bllod pressure

[ieeni]

every time i go to the doctor my blood pressure goes up how can i stop this

[Anthony_425]

Hi Greenlydia,

You wrote in an older message on Oct 17, 2008 to Autumx in regards to taking your blood pressure reading at home and getting stressed out over that. You mentioned that you had ". . .gone over how to deal with a home monitor and not get yourself totally obsessed with that . . ."

I don't find the old message or your thoughts on dealing with a home Blood Pressure monitoring so would you or anyone else reading this be able to repost your thoughts on this issue?

Thanks if you do.

[RubyWitch]

As has been pointed out to you, many of us suffer from the "white coat syndrome" when we go to the doctors, and one of the most common manifestaions of this will be an elevated blood pressure. Sometimes, depending on the degree of our fear, it will get very high. As was also pointed out to you, doctors are well aware of this and take it into consideration and will almost always retake your pressure at the end of the exam, and while your pressure will almost always be lower during this second check, it will almost always still be higher than normal. But again, this is something doctors are well aware of and if your BP has dropped, they are usually satisfied that it was anxiety related. If they ARE concerned, they will not let you leave.
You have stated that your BP goes back to normal as soon as you leave. Is this something that you are actually checking with a BP monitor? What is "normal" for you? While 180/100 is high, for someone who is on the verge of an anxiety attack and fearing that they are going to have a heart attack "right there," those numbers do not surprise me. If that was your "normal" BP, you would definitely need to address it ASAP, but these are not your normal numbers.
I normally do not recommend that people get home monitors if they have a phobia about their BPs as they can easily become obsessed and what is meant to reassure them, backfires quite badly. But it sounds to me like your "problem" only happens while you're at the doctors and you are aware of this. If you don't want to invest in a good home monitor, every time you're at the pharmacy or any place that has a free monitor, take your BP............but only after you've sat there for at least 5 minutes and have relaxed. Keep track of these numbers. Once you have about 10 readings, you will have a pretty good idea of what your normal "range" is. None of us will come up with the same numbers every single time. And if you keep your arm in there and retake it several times, you will see your BP begin to climb. That happens becuase when that machine compresses your veins and arteries several times in fairly quick succession, they begin to think that something is constriciting their blood flow (which it IS) and they will begin to pump harder. The harder they pump, the higher your BP will go. So the rule there is just do it once!
You asked if there was something you could take before going to the doctors to calm you down. This would be the worst thing you could do. IF you did have a blood pressure problem, you definitely want your doctor to know about it!
While therapy is a good idea for many, many issues, I don't think "white coat phobia" that simply causes our blood pressure to become temporarily elevated, is a good enough reason...............UNLESS it is keeping someone from EVER seeing a doctor. I believe the best way to handle this is to have a frank discussion with your doctor about your fear and he can and will take measures to aquire a far more normal blood pressure.
Peace
Greenlydia  

[mammo]

That is high, and even for a short period of time not healthy.  Are you in therapy for your anxiety?  If not you should try it, so that you can learn how to better deal with it, and also learn coping, and relaxtion skills to help you be able to go to the doctors without having a panic attack.  If you're not getting help for you anxiety, please do, there is a lot of help for this.  Take care...

[cj29]

I actually have the same problem at the doctor's office.  Quite often, they will take it at the conclusion of my appointment when I am lessed stressed.  Even if I feel calm, it is definitely elevated.  They actually had me check it at home for a few weeks and everything was normal.  "White Coat Syndrome" can and does affect many people.  

[ieeni]

it has gone to like 180/100 ; and as soon as i am out of there it goes back to normal; i have a panic attack almost' i think he is going to tell me something bad then i will think the worse; wish i could do something to make sure it will not go up before i go in there.some thing i can eat or take till i am out of there.

[mammo]

I agree with Smitty.

If your BP is going really high, your doctor would address that.  Exactly how high is it going?  I have had to have mine taken twice, and they do this to make sure that you DON'T have high BP.  If you could give us numbers that would help, but if not then I would see a different doctor.

[ieeni]

yes but i mean hi; so much so that i think i will have a heart attack right there ; i think the worse; it really scares me

[smitty59]

It's very typical for your blood pressure to go up when you go to the doctor's office.  Haven't you ever heard the term "white coat syndrome?"  Just the act of being in a doctor's office makes my pressure go up.  Doctors take this into account when your blood pressure is taken in the office.  Sometimes he/she will ask for your pressure to be taken a second time later, when you're more relaxed.  I wouldn't worry about it.

Smitty59