# high blood pressure



## dollie (Jul 7, 2017)

i went to the dr .and had to set there 2 hours before i got waited on -she took my blood pressure and it was extremely high --i came home and took it and it was normal .she called me in some medicine --would you take it?


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 7, 2017)

I wouldn't, but I would take my own BP machine to a pharmacy or to the doctors office to make sure it is working correctly by checking the reading against the doctors machine..My doctor has a nurse who will check it for me without making an appointment. If it is ok I would then check my BP several times during the day for several days. Also keep in mind when checking your machine against the other, readings can change if you keep checking it without a break in between. Hopefully your BP was high because of the long wait.


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## Lon (Jul 7, 2017)

dollie said:


> i went to the dr .and had to set there 2 hours before i got waited on -she took my blood pressure and it was extremely high --i came home and took it and it was normal .she called me in some medicine --would you take it?



Was there just one reading?


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## dollie (Jul 7, 2017)

no they took it several times-- the dr took it also and a little piece of the bp monitor fell off so she nly got the bottom reading


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## Pappy (Jul 7, 2017)

White coat syndrome. Every time I go to doctors, it is high. At home, it is perfect. Sounds like the doctor needs a new bp machine if it's falling apart.


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## hauntedtexan (Jul 7, 2017)

Same here.... a 1 hr drive, about a mile long walk on my cane to the waiting area and the worry about getting a DUI because of the pain meds, could be I need no BP meds at all if I would just stay away from the dr....:drive:


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## Citygirl (Jul 7, 2017)

I have "White Coat Syndrome"  but I  take BP pills and have since I was in my 20's only because it does run in my family.


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## Butterfly (Jul 7, 2017)

I wouldn't take the meds yet.  I had similar experiences while waiting for my hip replacement surgeries -- high readings at the doctor's office and fine at home.  There was a question about safety of anesthesia, so the anesthesiologist had me keep a journal of twice a day readings at home, and he determined that I had white coat syndrome, coupled with the fear that if I didn't get the blood pressure down I might not be able to get the surgery.  He was helping me to calm down about the whole thing, and whenever HE took it it was fine.  It has been fine ever since.

Once you get scared about high blood pressure, of course it goes up.  I'd monitor it at home for at least a week and talk to the doc about it again before you take the meds.  Blood pressure meds are powerful and some have very unpleasant side effects and you don't want to take them if you don't need them.  That anesthesiologist told me that if you take them and don't need them, your blood pressure can go dangerously low.


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## Camper6 (Jul 7, 2017)

dollie said:


> i went to the dr .and had to set there 2 hours before i got waited on -she took my blood pressure and it was extremely high --i came home and took it and it was normal .she called me in some medicine --would you take it?



No.  What you had was called white coat syndrome.  I was turned down for insurance at 18 years of age because it happened to me.  Go by your home readings.  But what I have done is taken my home unit when I visited the doctor and compared it to the one he uses.  Take your blood pressure at home and keep a record of it.  If it's normal I wouldn't get started on medication and I would schedule another doctor's appointment and explain it.


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## terry123 (Jul 8, 2017)

I take BP meds as mine is high due to a brain aneurysm that is still there but clipped and under control.  When I am worried about mine I first go to Walgreens and they will do it for free.  The pharmacist there told me with my history to come as often as I need to as she will take it instead of the techs there.  The techs do it if there is no history of previous problems.  The pharmacists are trained and I know because my daughter is one and she has to have refresher courses each year in doing BP testing.  I don't go to her pharmacy as Walgreens is only 3 blocks away and hers is 5 miles.  If I am having problems she will come to me and double check my home readings.  I go twice a year to doc as I know the symptoms when the aneurysm starts acting up as it sometimes grows a little and an angio has to be done.  You fill out an assessment at Walgreens before they take it.


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## dpwspringer (Jul 8, 2017)

Camper6 said:


> No.  What you had was called white coat syndrome.  I was turned down for insurance at 18 years of age because it happened to me.  Go by your home readings.  But what I have done is taken my home unit when I visited the doctor and compared it to the one he uses.  Take your blood pressure at home and keep a record of it.  If it's normal I wouldn't get started on medication and I would schedule another doctor's appointment and explain it.



I'm going to add to what you have said because this a good subject for this forum.

When I am taking care of business, so to speak, and watching what I'm doing where my health is concerned, I have found that weighing in and taking my blood pressure most every morning is a very powerful tool. Over the years I have found that using a dedicated one year calendar with each month on a page is a great place to record those readings. It allows pretty easy comparisons over time periods which I have found very informative. I record my weight and then under that number I record SYS/DIA/PULSE along with the time of day.

About blood pressure monitors. I have had a couple over the years. The first was an over the bicep type but the one I use now is a wrist blood pressure monitor. The wrist blood pressure monitor is much easier to use. I got mine a few years back and the research I did lead me to get one by Omron that cost about $50 when I got it. It uses a few batteries, so there is that to deal with. You have to use the manual to set the time and date and whatever else you might want to utilize (it has a couple of memory functions for 2 users to store their readings, left wrist/right wrist settings, etc.) You have to place it correctly on your wrist, close the velcro fastener (pretty easy to do), push a button, hold it near your heart while it inflates, deflates, and takes it readings, and then you just read off your numbers. Most of it is automatic.


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## Camper6 (Jul 8, 2017)

The monitor I have also shows irregular heart beats if they are present. Some people don't feel them.


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## debbie in seattle (Jul 8, 2017)

Nope.    Did you tell the doc you had to wait two hours? My bp would sure be up.   Is your bp usually normal?    Take it at home for about a week or so and document it and if it's normal, call and talk to the doc or nurse and see what they think.   
Dont use those bp machines in stores,, they get abused so much. Also, go into the office and have the nurse take it for you and be sure it's documented.      Why take unnecessary meds if it was situationally high.


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## Camper6 (Jul 8, 2017)

debbie in seattle said:


> Nope.    Did you tell the doc you had to wait two hours? My bp would sure be up.   Is your bp usually normal?    Take it at home for about a week or so and document it and if it's normal, call and talk to the doc or nurse and see what they think.
> Dont use those bp machines in stores,, they get abused so much. Also, go into the office and have the nurse take it for you and be sure it's documented.      Why take unnecessary meds if it was situationally high.



I agree one hundred percent.  I had a problem with my feet swelling and when I went to a specialist he told me my high blood pressure pills were no good for my condition.


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## dollie (Jul 8, 2017)

i told i  have been sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours -its like that every time i go she books too many patients at the same time-- when i told her she just giggled and said other people have health problems also-- all the good doctors are on the other side of town  and i dont drive over there so i am stuck with her.i had a real good doctor that i went 2 for 20 years but he retired


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## Butterfly (Jul 8, 2017)

debbie in seattle said:


> Nope.    Did you tell the doc you had to wait two hours? My bp would sure be up.   Is your bp usually normal?    Take it at home for about a week or so and document it and if it's normal, call and talk to the doc or nurse and see what they think.
> Dont use those bp machines in stores,, they get abused so much. Also, go into the office and have the nurse take it for you and be sure it's documented.      Why take unnecessary meds if it was situationally high.



My trouble was that every time I crossed that dr's threshold, the BP went up.  I was worried to death it would be high and I couldn't get my hips fixed and I'd be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.  Silly as it sounds, I had to be in a place where it didn't "count" for it to come down to where it usually was.


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## debbie in seattle (Jul 9, 2017)

Butterfly said:


> My trouble was that every time I crossed that dr's threshold, the BP went up.  I was worried to death it would be high and I couldn't get my hips fixed and I'd be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.  Silly as it sounds, I had to be in a place where it didn't "count" for it to come down to where it usually was.




Thats more common then then you'd believe.   Had lots of patients like that.


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## debbie in seattle (Jul 9, 2017)

dollie said:


> i told i  have been sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours -its like that every time i go she books too many patients at the same time-- when i told her she just giggled and said other people have health problems also-- all the good doctors are on the other side of town  and i dont drive over there so i am stuck with her.i had a real good doctor that i went 2 for 20 years but he retired



Dollie-    Book your appointment as the first appointment in the morning or the first appointment right after lunch.   If she's still running late, she's showing up late to work or just isn't giving her patients any respect as to THEIR time.   What's really, really bad with a doc like that is their patients are being shorted on the allotted time, the doc is always trying to catch up.   Also, that 'stuff' about other people have health issues, so do you.   We've had patients actually contact their insurance carriers concerning the time billed vs actual time seen.


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## Butterfly (Jul 9, 2017)

debbie in seattle said:


> Thats more common then then you'd believe.   Had lots of patients like that.



That anesthesiologist told me the same thing.  He also said he believed there are are many people taking unnecessary blood pressure meds because of this phenomenon.


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## nvtribefan (Jul 9, 2017)

debbie in seattle said:


> Dollie-    Book your appointment as the first appointment in the morning.



I always do this.


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## HiDesertHal (Jul 17, 2017)

The White Coat Syndrome plays a large part here.

Before the Sawbones or the Nurse takes your BP, you feel anxiety that it may be higher than normal, and this raises your Systolic.

The only way to prevent his from occurring.....wait a minute....there's NO way to prevent this from occurring while you're at the Doctor's office!

Just take it again when you get home, and it should be lower.

HDH


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## Pappy (Jul 17, 2017)

I totally agree with Hal. Mine is always high at doctors and darn near perfect at home.


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## tortiecat (Jul 17, 2017)

I always tease my doctor about "the white coat syndrome" as he never wears one.
But it is true, my BP is always lower on my machine, and I have had the machine
checked several times at the pharmacy.


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## WilliamArcuri (Dec 1, 2017)

I would advice you to better consult some professional doctor.


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## Camper6 (Dec 1, 2017)

dollie said:


> i went to the dr .and had to set there 2 hours before i got waited on -she took my blood pressure and it was extremely high --i came home and took it and it was normal .she called me in some medicine --would you take it?



Would I take it. Well not right away.  I would wait and keep monitoring it and then make a decision.

And taking more readings in the doctor's office wouldn't change a thing in fact it might make it worse.

There is one thing that I have learned because I had the same experience at 18 years of age and turned down for insurance that my friend was selling.

It's that if you have that white coat syndrome that it might develop into permanent high blood pressure without medications.

It shows you react to pressure situations.  The fight or flight syndrome.


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## AZ Jim (Dec 1, 2017)

Never depend on a message board for medical advice.


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## rgp (Dec 1, 2017)

AZ Jim said:


> Never depend on a message board for medical advice.



 Probably the best advise......


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## Ken N Tx (Dec 2, 2017)

AZ Jim said:


> Never depend on a message board for medical advice.





rgp said:


> Probably the best advise......


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## HiDesertHal (Dec 2, 2017)

Yep...that's the _White Coat Syndrome _all right!

Hal


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