I am officially old (I am now 61). Was at the Doc today for a blood pressure check. I had been there about 6 weeks ago with a back injury and my pressure was high..We chalked it up to being in pain but..always good to check.

My lovely nurse practitioner(who is Jodi's long lost twin) had some surgery so my appt was postponed..I started to get worried so I bought a bp monitor and started taking my readings every morning...No prob, all good. I started a log.

I took it this morning, all good, then just at my 9:30 appt it is through the roof...

I brought a log book and my monitor so we took my pressure three ways..the office monitor, my monitor and manually...all about the same.

I was given a script for meds..Yet I have taken my bp at various times today...at rest and just after up and down stairs, laundry etc. all good.



The med I was given is not the lowest offered... I have decided to split the pills to start half a dose for 4 days and then see.

One of the side effects is light headedness and fainting...****! I live alone!

I know that HI BP runs in my family, I get that..I do expect it is in my future...but I am still not sure about this right now...

Any one with experience?

This is my first real experience with the reality of being old. ICK.

The one bright side is the med prescribed helps with dementia...another thing that runs in the fam..so if a low dose works, and that is a side effect I will so take it.

Wait, so you've only ever had the really high BP reading at the doctor's office? And they knew that?

Is it possible your BP just goes up when you're at the doc's and worried?

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Wait, so you've only ever had the really high BP reading at the doctor's office? And they knew that?

Is it possible your BP just goes up when you're at the doc's and worried?

So far, yes.I know it is called "white coat syndrome"..so..

And the two times times it was flagged were times of medical distress, the first with what I later thought might have been early COVID (serious bronchitis like I have never had) and this time with a painful back injury.

I did point out that I was moving furniture yesterday and that my back was flaring up last night enough to wake me in the night..so...

I am now going to monitor my bp at home like a hawk and will then see.

At the same time I do know this is coming due to my family history.

But meds now? Not sure...

I'm in the same boat as you on all counts. Pressure OK at home, family history of hypertension and dementia, and white coat syndrome.

A few things to consider....

1) Is your pressure being measured correctly? I don't mean the machine, but rather the technique. There are lots of studies that say that even medical professionals don't measure it correctly.

quote:

The performance score was based on 11 skills: (1) resting the patient for 5 minutes prior to the measurement or expressing intent to do so; (2) legs uncrossed; (3) feet on floor; (4) arm supported; (5) correct cuff size; (6) cuff placed over bare arm; (7) no talking; (8) no mobile phone use or reading; (9) BP measurement taken in both arms; (10) correctly identifying BP from the arm with the higher reading as being clinically more important when asked; (11) correctly identifying which arm to use for future readings (the arm with higher BP).

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.co...ll/10.1111/jch.13018

I can't tell you how many times the nurses break multiple rules; my doctor does it right. The nurses typically get a high reading (I walk up the stairs to his office and they never have me sit for five minutes. And they talk to me. And they put the cuff over clothing. Duh.) But even taking those variables out, my pressure is higher in the office than at home.

2) Try meditation.

3) Consider drinking hibiscus tea. There are a few studies that seem to indicate that it can be as effective as some blood pressure meds in reducing your numbers.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25875025/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20018807/

I've tried both of these and they were pretty much the same quality.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod..._title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod..._title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

After some white coat syndrome readings in the office, my wife now gets left alone with the BP cuff on, and the machine takes multiple readings during a 5 minute - automated period of time. Seems to work to reduce the readings without anyone else talking or in the room with her.

Oh, and you might want to consider reading Fast. Feast. Repeat. The timing of when you eat may have an effect on your metabolic processes, including your blood pressure. Certainly something to consider before you go on meds.

It may take some extra work on your part, but the tradeoff is not taking the meds.

Now I am even more confused.

So far my highest reading at home first thing in the morning was 129/78. Most are in the high teens low/mid 20's.

Office readings this morning were 154/90..feet dangling, talking...with a nurse, nurse practitioner and my own monitor..we all got about the same.

Here are the CDC guidelines for how to measure BP:

https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/measure.htm

The graphic referenced in the above link:



Back supported? They always have me sitting on the exam table, no back support.

Talking? They are typically talking/asking questions.

Rest 5 minutes? They usually take it first thing when you get in the room.

Arm on table, chest height? My doctors have always supported the extended arm at the proper height, equivalent to having it rest on a table. The nurses almost always just have the arm hanging down.

Bare arm? I've questioned any number of nurses about this when they put the cuff over clothing, and they always say it doesn't matter. But that's not what the experts are saying...

I think mrstuner's approach, alone in the room with an automated cuff is the way to go....

quote:

Now I am even more confused.

BL, I’m sorry this is confusing, and I know we’re giving you more to think about — which is more confusing, but only in the short run!

I hope you’ll read the docs that WTG posted and talk to your doc again. If you can avoid BP meds, that’s probably preferable!

Yeah, I hate it that nurses almost always take my blood pressure (nearly) first thing.

"Nearly" actually refers to a factor that makes things even worse for me. Being very sensitive to how my weight varies (ever since I had to go off the keto diet after contracting CDiff) I'm especially nervous about the doctor's weigh-in. I even take my shoes off and make a point of wearing the lightest clothes. I can!)

If my weight has gone up, so does my blood pressure!

As for you, BL, and your complicated BP reading situation, you might simplify things a bit if you make sure you arrive extra early thus giving you time to relax and catch your breath after arriving in the office. (Your pulse will also drop.)

I didn't know. BP rises after eating, but I've noticed something else in my life. I have atrial fibrillation (take Xarelto and monitor the. AFib it with my AppleWatch. I'm also able to follow by BPM at night, with a cardiac app linked to my iPhone.)

I've noticed if I give into a recently increasing temptation to eat (an excessive snack!) before bed*, I get a morning readout showing prolonged tachycardia - hours. There's a definite cause and effect between my self- indulgence and that abnormal heartbeat. If I wake up, I also notice I have AFIB with the tachycardia. (Naturally, I'm working on this tendency! Don't know why I've been getting the munchies at night lately...)

I'm very interested to learn of this eating/BP. relationship!

In regards to your concern about fainting as a side effect of this new medicine - considering you live alone. I do too, and I am a considerable fall risk on account of my Tin Man spine and foot drop, both of which predispose. I wear a Fall monitor at my sons' insistence, and it does provide reassurance. If you stay on the BP med and remain concerned about fainting, you might consider such a device!

I have never lost consciousness (not counting the weird episode aa few months ago), so I always tell the alarm responder, I'm fine. Also, whether I did indeed fall (often it's been set off by a bump against a counter or whatever).

If I were also worried about fainting or otherwise passing out (alone), I'd feel even stronger about wearing such a gizmo. They are especially important if one not only falls but doesn't get up (So far, I always have).

Hope you sort all this out soon! It CAN sometimes feel like ones body is letting one down, doesn't it?

Mom’s doc always takes it twice, at beginning and end of visit. It’s usually much better at the end of the visit.

Thank you all. I have been very diligent in my own habits of taking my BP.

This morning it is a bit higher than it should be.

I now have a full on Google sheet set up and will be collecting data I can have for my next dr. visit.

I have decided to start the low dose med for the next two weeks and then look back at the results. I have a teledoc visit for the next check whereby I will be at home, relaxed and using my own monitor. I feel like that will be a more realistic benchmark.

While I hate all this, I do have to look back and remember my Dad. He suffered from vascular dementia for 15 years. He was diagnosed with high BP at a later age than me and since the med I was given has shown to improve cognition in folks with Alzheimer's, I am hopeful that catching this at an earlier age will keep the dementia at bay, at least for a few extra years.

Getting old sucks.

I just had my BP taken at a doctor's office in the last week. Same as Mrs. Tuner ... cuff attached, left alone in the room for three separate readings.

I'm on BP meds. They make me a little dizzy sometimes, mostly when I wake up in the AM when I am dehyrdrated. I haven't fallen yet.

Lisinopril can cause a minor cough, so I was recently switched to a different one.

I can share my situation.

I'm 60, with a monster family history of diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. My blood pressure was low when I was younger, then rose to the normal range in my 50s.

When the pandemic hit, my exercise opportunities basically vanished while my eating took an unfortunate turn. When I took my BP at home last summer, it was in the 150 range.

I went to see my doctor, and he suggested meds. I resisted -- surely it would come down if I worked at it a bit. He said something that made a lot of sense, which is this: The damage from high bp is insidious, and once the damage happens, it can't easily be fixed. He said he sees patients all the time who took steps too late, and now they are dealing with a lifetime of damage.

He put me on 25 mg of a very old, basic diuretic, hydrochlorothyazide? My bp came down, although there were definitely some issues early on with cramping and fatigue during tennis on hot days. That went away.

Now I take the meds sporadically, and I forget to take it often. I monitor at home, and I get readings in the 120s -- lower if I have used the peloton that day -- and it drops to the 110s after five minutes.

So. I don't know your situation, what your doc has prescribed, what else you might be taking. I'm back to getting some exercise, which seems to help a lot. But I am glad I didn't wait to see if I could turn things around without meds. There's too much at stake.

quote:

He said something that made a lot of sense, which is this: The damage from high bp is insidious, and once the damage happens, it can't easily be fixed. He said he sees patients all the time who took steps too late, and now they are dealing with a lifetime of damage.
...cut...
But I am glad I didn't wait to see if I could turn things around without meds. There's too much at stake.

It's really helpful to hear this perspective, thank you!