Strange BP readings... - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

2004-1986 · 06-29-2008, 08:47 PM

This past week I have been having unusual feelings... I knew it was my blood pressure. My whole family suffers from high BP but I'm the last one to get the effects. We have an at home BP cuff and I started feeling this "shakyness" and knew something wasn't right. I immediately took my BP. I'm usure the exact numbers, but the bottom was over 100. I automatically know that's bad. So it went away after I rested.

Then Tuesday it did a similar thing. I got a little nauseous and had a slight headache. It felt like two knots had appeared on the back of my head and they felt extremely sore. I'm assuming this is from tension headaches. I took tylenol and the headache went away. However, I was still feeling the weird feeling of knowing my BP was high.

Yesterday was the eventful day. I was fine the whole day. About 9 PM it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was just sitting and started feeling that not-so-welcome feeling again. I felt like I immediately needed to lay down. I had a slight headache and nausea. I ate something and then not long after that I had to vomit. This happened twice within a 2 hour period. I hardly ever vomit unless I have the stomach flu. After the nausea passed and I calmed down, I checked my BP. The bottom number was through the roof again and my top number seemed unusually lower than expected. I finally got to bed and the next morning it was like deja vu. Checked my BP and it was ridiculous, 132/94 I believe. It soon got higher, back to 118/100 or so. Now my BP is fine.

What could this possibly be??? I'm planning on seeing a doctor tomorrow. She put me on a 10 day supply of Bactrim (my first thought of what's causing this), but I've not read anything on it raising the BP. I'm also on ortho tri cyclen lo with no side effects from it in the past. Anyone else experience this? Any advice?

flowergirl2day · 06-29-2008, 10:48 PM

Hi 1986,

I checked the safety reports of Bactrim, as submitted by health care professionals. Nausea and vomiting were mentioned frequently. It would seem that they are very common side effects of this drug. There was a report of blood pressure fluctuations resulting from the use of Bactrim as well. I was surprised by the numerous reports of adverse reactions and other undesirable effects, frequently requiring hospitalization. It does not sound like this drug is suitable for long-term use.

When we become ill, our immune system goes into an overdrive as it attempts to deal with the situation at hand. This usually results in blood pressure elevations. I have a friend whose blood pressure spikes into 170's - 180's whenever she is experiencing pain or becomes ill. The doctors have refused to treat her blood pressure spikes on numerous occassions, because she does not have hypertension. It is normal for blood pressure to behave erratically when we are not feeling well.
You have a medical problem your body is dealing with right now. This could be the reason for your blood pressure elevations. Once the infection is cleared up and the antibiotic discontinued, your blood pressure should return to normal. If it doesn't, please make sure to bring the blood pressure fluctuations to your doctors's attention.

By the way, there is a chance the two drugs used together could result in an unplanned pregnancy. The effectiveness of your contraceptive can become impaired when it is used with antimicrobials. An additional contraception is recommended.

flowergirl