Need more advice about high blood pressure.

[Moso13]

For those who havent seen my previous post. Im young(20) female, normal weight. 5'8 and 144 pounds. I have been working on staying under 2000 mg of sodium per day and exercising more. I have extremely bad anxiety, especially about blood pressure. Every time im about to take my blood pressure I literally feel dizzy from the anxiety. Idk how to calm myself down to take it. I have been recording some of my readings daily, which has me convinced that it is not white coat hypertension :( I went to the doctor for a UTI and they took my blood pressure twice and told me to go back to my primary doctor to get checked, that it didnt look like white coat. The first time it was 149/110 and then it was 144/110.
Then i have been taking it with my at home blood pressure monitor that is my parents because they both just recently got diagnosed with high blood pressure.
6/4: 159/92
6/5:155/92
6/8: 150/104
6/9: 149/94.
i try to take it every day but some days i am to anxious to even make the reading. This is consuming my every thought and stressing me out 24/7. What else can i do?

[AMomentofClarity]

Those are definitely high readings, but taking your own BP and stressing about the readings is a terrible idea. Why don’t you follow the advice of going to your PCP and seeing what they recommend?

[Moso13]

Those are definitely high readings, but taking your own BP and stressing about the readings is a terrible idea. Why don’t you follow the advice of going to your PCP and seeing what they recommend? Im going to after my vacation because i wont be able to get in until then. Im just freaking out about it in the mean time. Do you think they are extremely high, like i'm screwed for the rest of my life readings?I just dont know why i have to be dealing with this :(

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think I said this on your other thread:

To rule out white coat syndrome they can easily perform the 24hr ambulatory test. Hypertension at your age will be rare. It's uncommon under about 40.

Blood pressure checks are frequently affected by many things. Only those trained in them can make decisions about what they mean. For instance, if a high reading is found a nurse will ask if you are anxious, ask you to calm your breathing and retry. They also alter your sitting posture when taking readings. These things are often unknown to us. And you mentioned how anxious you were about it which suggests your blood pressure will be elevated anyway and without trying to address this and take another reading your results are likely flawed.

As for "have I ruined my chances of stopping this", I've recently been diagnosed with Hypertension and this was from a routine health check I volunteered to have. My blood pressure could have been elevated for years since there are no symptoms. Now I take a daily med and have improved my diet. Within 2 weeks of starting the med follow up tests show it's now controlled and my risk factors reduced. So even if you had consistent elevated blood pressure that need treatment they can prescribe & monitor.

[AMomentofClarity]

Im going to after my vacation because i wont be able to get in until then. Im just freaking out about it in the mean time. Do you think they are extremely high, like i'm screwed for the rest of my life readings?I just dont know why i have to be dealing with this :(

Not at all! To Terry’s point above, some adjustments and possibly medication can make a quick impact. You’re 20 years old, it’s not too late to fix anything for the rest of your life. Try to relax and have a fun vacation in the meantime.

[Moso13]

I think I said this on your other thread:

To rule out white coat syndrome they can easily perform the 24hr ambulatory test. Hypertension at your age will be rare. It's uncommon under about 40.

Blood pressure checks are frequently affected by many things. Only those trained in them can make decisions about what they mean. For instance, if a high reading is found a nurse will ask if you are anxious, ask you to calm your breathing and retry. They also alter your sitting posture when taking readings. These things are often unknown to us. And you mentioned how anxious you were about it which suggests your blood pressure will be elevated anyway and without trying to address this and take another reading your results are likely flawed.

As for "have I ruined my chances of stopping this", I've recently been diagnosed with Hypertension and this was from a routine health check I volunteered to have. My blood pressure could have been elevated for years since there are no symptoms. Now I take a daily med and have improved my diet. Within 2 weeks of starting the med follow up tests show it's now controlled and my risk factors reduced. So even if you had consistent elevated blood pressure that need treatment they can prescribe & monitor.
Thank you so much for your reply, this has calmed me down a lot.

[ZanVaelius]

Hey :)
I'm 28 and I've been diagnosed with Hypertension at 22. My readings got 160/110. Then I started taking BP meds and the problem for the most part disappeared (ranipril + nebivolum). Remember your meds, get regular check-ups, don't take your BP unless you feel something is wrong and you should be fine :)

From experience I can tell you obssessing over BP readings can get you into a vicious circle that will eventually land you in a very dark place ( I needed therapy). Just relax and enjoy your life :)

Wysłane z mojego SLA-L22 przy użyciu Tapatalka

[swajj]

As already said blood pressure is very easy to regulate with meds. I don’t understand why people become so worked up about the possibility of having to take meds. The incidence of stroke due to BP has reduced dramatically because of meds. Stop fearing it and tell yourself it’s no big deal if you have to take meds and it will probably return to normal on its own.

[Moso13]

Hey :)
I'm 28 and I've been diagnosed with Hypertension at 22. My readings got 160/110. Then I started taking BP meds and the problem for the most part disappeared (ranipril + nebivolum). Remember your meds, get regular check-ups, don't take your BP unless you feel something is wrong and you should be fine :)

From experience I can tell you obssessing over BP readings can get you into a vicious circle that will eventually land you in a very dark place ( I needed therapy). Just relax and enjoy your life :)

Wysłane z mojego SLA-L22 przy użyciu Tapatalka Thank you for your reply. Do you know what caused your high blood pressure being so young and are you doing anything else to combat it? Im actually going to the doctor tomorrow to get it checked it.

[ZanVaelius]

Thank you for your reply. Do you know what caused your high blood pressure being so young and are you doing anything else to combat it? Im actually going to the doctor tomorrow to get it checked it.
Unforutnately, it's idiopathic. I've had all sorts of tests run (expect stuff like heartbeat monitors, kidneys exams, more blood tests than you could imagine). I'm somewhat overweight BMI 29.4 (90 KG at 175 cm) and I lead sedentary lifestyle. Plus when I was a kid I loved salty stuff (chips, crisps and whatnot).

In general 90-95% cases of HBP don't have an obvious physical cause (something being broken).

[MyNameIsTerry]

There can also be an inheritance nature to blood pressure issues at young ages but they test for that if they identify someone who is unexpected with Hypertension according to the doctor who saw me. It was mentioned because the nurse misread my age as 32 (I'm 42), which I told her after was quite flattering :yesyes:

[Pkstracy]

Anxiety, dehydration, not enough sleep, caffeine, genetics, not enough fiber, fruit or veggies, stress, can all raise your blood pressure, perhaps try lowering your sodium more, to about 1500 mg a day or don't even use salt at all, get an organic no salt season, or use herbs in your kitchen, stop taking your blood pressure yourself, doing it more than once and back to back can actually raise your blood pressure.