blood pressure - new fear

[sarah1942]

Hi, all my life I've been a nervous individual prone to anxiety attacks but I've never had much of a problem with blood pressure surges. I'm 71 now -- hope there's someone else on here my age and not all youngsters!! :) -- but just recently I've had terrifying palpitations in the middle of the night that woke me up and I called 999 terrified. I've laid down and deliberately taken deep breaths to calm myself down so I'm not in a "panic state" when the paramedics arrived. I've just laid there as calm as I could. The ECG they took was normal but my blood pressure was very high. This terrified me. The paramedics were very surprised that I was so scared of the high blood pressure reading but I was flabbergasted and so upset because I had deliberately laid there on my bed breathing slow and calmly in order to NOT get my blood pressure up. Can you tell me please is it normal for blood pressure to go sky high when you're doing your best to be calm? I was shaking like a leaf -- probably the adrenaline -- but taking deep breaths to not get it up high. Next day it was normal reading. I've a phobia of blood vessels bursting with high blood pressure that's why I've put this post on here. Thank you in advance!

[Catherine S]

Hi Sarah
I remember being told by a doctor in 2007 that my blood pressure was high for the first time ever (I'm 60 now) and it terrified me for the same reasons you mention, but ive sort of got used to it in a way because reading about it over the years since, as well as talking to different doctors (Ive moved house a few times since) Ive come to the conclusion that the baseline the medical profession sets for blood pressure is a case of 'one size doesn't fit all' and it cam make you really anxious if you are higher than the recomended numbers.
Please don't worry about it...unless you are living every day with something like 220 over 120 then just ignore it. It does go up and down all day depending on what you are doing or how anxious you are...also it rises after eating a meal...it can rise for a number of reasons, and my current doc says not to take a reading every day, just maybe once every few weeks or even longer as it can make you paranoid. My best days are when its 140 over 85 ish, worst days can be 180 over 100! I don't take meds for it, but I do take a beta-blocker and that helps with the anxiety. Also, women are more prone to high BP because of hormones etc. I was also diagnosed with an underactive thyroid a few years ago which again apparently is common in the menopause. Waking up with palpitations can also be connected to fluctuating hormones even in your 70's. Hope this helps.

Take care
ISB xx

[sarah1942]

Thank you for that, it really helped me you know. The doctor has also prescribed me a beta blocker called bisoprolol. I'm only on 1.25 mg but it's affecting me in the sense I can't do anything without getting out of breath, even walking quickly. It sort of leaves me feeling I need to keep taking a deep breath to satisfy my lungs. When I walk it's like walking through treacle. I thought I was going to pass out in town yesterday, legs like jelly and so faint, but somehow by a miracle managed to get home. (I didn't get these symptoms before starting on this BB). Then I had diarrhoea 5 times -- but perfectly fine today -- so unknown to me I think I was probably very stressed..... This morning I woke up feeling so nervous. I took a 5mg diazepam I found from long ago which helped me get back to sleep but then again woke up with a churning stomach and dread of going out. In fact I'm not going out. Yesterday's inability to get enough air terrified me. I'll have to go to the doc's tomorrow. I'm waiting for cardiac tests - my old doctor didn't think I have CHD - so the tests are just a precaution. I have just moved from Suffolk to Bath to be near my new granddaughter, I've got builders with hammer drills screaming away all day next door, hate this house, but I can't keep on phoning my daughter. She's got her own life to lead. When I go out I don't go out feeling nervous. I just come over as if I'm going to pass out. It's so frightening. I'll have to see my new GP tomorrow.

---------- Post added at 09:19 ---------- Previous post was at 09:08 ----------

ps, I also have an underactive thyroid and I've been on 75mcg of levothyroxine for the past 15 years. Tests sometimes come back borderline so they get repeated after a couple of months and they're back to an acceptable level. I've had no need to shave "body hair" either -- it's just gone. But I'm not overweight.

[Catherine S]

Hi Sarah, alot of what you say I can relate to...also the vanishing body hair lol! I'm not complaining that I haven't had to wax my legs in almost two years :yesyes: But seriously though, betablockers can make you feel breathless as ive found for myself. I take 40mg daily of propranolol, down from 80mg 2 years ago and struggling to get my breath is a problem for me too, although I do have weight gain which drives me nuts as cannot seem to lose it no matter what so that doesn't help. Its because betablockers slow your system down, makes your heart beat slower so it takes a while for your body to catch up when you're out walking etc. I'm ok on flat ground...I can walk for ages, but even the slightest incline and forget it...I feel like i'm gasping for air:ohmy:! Since my thyroid diagnosis, all the blood tests have come back ok so the dose of thyroxine stays the same..50mg daily.. despite the hair loss and ongoing symptoms.

ISB x