Severe anxiety about high blood pressure

If you are in the UK and your BP is that high you are entitled to ask to be referred to a "Hypertension Referral Centre" If you Google you will find a list of them.

Do you have a BP monitor? If so the more you use it the less anxious you will be when taking readings.

155/110? I can beat that most mornings:-)

 

Hi Lauren,

I'm delighted to hear you are trying for a baby and send my best wishes that you will be successful in your mission.  It is my belief, and pretty well-known, that anxiety can send blood pressure off the scale!  Anything you can do to prevent worry and stress causing your BP to spiral out of control will help in your present situation.  

If you have a GP who is easy to talk then you need to discuss the situation with the GP.  Find out as much as you can about BPand pregnancy.  The more you know the easier you will feel.  Your GP will work with you to find the best meds to keep your BP down but it also helps to find out if there are any life style changes that will help as well.  Better diet.  More exercise.  Techniques for calming the mind and bringing your breathing under control are also useful.  

I've been tremendously lucky and have been able to keep my BP under control to the stage where I no longer need medication.  Explore all avenues and work with your GP to discover what is right for yoju and your life plans.  Beat of luck!

Sorry about the typos!

Lauren, you don't say whether you're getting any help with your anxiety. While you clearly do have an intrinsic problem with your blood pressure, it's obvious that your anxiety levels are not helping at all. I'm wondering whether you've spoken to your doctor about this. It might not be a good idea to go on anti-anxiety meds, but something like CBT could help.

You say you don't eat well. I'm sure your doctor has already told you this, but cutting salt to the minimum often produces very rapid results in lowering BP. That means no added salt at the table, a minimum in cooking and try to cut out takeaways and ready meals altogether, as these always contain huge amounts of salt. Cutting down on carbs and sugary foods can also help.

Glad to hear you're not overweight - congratulations on that one! But are you getting regular exercise? That doesn't mean taking out gym membership, just walking for an hour every day makes a difference.

But above all, try and get some help for your anxiety. High BP worries all of us, and quite rightly, but it's not normal to be as anxious as you are.

Check your packages for sodium so you can eliminate salt. Buy no salt food or rinse off salt if you can. If your doctor adds s diuretic to your pills your blood pressure may come down faster

Make sure you don't eliminate all salt because you and baby need some salt. It is essential

Please bring down your anxiety levels.  I agree high BP is a major health problem, but it can be successfully managed and controlled. So please do not worry. 

Consult your doctor regularly and take good advice on exercize, diet and meditation. 

Please exercize regularly. I am an indian and I do yoga for 45 minutes everyday. This form of exercize soothes your body and nervous system. Post exercize I feel very fresh and rejuvenatedand this helps the BP come down. 

Please regularly check your sodium and potassium levels. Sodium and potassium should not be very low or high. They should be within permissible limits. Plan your diet accordingly after observing these levels. 

Eat lots of fruits and salads and drink lots of water. Overall pleasebe happy. It's not only required for your BP to come down but also to get a healthy and beautiful baby. 

Last but not least Yes, you cannot avoid medication. But being very young, your body will respond very well to life style changes & medications. So do not worry.

If possible get spiriutual, start meditation, this will really bring your BP levels down. 

ALl the best. Enjoy the process of welcoming the baby. Do not worry. 

I was wrongly diagnosed as having advanced anxiety (adrenalin panic attacks) and wrongly prescribed alpha and beta blockers when I was retaining salt and water and needed a diuretic combined with an aldosterone blocker (an ACE inhibitor for example 10mg Ramipril but in my case I got aldosterone breakthrough of the Ramipril  and needed to change to an  ARB 80mg of Valsartan). I was wrongly prescribed the vasodilator Indapamide at 2.5mg as a diuretic.  

Cutting in half a 50mg Chlortalidone diuretic tablet and taking 25mg per day combined with the 80mg Valsartan (or 10mg Ramipril) is what has worked for me and cures my salt and water retension. Only your GP can advise what you can safely take in pregnancy. But take your blood pressure to check it three times a day first on getting up (sit relaxed and take 3 readings at least one minute apart) then 2 hours after taking your medication (again 3 readings at least 1 min apart sitting relaxed) and again in the evening. Hopefully you may find like me the cause is salt and water retension cured by a diuretic and your anxiety disappears when you know your BP is well controlled. Dont let your GP give you Indapamide as a diuretic at up to 2.5mg. You may want to enable private messaging.