Serious getting your blood pressure taken phobia
- Thread starter decaturron
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Just got back from doc. No chest pains, and no shortness of breath, per se. Just a feeling of having all the oxygen very quickly removed. Doc said, yes, these are PVCs brought on by serious stress and high blood pressure.
I INSISTED on a sleep study, since I cannot sleep on my back. I wake choking every time, classic symptom. So I go for that in a few weeks.
I'm now a member of the beta blocker group. :thumbsdn::thumbsdn::worried:
Very low dose, he says it may help my bp and anxiety as well. I sure wish he'd let go of the xanax, but that ain't happening.
Rome is spot-on here. Don't let undiagnosed high blood pressure rob you of your "golden years" (bop bop bop).
I'm going to keep this thread alive, simply because I'm certain there are other AK'ers in denial, or ignorant of their blood pressure. I'm 42, and have had this going on for at least 6 or 7 years minimum.
I have completely flipped a switch in my mind. Pure survival mode. Already dropped a few pounds, and look forward to my workout "high".
This morning, after 48 hours on the lowest dose of the beta blocker I'm on, I got 120/80 for the first time in nearly a decade.
I'm shooting for doing that without medicine, but I have to face facts.
PLEASE, people, don't kid yourself.
Check the salt in the common foods you eat.
Be upfront with yourself, and make smart decisions.
Get busy moving and doing something!
Anyway, enough preaching. I'm just happy that my bp reading was this good.
I have completely flipped a switch in my mind. Pure survival mode. Already dropped a few pounds, and look forward to my workout "high".
This morning, after 48 hours on the lowest dose of the beta blocker I'm on, I got 120/80 for the first time in nearly a decade.
I'm shooting for doing that without medicine, but I have to face facts.
PLEASE, people, don't kid yourself.
Check the salt in the common foods you eat.
Be upfront with yourself, and make smart decisions.
Get busy moving and doing something!
Anyway, enough preaching. I'm just happy that my bp reading was this good.
usedto
Lunatic Member
A little visual aid - my chest X-ray three years after my heart surgery. Those dark round things are the stainless wires in my chest that were used to hold my rib cage together after the surgery. Yeah, they poke every now and then.
My god, bentpencil, they leave those IN? How did I not know this?
Didn't use a breathe right strip last night to see the effect on my bp.
The results? 146/86.
Going for a sleep study on the 17th. Undiagnosed apnea I feel is the root cause of this.
Have dropped a pants size in last 2 weeks, and eating far better, so there's that.
Didn't use a breathe right strip last night to see the effect on my bp.
The results? 146/86.
Going for a sleep study on the 17th. Undiagnosed apnea I feel is the root cause of this.
Have dropped a pants size in last 2 weeks, and eating far better, so there's that.
spartanmanor
Lunatic Member
I usually meditate a bit while my blood pressure is being taken. If you concentrate you can lower your heart rate.
I think it is the sound of that velcro going "whiiiishhhh!" that gets me started. Then it is the "whiirrrrr" of the machine, hoping it doesn't stop tightening, and then go into the higher stage (which means my reading will be very high)
I suffer from panic attacks when I think of getting mine read, and perhaps that skewers things. Yesterday, when I had my best reading yet, I had been running around doing early morning stuff, feeding the dogs, etc. Wasn't really focused on "getting a good reading".
I do believe I psyche myself out, but then again, I'm one high-toned s.o.b. (to quote Stephen King from "The Dark Half")
I suffer from panic attacks when I think of getting mine read, and perhaps that skewers things. Yesterday, when I had my best reading yet, I had been running around doing early morning stuff, feeding the dogs, etc. Wasn't really focused on "getting a good reading".
I do believe I psyche myself out, but then again, I'm one high-toned s.o.b. (to quote Stephen King from "The Dark Half")
usedto
Lunatic Member
I didn't know it either, until they took an X-ray right before they released me from the hospital after the surgery. It was a brand new state-of-the-art machine, so the tech was showing me how it worked. I asked what those were, and he told me.
jsisk
Not 2 Old 2 Rock & Roll
No Phobia about getting BP checked, but it is always high when I get it checked. At home it is fine. The problem is that the service at my DR's office is amazingly fast. After driving in traffic to get there, looking for a parking space, then walking a few hundred yards from the parking garage everything is elevated - as is normal and typical.
I check in and take a seat and before I can even scan the magazines to find something of interest they take me back and check my blood pressure, etc.
I check in and take a seat and before I can even scan the magazines to find something of interest they take me back and check my blood pressure, etc.
A couple of thoughts after very quickly scanning this thread.
BP may not return to normal immediately after checking it, so if you do it repeatedly it may give skewed results anyway, regardless of stress.
Arrhythmia comes in different forms. That feeling of your heart skipping a beat or having the breath sucked out of you, is probably familiar to everyone. It's not always dangerous but it should be checked out. It's not always PVCs either - there are two kinds of atrial fibrillation as well as ventricular. One is harmless, one is not.
A year or two ago I had a very stressful incident and next thing I knew, I had palpitations that did not go away for 24 hours. I ended up going to the ER just in case I was about to die. Turned out to be temporary, stress related atrial fib and not the dangerous kind. By the next day it went away, but I ended up with a treadmill stress test/echocardiogram, 3 weeks wearing a heart monitor, and multiple appointments with doctors by the time it was done. I figure you shouldn't screw with the old ticker, but I felt kinda dumb after all that.
BP may not return to normal immediately after checking it, so if you do it repeatedly it may give skewed results anyway, regardless of stress.
Arrhythmia comes in different forms. That feeling of your heart skipping a beat or having the breath sucked out of you, is probably familiar to everyone. It's not always dangerous but it should be checked out. It's not always PVCs either - there are two kinds of atrial fibrillation as well as ventricular. One is harmless, one is not.
A year or two ago I had a very stressful incident and next thing I knew, I had palpitations that did not go away for 24 hours. I ended up going to the ER just in case I was about to die. Turned out to be temporary, stress related atrial fib and not the dangerous kind. By the next day it went away, but I ended up with a treadmill stress test/echocardiogram, 3 weeks wearing a heart monitor, and multiple appointments with doctors by the time it was done. I figure you shouldn't screw with the old ticker, but I felt kinda dumb after all that.
Glad to hear you seem to be getting things worked out Tim.
Some things to consider:
Have you checked your BP machine against the one in the doctors office? I had a problem with high blood pressure readings (only in the doctors office), cause by white-coat syndrome. He wanted me to check it at home and keep track of it. He told me Omron was the only brand that gave accurate readings. After I bought the model he recommended he had me bring it in so that he could see if it was reading the same as his was in the office. In the end, I found out I have normal BP. I still check it every month or so at home.
One thing that helps me now is just recognizing that I have this, so when I go in for a reading I try to clear my mind, slow my breathing, concentrate on my breath... all those meditation type things.
I'll get the model number on my BP machine tonight and edit this post to include it.
Now, even my damn dentist wants to take my BP. They all tell me it's high and I have to tell them... no, I'm just afraid of your coat.
On the sleep apnea front... that can definitely increase your BP. Glad to hear you're going in for a sleep study. I have lots of friends who now use CPAP machines with great success.
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Omron is good stuff, I've seen/used several and they are well made.
Thanks DG, I'm on top of it, for sure. I purposely DIDN'T wear a breathright strip to see if it affected my numbers, and it did.
I have no problem wearing a CPAP if it helps me sleep. Got two friends who are quick to state that it was the best thing they ever did.
I do have a problem with having to take meds the rest of my life, so me and the wife have been redoubling our efforts to avoid salt, I'm busting my ass on the elliptical, and generally trying to stay positive.
Omron is a good model, and I honestly think it is my anxiety, which is usually pretty high, but of late, has been Defcon 5.
Tox, doctor said my heart sounded just fine, and that the meds should reduce or eliminate the pvc's, which it seems to have done.
And I'm only on 25 mg, which is the lowest dose.
My heart rate before was consistently 79-80, this morning was 65.
I have no problem wearing a CPAP if it helps me sleep. Got two friends who are quick to state that it was the best thing they ever did.
I do have a problem with having to take meds the rest of my life, so me and the wife have been redoubling our efforts to avoid salt, I'm busting my ass on the elliptical, and generally trying to stay positive.
Omron is a good model, and I honestly think it is my anxiety, which is usually pretty high, but of late, has been Defcon 5.
Tox, doctor said my heart sounded just fine, and that the meds should reduce or eliminate the pvc's, which it seems to have done.
And I'm only on 25 mg, which is the lowest dose.
My heart rate before was consistently 79-80, this morning was 65.
cnh2
Super Member
To OP. Get a decent wrist monitor and take your pressure at different times throughout the day for a couple of weeks. The monitor will calculate an average.
Or, have the Doctor give you some medication to QUIET your anxiety that you can take an hour before you go to his/her office. A STIFF dose that mellows you out. If your pressure is still high under those meds then you "probably" have "hypertension".
I had the white coat syndrome myself and I told myself that's all it was. But I also KNEW that hypertension ran in the family. As I got older it became apparent that I needed to take meds for this. It's like Wigwam says above. Everyone has a genetic weakness, at least one. This is mine.
To OnwardJames above. Both numbers need to be low not just ONE. Also, after a weight-lifting session your pressure should probably be LESS than 120/80 immediately after and stay there for a while. [If you have Apnea get checked out. Sleep Apnea can send your pressure through the roof and even kill you].
Speaking of normal pressure, until recently the average "normal" pressure on the Chinese mainland (and that's 1.4 billion there) was 110/70! Something to think about. The average American diet pretty much "sucks". Get rid of sugar, salt, more veggies, more fiber, fruit, nuts, good fats, you know the drill, and 45-50 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week! Don't forget some "resistance training" as well. I do two heavier sessions a week along with the above. But I STILL need the meds to keep my pressure in the normal or under range!
Don't guess about it, consult your doctor and take care of it. I've seen too many heart attacks and strokes among those I know in the last 20 years or so.
On a final note, I understand not wanting to take drugs but in this case they can extend your quality of life. My father had congenital heart failure in his early 70s from his high pressure, no meds. He would have died within a few years or LESS after that with NO meds but with the meds he lived on another 15 years and was never less than coherent and independent till the very end. It's not as "bad" as you think!
cnh2
Or, have the Doctor give you some medication to QUIET your anxiety that you can take an hour before you go to his/her office. A STIFF dose that mellows you out. If your pressure is still high under those meds then you "probably" have "hypertension".
I had the white coat syndrome myself and I told myself that's all it was. But I also KNEW that hypertension ran in the family. As I got older it became apparent that I needed to take meds for this. It's like Wigwam says above. Everyone has a genetic weakness, at least one. This is mine.
To OnwardJames above. Both numbers need to be low not just ONE. Also, after a weight-lifting session your pressure should probably be LESS than 120/80 immediately after and stay there for a while. [If you have Apnea get checked out. Sleep Apnea can send your pressure through the roof and even kill you].
Speaking of normal pressure, until recently the average "normal" pressure on the Chinese mainland (and that's 1.4 billion there) was 110/70! Something to think about. The average American diet pretty much "sucks". Get rid of sugar, salt, more veggies, more fiber, fruit, nuts, good fats, you know the drill, and 45-50 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week! Don't forget some "resistance training" as well. I do two heavier sessions a week along with the above. But I STILL need the meds to keep my pressure in the normal or under range!
Don't guess about it, consult your doctor and take care of it. I've seen too many heart attacks and strokes among those I know in the last 20 years or so.
On a final note, I understand not wanting to take drugs but in this case they can extend your quality of life. My father had congenital heart failure in his early 70s from his high pressure, no meds. He would have died within a few years or LESS after that with NO meds but with the meds he lived on another 15 years and was never less than coherent and independent till the very end. It's not as "bad" as you think!
cnh2
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Thank you cnh2.
Wise words, and appreciated.
Wise words, and appreciated.