Blood pressure gone up

[pepperutchie]

I came back from the clinic and was given antibiotic for uti, problem is that he took my blood pressure but its high 130/100 and he gave me medicine for that to be taken everyday...now im on a panic attack about blood pressure i am thinking the worst when i feel that my blood pressure is high and that brings me into full blown panic attack.. when i had my first panic attack it was my blood pressure that i feared the most.Anyone had thesame issue with blood pressure?

[countrygirl]

Your blood pressure is perfectly normal given where you were and that you were already in high anxiety. Its white coat syndrome. I have the worlds worst version of this and cannot have my bp taken by anyone other than myself without having a reading that is high.
My Gp suggested that I take it myself every day for 6 weeks and go back tos ee him and guess what, once I got over my fear of the machine then my bp is actually on the low side. I now go to any medical appt armed with my last few days readings as there is no point in them taking it.
Plus to have high blood pressure you need persistant high readings either over 24 hr period with a moniter the Dr supplies that is on all the time or if taken a few times a day then over a 2 week period.
My Dr said that if he had given me bp tablets on the readings at the surgery he could have killed me as my bp is low once away from anything medical!

130 is still well within normal limits and the 100 is only reading raised.

Have you thought of doing what I do and taking it at home or would this freak you out even more?

[pepperutchie]

Hi countrygirl thank you for your post i have that fear before and i become obssesed with taking my bp at home almost everytime i feel discomfort or symptoms the thing is i carry my bp monitor with me even where i go and i really have a hard time breaking that cycle now i worry bout this bp that after i had a checkup i attended the church and right at the middle of the crowd i was having thoughts of high bp and eventually stroke i was shaking and left church.good thing i was with my husband and he understands me. Back to the doctors he seems so worried bout my bp because i have diabetes and he wants me to take bp meds for it.

[countrygirl]

Yes Drs do like diabetic patients to have lower than usual bp so i can see where he is coming from.
High blood pressure does not give symptoms and I would imagine that when you think your bp is up and you might have a stroke this is a panic attack instead.
Have you had a 24 hr blood pressure check or done home one for a couple of weeks as this would give a better idea of whether you need meds or not.

[rsanchez]

On the bright side, blood pressure meds usually help lower anxiety as well.

[Catherine S]

He gave you medicine for a BP reading of 130 over 100? Good grief, if I had a reading like that i'd be very happy. Readings for me are never lower than 145 over 90 and often higher and that's been over the last 10 years and never taken meds for it, I take quite enough already thanks muchly doc, I don't want more of them.

I can remember being paranoid about the higher readings in the early days but don't worry about it anymore to be honest. I have a home machine and take a reading about once every few months as opposed to every hour in the beginning! I'm still here. A few of my friends who always had normal bp aren't though...go figure. Sometimes it reads high, sometimes it doesn't. It's life. Worrying will keep it reading higher.

Take care
ISB x

[lilann1012]

OMG! I totally relate to your issue with BP. I can't take my BP at home as I really make it worse as I was taking it over and over. My Dr. put my in a low dose of blood pressure medication as I was a little high. It helped ALOT!

I got myself all worked up in Novemeber worrying about my BP I ended up in the ER. It was 186/80. Anyway after I calmed down it went back to normal. The ER Dr. told me anxiety effects your blood pressure and they see a lot of people who worry about their blood pressure being too high. He recommended I ditch the home cuff and go into the clinic and go from there. So I go in as often as my regular Dr. Tells me too. I get there early and a nurse takes it for me.

Your reading was great though! Do whatever makes you comfortable. I am so glad to hear I am not alone. Thanks for sharing.

[pepperutchie]

Thank you countrygirl,rsanchez,isb,lillian i had the worst feeling yesterday but had a good sleep though and had calmed down now its really horrible how this anxiety affects us in a great way,as ive observed yesterday i have never thought of good things but rather than all the horrible things that might have happened and my body reacts to what my mind is feeding so for the whole time i am tensing and eventually led me into panic attack and anxious feelings that last such a horrible thing.again thanks to you wonderful people i hope everything is fine with you..