blood pressure in doctor's office

mickey99 · 05-11-2007, 03:20 PM

Hi-I'm new here- have had blood pressure for about 15 years. I have started working out and taking flaxseed. I am currently taking 30 mg of prinivil and 5 mg of norvasc. At home my blood pressure is 110/70 sometimes as low as 90/60. I have a good cuff because I take it to the Doc's office with me. When I get there my pressure is 146/92. I have what you call white coat anxiety. I told him to dress up like Mr. Roger's. Anybody out there have this problem.? Oh-I was told my problem is genetic since I've always been thin. It is on my Dad's side of the family.

Mickey

acp44 · 05-11-2007, 09:23 PM

Large numbers of us have this...we're called "white coaters." Doctor and "cuff" anxiety is very real. There is debate over how serious it is, as other stress might spike your blood pressure too. But here's an easy way to find out: take your BP whenever you are in a very stressful situation. For some people like me, they ONLY get high BP during doctor visit.

famnd · 05-11-2007, 10:27 PM

I belong to the cuff anxiety club, too!!! If it get out of control, it can transfer to the home & be all consuming especially with the Dr's getting so hyper & telling you all the bad things that are going to happen to you. Now I
have a routine to follow before going to my Dr's appointments. I walk for an hour & then have my meds with bk. I take an extra 100-200mg of Lebetalol with my Dr's okay. It is short acting & works great in this situation. Just knowing you have that little extra med for a back up helps. Check with you Dr. before taking more of your meds however. Remember it is normal to be little anxious about a Dr's appointment when he/she might be ordering more meds etc that might make us sick or who knows what. It gets to be abnormal when we let it take over our whole life which I did for a awhile. I usually make a 8-9am appointment so I can exercise (walking) about an hour before. This uses up some of the adrenalin.
But allow some time to relax before leaving home. Of course, make sure you have plenty of time to drive to the appointment in case sometime happens.
Fam

jeeps · 05-22-2007, 10:54 AM

I am usually 170 - 180/110 - 120 in the Drs' office (this with a Dr that has been with me for 25 plus yrs, a good comfort level between us), otherwise I settle in around 130/75 or so as my normal.

Recently I had a "silent migraine"....aura, no pain. But it was the first time this had happened, and of course I thought stroke. My Dr sent me to a stroke clinic, they see you right off, I went in the next day. In his referral he indicated to them they should expect the aforementioned 170/110 as this was charecteristic for me. I think the possibility that I may have had a TIA or something potenitally serious had me more amped than usual. The Neurologist measured me at 220/125!! He gave me a sedative of some sort and had me lay down, also told me that I had a migraine which was benign and nothing to worry about from the perspective of stroke etc.

10 minutes later I am at 145/95 and he let me go. Got home and took it and it was then at its' normal 128/75.

I have to live with this, but it becomes quite tiresome when you have to convince anyone who has occasion to take my b/p that I am not going to die.....

acp44 · 05-22-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeeps

I am usually 170 - 180/110 - 120 in the Drs' office (this with a Dr that has been with me for 25 plus yrs, a good comfort level between us), otherwise I settle in around 130/75 or so as my normal.

Recently I had a "silent migraine"....aura, no pain. But it was the first time this had happened, and of course I thought stroke. My Dr sent me to a stroke clinic, they see you right off, I went in the next day. In his referral he indicated to them they should expect the aforementioned 170/110 as this was charecteristic for me. I think the possibility that I may have had a TIA or something potenitally serious had me more amped than usual. The Neurologist measured me at 220/125!! He gave me a sedative of some sort and had me lay down, also told me that I had a migraine which was benign and nothing to worry about from the perspective of stroke etc.

10 minutes later I am at 145/95 and he let me go. Got home and took it and it was then at its' normal 128/75.

I have to live with this, but it becomes quite tiresome when you have to convince anyone who has occasion
to take my b/p that I am not going to die.....

I've been learning a lot about this cuff anxiety, as I have it as well. My sense is seeing a therapist may be more beneficial than seeinga doctor in some case. It has helped me a lot, thought not 100% completely. Figuring out the right strategy to worry way less (or obsess in my case!) about health issues goes a long way in keeping BP normal.

I was stunned to learn that the brain-BP connection is so tight that one little thought can send BP shooting up 40+ points!