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Sudden rise in BP

Posted , 30 users are following.

gill70346
gill70346

Last Thursday  I had my blood pressure checked at GPS and it was 143/93 which was great as it was the lowest it has been since the beginning of the year. Friday morning it was 171/114,Sat 175/115. Sun 180/123' so getting really worried. Also very bad right sided headache. Phoned GP who asked me to come in ASAP and then admitted me to hospital. Whilst in hospital BP went up to 210/145 at its worst, Enalapril dosage doubled and BP eventually settled. My question is why would it have suddenly shot up like that. Also is headache normal with very high BP (I rarely suffer from headaches). Hasanything similar happened to other people?

0 likes, 72 replies

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  • Drasadaf
    Drasadaf gill70346

    Posted

    Hi..maybe a high salt diet or some work stress could give rise to this kind of rise...also a lack of relaxed deep sleep may contribute to this rise..don't know your age or else could think of other reasons pertaining to age..well good thing you were admitted ..hope you get better...

    it had happened to me when I was not on medicines and was diagnosed newly hypertensive n it was 180/122 and I was admitted too..but now I am Okay ..on pills of course..

  • derek76
    derek76 gill70346

    Posted

    Are you in the UK? I ask as you phoned your GP on a Sunday and admitted to hospital as BP high.

    Mine has very, very often been 210/110 over the last fourteen years. I told a cardiologist earlier this year that my diastolic had been over 120 several times in the previous two weeks. That's all right she said:-)

     

    • gill70346
      gill70346 derek76

      Posted

      Yes I am in the UK. Just realised that I mislead you in the original question. The BP was very high on the Sunday but higher still on the Monday which was when I phoned the doctor. By then I also had a right sided headache. All the doctors seemed very concerned not just because the BP was so high but because it had gone up so high so suddenly
    • derek76
      derek76 gill70346

      Posted

      Soon we will hopefully have Mr Cameron's 'Seven Day NHS'
  • derek76
    derek76 gill70346

    Posted

    In one of your previous postings you said that you are a heavy user of  cocodamol 30/500. Can that be a factor?  
    • gill70346
      gill70346 derek76

      Posted

      Possible but unlikely as the very high BP came on so suddenly. It was relatively OK and the next worryingly high and I also had a really bad right sided headache and I rarely get headaches

       

    • jackie32887
      jackie32887 gill70346

      Posted

      Pretty normal to get a nasty headache when the BP goes up, after all the blood goes to the head. I get them every time my BP spikes like tonight. 195/90 but going down slowly.,wonder what triggers them off.
  • MrsO-UK_Surrey
    MrsO-UK_Surrey gill70346

    Posted

    Gill, yes an unusual headache will certainly lead to a suspicion of high blood pressure, but it can also be due to many other conditions.

    If you headache disappeared and your blood pressure improved with the doubled dose of Enalapril then high BP would appear to be the answer.

    However, I'm not a medic, just someone else who has problem BP and what has been described as "labile blood pressure".  

    When my blood pressure first suddenly rose to 200/90+, I was alerted by a sudden feeling of dizziness when I tried to stand up.  As far as treatment is concerned, I am one of the very awkward BP patients for whom so many different pills have so far produced very unwanted side effects.  One pill has just been removed due to severely abnormal blood test markers.  Unfortunately the remaining pill I'm on (Losartan) is not reducing my blood pressure (190/86 on my most recent check) but it's the first pill I feel well on so it's so frustrating.  They're unable to increase the dose of this because it increases my creatinine slightly on the 50mg.

    In the absence of sudden stress, weight increase, lack of exercise and a salty diet, it may be impossible for anyone to answer your question as to why your BP would have suddenly shot up like that - it seems BP is what it is!  Is the increased dose of Enalapril still normalising your BP?  Also, will you now have to stay on that dose permanently?  I'm hoping your head pain has also subsided.  Good luck!

    • gill70346
      gill70346 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      BP is still quite unstable Thursday and Friday relatively normal, yesterday 185/130 today 170/113. Hope 2moro it will have normalised some more. Thanks for your concern.
  • stuart1953
    stuart1953 gill70346

    Posted

    The only time I had similar issues (although I wasn't hospitalised) was when I was taken off 100mg of Atenolol without being weaned off it. Can't remeber exactly what numbers I hit but circa 190 / 130 I think.

    You haven't had a recent medication change have you?

    • gill70346
      gill70346 stuart1953

      Posted

      No, just a gradual increase in Enalapril which had resulted in mt BP going gradually down until it was amost normal on the Thursday but suddenly went very high on Friday.

       

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey gill70346

      Posted

      Well, I'm joining you a bit in that panic now - took my BP last night and it was 220/90!  So obviously the remaining pill I'm on(Losartan Potassium) after having had to discontinue the second/latest one (Indapamide) due to very abnormal blood test markers, isn't doing anything.  I'm floundering in the position of waiting for my blood tests to be repeated in 3 weeks time to ensure they have returned to normal and then liaising with the renal consultant who is in charge of my BP medication.  I do have a GP appointment this coming Friday, so I'm guessing alarm bells will sound.  I'm also guessing that I'm going to have to take BP pills and try and put up with their life-altering side effects, including the risk of further worsening my kidney function (I've already tried six different ones).  At the moment I feel as if I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.  So sorry to moan!
    • gill70346
      gill70346 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Goodness me! Thats sounds far worse than my problems especially having renal prblems - were they caused by the high blood pressure or did the high blood pessure cause them. My last blood test (10 days ago) showed an abnormal result bt don't know what.  Will find out next Monday. Also have another blood test on Wednesday - Us and Es and CPR (don't know what that is.

      My thoughts and prayers will be with you on Friday.

      Gill

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey gill70346

      Posted

      Thanks Gill.  I had a kidney removed over 50 years ago and the remaining one has worked perfectly until about 8 years ago.  At the time I had been taking Ibuprofen for some months due to an illness that hit out of the blue but with the lack of a diagnosis for almost a year I just had to resort to painkillers to be able to get off the bed!  So it's possible that the Ibuprofen caused some damage but it's equally possible that the undiagnosed, therefore untreated, inflammation in my body did the damage.  Plus at that time, the Government had directed that a new blood test should be carried out as a matter of routine on patients having blood tests for their Us and Es to try and discover whether reducing kidney function was an ageing issue or a disease issue.  This test showed that I had reduced kidney function.  However, the readings remained fairly stable until going on BP meds, with the last pill causing a sudden drop in function of about 7 points in just 3 weeks.

      CRP is C-Reactive Protein - it tests for inflammation in the body.

      Lots of good luck wishes for your results too, Gill. 

    • gill70346
      gill70346 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Just thought I would let you know my blood pressure is now normal for me ie  it has been below 140/90. For the last three days.  Still waiting for some blood test results but I am hopeful they will be OK. Will be thinking and praying for you tomorrow.

      gill

    • jackie32887
      jackie32887 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      You poor thingMrs Surrey. I carry on like a pork chop if my BP goes to 150 then I worry and tush of to the hospital, one thing I'm grateful for is I can just walk into the hospital I belong to here in Thailand and have any test there and then, on the spot, no waiting which is a huge relief. No appointments has to be made... Thank god. But I panic when my BP spikes. It hasn't for awhile and the Hyperdix seems to be working except today. I have got gastritis and the nastiest of pains which has sent my BP up to 165/86. ( usually 120/76) so I'm gathering severe pain can raise BP... Does anyone vouch hot that ...meantime Mrs Surray u need to find a good pill to keep your BP at bay, it can take awhile too. It took me 4 months and four different medications.... And no salt whatsoever oooohhhhhhh I love salt . I wonder if Vegemite is ok for H BP .

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey jackie32887

      Posted

      Jackie, sounds like a great system in Thailand if you can just walk in off the street for a non-emergency appointment there and then.

      Yes, I'm sure the stress caused by being in severe pain from the inflammation of gastritis could cause a hike in BP.  Do you eat 'live' (probiotic) yoghurt?  If not, do have a daily small carton as it may help to line your stomach.  Manuka honey is another great aid, to the esophagus in particular.   

      I know I need a good pill to keep my high BP under control but I've already tried 7 or 8 - some haven't worked at all, whilst others cause such horrid side effects.  The latest one is making me somewhat short of breath if trying to talk and walk at the same time whilst also causing  pain in my leg muscles and now very swollen and inflamed ankles, but I'm trying to persevere with it as long as I can.  Haven't taken my BP for ages - to be honest, I got sick of taking it and finding it raised - that became more stressful than ignoring it.  I don't have any added salt in my diet although I know that there is hidden salt is so many things.  Don't know about the Vegemite salt content but I do very occasionally have Marmite - hubby keeps telling me that we do need a small amount of salt but the consultant told me definitely not to have it - at one of my blood tests, when i felt very low and lethargic, it was found that my sodium levels had dropped below normal, hence the lethargy.....go figure!

    • jackie32887
      jackie32887 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Isn't this all just a pain in the butt. Honestly I have always been so healthy until last year when all of a sudden I had high blood pressure which is under control finally after four months of hell putting up with all the side effects. Then lactose intolerance, anxiety problems, nerves, now this awful horrible painful gastritis not too mention bronchitis that I'm getting over and a severe s in my spine which I never had before and is creating small problems. What do we do, shoot ourselves, take our selves to Switzerland for a glass of Yukky white stuff and say goodbye. Honestly I can't tolerate being sick. I hate it. Active big time till a year ago now walking around like an old chook. Can hardly lift my legs up. I do the shuffle almost Lololol

      It boils down to diet, a good healthy diet , exercise, breathing exercise every night before bed. And hope and pray that we wake up in the morning as morbid as that may sound. End of my rant. I will go buy live probiotic tomorrow if they have it in this country. Let's hope... Xxx

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey derek76

      Posted

      No, Derek, Diltiazem was discontinued ages ago due to swollen ankles.  Still on Losartan but now with Doxazosin - was told to take an extra 2mg at night if my BP was as high at home as it was at hospital.  However, that's not going to happen with the side effects it already causes.  However, the swollen ankles took a lot longer to arrive after starting Doxazosin than with the Diltiazem.  The Diltiazem was ok until they increased the dose as the first dose wasn't effective.

      I've been trying Montmorency cherry juice each day plus an ounce of grana padano cheese as recommended in the press and on a TV programme.    Just need to pluck up the courage to take my BP now.  Heaven knows what the daily cheese is doing to my cholesterol though!

      Have you seen the recommendation in the Mail today about a type of pacemaker for patients for whom BP meds don't work?

    • derek76
      derek76 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      Should you wear compression stockings to help with your swollen ankles?

      When I was in hospital to get my pacemaker fitted someone on Diltiazem was told to do that for his swollen ankles but also to push his BP up.

      Does Montmorency cherry juice contain melatonin? I tried Melatonin to help me sleep but iy didn't work for me.I have not heard of that cheese but I don't often eat cheese.

      Sounds an interesting device to control BP. Dr Lobo's renal denervation trial was the first one I tried to get on but all the places had been filled. His PA offered me the chance to become a patient at his Barts BP clinic saying that he had a lot of sucess with difficult patients. I probably should have taken her offer but it would have been a fairly long journey.  

    • derek76
      derek76 MrsO-UK_Surrey

      Posted

      The Scottish saying is 'Youv'e never died a Winter yet'

      I think that yesterday Cameron was singing.. Sing as we go.

    • MrsO-UK_Surrey
      MrsO-UK_Surrey derek76

      Posted

      Hadn't thought about compression stockings, Derek - they'd probably help especially as I can't take diuretics.  Am having lots of known diuretic foods though.

      Montmorency cherry juice is pure without any added ingredients. 

      Had a really sleepless night last night so off to bed and hoping for a better one tonight.

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