blood pressure phobia

[beaglemom]

Hello,  I really hope someone can help me overcome my phobia.  I tend to get extremely nervous when I have my blood pressure taken ( even at home).  I don't know how to overcome this.  I have come up with a theory and tell me if this makes sense.  I feel if I cry, it relieves the stress rather than building up anxiety.  It seems to me that crying would relieve the stress.  If this is true, I am going to cry when I have to have my BP taken rather than stress out about it.  Please e-mail me ASAP.  I am really hurting inside.  I appreciate  your understanding about this irritational phobia.  I would appreciate any advice to help me through this difficult time.  Thank you so much.  God Bless.

[charlesdow]

I am so glad to find out I am not alone. I have been suffering for 20 years with this phobia. I really thought no one else could have this problem. I quit even going to the dr. because i was so afraid of having my bp checked. i would always get a high reading and i would have the same response from nurses and drs. telling me all the bad things that could happen to me if i didn't keep a watch on this. i did the home monitoring too for awhile but that even began to stress me out that i would have an anxiety attack when i would reach for the bp cuff. i also found my self checking over and over again until i found the numbers that i wanted. i swear its like having anorexia. you become so obsessed over numbers. i am post menopausal and i know i need to go back for my well woman check up but the last time as was there i got the same response over my bp. i tried to tell her i had white coat syndrome and been going thru this all my life but she only looked at me like i was crazy. i wish i could just say the heck with it and act like a normal person and go have regular checkups like i know i need too. i try and take care of myself. i excersise 5 days a week and i watch what i eat. i limit my fats salts and sweets. my main meals are mosltly fruits and vegetables.
if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

[xoashxo36]

Hi, I am 21 years old and I have had the same phobia for about 3 years now....I hate going to the doctor, I get so nervous!!! It all started when I went to the hospital over a kidney infection and my bp was high (170/90). The nurse made comments like I had to immediatley stop smoking ect. or I was going to die! I got so nervous and that was the beginning of my phobia, ever since then I've had this phobia and the doctors just don't seem to understand when I explain to them that my bp is normal at home and that I have a phobia...they act like I'm lying or something! It is an awful feeling. For me, I HAVE to go the my doctor every three months to get refills on my medication,it sux. I get nervous when the appointment is still a week away!!!!! To the point where I make myself sick! Finally I talked my doctor into letting me just take my bp at home and record the readings, and now I don't have to get it taken there!!

[Kaz77]

Wow, I can't believe so many other people have this problem also, I really felt all alone in this.  I have had a phobia over having my blood pressure taken since I was 21, over the following 10 years I've found the anxiety is getting worse with it.  Sometimes just thinking about my blood pressure sends me into full on panic attack (racing heart, can't relax, can't think rationally, etc) and can leave me feeling like this for a few days (the vicious cycle of 'I am feeling anxious, therefore my blood pressure must be high'), then other times I will be completely relaxed and can take my blood pressure at home no problems with fine results and think about it rationally  The weird thing is I am quite a laidback person, just the blood pressure really freaks me out.  No matter what whenever I am in a medical situation my anxiety goes sky high along with the blood pressure.

At the beginning of this year I had my first baby, I checked before getting pregnant with her whether it would be ok to have a baby due to my anxiety and was told it wouldn't be a problem.  Unfortunately at 26 weeks gestation I got sick and she had to be delivered by emergency c-section.  She is now nearly 8 months old and is doing great thank goodness!!!  I was worried that my anxiety caused her premature birth but was assured that wasn't the case.  Obviously while I was in hospital they kept taking my blood pressure but my anxiety was sky high so they did loads of tests on me which in turn increased my anxiety more and more.  After about a week I didn't feel quite as anxious and my blood pressure was fine with no medication.  I was discharged from hospital but of course they still wanted to do their postnatal checks on me, this is when my anxiety came back.  They took my blood pressure and of course it was sky high and they said I had to stay in their ward until it came down (said the whole comments about 'you could have a stroke', etc), obviously this increased my anxiety once again and I had to stay in hospital for another two nights, they discharged me on the condition I would take my blood pressure at home which I did, getting good results.  Then I went for a follow up and of course the anxiety came back but luckily since I was getting such good readings at home she didn't re-admit me, I was absolutely petrified of that.

So for a few months I wasn't affected by the anxiety and now all of a sudden I have the anxious feelings back about my blood pressure, scared of what will happen next time I go to the GP or if I ever need to go to hospital, what damage am I doing to my body, etc.  I have been contemplating going to the GP to tell him how I am feeling but scared of what he might do to me, I especially don't want to be put into hospital away from my beloved daughter.

I look after myself and am generally a very happy and healthy person so I don't understand why I am so petrified of my blood pressure, it can be so crippling at times.  Does anyone have any tips, etc?  I would really, really appreciate it, hate this feeling of feeling so worked up and unable to relax.  I have tried CBT and hypnotherapy in the past.

[Maynard98]

I'm not sure that crying will help as I think crying can raise your BP.  I too have the same problem, and it is really nice to know that I'm not the only one.  I bought the resperate which really seemed to help calm me down before testing my BP.  

Whether in the Dr.'s or at home I was having panic attacks (racing heart, sweaty palms and feet, thinking I was going to die) before I tested it.  It would be especially high at the Dr's.  For the past 3 weeks my BP came down really low with a combination of exercise, low sodium diet, relaxation yoga, meditation, and the resperate tool.  Consistently between 105-130 systolic and 60-80 diastolic.

Of course, last night I got one slightly higher reading after feeling anxious (141/81) and that sent me into a tailspin.  Now I'm afraid that the resperate won't work anymore, etc.  This anxiety is crippling.  I feel for everyone of you that has this problem because it's a vicious, unforgiving cycle.  Getting your BP tested makes you anxious, the very thing that causes it in the first place.

[5366]

I can't believe other people have this same phobia as myself.  I thought I was crazy because of it.  It effects so much of my life.  Please share any and all suggestions.  I have just recently started seeing a thereapist, so we will see.  If I learn anything I will gladly share it with everyone.  I know how hard it is to live with this.

[darlie426]

Oh my this sounds so familiar to me. I had this for years. Still due with blood tests but am slowly getting better.
What I would do is take a cd player or ipod with earphones and play your favorite music while they take it something that calms you and take deep breaths. I would also close my eyes to alleviate the stress.
Good luck and God Bless.
Darlie426