an unrelated problem I've been having recently called my attention to this.
For a while now, occasionally I'd suddenly start to feel bad, I'll get weird pains in my arms, occasionally my legs, sometimes a light tingly feeling in my face, sometimes I'd feel a little lightheaded but not all the time, I don't ever recall getting dizzy, sometime there are other symptoms like just a general feeling of weirdness. I also notice that it happens more frequently when I haven't been getting enough sleep.

I went a specialist today about the other problem and they took my blood pressure and he said my blood pressure was on the higher side (130/90), and that's not normal for me, my blood pressure is usually low to mid-normal. But I was feeling bad this morning as I was driving to the doctor's office. When I went to the grocery store this afternoon I was feeling fine so I had the urge to take my blood pressure at one of those machines and it measured it at 114/74, which is well within the normal range. Then a few hours later I started to feel bad again so just for the sake of my own curiosity I went and measured my blood pressure again and it was at 131/90.

Does anyone have similar symptoms or any idea what could be causing this, what I should do different? When I was younger and it happened kind of bad, I was up studying the entire night before. Before that point I'd never really had the symptoms of light-headedness/tingling associated with the occasional pain in my arms. When I went to the doctor he said the pains in my arms were probably just from sitting at the computer typing too much. That was a good 4-5 years ago.

If you have any ideas at all I'd like to hear what you have to say. Thanks.

A BP of 131/90 won't give you any symptoms.........years ago....I am 50 now...... that was normal......I have had that type pressure since my 30's and no Doc I went to said I should take anything for it. I am older now.......normal reading at rest around 140/90........so I am going at the end of the month to the Doc. to see what he thinks I should do. I have labile BP......when I had to go to the ER last week for an inner ear problem my BP was 184/104 .......the ER sent me home and told me to get it checked several times over the coming weeks. You may be feeling nerve pain from you cervical spine........watch your posture and make sure you do upper body excercises to strengthen the muscles of your upper back........I have been there.......bad muscle tone.......poor posture will give you all kind of feelings in your face ......arms ect.......I had an MRI of the Cerivical spine back in 1996.....I have bulging discs.....they will give you strange feelings.
Your BP sounds pretty good......at least my docs would think so. Upper back and Cervical spine dysfunction will cause Dizziness.... Take CAre.

[This message has been edited by dizzy572 (edited 10-01-2003).]

I disagree with the statement that it won't give you any symptoms. I have ALWAYS had low blood pressure. ALWAYS had good readings. 90-low 100's over 50-70's until recently. I have hypothyroidism and recently had to increase my medication for it. A week after increasing it, I got this weird, flushed type faint tingling feeling in the sides of my face. I work at a doc's office and had them check my BP (don't know why I thought it might be my BP)...it was 145/80 with a pulse of 112. Of course, I freaked out. Those facial sensations stayed with me all day. Next day it was back down to normal for me. Several days later, same thing..up again. This has been going on for a couple of weeks now. I was on my increased dose of thyroid med for 5 weeks and have gone back on my previous dose for 2 weeks now and I still have sporadic episodes of BP spikes. Tuesday I was ok at 126/76 (still alittle high for me), then yesterday it was 138/70. Each time, I have the faint tingling in my face or a slight pressure feeling.

I am a very hypersensitive individual and tend to feel "everything" in my body. So, I believe that you can feel an increase in your bp. Not everyone does...but some of us do.

So, I don't know how you people relax b/c when I have this tingling feeling, I know my BP is up and I cannot relax. When I get ready to have a reading, I start panicking over the #'s. I find I can't relax and get my mind off it because I can "feel" it.

They say, it's probably the increased dosage of my thyroid med. Some people can only take so much. Apparently, I am one of them.