Digital blood pressure app

[pepperutchie]

Hi its me again, i just had panic attack this morning regarding my blood pressure, i am using an omron brand bp app and i had 2 tries and all an error until a reading shows 190/170 and had panic im shaking terribly and feels like ive been splash on some water and perspire... And after that i called my cousin to check it on manual bp app and the reading goes 140/90 my question is do anybody have encounter this type of problem with their bp app and is it pissible that i had that kind of reading and dont feel anything? Since ive been to the doctor last saturday i am fixated with my bp..anybody who can relate??

[Ursaminor]

Hi. I have had obsessions about my blood pressure and was taking it many times a day. It was probably not that helpful as I was just getting myself more and more anxious if it wasn't perfect and that then had the effect of raising it and raising my general anxiety levels. Constant checking is a part of health anxiety and as I am finding out more about health anxiety I begin to realise that this hyper vigilance is destructive. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my blood pressure monitor broke one day and although I was tempted to replace it I did not. It has been quite liberating in a way not to have the temptation in reach. Walking for at least 20 minutes a day can lower blood pressure and I try to do without fail as it makes me feel that I am addressing the issue in a more positive way. I can recommend it if you are able. Not easy but maybe worth a try. :)

[pepperutchie]

Hi ursaminor thanks for the post do you use a digital or manual bp app?

[Ursaminor]

Mine was a digital one. Maybe yours needs a new battery? If the manual reading was OK I'd trust that I think.

[pepperutchie]

Ok thanks and id try and follow what you have said i want to take care of myself for i have been too focusd on my health anxiety and eventually misses so many things in my life, i have so many stresses lately that even my relationship with my husband suffered and nearly left me.

[countrygirl]

Do you mean the usual upper arm blood pressure machine by omron? Mine can give errors in that it can't get a reading and I know from experience that the next reading will be either stupidly low or stupidly high. The usual reason for mine giving the error is because the cuff is not correctly placed or I have moved slightly while its blowing up. Low battery will tell you on the screen on mine. There is also an error code on mine which is how I know what has caused the error. I find that if it does errors its best to leave it for 10 mins before trying again as it seems to reset itself.

I cannot believe that you had a bp of 190/170 so you ignore that totally.

If you keep getting errors then its a faulty machine.

If I am talking about a different machine to you please ignore me!

[pepperutchie]

Yes it is thesame machine by omron i keep getting errors and at the third try i get that high reading so i panicked and my cousin took it and a reading of 140/90 on a manual bp app . Thank you countrygirl i am really pleasd on your post

[countrygirl]

Sounds like your machine has a fault. Did you know that you are supposed to have them recalibrated every 2 years or they could be inaccurate? I didn't realise this until my machine at 3 years old kept giving wildy different results within minutes and thats when I read the instruction book properly and found out. I contacted omron and they will do this for a fee that is only £20 cheaper than buying a new one so I just bought a new one instead.

[pepperutchie]

Didnt know that i think i will just stick with the manual one and the doctors say its much accurate than the digital type.. But still im freaking out on bp apparatus whenever i see one.

[Fishmanpa]

I saw your other post on BP. Is there a medical reason you need to be checking your BP? I have heart issues and was told by my Cardiologist last visit to get a machine and check it every day. I hate it and admit I don't do that. I check a 2-3 times a week and it's fine. That being said, it needs to be a quality machine and you need to sit calmly for about 10 minutes or so prior, take it three times to get an average/accurate reading (according to the directions).

If you've not been told to keep tabs, you're just adding to your stress by self checking especially when you get an errant reading.

Positive thoughts

[debs71]

I have to agree with Fishmanpa here.

Checking is a slippery slope. Once you start checking once or twice, it is easy to start getting manic about checking it. I am guilty myself!

I had recently been having dizzy spells and feeling faint in the mornings, so started checking my BP in the mornings a few times, but then found myself checking after being up a while, and having eaten and drunk something, until i had to have a word with myself and say 'enough, stop it now!', because all that happens is you start looking for issues and fluctuations. It is not helpful in the end, just something else to fixate and worry about. We have a machine here as my parents (who i live with) have issues with high BP, so when they need checks for their GP's records, I monitor their BP's.

I personally just go by how I am feeling now. I tend to have low BP which causes my ill feeling in the mornings, so I really don't see the point of getting crazy about checking now, unless I was ever urged to by a doctor.

Constant checking such as BP/pulse, etc. is one of those things that you really just have to go cold turkey on, and say 'NO MORE CHECKING!!' to yourself, and stick to that. x

[countrygirl]

As with everything moderation is the key. I have to do my bp because I have worlds worst white coat syndrome so my Gp asks me to do a 6 week check twice a year where I take my bp at least once a day at same time, preferably twice a day at same time and a few days in the period of taking it every few hours and I give him the results.
The first few days my bp is borderline as I am terrified of the machine but once I get used to it my bp becomes low if anything and will stay like that right through the checking period.
I then don't take it again until the next time I am asked to do it.
This works for me because without it I would have been given bp pills and would have ended up on the floor as I don't have high bp except in a medical setting!

[pepperutchie]

The thing is the doctor checked my bp iand got a reading of 130/100 whicn i know i am very anxious that time so i told him that i also am having anxiety and even told him at home i ussually have a reading of 120/80 but said its not even normal he said the normal reading is at 115/75 so he wants me to take medication for it he prescribed norvasc..so what im trying to do is to checked it at home for my baseline but i got this problem of getting fixated with my blood pressure even before. One time i got hooked on taking it and took the bp app everywhere i go i put it in the car and whenever strange sensation or my back of the neck hurts i go to the car and have a checked and it varies when i feel anxious.but really appreciate everything you said now i think ive started this trend again of it checking as i am having this neck pain again but i try not to

[Catherine S]

I've also answered your posts re your BP phobia. Please try to stop taking it as much as you do, it's not healthy and not helping you to take it so often. We have all tried to tell you that bp can change minute by minute depending on what you're doing and how you're feeling, so please believe us. My BP has been raised for the last 8 years for various reasons or for no reasons, and i'm still here and feeling fine, by that I mean none of my health issues are down to my BP being higher than 'recommended ' readings. Try to get on with your life. Strokes because of high BP are rare despite all the scary reports. Strokes at any age are mainly down to blood clots blocking arteries and can happen more because of this than because of high bp, If this is your fear.

Take care
ISB x

[ohwell123]

Unless you have a reason to take your b.p as fishmanpa says I suggest you go and get a sledgehammer and smash the living daylights out of it because it will ruin your life more than the heart problem you haven't got will

[pepperutchie]

Thank you isb i will do what everybody has told me to again thankyou everyone

[countrygirl]

I would also be very wary of any Dr who wanted your bp so low, even an 18 year old's normal bp is 120/80. Dr's are often encouraged to prescribe drugs with incentives or tick box culture depending on country and health service.

Your bp seems fine and is not that high even when you are super anxious.

Hide the machine!

[ItsNick]

I've never heard of a Doctor saying 175/75 is the norm... I've always heard 120/80. But, yes hide the machine or at least only check it a couple times per week. I was checking mine daily, at least 10-15 times per week and that was after a Chest X-Ray that showed NO issues. It became an OCD thing for me. Just commit to 2 times per week and soon after, you'll stop doing it altogether.

[Catherine S]

The lower reading... the diastolic reading, is usually the important one so 75 would be considered normal. The upper systolic reading is really changeable sometimes minute to minute, depending on activity, digesting a meal, drinking any stimulants...coffee, alcohol etc. So it's the lower reading that the docs generally watch for. However if both readings are consistently high over some time then meds may be offered.

ISB x

[pepperutchie]

Hi nick the doctor said the safest bp would be 115/75 and at my reading of 130/100 during my stay there at the clinic he would like me to take med for it, isb i know iv already got obssesed with my bp as i always am thinking of it whenever i feel something like lightheadedness of blurring i do think its my bp. I have to decide whether i should take a reading or just drink yhe medicine to be safe.i had that obssession of taking the bp before and i had a hard time getting off it..whenever i see things like fatty food i tensed and feel uncomfortable and immediately go to where i can take my bp and checked it and i took the bp app wherever i go i put it in the car or my bag.i just dont want to get back to it.funny thing is i went to the doctor for my bladder pain and i ended up worrying bout the blood pressure instead

[ohwell123]

as stated you/we are a cardiophobe, the simple mention of someone dying in the newspaper of a heart attack sends you off like a scalded cat or HEADLINE "BLOOD PRESSURE linked to blah blah" resorts you to days of worry as you had one reading like that

yet we can read some headline about some skin eating cancer and it doesn't bother us so much

my dads BP is always 150/95 minimum its been like that for 20 years he takes no meds he doesn't worry about it he has pizzahut he has a beer hes still here the guys never drank a glass of water in his life its all a load of b.....ll.....x !! he is enjoying life

don't let it ruin yours

[TaraBrown]

I wish I could be as calm as everyone about taking blood pressure. Every single time I take it I freak out and its been as high as 158/102 but hovers around 138/95. I never had high blood pressure it was always low. I don't know now if its actually high or I am freaking myself out. My doctor didn't seem to concerned and told me to come back in a month and lower my sodium and diet coke drinking. How can I get out of this depression about it? its the first thing I think about when I wake up and it stays with me all day. I take my blood pressure like 10 times a day!