Really really bad day. Need advice please. - High & Low Blood Pressure Message Board

Teacupforme · 05-14-2009, 12:38 AM

I have hypertension and anxiety. I had a really bad panic attack this afternoon as I stopped taking my anxiety meds for the last 3 1/2 days cold turkey. It was xanax, and I have been feeling really anxious. I only take 1.5mg every 2nd or third day. When I panicked this afternoon, I had a BP reading of 159/139. I took an extra BP meds and also 1 mg of xanax and called the ambulance.

When they came they said they couldn't beleive it was me with that BP reading. They took my oxygen saturation which was 100%. And took my BP twice. One was 120/80 and the other was 100/70, and this is 15-20 minutes after my scary reading.

But I took more than just one reading and had other readings like 140/101, 148/94, 154/105. The worst always being my left arm. When I saw 159/139
I thought I would be gone soon. Even with other bad panic attacks I have never had numbers this high. I have never had a reading over 160/105 and that may have only been 4 times in 4 years.

They said I had really good color and sounded coherent and looked good. They said that there was too much of a differential between the top and bottom numbers and my machine most likely gave me an inaccurate reading and needs recallobration. The machine is 4 years old and I have used it over 2000 times at least. They said it was impossible that my resting BP was 139 as my arteries would be in really bad shape.

I did not go to the hospital, I felt much better after I took my anxiety med.

I just want others to share their opnions with me. I currently use an Omron IA2 BP monitor. I would like to think the ambulance guy is right, but I don"t know enough about BP to make that call.

Thank you.

famnd · 05-14-2009, 03:52 AM

Perhaps you moved during the b/p reading. These automatic cuffs are pretty sensitive. It seems that your top number would have been higher with a dystolic reading of 139.

Going off your anxiety med probably made you shaky so you may have influenced the reading without knowing it. I have done that especially when my b/p was so high (in the 200's.) Glad your b/p came down.

Have you considered getting counseling for the anxiety? Sometimes self books help too. There are a few good ones that I will try & post.

It's probably best to ask your Dr. for a plan to get off your anxiety meds if that's what you want to do.
Why don't you check out your b/p cuff at your Dr's office? You can usually go in without an office visit. I'm surprised that the ambulance guys didn't do that. Fire stations will do it for free too.

Take care, sounds like you will be fine.

flowergirl2day · 05-14-2009, 10:03 AM

Hi Teacup,

sorry to hear about your recent experience. That must have been so scary! You did the right thing though by calling the ambulance.

Fam has given you very good advice. There are certain issues that you'll need to address.

Quote:

They said that there was too much of a differential between the top and bottom numbers

Elevated pulse pressure (greater than 60 mmHg) in an older hypertensive may mean heart problems caused by a stiffened aorta, or sometimes by anemia or thyroid problems. This obviously did not apply to you. There were no physical signs of a severe blood pressure elevation.

If a weird blood pressure reading happens again, try to stay calm. Wait ten minutes or more, and take your blood pressure again. You would not believe how often my first blood pressure reading turns out to be wrong. I always take measurements in both arms. There is now hardly ever any difference in blood pressure between the arms. If I get a sizable difference, I know I probably didn't measure it properly.

FG

caberg · 05-14-2009, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowergirl2day

You would not believe how often my first blood pressure reading turns out to be wrong. I always take measurements in both arms. There is now hardly ever any difference in blood pressure between the arms.

I've had a similar experience. Since my anxiety can play games with my BP, a first reading can be a bit skewed/elevated. If I go to my other arm, it usually is down some, and if I go back and forth a couple more times, it's usually leveled off at an accetable level.

Flutterbye77 · 05-14-2009, 11:38 AM

sounds like you need a new machine. Those reading would cause me to freak out as well.