BP - familiarity with machine is helping

[countrygirl]

I posted that my Dr told me to take my BP every day with home machine for 4 weeks for her as she is certain my white coat syndrome is giving false readings at surgery. The first week I only had to look at the machine and my pulse was 130bpm and blood pressure was borderline normal but I have made myself do it at least once a day and for past 6 days my first reading has been completely normal as in 121/81 and thereabouts. MY pulse is still around 90 mark so shows how much anxiety still affects me.

That first week I had to take my BP twice as the first reading was alot higher than second which showed terror was putting it up so am really chuffed that now my first reading is so good.

I am going to keep doing it in the hope that this will lessen the anxiety response when I have to have it taken in a medical setting.

[leanne1980]

Just seen this, I have a huge phobia of bp machines, always high when tested, and I know it's because I'm anxious, I was thinking of getting a machine to help but I'm scared i'll go the opposite way x

[daisydoo]

My blood pressure is awful has been 200/110 before my exercise tolerance test. Im the same any test makes it rise and pulse race. My pulse was 130 when i had an echo she kept telling me to calm down. Yeah like its that easy. Waiting results from a 24hr bp monitor but know that will be high as i knew it was there never truley relaxed. Have an appt in two weeks to get results from this, echo and exercise test. Really anxious about this as i am convinced if there was no problem or just meds needed he would have written to my gp and not asked to see me. Worry Worry Worry

[SH412]

How do you guys measure your pulse? By 90 do u mean 90 beats per minute?? x

[daisydoo]

Yes 90 beats per min. Dont measure it!!! You dont want to feel obsessive like me. The high readings i had were picked on ecg, echo bp machine. It not normally that high at home but can go near if i am truely loosing the plot

[countrygirl]

I would have said that getting a bp machine was a bad thing for someone with ha but it really has worked for me as repeated use has taken the fear out of it to a degree. Obviously my pulse still shoots up but just goes to show how much anxiety puts your bp up in a medical setting. Daisydoo if your consultant says your bp is too high then ask him if you can do same as me for a month and if your readings start to go down in that month then they know its your white coat syndrome affecting bp taken at Dr;s.

Daisydoo I had same problem as you when I had my echo of heart ten years ago - my pulse was about 130 bpm and with the noise on the doppler ultrasound it was deafening. my radiographer just said boy aren't you nervous YES!