Just curious to what you all thought of my situation. For the last 7.5 years I've been in a roller coaster of a marriage and now divorce has been filed once again. We filed in 2005 but that was dismissed. My wife is Bipolar and that has caused more stress on me then I care to explain. I have my own business that has been very successful but with my wife's manic spending habits it gives me major stress month after month. I also have 4 children, 2 of them mine (3&5) and 2 stepdaughters (11&13). You can trust that any stress test would have me off the charts for the last 7.5 years.

My wife has move out once again which has certainly left me with less stress but I'm still left to manage the disaster she has caused financially and continues to do so by making this divorce hell. My BP today at the grocery store was 177/114 and that scared me. I guess because the stress of digging out of this hole and dealing with this divorce is causing me the high readings. I've never been medicated for it but it has been high for some time but not that high. One other thing, this morning a pipe burst in the house from the cold so I was dealing with that also when I took the test today. I guess it's time to make some changes. I'm not in bad shape and was exercising up until a month ago. I need to stop smoking and probably stay away from alcohol also. I try to eat healthly but don't watch the sodium as much as I should.

I'm somewhat confident that once this divorce is final and I can move on to a healthy loving relationship my stress will lower considerably also dropping my BP to a normal level. If not I guess HBP meds are in order. I'm going to buy a BP monitor today so I can start to take it at many different times at home rather than just at the grocery store.

Any suggestions would help...........

Thanks, U&A

If she has left you with any money, buy a blood pressure tester and test yourself efvery evening while sitting comfortably. If the average for a month is over 140/90 (either number) get on a diuretic another BP med.

Ask you doctor for an Rx for Valium (diazapam)...5 mg./day will work wonders.

The divorce? It will be over when it's over.
Living with a Manic-Depressive must be a true trip to Hell! (I know one who spent and lost his life savings on a "hot stock tip"...he is now so medicated he is zombielike.))

I made that particular 'lifestyle change' last year - six months later my bp is down to 140/80 (from 180/120).

I can't be very scientific about it because I have also added some other bp-friendly changes - but I was doing most of those beforehand - so I think it is definitely a factor.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I didn't have any child custody issues to deal with, which I imagine would be as, if not more, stressful than where you have already been, so I'm liking Lenin's approach a lot.

Well guys - I think the stress from this marriage and the now pending divorce may be a big factor on my BP being so high right now. I did go and get a BP tester last night to see what it averages at home for awhile. Also, I'm doing very well at the office without all the stress of the marriage constantly on me which will help to bring me out of this financial hole she dug.

The Valium idea sounds like something I should consider just to take some of the stress away and my mother thought the same. Just her moving out of the house has taken away much of the chaos and that in itself should start to bring it down sooner than later. I'm hope to settle this divorce peacefully sooner than later but with her being in such a manic state right now that may not be possible anytime soon.

Thanks for the feedback.... U&A

Some years ago, I was in the job from Hades. My blood pressure was about as high as yours for a while. Once I got a new job, it went back to normal. It's now high, but I'm older with a family history. I do tend to respond poorly to stress with bp. I seem to handle it ok on the outside compared to others I know, but the bp tells a different story.