Sudden increase in BP 160/100 and 150/100

My Bp was around 147/77 ,141/66 and 149/86  for the last 3-4 weeks.

I'm a 40yr guy, and the doctors refuse to give me meds for my BP.
I'm just wondering is it just normal. I'm non-smoker, exercise every other day, weigh about 165, 6 foot tall, slim build, occasional head aches otherwise fine.

[Barbarella]

If your doctor ignores your BP of 160/100 then you need to see another doctor.  He/she should at least have told you to try to get it down with a certain diet i.e. cutting out salt etc, but to ignore it completely is not right in my opinion.

[Justin1967]

I saw a doctor last week and  it was 149/86, so I am wondering what the heck is going on when I go for random test with the nurse and its 160/100.. I have been told my kidney/urine test is normal..

[Barbarella]

Even a 149/86 is not normal for a young man your age.  Its bouncing forth and back but not lower than 140.  

I see you live in New Zealand.  Could it be that the guidelines for BP are different there than in the U.S.?   But I don't think so.  Europe for example has the same guidelines as the U.S.  I'm sure New Zealand has too.

If I were you I would either ask this doctor why he doesn't have any suggestions what to do about your BP or go to another doctor.

149/86 will not give you a stroke or heart attack, but you are only 40 if nothing is done about it now it maybe will slowly creep higher and higher as you get older.  

Take inventory of what you eat and drink.  Do you eat a lot of salt?  Do you drink a lot of drinks which have caffeine in it or other stuff that can raise your BP as in phenalynine.  Are you under any emotional stress?  Any post traumatic stress?  All these things can raise your BP.  

[Justin1967]

Hi Brabarella,

I have started to look at the sodium level on each food.
What is considered high sodium? Is 400mg high for a can?
I only drink tea occasionally. I don't think I am under emotional stress. Maybe a little stress about this up-coming RAI  (radio-iodine treatment).

My doctor keeps telling me to relax and it is just a little high. Its a long term thing.. I'm very tempted to pay $250 and get a 24-hour monitor done. Then I can see what is really happening..

I can't understand it. It was 120/80 at October 2006. Now after my TT surgery and thyroxine its gone sky high..

[hava]

The following exercise will relax you, build up good hormones in the body and control your BP.Start with 5 minutes and build up your timing gradually. Within 2 weeks you will notice benefits.Continue the exercise once a day after you are better.Come back to report progress.
Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 20 to 30  minutes twice a day(maximum 60 minutes in one day).
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed

[Barbarella]

Go on google and find out what the sodium limits should be in a daily diet.  Since your doctor told you to relax try what "hava" posted above and see if that brings your BP down.

I do have high BP, and I found out over the yrs that different doctors have different opinions.  I heard two doctors arguing about it one time.   One doctor brushed it off with "you're just nervous, you'll be o.k. once you walk out of here" and that with a top # of 150 and that when I was in my early 30's..  Another doctor wanted to put me on BP meds with a top # of 138.  Of course I listened to the doctor who brushed it off and never took meds.  It slowly creeped up on me, it got higher and higher, and am now on BP meds but with no side effects at all and wish I would have taken them sooner.  I already had/have white coat hypertension where your BP shoots through the roof anyway when seing a doctor, but when my BP at home went over 160 when I was calm and then went to the doctor it shot up 40 more points, and I was the staff's emergency :)