High blood pressure - terrified

[louise123_uk]

Hi, I went to the doc this morning to get a contraceptive pill renewal and they took my blood pressure and it was something mad like 145/118 and she actually got a different monitor as she thought the first might be broken!! I am 40 and don't have the best diet, probs about a stone heavier than my ideal weight and I drink alcohol so I am scared! She has given me a monitor and said I have to test 4 times a day for a week and go back and mentioned potentially putting me on meds.... She said they would need to do blood test first though to check organ function and since I drink alcohol I'm scared this could mean I have liver or kidney disease... I do tend to binge drink a couple of times a week.

Last night it was a friends birthday so we had pizza and drank quite a bit so I know this may have affected the readings (I am a tad hungover). I also have white coat syndrome quite badly which I told her about but she didn't seem convinced. So so scared though that I might have some kind of heart, kidney or liver disease if I do have high blood pressure this young and she seemed surprised and implied there must be some underlying cause... I'm sitting at work in an office on my own crying

[louise123_uk]

I’ve used the monitor to do it since and lowest I’ve had is129/93 but it goes up and down so ten mins later it was 133/102

[Carnation]

Your readings could go up from normal if you are testing because you will feel anxious. Personally I don't think your readings are terrible and your GP will tell you if there's anything to worry about. They should also take into consideration the white coat syndrome.

[Fishmanpa]

From someone who has been in your shoes and has actual heart issues, this can be resolved with a common sense approach to your physical health and meds if needed. I've been on BP meds and beta blockers for over 16 years. The meds in addition to eating right, exercise laying off the alcohol are the key. Thing is, you know you're not eating right, you know you're heavier than you should or want to be and you know the detrimental effects alcohol can do to your system. As it's doing to you, it did to me. The heart doctor visit and being bluntly told to get my act together or I wouldn't be around for as long as I'd like to be was a huge wake up call.

Don't get me wrong, I still permit an indulgence a few times a week but other than that, healthy as I can all the way. No better time to start than the present eh?

FMP

Edited to add: When I was getting my heart meds adjusted, I was told to take my BP 4X a day as well. That means every 3-4 hours, not ten minutes after you've just taken it Do your best to avoid the temptation to continuously test as it just feeds your anxiety.

[Carnation]

Yes, obsessive testing your bp/heart rate will only result in more anxiety and worry. x

[louise123_uk]

Hi, thanks so much for the replies. I am going to look at my lifestyle as it has all scared me. I started the gym about 6 weeks ago so thats a start and will def think twice about alcohol past one glass. I took about ten readings this morning after I got up and they varied from 110/96 to 114/85, most were around the 120s for systolic and between 85-90 for distolic. So it has come down but I realise these numbers are still high and stage 1 hypertension.... I got one reading of 126/73 which got me all excited but this was more the good outlier (this was probs the middle reading I took)... I know I shouldn't be testing this much but its addictive, grr, I work in the Justice system so at least can't have it with me at work, if I worked in a normal office I know I'd have had it into work... I do think my crazy high one yesterday was more the bottle of wine the night before combined with raging anxiety but then I'd have expected to see normal this morn if that was totally the case

[whoisthis]

If i might add something. Your systolic bp isnt very high. So do not worry too much about that. it was your diastolic bp that in the 145/118 was too high. I think your gp/doc might have noticed this. Maybe even the pulse pressure which is a bit low might be of some interest for your doc.
by itself the last two readings arent spectacular high. A bit high diastolic but not necessarily an immediate issue. It is again the bit low pulse pressure (difference between systolic and diastolic bp reading) that is noticable, but maybe thats more normal for you.
But try not to worry too much. You doctor wants to see if your bp by itself is high all the time or comes down in rest.
BP fluctuates a lot during the day and is very influenced by what you do. Often you can best take your BP..first thing when you wake up and i mean..wake up.. so not standing up..walk, eat and then take your bp. No when waking up. Or rest 15-30 minutes before measuring. and often people take their bp the wrong way (for instance is it a pulse bp device..or on your upper arm?)

hang in there. Your doc will know how to interpretate the readings

[RadioGaGa]

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure several years ago in my late 20s
I take Lisinopril 20mg once daily
and guess what? It’s been fine ever since.

I don’t know why people fear hypertension. It’s so easily managed
I still need to reduce my salt intake, however!!!

[Pkstracy]

reduce your salt intake to about 1500 mg a day, I lowered my way down by doing that, i am salt sensitive so if I consume to much salt my bp goes up and anxiety and such can also make it go up, also walk 30 mins a day or do some form of cardio.

[Flapj]

Couple of thoughts about BP.

120/80 has long been considered "normal" but 130/80 or even a little higher never bothered most doctors until recently.

Anxiety (or white coat) can spike BP to 200/110 easily. Transient increases like this will not hurt most people. They don't even need treatment, just time to calm down. If you went to the hospital for high BP they would likely not treat you until (and if) you had malignant hypertension which is when excessively high BP for a long time starts causing organ damage (usually eyes and kidneys first affected).

There are many BP meds that are safe and with minimal or no side effects and they work well. Consider them if your doc recommends them.

Two things you can do to lower your BP naturally are reduce salt intake and lose weight.