Blood Pressure (White Coat Syndrome)

[Itsallinmyhead416]

Hi guys, I need some reassurance here...I've been really concern about my blood pressure lately. I'm 24 years old. I exercise at least 5 times a week, not overweight, don't smoke and drink occasionally. I don't know what it is but every time I go to the doctors or even sometimes when I take my BP at home, I start to feel real nervous and I can feel my heart racing. My normal readings are usually around 118/75 but sometimes I can get them as high as 140/80.

I'm just so worried because I consider myself to be extremely healthy! Has anyone figure out a way to overcome their fear of white coat syndrome. Once I get a bad reading it just ruins my whole day. I'm afraid I'm just going to die one day, I know its a normal though for us HA suffers.

[baileys]

Your blood pressure is perfect. 118/75 is great and 140/80 when you are anxious is fine too.
Blood pressure is only considered high if it stays high even when you are relaxed.
My son is your age, he doent suffer from anxiety but he sometimes uses my monitor when he is bored, his blood pressure can sometimes be 110/70 but other times it can be 145/85, it just depends what he is thinking, if he is wound up etc.
I really wouldnt worry about something that isnt a problem.

[fluff]

Hi you sound very healthy to me mine is around 135/75 but when anxious 155/90! and im 25.Try to stop checking u have no need and you wont die not with your good blood pressure

[kivyt73]

I have the same problem. I posted about it last week because I suffered a little relapse. I was so obsessed with bp, I was checking it several times a day, several times a week and I don't even have high bp. As I said, I relapsed a little last week because I got a couple of "high" readings which in my crazy head is anything over 115/75 and I was so depressed, so anxious, so preoccupied after those readings that I finally had to check again and got 108/74 so I was happy and now I am feeling better.

Anyway to answer your question, what helped me and still helps me the most is to limit the checking. I only check once every three weeks ( I am working up to once a month) and when I check if I get an "acceptable" number I don't check multiple times. When I was checking constantly and when I had a machine at home (I had to get rid of it)I was making myself crazy and miserable and driving my numbers way up. The best thing to do is listen to your doctor, if they say your bp is fine, then believe them and don't check if you are not told to. This is an insidious obsession and not one you want to get into. For a while I could hardly walk past a machine in a store without sitting down and checking, it was awful.

Your bp is normal, it is also normal for it to go up when anxious...try to put it out of your mind.

Ivy

[Itsallinmyhead416]

Thanks everyone, I feel a little better now. I really do hate having HA though, it's like every little symptom means the worse thing in your head! I never used to be like this before but now I'm just afraid to get a regular check up at the doctor because I know that entails taking my blood pressure...and you know how it is, as soon as you get one bad reading that's all you think about and it makes you so anxious which then brings your reading higher. I just hate the feeling of the cuff and feeling my blood pumping its just uncomfortable!

[blue moon]

HiYour BP reading is normal really no need to worry,you are doing exercise and you fit so just do breathing exercise and visiualisation that will help calm you down.
Petra xx ps ( I wish I was 24....lol)

[Carys]

I think for some people there is no getting around the 'white coat syndrome', all you can do is mentally reduce whatever figure the doctor gets, bya significant amount; ecause you have anxiety problems you are going to get a higher BP reading. That is the way the human body works, higher anxiety, TEMPORARILY higher BP. That is actually quite good news, seriously, as there are many people here who would happily accept your higher reading as they have even higher BP than that !

[spacebunnyx]

hi, the highest my bp has gone was over 174/143.... which is way high but i was very sick. but i'm still here as it was temporary. try not to focus on it too much. my average bp is 125/88-ish, i'm 30 and exercise/dont smoke.

jess xxx

[countrygirl]

Just had a conversation today with my Dr about bp and white coat syndrome as I had taken my bp every day for 6 weeks a couple of months back and eventually as I calmed down my bp was great totally normal so Dr said no need to take it any more. Stupidly a few weeks later I tried to take it again and as soon as i looked at the machine I got a heartbeat of 140bpm and of course my bp was up at 150/96 this freaked me and took it again next day and it was higher. The day after I did as I was told and took it three times with 10 mins apart and sure enough as I calmed down it went back to 140/90.
My Dr said today that high bp does not reduce as you calm down and if your pulse is high then your bp will be high as well.
He told me not to take it radomly but maybe every 6 months do the every day for 6 weeks and see what it is over the 6 weeks.