Uncontrolled High BP?

[onnason]

I'm posting again because I took my BP all day yesterday (probably every hour or so) with readings ranging from 112/88 to 140/105. I'm normally a 110/70-78 gal, so I'm very upset about this. Could my anxiety over these readings be what's causing the rise? I should mention, work has been disasterous, and my husband is scheduled for open heart surgery on 11/3 to repair the beginnings of another aortic dissection (he almost died from it back in '01 at 41 years old). I'm sure the stress of everything is getting to me -- is it o.k. to have elevated readings for, say, a couple of months with no adverse effects like stroke or heart attack? Why wouldn't the Atenolol (75 mg) and Triamterene (37.5 mg) keep it under control -- isn't that what it's SUPPOSED to do?

I spoke to my doctor who was not very concerned about these readings. She said that even at a diastolic reading of 105-110, SOME doctors COULD try dietary changes before medication. She said it's certainly the stress doing this to me and to "throw out the damn cuff" (I use a manual one -- a sphygmometer (sp?) and a stethoscope).

As you can see, I'm in a panic. I've been taking klonopin, 3 mg. day, but it really isn't helping. Any reassurance is so much appreciated. Thanks again.

[Beth36]

Hi Amarra,
Sounds like you've got a lot of stress in your life right now, and this is probably what's causing your blood pressure readings to vary so much. I know that one of the first things my doctor told me after I got diagnosed with high blood pressure was not to obsess over taking my readings all of the time. Even a person with high blood pressure well controlled by meds that usually runs within a normal range can have some isolated elevated readings, and that it's nothing to worry about.

My advice? Just don't take your readings for a few days, even though it may be tempting. It will just stress you out if you have one that's elevated, and you don't need that to worry about now. It sounds as if your blood pressure is under good control.

-Beth

[Rick7799]

My BP readings go up and down. One thing my doctor told me was to take it no more than 3 times a week. I was like you and would take it all the time. If it was high I would worry about it and it would go higher. I found that was good advice.

[onnason]

Thanks for the good advice. I haven't been following it because I just can't -- I don't know what's wrong with me (maybe I should visit OCD board!). I'm trying again today -- I did take it this morning, but I put the cuff under lock and key at work and asked a co-worker to keep me away from it. My reading this morning was o.k. -- 122/88 (it's usually MUCH lower for me -- like 104/68 or so first thing in the AM), and it always climbs through the day. I've now been averaging about 134/98 which is awful and scares me a lot. My doctor said that even at 134/98, I'm fine for a few weeks -- and I won't "stroke out". I'm not sure I believe her, and I do have this weird headache now that I know is caused from the elevated BP, but I'm going to try to leave it alone. Did your readings come down after waiting a few days?

Again, thanks for the support.

[Beth36]

Amarra,
It really does sound like you're doing fine! Good idea to keep that cuff away for a little while. As we all know, worry can make your bp go up. And no, you are not OCD, probably just concerned about your bp like all of us on this board are-or we wouldn't be here. It's a great thing to be concerned and conscientious, but just don't go overboard with it. I was just diagnosed with HTN the first of September and I haven't bought a home-monitoring device yet. Since I'm still working on getting it under initial control, I want to wait a bit longer. My father and brother are both physicians, so they take it for me occasionally too.

Have a great weekend!