently not serious. I was also running out of parking time on the meter. So when she came in to take a reading, I refused. I said, I just found out something that could be a problem, and I may be getting a parking ticket if I don't get moving, so yeah, my pressure will be high today!!!

She understood. We had a good laugh about it before my doctor retired.

:thumb:

I always hate it when going to the doctor.
They always quick take you into a room and immediately starts taking your vitals including blood pressure.
Well.... Every time, my blood pressure goes right up, just because of the temporary stress of the situation!

So, then she takes my blood pressure and it ends up something like 130 over 85!
Of course it is! They stressed me out!!

Eventually, they give me some time to settle in and i do a little breathing and relaxing. They take it again and it is 115 over 70!

[CanDB]

I always hate it when going to the doctor.
They always quick take you into a room and immediately starts taking your vitals including blood pressure.
Well.... Every time, my blood pressure goes right up, just because of the temporary stress of the situation!

So, then she takes my blood pressure and it ends up something like 130 over 85!
Of course it is! They stressed me out!!

Eventually, they give me some time to settle in and i do a little breathing and relaxing. They take it again and it is 115 over 70!

130 over 85 sounds really good compared to my doctor's visit readings....I was hitting the 150 mark and change. But JT, like you, how do you have a good reading when they are have just told you something you do not want to hear??? Or you came in, awaiting test results.

But even the environment I enter has an effect. Yesterday, with the new doctor, first reading was 120 over 80. For me, in a doctor's office, that's like amazing!! And though I am older, and have some ailments, I can still get a reading at home under 120 over 70. In fact, I have home readings that are lower (under 115) to the point I do not believe them!! But the equipment works. Weird.

But to repeat, I think it is a bit unwise for a doctor to prescribe blood pressure meds if they lean towards their "bloated' readings, knowing exactly what the customer is going through. I know my doctor had considered things based on that, as well as age and some other factors that compile a heart risk formula, but less meds is better than more.

[armedequation]

Im not one for doctors....
Whenever we fight a fire we get checked out and after one house fire the emt said "your pulse is pretty high". I promptly told him that i had just worked the night shift right before the fire...if it was any lower idbe asleep"

[CanDB]

Im not one for doctors....
Whenever we fight a fire we get checked out and after one house fire the emt said "your pulse is pretty high". I promptly told him that i had just worked the night shift right before the fire...if it was any lower idbe asleep"

And what would they expect it to be, given the intensity of the situation??!! Would they prefer someone high handling the fire??

[Dennis.1960]

This subject caught my eye...

I'd noticed the past few months at every Dr appt it seemed to be much higher than usual. The nurse and I always laughed it off as me just being nervous about the upcoming procedure causing a high reading. Finally I made an appt specifically to go over my BP. It was not great so my doc had me get a cuff so I could measure and keep track at home for the next couple weeks. It was always high at home too - always over 140/90. Went back to the doc for a follow up and that day I clocked in at 170/120. I knew I was in trouble when the nurse stopped kidding around with me and quickly left the room. Then I heard my doc and her talking outside the door and my doc says, "was it really 170/120?". She came in and started asking me serious questions...are you dizzy? do you have numbness down your arm? does your chest hurt? I actually felt just fine and less freaked out than usual (I have anxiety disorders and PTSD). She put me on BP meds and ordered some blood work. She took my BP again at the end of the appt...238/170 Only reason she let me walk out of there was I promised to be at the pharmacy taking my first BP pill in 15 minutes.

Turns out the blood work found a problem. I had thyroid cancer in 2014, my thyroid removed in 2015 and have to take a pill that replaces thyroid hormone. My blood work shows the dose was too high which can cause unusually high BP. We dropped that dose and with the BP meds I'm back under 140/90 nearly every day. My doc says if my BP starts reading too low we'll drop the BP meds and see what happens. I'm just happy not to feel like I'm constantly walking around in the stroke territory red zone. Scary stuff.

I guess I could have told her I was a Bronco fan and that was likely a contributing factor as well

[CanDB]

This subject caught my eye...

I'd noticed the past few months at every Dr appt it seemed to be much higher than usual. The nurse and I always laughed it off as me just being nervous about the upcoming procedure causing a high reading. Finally I made an appt specifically to go over my BP. It was not great so my doc had me get a cuff so I could measure and keep track at home for the next couple weeks. It was always high at home too - always over 140/90. Went back to the doc for a follow up and that day I clocked in at 170/120. I knew I was in trouble when the nurse stopped kidding around with me and quickly left the room. Then I heard my doc and her talking outside the door and my doc says, "was it really 170/120?". She came in and started asking me serious questions...are you dizzy? do you have numbness down your arm? does your chest hurt? I actually felt just fine and less freaked out than usual (I have anxiety disorders and PTSD). She put me on BP meds and ordered some blood work. She took my BP again at the end of the appt...238/170 Only reason she let me walk out of there was I promised to be at the pharmacy taking my first BP pill in 15 minutes.

Turns out the blood work found a problem. I had thyroid cancer in 2014, my thyroid removed in 2015 and have to take a pill that replaces thyroid hormone. My blood work shows the dose was too high which can cause unusually high BP. We dropped that dose and with the BP meds I'm back under 140/90 nearly every day. My doc says if my BP starts reading too low we'll drop the BP meds and see what happens. I'm just happy not to feel like I'm constantly walking around in the stroke territory red zone. Scary stuff.

I guess I could have told her I was a Bronco fan and that was likely a contributing factor as well

Thanks for sharing D!!!

Glad you have things pretty much under control these days, and hopefully it will just keep getting better!!:thumb:

[DevilSpawn]

This subject caught my eye...

I'd noticed the past few months at every Dr appt it seemed to be much higher than usual. The nurse and I always laughed it off as me just being nervous about the upcoming procedure causing a high reading. Finally I made an appt specifically to go over my BP. It was not great so my doc had me get a cuff so I could measure and keep track at home for the next couple weeks. It was always high at home too - always over 140/90. Went back to the doc for a follow up and that day I clocked in at 170/120. I knew I was in trouble when the nurse stopped kidding around with me and quickly left the room. Then I heard my doc and her talking outside the door and my doc says, "was it really 170/120?". She came in and started asking me serious questions...are you dizzy? do you have numbness down your arm? does your chest hurt? I actually felt just fine and less freaked out than usual (I have anxiety disorders and PTSD). She put me on BP meds and ordered some blood work. She took my BP again at the end of the appt...238/170 Only reason she let me walk out of there was I promised to be at the pharmacy taking my first BP pill in 15 minutes.

Turns out the blood work found a problem. I had thyroid cancer in 2014, my thyroid removed in 2015 and have to take a pill that replaces thyroid hormone. My blood work shows the dose was too high which can cause unusually high BP. We dropped that dose and with the BP meds I'm back under 140/90 nearly every day. My doc says if my BP starts reading too low we'll drop the BP meds and see what happens. I'm just happy not to feel like I'm constantly walking around in the stroke territory red zone. Scary stuff.

I guess I could have told her I was a Bronco fan and that was likely a contributing factor as well

Good to see you back to normal, Dennis.

I got the doc to cut my blood pressure meds in half because I was exercising at least four days a week and eventually dropped 15 pounds. He recently said he'll take me off if I continue on my path. Exercise was stressed just as much as diet. And you don't need to go crazy with it. If you find yourself sitting down for an hour doing nothing, the next day, use 30 of those minutes to take a brisk walk. If you don't want to go outside, walk in place in your home. YouTube probably has some good 25-30 minute exercises that you can do. And if you find yourself bored as you exercise, see if you can turn on a 30 minute comedy. I always watch 2 Married With Children episodes when I'm exercising.

All you need to do is build up a good sweat... and don't sweat the Broncos.

[CanDB]

Good to see you back to normal, Dennis.

I got the doc to cut my blood pressure meds in half because I was exercising at least four days a week and eventually dropped 15 pounds. He recently said he'll take me off if I continue on my path. Exercise was stressed just as much as diet. And you don't need to go crazy with it. If you find yourself sitting down for an hour doing nothing, the next day, use 30 of those minutes to take a brisk walk. If you don't want to go outside, walk in place in your home. YouTube probably has some good 25-30 minute exercises that you can do. And if you find yourself bored as you exercise, see if you can turn on a 30 minute comedy. I always watch 2 Married With Children episodes when I'm exercising.

All you need to do is build up a good sweat... and don't sweat the Broncos.

Well said DS! Exercise and diet work wonders, and you don't have to go all out in either. Although I go to the gym regularly, way back I got into "at home" exercise as well...which is quite easy, especially if you like watching tv. You can do cardio, lift some weights, work your core, and without feeling exhausted. I like that I can walk up and down stairs where we now live, to go to the car, take the dog for a walk, etc. These are bonus points!

And not so much now, but I would really work up a sweat when exercising during sports on tv, especially when my fav teams were playing! Trouble was, I'd usually end with a large glass of beer or some other "liquid fav", maybe some potato chips, and so on. My working out these days is not quite so brisk, but the diet has improved.

[Dennis.1960]

Thanks for the kind words CanDB & DS :thumb:

I'm trying to ramp up the exercise these days. We just bought something called an "Aquacisor"...it's basically a large spa (8' x 8') that's also very deep (53"). It has incredibly strong jets that provide resistance (one of the exercises is to walk against the current like a treadmill...the combination of deep water and high pressure jets mean you have to work and press hard to keep from being pushed back). It also includes resistance bands and a rowing attachment. We originally bought it for my wife who has serious back and hip problems (her doc wanted her to begin aqua therapy since it's a great way to exercise that's easy on the knees/hips/back/etc) but I'm finding it very useful for me too. There's many youtube vids about aqua therapy but we've been able to make up our own exercises as well.

I hate taking pills and being dependent on prescriptions so am hoping the increased aqua exercise (and fix of the thyroid dose - a prescription I obviously will never get off of) might be enough to get me off the BP meds :dance:

[CanDB]

Thanks for the kind words CanDB & DS :thumb:

I'm trying to ramp up the exercise these days. We just bought something called an "Aquacisor"...it's basically a large spa (8' x 8') that's also very deep (53"). It has incredibly strong jets that provide resistance (one of the exercises is to walk against the current like a treadmill...the combination of deep water and high pressure jets mean you have to work and press hard to keep from being pushed back). It also includes resistance bands and a rowing attachment. We originally bought it for my wife who has serious back and hip problems (her doc wanted her to begin aqua therapy since it's a great way to exercise that's easy on the knees/hips/back/etc) but I'm finding it very useful for me too. There's many youtube vids about aqua therapy but we've been able to make up our own exercises as well.

I hate taking pills and being dependent on prescriptions so am hoping the increased aqua exercise (and fix of the thyroid dose - a prescription I obviously will never get off of) might be enough to get me off the BP meds :dance:

Sounds like a really good acquisition!
:thumb::thumb::thumb:

[Sophia23]

This subject caught my eye...

I'd noticed the past few months at every Dr appt it seemed to be much higher than usual. The nurse and I always laughed it off as me just being nervous about the upcoming procedure causing a high reading. Finally I made an appt specifically to go over my BP. It was not great so my doc had me get a cuff so I could measure and keep track at home for the next couple weeks. It was always high at home too - always over 140/90. Went back to the doc for a follow up and that day I clocked in at 170/120. I knew I was in trouble when the nurse stopped kidding around with me and quickly left the room. Then I heard my doc and her talking outside the door and my doc says, "was it really 170/120?". She came in and started asking me serious questions...are you dizzy? do you have numbness down your arm? does your chest hurt? I actually felt just fine and less freaked out than usual (I have anxiety disorders and PTSD). She put me on BP meds and ordered some blood work. She took my BP again at the end of the appt...238/170 Only reason she let me walk out of there was I promised to be at the pharmacy taking my first BP pill in 15 minutes.

Turns out the blood work found a problem. I had thyroid cancer in 2014, my thyroid removed in 2015 and have to take a pill that replaces thyroid hormone. My blood work shows the dose was too high which can cause unusually high BP. We dropped that dose and with the BP meds I'm back under 140/90 nearly every day. My doc says if my BP starts reading too low we'll drop the BP meds and see what happens. I'm just happy not to feel like I'm constantly walking around in the stroke territory red zone. Scary stuff.

I guess I could have told her I was a Bronco fan and that was likely a contributing factor as well

Glad you are ok and the found the underlying issue, Dennis. That is some scary stuff. I have never had high blood pressure myself, I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. Have been told by those in the doctor's office that I must be the calmest person, because of how low it always is... hardly, but anyways.

I know they take that pretty seriously when it's that high. About 8 years ago, my husband was in severe pain. Wouldn't listen to me at all about needing to go to the doctor. So I've gave him the option of letting me take him to the hospital, or he could go there via ambulance because I was fixing to call 911. He had little choice and chose to let me drive him. When he walked in, before going into the ER, they took his blood pressure. It was something like 273/240 I remember it was something completely insane, and the nurse thought his equipment was broken, said lets try again, it came back right around the same give or take a couple digits. The nurse told him, "you shouldn't even be walking. How are standing upright?" My husbands answer,"I've always had high blood pressure." The nurse was along the lines, "you should be dead at this point, it's not normal to have blood pressure that high."

Needless to say, they admitted him right away and he spent a few days in the hospital. He had a blood clot. Figure what pushed his blood pressure to that point was the pain. They say blood clots are silent killers, but those who do get the warning of one, guess their the lucky ones even with as bad as the pain must be for them.

Have heard before as CanDB mentioned it can be higher in the doctors office, probably just from the anxiety of having to go to the doctors office - As no one wants to. Pain can be another huge factor.

[Dennis.1960]

Thanks for the well wishes Sophia, it was indeed scary. When my 2nd reading came back 238/170 I asked the nurse if her gauges actually went that high! Then she told me a story about her 44 year old brother who had very high BP and had no idea until it was too late. She also said high blood pressure was a silent killer. Completely freaked me out (which probably made my BP go higher). That night I told my wife I didn't want to go to sleep because I was afraid I might not wake up

But, I obviously did and am back in the game :dance:

Seriously though, the whole experience really made me rethink about how I spend my free time...

[Sophia23]

Thanks for the well wishes Sophia, it was indeed scary. When my 2nd reading came back 238/170 I asked the nurse if her gauges actually went that high! Then she told me a story about her 44 year old brother who had very high BP and had no idea until it was too late. She also said high blood pressure was a silent killer. Completely freaked me out (which probably made my BP go higher). That night I told my wife I didn't want to go to sleep because I was afraid I might not wake up

But, I obviously did and am back in the game :dance:

Seriously though, the whole experience really made me rethink about how I spend my free time...

I can imagine. It's funny how different an experience like that can make you view life.

[CanDB]

Glad you are ok and the found the underlying issue, Dennis. That is some scary stuff. I have never had high blood pressure myself, I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum. Have been told by those in the doctor's office that I must be the calmest person, because of how low it always is... hardly, but anyways.

I know they take that pretty seriously when it's that high. About 8 years ago, my husband was in severe pain. Wouldn't listen to me at all about needing to go to the doctor. So I've gave him the option of letting me take him to the hospital, or he could go there via ambulance because I was fixing to call 911. He had little choice and chose to let me drive him. When he walked in, before going into the ER, they took his blood pressure. It was something like 273/240 I remember it was something completely insane, and the nurse thought his equipment was broken, said lets try again, it came back right around the same give or take a couple digits. The nurse told him, "you shouldn't even be walking. How are standing upright?" My husbands answer,"I've always had high blood pressure." The nurse was along the lines, "you should be dead at this point, it's not normal to have blood pressure that high."

Needless to say, they admitted him right away and he spent a few days in the hospital. He had a blood clot. Figure what pushed his blood pressure to that point was the pain. They say blood clots are silent killers, but those who do get the warning of one, guess their the lucky ones even with as bad as the pain must be for them.

Have heard before as CanDB mentioned it can be higher in the doctors office, probably just from the anxiety of having to go to the doctors office - As no one wants to. Pain can be another huge factor.

J...if you are even close to being accurate about your husband's blood pressure reading, you should give him a hug that lasts a few days, because that sounds off the charts to me. I am not a doctor, but I've heard of people freaking out with much lower counts that that. I would think that anything over 200 is quite serious. But I could be wrong.

The great news is that you found out what was wrong, in a timely even fashion. :thumb: