anyone else with high bp/anxiety? Help!

[megan222]

Hi there,

I feel a bit silly posting this, but that's what this site is for, right?

I have had 'borderline' high blood pressure for years, but usually it's not quite high enough for meds - usually 135/85, or 140/90. Recently, it had gone up (150/100), and they decided to put me on medication.

I have ALOT of sensitivities/allergies to drugs, so I didn't want to take the meds. Instead I changed my diet, calmed down about things, and exercised. I got the bp back down to the 130's/80's - something my doctor said he'd live with.

However, with the holidays approaching, I've been eating out more, not exercising...and I just felt awful today. Hot - like a hot flash, feeling like I was burning up, tired, etc. My bp was 138/98. I know these aren't great numbers, but they are not the highest either. Didn't matter - I started to panic, worry that I should take the meds...thinking, "what if it goes higher?...or "what if I have a stroke?" or "what if the meds make me really sick?"

I should be more worried about long term damage, and not immediate danger, which I know I'm not in. I feel like a big, ridiculous baby. So many people have high bp,and they just take their meds, it's that simple.

My mom is a nurse, and she preaches to me about this, but she's rather dramatic, and only makes me feel worse. God, I catch a cold, she thinks I'll die. No wonder I'm anxious! She thinks anyone with high BP is a walking stroke, which is not necessarily true.

Does anyone else have high blood pressure? What are your numbers?...do you worry about it?

I did try another medication before, and it made me feel so terrible.

Any advice would be appreciated. I'll watch the salt, and exercise, but that takes time. I guess if the bp doesn't drop, I should bite the bullet and take the meds.

I sound nuts..I know I do. But thanks for any advice you have to offer.

Megan

[chillx]

Hi Megan

I have taken BP medication since I was around 38. It is genetic my father and brother also take medication.

The dangers of having high BP are serious and I would certainly advise you to follow the advice of you doctor. I think you should go back to your doctor and if your BP has increased again and he suggests medication then you should take it. Remember also that your BP can rise at the thought of going to the surgery, maybe you would be more relaxed having the nurse check it.

Keep going with the healthy diet and exercise!

chillx

[megan222]

Thank you for the advice...I'll definately check it again tonight, and take the meds if it's still up.

Take care,

Megan

[honeybee3939]

Hi Megan

Heres some posts that may help too:

Blood pressure
High Blood Pressure caused by P.a's (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3033)
Low Blood Pressure (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4021)
High blood pressure (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4145)
Blood Pressure Wrist Monitor (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3023)
Blood pressure (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5808)
Blood Pressure Monitoring at Home (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4218)
Went To The Dr For A Follow Up (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6426)

love

Andrea
xxxx


"If you have a worry turn it into a problem, you cant solve worrys but you can solve problems"

[pinkpenny1uk]

hiya,
for a while i have suffered with posterial hypotension (low b.p). i usually have a reading of around 98/67 ish. the down side if i got up to quick i could and sometimes did faint.
i went to the docs last fri and he took my b.p and got a very high reading. i was amazed. he left me 5 mins and took it again. while it had gone down, it was still on the high side. i now have to go back in 2 weeks to c the nurse and have it took again. he said if it was still high i was to get the nurse to go to him and get a script for some tablets.

i can't get my head round that all this time its been low then all of a sudden its sky high. mind u i have been really panicky and unsettled this last few weeks.

if it comes to the point i have to take tablets i think i will do what the doc advises. what alot our anxiety has to answer too.

all the best
penny

[**whenwillthisend**]

well since ive had anxiety whenever i have had my bp done it has always been in the 140/80 range, and i had it done by a chiropracter (i have abad back) last week and it was 150/90!........he said it was higher than what he thought, and i wasnt particularly anxious-it does worry me, im sure its high, my gp says its always "ok".......but im considering buying a home bp moniter-in fact i am going to, then i can moniter myself(prob bad idea), but if its consistentley high i can go back to the gp and tell him.........
i think if you go back in 2 weeks and they say you need meds-then take them, you can always try diff ones till you find the one that suits you
take care and good luck

[megan222]

I certainly do appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions - they are extremely helpful!

I will definately try to relax, and just take the meds if my readings continue to be high.

Thanks again everyone...

Megan

[Janvi]

hi,

Doyou get palpiatations during blood pressure check? Because whenever I go my doc, my BP reading are 140/901 and its due to my rapid heart beats. Cos I get high anxiety during blood pressure checks. When I take my BP at home it is 90/60,127/70,130/80,117/70.
I don't take any medecines. BUt you should seek the advice of your doctor.

[cattttt]

I've been through all this too Megan, if you were to look back at some posts I made this time last year, they read pretty much the same as yours. Well, I bit the bullet and continued with the meds, I'm not allergic, but I do get side effects from just about everything-you name a side effect and I'll get it. The med I'm on now, (Inhibace) makes me dizzy all day and for four hours in the middle of the day, I'm really drowsy, but it's better than the other things I tried. I was really terrified of it to start with, my anxiety is to do with drugs, chemicals etc and it was a big problem. Now, just over a year later, I've convinced myself that nothing major will happen, but I still have a bit of a flap most mornings when I take it. I get round it by taking it as soon as I get out of bed, then keep myself occupied, by the time I'm organised for the day, the panic time is over and I'm ok.
High bp really is bad news and it's better to take the meds than risk having a stroke and being disabled for the rest of your life.

[Brandy snap]

I will watch this thread with great interest Megan. It is something I can really identify with. I am usually borderline but no meds prescribed. But when I go for walks my fingers feel full of pressure, go red and swell up (when they are hanging down by my sides). My rings are often hard to get on in the mornings as well. Also I get very hot easily. On walks even on freezing cold days my back gets dripping wet. I don't know if this is connected to blood pressure and worry myself sick. I generally have my blood pressure checked at my annual Seroxat review. If my blood pressure is just borderline at the doctors, is it possible for it to go dangerously high on walks? I feel better if I have my coat undone and flapping open even on cold days. I have usually got the least warm clothes on of anyone I see. Can the perspiration problem be caused just by sensitivity to heat of clothes and weather and not necessarily be blood pressure? I am taking my cardigan on and off during meals all the time as well. Wishing you all well.

Brandy Snap

[Jaco45er]

My blood pressure is volatile to say the least.

I see anywhere between 120/69 to 160/95 in a day. I have a monitor and do tend to get a little obsessive about it.

Do you have your BP taken at the docs only? you may have white coat syndrome, which is when the BP rises because you are at the docs.

Everytime I go to the docs, its hovering around 140/85 ish, and a number of GP's have said it's not high enough for meds.

I have noticed that when I am back in the gym regular, my BP drops to around 130/77.

You said you have been eating out alot? I know sodium (salt) is particuarly bad for raising BP and most restaurant food is usually high in salt.

I cook a lot at home, and I tend to use herbs and spices more than salt, which helps keep BP low.

And it goes without saying, when I am stressed my BP is knocking on the door of 165/95 and highter but that is understandable.

TC

Jaco

[chalky]

Hi Megan,

Blood pressure is such an individual thing based on a variety of factors,genetic pre-disposition,weight,etc.
I "suffer" from high blood pressure.By taking meds,my blood pressure is kept in good order.I have no doubt that the same can be the case for you.
Best wishes,
Chalky

[shaz01]

Hi there,

Im currently being monitored for my blood pressure, however the doctor reckons its anxiety induced, and I do panic like mad going in, my heart starts going haywire, my bottom reading just hovers unders 100, he is keeping an eye on it though....Im to paranoid to start taking my bp at home myself.

Shaz x

[Jaco45er]

DON'T BUY A BP MONITOR for home, trust me ;)

I got that obbsessed, that I was looking at it more that the TV.

OK high BP for years and years is potentially fatal. However, finding out you have high BP is a good thing.

Why is it a good thing?

Because:


1) Now you know and you can take action

2) It usually takes years for it to affect your health

3) Modern medicine treats it well, so much so that I understand the meds have few side effects these days (unlike the ole beta blockers)

4) a BP typically around 145/95 ish as I understand it (I am no doctor so do your own research/consult a GP) can be controlled with lifestyle changes, stop smoking, less salt, more exercise etc.

I read in one of Claire Weekes books once, that she had a patient who had high BP and it caused him anxiety for years, he went on to live to a good old age and died of a non-BP related illness.

TC

Jaco