Anxiety or hypertension or both??

[QQQ]

I am a 23 y/o male with headaches everyday that have been called tension headaches with migraines.  I also have hypertension with stress however this occurs everyday even with just sitting down and talking with others.  I feel peranoid.  I feel my heart pounding and my head throbbing.  My b/p goes sky high like 170/100. I even try to avoid others and keep to my self.  I dread eye contact. I have been treated with enderal la which works for the b/p when I am not stressed it still goes high.  The meds do not help the symptoms though. I have had 24h urine done, kidney MRI and ultrasound, head CT and they all have been normal. I have been recently taken off the b/p meds and am going to biofeedback and seeing neuro again. My normal b/p when sitting at home and taking my b/p myself are 120-130/70-80. My questions are

1.  What is the normal b/p rates with stress and activity?  Is it okay for my b/p to go up to 158/80 when I run up the stairs?
2.  Could the stress be the cause of the hypertension, HA, and anxiety feelings or is the hypertension the cause?
3.  Does type A personality lead to hypertension and this type of response?

4.Where should I get help?

I have basically seen every specialist except for cardio and psych.  Everyone else says it is just hypertension and Tension headaches seperately.  Please give me some help and options thanks.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I strongly suggest you see a psychiatrist.  The kind of labile hypertension and symptoms you describe are most likely caused by stress and anxiety, and a combination of psychotherapy and anti-anxiety medication is more likely to bring your blood pressure down and keep it down. This is very treatable and you should expect excellent results.

[anxious18]

hello! i have the same problem. i have an anxiety problem and i am scared about my blood pressure, im scared to go get it checked to find the numbers high. i am afraid i will have a heart attack or something serious. its all in my head and i know it, its just its hard not to think about my blood pressure and other health issues. i am greatful to find another person with the same problem. feel free to email me at ***@**** anytime and we can talk about this all. i really want to get rid of my anxiety problem and im sure you do as well. ive had these thoughts of heart problems and high blood pressure for about 3 months now, and wish they would go away. its a tough battle, but i hope ill beat the anxiety and high blood pressure. - chad       ps : feel free to message back here or email, id love to chat!

[ojohnr]

chadhryniuk

i too have severe anxiety/panic attacks.  ive had it for several years, but for the last 6 months it has taken over my life.  it has caused health problems like heart palpitation and afib.  my blood pressure rose very high during my attacks.  for hours and sometimes days at a time, i just lock myself in my bedroom and worry if i am going to die when a bad anxiety attack hit me.  thanks to a friend, i went to a physician and take 50mg of atenelol for my BP and palpitations.  i am also seeing a psychotherapist to easy my tension.  i have to say i feel my better.  

you MUST see a doc for your problems and do not wait!!!

[Browniz]

I have just started posting instead of just reading.  I am bipolar (just had to get off Lamictal due to side effects).  But this is also the very day I began anxiety attacks - feel as though I can hardly breathe (no chest pains or headaches) dizzy and off balance.  Feel as though I am dying. I take (2) .5 xanax when it comes on - but on average it last about an hour.  I have had 4 in the past week.  Went to my psy. and primary care Dr. They say just take xanax til Lamictal gets out of my system.  When I went to the Dr. on Friday my b/p was 175/95 and then down to 150/90 before leaving. Normally 130/80. Now I'm obsessing more than ever over death. I'm 49 and holding. I not as afraid of have a heart attack as I am a stroke (I would rather die than be disabled).  I know people who have had strokes and cannot walk - some cannot talk and some cannot even feed themselves.  That is frightening - I am divorced amd both children suffer severely from Bipolar.  Who knows - we may all die tomorrow.  Did I add I'm a little negative and angry lately too?  This is not usual for me either as a general rule

[TheDacus]

I have been struggling with anxiety for about 5 years now. At first I thought it was from using drugs, but the anxiety continued after I quit. Then I thought it was from smoking, but the anxiety continued after I quit. I lost two jobs due to missed days. It got so bad that I could not leave the house for awhile. I got so frustrated that one night I went to the emergency room because I was sure there was something wrong with me. Of course everything checked out and I was diagnosed with “shortness of breath” and given a prescription for an inhaler that listed as side effects “rapid heart beat”, “light headedness”, and “shortness of breath”. Huge help that trip was. After a series of trips to various clinics someone finally figured out that I had anxiety and prescribed Paxel. I had the second worst panic attack of my life after taking Paxel followed by three days of much worse anxiety. Another doctor prescribed Zoloft to me. My anxiety got better for the first time in a long time, but I could not sleep. I worked out a dose of Zoloft that let me sleep. I took Zoloft for about a year during which time I began to feel fine. I stopped taking it and was fine for three years after that. Just recently I started having problems leaving the house. At first I thought I was just being lazy, but after having a major panic attack, I could see what was really happening. I have put on a lot of weight since the first time I was having problems and I know that my blood pressure is running a little high. I know I will probably end up taking Zoloft again, but I wish there was some way to make this better without taking medication for the rest of my life.

[MIdEvilEd]

Hello All,

         I am new to these forums, but I know how much talking can help sometimes. My anxiety has come and gone several times troughout the last ten years. I can remember the first time like it was yesterday, it came outta nowhere, and I had never experienced anything like that before. I was never afraid up until that point. My life has had many dramatic changes from then until now, because now I understand it, but I guess understanding it is not a cure in itself. My battle has a ways to go yet. My days seem to go by alright all the way up until the sun goes down and its time for bed then my mind takes over for me and I lose the ability to think for myself and fear grips me for hours. It seems to all center around the extreme beleife that I cant breath as if there were something like babypowder in the air sufficating me. I know it sounds strange even to me, but this prevents me from sleeping with my wife at night or enjoying a television show. I quit smoking behind this, and I think that was the only positive thing to come from this. I have found many breathing exercises that help, but Im tired of this now, and I dont want to fight this any longer. I almost want to see where the anxiety will take me if I dont fight will I sufficate? I dont think so, but I think facing this fear will help as scarey as it is for me. For me these attacks are very real although not as bad as when I was younger. My mother and father were both heroin addicts, so I had no guidance at all I was taught to fight, and to distrust everybody. When I became curious about straightening up my act as a 16 yr old in the ghettos of Baltimore this was hard. I think thats when I developed a contience, and my trouble started. The first night I had an attack I woke everyone in the house telling them I was having a heart attack. My mother ignored me and went back to sleep, and because of that I associate that with my mother and her feelings for me. So from that day on  my feelings for my mother were tainted until her death in 1997 only after do i remember forgiving her. sorry to ramble on

[LAM1]

I am new to this as well. I am 27 and recently was told that I am hypertensive. My BP rises sometimes up to 180/80. However this is not all the time. It is normally low in the mornings and after I exercise (110-120/75-80)however by midday,my systolic readings cross 140. I am and have always been a very anxious person and worry quite a bit so it's no surprise that I have been worrying non stop about my health, and this is probably contributing to it being high. I would really like to get this under control as it is freaking me out. The medication does not seem to be working or it has only a limited effect. I really do not know what to do.

[LAM1]

I am new to this as well. I am 27 and recently was told that I am hypertensive. My BP rises sometimes up to 180/80. However this is not all the time. It is normally low in the mornings and after I exercise (110-120/75-80)however by midday,my systolic readings cross 140. I am and have always been a very anxious person and worry quite a bit so it's no surprise that I have been worrying non stop about my health, and this is probably contributing to it being high. I would really like to get this under control as it is freaking me out. The medication does not seem to be working or it has only a limited effect. I really do not know what to do.