Well the other week I started to get really strange pins and needles sensations in both my feet. Then I realised they were actually feeling really cold. I often sit in one position for hours and once I even tried to stand up and it was like my feet weren't there! Very strange indeed. I don't do lots of exercise, but I'm only 31, am not overwieght (in fact I'm a little underweight my doc tells me), I eat very well indeed (although I only stopped smoking about a year ago and still drink alcohol/coffee like the proverbial fish) but after a week's walking holiday in the Lake District (UK) I still had the same problems.

I booked in at the doctors following my break and was told I have Low Blood Pressure, but I still have yet to wait for the results of blood tests to see where we go from here. So, I bought one of those Blood Pressure monitors and sure, it can be seriously low sometimes (it was 96/40 on night after I was really tired and rather drunk) and an average is about 99/60. I've been reading and reading on this subject since all this monitoring and have some quuestions:

1) Is 96/40 something to worry about?
2) Could this be the cause of my cold feet? If so why is it I can't seem match up the coldness of my feet with the blood pressure reading, it seems like it has no predictable relationship.
3) I have a history in the family of blood clots, my nan recently suffered a stoke from DVT (Deep Vein Thromboses). Now what worries me is that I'm reading up on DVT and people mention cold feet and pains in their legs (same as me) and also upper thigh cramps (which I sometime am getting). If my blood pressure is LOW, then surely this increases my risk of a Blood Clot? And is this something I need to be getting scanned immediately rather than wasting a week or so waiting for Blood Test results???

Would really appreciate anyone's thought on this. Am I barking down the wrong tree or is there some other explaination. As I'm sure you're all aware, you can often talk yourself into a paranoid mess over things like this and I just want to get the picture clear in my head ;)

I think you Limeys just cant handle your liquor like an American of good Scotch/ Irish heritage :D

Seriously, though, those numbers are a bit low, and could be causing the cold feet, if i were you I'd cut way back on the drinking until your doc figures out whats going on

I have heard of rare cases where people quit smoking and had a major drop in BP, do you have any idea what your BP was before you quit smoking?

Also, speaking as someone who does like to drink (although I have more or less outgrown the getting really drunk thing) and just quit drinking coffee a couple months ago, the combination of coffee during the day & alcohol at night can cause a roller coaster effect on BP