White coat hypertension

[pinky260]

Has anyone had any experience with this?

Ever since having pre eclampsia very badly with my eldest I have been terrified of having my blood pressure taken & I mean terrified. My heart races & I feel sick even just having the monitor next to me starts me off.

I'm going to see the practice nurse tomorrow for a bp review so I thought I would take it at home for a few days to 'get used to it' well that was a very bad idea lol I've been taking it & it's very high usually, the only time it is normal is when I'm in bed or distracted totally.

I was wondering if I have high bp would it ever be normal ? I'm starting to panic that it is always high & that I need tablets to bring it down

[GoWhiteSox]

yeah i get this and im sure this is very common for people with HA...i guess one thing you can do is tell yourself the worst that can happen is they put you on some meds for your bp...millions of people are on bp medication..no biggie..

[pinky260]

Yes that's what I keep telling myself. I don't even know what it is that I'm scared off, I think it's cos having it taken reminds me of when I was really ill & spent 5 weeks in hospital with pre eclampsia & I thought I would lose my baby, but I need to tell myself if I need bp tablets now i need them & that's that & to stop worrying. Thanks for your reply :)

[Calvin Harris]

Im exactly the same and spent two weeks taking it 3 times a day
results were all over the place and i cant stand the sight of them too.
Theres no point taking it if your anxious as it wont be accurate.
if your blood pressure comes down then it means you dont have hypertension thats all that matters
I think people with hypertension its always high no matter what even when they are sleep.

[swajj]

The thing is if you are constantly worried about it then it could be constantly high. My high blood pressure is caused by anxiety. I have times when my anxiety causes it to spike. That causes me to worry about it and in turn that causes it to spike again. It's a vicious cycle. I can't take my BP at home because my anxiety over what the reading my be causes it to spike as well. I am on a low dose of BP meds and I feel reassured that it is under control. When I get it taken at the doctors it is normal. I could go off the meds (my dosage has been dramatically reduced) but I'm still not ready to to take the chance. As someone said millions of people take BP meds, so no big deal. What is a big deal is having uncontrolled high BP, including constant spikes. So better the meds than the consequences.

[pinky260]

Thanks for the replies. Help so much when worrying about something.

I went to see the Dr this morning. I told her my worries & she took my bp manually & it was high which I knew it would be. So I have to take it 3 times twice a day for 5 days, but she thinks I will need something to bring it down which I'm worried about as I have a fear of taking pills but I will deal with it :)