Blood Pressure: Extreme fear and fixation

[anxiousmonkey]

Hi everyone. I am a 40 year old male. About five years ago I checked my bp with my fathers monitor at home and got extremely scared as the reading was something like 160/105. Reasonably, this was because I was so nervous about taking the bp (have an extreme test taking phobia) that my heart was racing, sweaty palms etc.

I managed to partly suppress that result (I have an extreme fear of doctors) and started working out etc. About a year later I tested again. I was in better shape then (even though not very bad before), but still similarly high readings.

Somehow I took the bull by the horns and contacted a doctor. She took all blood tests, and also some kidney thing (to rule out secondary hypertension). All was fine, except that I was unable to get a low bp reading. She put me on medication, but still I was unable to get a low reading in her office. Finally we decided I got a home monitor. First reading was 160/95 then when relaxing, down, down, down to 125/70 etc. This is how it has been for the last few years. I test like every 3 months or something. Always the same. Starts at 155/95 because I'm nervous. Then down after relaxing.

A couple of days back I got some weird idea to check the bp while I was nervous and uptight. Can't really explain why. I got the machine out, and just put the cuff on while standing up, not being relaxed at all. I held the arm straight down the side, not the right angle, and my heart was racing nearly like a panic attack. Still, I pressed the button and got something like 180/120. This freaked me out so bad! Now I feel like I will never ever want to go near that machine. Also, am fixated on the idea that my bp will be 'stuck' on that high level, even if I relax. Sets me into full spin about doctors, hospitals, death, diagnoses etc. etc. I am in desperate need of some affirmation that I will be ok. However, I will not be able to check my bp anytime soon. My heart will race again, the reading will be high again, anxiety will be worse etc etc...

[SarahH]

Ignore Medicine save

[Striving]

Hello anxiousmonkey: I've been healthy most of my life but back in the beginning of December I was diagnosed with hbp. One morning I was getting ready for work and I felt somewhat "whoozy". My daughter who is a nurse insisted in taking my bp and surprise...it was sky high. Up like 220/150...I was shocked and scared to my socks.
I went to my doctor's office..when she took my pressure there it was 140/80. She prescribed medication and some laboratories. I started taking my meds but a few days later, my pressure was sky high again, 200/100. My husband took me to the hospital and this point I was extremely anxious. They treated me for hours because my pressure just wouldn't let go and the palpitations were relentless. The ER doctor decided to give something to calm me down so I could rest and sleep for a while. I was finally released in the evening. For the rest of the month and most of January, I went into a deppression, I had anxiety and panik attacks. By the way, that's how I came to this site. Worst of all, I developed food fobia (because of the sodium content) and stopped eating so my weight dropped down to skeletal. I continued to see my internist on a weekly basis until one day I broke down and told her about my fear and about my fobia to eat. She was so angry. She said that she never told me to diet. That I had to eat as normal as always because I was not overweight in the first place and that the body needs some salt to be able to function correctly. Also she said that I needed to stop taking my blood pressure at home because that drives you zonkers. She said she does not trust the digital cuff monitors because they do not always provide accurate readings. She uses the type that has a little air pump and a gauge. I bought one for home use, but I go to the doctors office every other week and the nurse there takes my blood pressure for free. My doctor also told me that hbp medication can take a few days to kick in completely because your body has to adjust. Blood pressure should not be lowered on a all of a sudden basis because it can cause some damage to the brain. She also explained that some people suffer from white coat anxiety (this is fear of doctor's, hospitals, tests and so on). Once I was able to overcome my depression, anxiety and panic attacks, the palpitations disappeared, I am eating normally (although I have chosen to continue with a low sodium diet). My pressure is much more normal normally 130/80 maybe 140/80 some days, but my doctor has said that this is a good pressure and rather normal for a 60 years old gal who's smokes (I have lowered my smokes to 1/2 pack a day). So she is very happy and said she didn't need to see me again until march cause I was doing so well. She did say one thing to me in a very sincere and compassionate way...Everything is going to be OK...you will be fine...I promise! I want to say the same thing to you...It will be OK...HBP is very treatable and there are medications out there that are good. My mom suffered from hbp back in the early '70 and lived many years although back in the day they didn't have all the medications we have nowadays. I take just 1 pill daily in the morning. Lossartan 100 which is combined with a diuretic to help eliminate any extra liquids in the body (this helps eliminate sodium) and helps the flow of blood in your arteries. I help myself also, every night I drink a hot cup of 100% cocoa with low fat milk (not instant chocolate powder). Cocoa is delicious super food that helps lower blood pressure and relaxes you to sleep well. I drink passion fruit juice, I consume as much raw garlic as I can with salads (mash it up and mix it with extra virgin olive oil) I also drink 1/4 cup organic raw beet juice in the morning before breakfast. I am not a vegetarian or vegan...I'm just eating healthier. Sorry for the long rant but I know exactly what you are going through but believe me these little changes really do a lot to help your bp readings, I am living proof. I wish you well friend... and trust me....IT WILL BE FINE!!!

[anxiousmonkey]

Thank you so much for this long and helpful response! Thing is: I sort of "know" I have ok bp on the meds. I feel that my pulse is soft and nice when I am relaxed etc. When I got the 180 high reading my body was on the border of an anxiety attack. I was literally shaking afterwards. I am hoping that I don't need to worry that the bp is "stuck" at the high level. Nothing points to that other than my fixation that if I measure again it will be. And I don't dare measure again: worry will spike bp and I will get more "evidence" for the catastrophe scenario.

[robin321]

I also had a blood pressure fear. I used to take it regularly at the pharmacy and it would be in the normal range. One day I took it while anxious and at pharmacy and it was 165 over 105. Over the next days I would take it and get those readings always and I panicked.
I did a 24hr monitor, and I was sure it would be high. But it was normal!

For 2 yrs I didn't take it. Finally I had an annual physical and boom, I got 160 over 110 again. I was told to monitor it and come back in a month.

At first even at home I got high measurements. But something funny happened. As I accepted the measurements as inevitable and got used to seeing them, they came down. Finally they came to 115 over 78 on avg. I feared the machine was broken and took it with me to my follow up. And my machine was actually fine, and measured higher than theirs.

I think you need to get over the fear of having it taken. That worked for me, but it can become obsessive. I have a wife and kids, and I didn't want them to see me taking it all the time, which kept me in check. I only took it every 3 days.

But your fear is normal and you are not alone.

[anxiousmonkey]

Thanks for that comforting response! I will try to just trust that if it was 180/120 during something close to a panic attack. It will not be like that at other times. Also, I have good medication, and have checked it at 125/75 for several years. Just this one reading made me totally freak out! So painful. I guess I should put off taking it for some time and try to forget about the stressful experience.

[AlexandriaUK]

I had this problem before craggy High BP at Drs but they always said white coat syndrome, so new Dr said for me to take every day for a week and log the results, first couple of days it was high then it started to decrease and by the end of the week it averaged 127/74 she was well pleased, went the other day to see Dr about test results on liver (that's another story) and he did BP and said that's absolutely fine, I didn't even ask what it was.
I think that it desensitised me and the fear eased, but reading this thread made me feel a tiny bit anxious, don't know why but think its because if we are BP aware it will always make us react.
Mine luckily didn't put me on meds they said it was anxiety from the start, if pulse is galloping and you are anxious then that tells them loads, I think that meds are to easily dished out.
That's only my opinion though, I also have taken up exercise and think its helped loads to make the control of anxiety panic easier.

[anxiousmonkey]

Thanks Alexandria! About the galloping heart rate: When I took that traumatic reading of 180/120 at home, the following happened:
1. I was anxious before starting (quite intense, sweaty palms etc)
2. I was standing up with arm down the side, not right angle (I have tried to take first readings sloppy, to make sure the rest are lower but this time that failed, got too scared of first one)
3. Something with the cuff made it pump much harder than usual, driving the anxiety up further

A 'normal' person would relax, take it again to see it go down. I used to do that, but this time I got too scared that the next reading would be similarly high propelling me into even more intense anxiety = higher and higher readings. Need some sort of affirmation, but monitor won't give me that this time. It has become my enemy :doh::doh:

[AlexandriaUK]

I am the same, when we went to join the gym the other day they did mine and OH BP etc mine was 160/84 and she said your really anxious so wait, did OH his was 205/110 and he takes Meds, made me really stressed LOL
Hope you feel better