blood pressure worries AGAIN

hi
I have had a bit of a blood pressure saga the last few years. It started when I had my son, I had preeclampsia. for a few weeks after he was born my blood pressure seemed to be going back down but suddenly at the 6 weeks check it shot up again and i ended up medication to keep it down. the medication (treid a couple of different types)didnt work and my blood pressure stayed pretty much the same (at that time it was around 150/105-110) no matter what dosage i was on. after about 11 months all of a sudden it just plummeted for no reason at all! and I was able to stop medication altogether it was never low (was around 130/80-85) but was ok.

I had my third baby 7 weeks ago, my blood pressure through the pregnancy was excellent, lower than normal in fact . it went up a little at the end but not majorly high. I had my 6 week check last week and it had gone up again and was 150/104.

I know that that is high BUT the thing is also suffer from panic attacks and anxeity which is brought on alot by leaving the house, especially to go to the doctors.

before i was pregnant I had a 24 hour monitor on to try and see why the medication wasnt affecting my blood pressure and my blood pressure was alot lower at home.

I have a little wrist monitor at home which i used throughout my pregnancy and according to this my blood pressure today was roughly the same as it was showing through the pregnancy when it was also normal at the doctors.

the doctor has told me to go up the the blood pressure clinic a few times to have it checked BUT the clinic is only on wednesday afternoons at 3pm which is impossible for me to get to and i dont have anyone at all who can help. so i just cannot go.

would you make another appointment to get it checked bearing in mind it will probably just be high again since I will get in a tizz about it or would you leave it since it seems to be ok on the one at home?

I have this major fear of being on medication again after last time so this probably clouds my judgement a bit :(


anyone have any experiecne of this?

sophie

Oh, hun,, I wish I could be of more help, but I have the old 'white coat syndrome'too and although on medication my BP is aways a bit high when I get worked up waiting to have it taken! Perhaps, for the time being it might be an idea to take your monitor in to the surgery and have it checked against theirs...then, when you are sure it is correct take it at home and let them have the results. They may well be happy with that. If the Dr has said he wants you to go to the clinic maybe you could arrange an appointment sometime in the future that you could manage (I don't know your circumstances, but they should understand). Also ...would it be so bad to be on meds if necessary? I know many who have had them from their first pregnancy and I myself have taken them for years with no side effects... they monitor your bloods carefully. Sorry I can't be of more help, but hope things work out...:hugs:

I could go on mastermind if BP was the subject, at one time, a day consisted of 8 hours sleep, 8 hours pancking and 8 hours googling BP.

First off, BP has to be high for a long time for it to do damage so don't be alarmed at high readings.

I too always had high BP in the surgery and at home. I later discovered my cuff size on my home monitor was too small and was giving high readings. Once I got a proper size cuff, my BP was typicaly below 140/90 at home but as much as 170/100 at the docs.

I too had a BP monitor fitted for 24 hours with the same result as you.

Bear in mind BP is designed to rise and fall, and we are designed to cope with it. I am not under-estimating the long term effects of sustained high BP, but I see so many people get stressed by a few higher than normal readings and get into a tizz about it.

You could also do what I did too (how is this for nuts) I took my monitor to the surgery and made the GP take my BP so we could compare results as I wa doubting my lower readings at home.

You probably have white coat syndrome, where your BP gets a wee bit elevated when at the surgery.

Remeber though, it is better to know about it now and have it dealt with than to not know for years and years so take comfort in that.

One GP "who was sympathetic to anxiety" did say to me that high and low readings through the day are not that much of a concern, it was constant high BP when waking and all day long that GP's were looking for.

TC

Jaco

P.S. never take your BP when panicking, I did once, it looked like a telephone number

As I was typing this, mmac was saying pretty much the same, I wasn't coping, honest :)

Phew!!! just can't beleive I have found people on this site with real worries about blood pressure issues, seriously thought i was going mad!! I first developed this health anxiety whilst pregnant with my daughter 13 years ago!!! I was threatened with hospilization and although very fit myself have blood pressure on the higher side of normal ie 140/90 or so, but yes in the docs it goes way up, only this week 181/97!! God the fear of having a stroke was so real. I like some of you took my machine to the surgery and much to my relief if you could call it that, it was almost the same. So I guess I should have been reassured but oh no the anxiety has persisted!! Having to have it done twice was a nightmare, the doctor was ok and said my machine was accurate. By the time I left the surgery my face and neck were bright red with the stress of it all!!!:ohmy: :scared15: I guess it comes down to having to accept the pills may be needed,how does one overcome the "white coat syndrome"

Don't know Lesley..I go every 3 months and am on meds. Last time the nurse advised me to get a home reading and bring the reading in!! Oh My Gosh...It seemed high so I took it again..and again...and again! Until it really was high!! So I made an appointment at the Drs. and worked myself up for days before. Don't know what the answer is, but console myself that it is not consistently high enough to cause immediate probs and will be caught at my checkups..they must allow for white coat syndrome and know if it goes beyond these bounds. I worry for weeks before and weeks after BP appointments!! Take care and stay strong. XXXX

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jaco45er

As I was typing this, mmac was saying pretty much the same, I wasn't coping, honest :)

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freudian slip?:)

Oooops copying not coping lol.

Not freudian slip chap, just crap spelling and an issue with what I think being transmitted to my fingers when typing ;)