High blood pressure??
Posted , 4 users are following.
Have just had an emergency appointment with doctor, with pain in neck, mushy headache, drained, and blurred vision....Having had PMR for nearly 3 years, got worried it might be GCA...my blood pressure was 220 over 140! I said the machine must be faulty....he took it 4 times, it lowered to 170 over 120. He upped pred to 15mg, blood test tomorrow, but I`m to call 999 if I feel worse in the night!! He dosen`t suspect GCA....I welcome any opinions, especially Eileen if possible, thank you I had got down to 5mg on pred, but uppped to 7mg when feeling very ill.....
0 likes, 15 replies
Nefret linda17563
Posted
Those symptoms do sound more like high blood pressure than anything else and I was found to have hypertension some 3 or 4 years into PMR and Pred. As I had always had low blood pressure (I had to be careful at times not to stand up too quickly) I was startled at this turn in the road.
I was treated for it and over the next few months it just fizzled out. Never had any idea what caused it in the first place, but I've had normal (for me) blood pressure since then with no problems.
If you are worried during the night, follow the doctor's instructions to call out the paramedics. It is exactly what we would suggest under the same circumstances because even the slightest possibility of GCA needs immediate attention.
Oregonjohn-UK linda17563
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mollymoos linda17563
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He should also arrange for eye tests and a vascula test as well.
Prednisolone is also a pain for raising High BPs and affecting the eyesight.
EileenH linda17563
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I had a "maybe GCA" episode a few years ago and had my pred returned to 15mg/day and everything settled down again. If he's doing your ESR/CRP tomorrow there shouldn't much to worry about - but as already said, don't feel reticent in dialling 999 if you feel worse during the night. I have it on good authority they really like proper patients who don't pee or puke over them just because of alcohol!
linda17563 EileenH
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EileenH linda17563
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I'm sure MrsO will say the same - I would at the very least call 111 although I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for their abilities unless you can see an out of hours doctor. Another option is to go to an optician and ask if someone can look at the back of your eyes as they can see if the optic nerve is affected but I would go to A&E if it were me since that BP is now perfectly acceptable so shouldn't be leading to any symptoms.
What do you mean by tender? I didn't have what felt like pain with the jaw problem, it was more it got tired really. Is it just blurring or is there any double vision?
MrsO-UK_Surrey linda17563
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The improvement in your blood pressure is at least one box to tick, but we're not medics on here and you need expert investigation and advice.
Whereabouts are you, Linda?
linda17563 EileenH
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MrsO-UK_Surrey linda17563
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If you do, in fact, have GCA, then possibly the steroid increase to 15mg may relieve your symptoms - I have recently heard of some latest expert thinking that 20mgs can control the inflammation of GCA!
It's a bit of a catch 22 situation for you right now because the obvious worry about GCA won't help your blood pressure.
As the others have said, don't hesitate to take your doctor's advice and dial 999 if you get any worse.
EileenH MrsO-UK_Surrey
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That isn't an uncommon idea - for the patients where there is no cranial involvement, ie no visual symptoms or claudication (jaw pain and scalp pain) a lot of doctors use 30mg.
Did they suggest where your GCA was affecting?
MrsO-UK_Surrey EileenH
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mollymoos EileenH
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EileenH mollymoos
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MrsO - well I wouldn't expect you to go halves on anything! Shame you hadn't stuck with that original GP! Or maybe he wouldn't have recognised the real thing either!
MrsO-UK_Surrey EileenH
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"Shame you hadn't stuck with that original GP!"
The times I thought the same during my GCA years. However, she was a locum and only at my surgery for a very short time. She was brilliant with the house visit and with the care, taking a urine specimen to the hospital herself and ringing me back with the results to put my mind at rest that something serious wasn't going on kidney-wise. She eventually prescribed 40mgs Prednisolone thinking it was this strange thing I'd never heard of called Temporal Arteritis! I asked her if I could be referred to a specialist urgently. Then that night was the first night in ages that I hadn't lain awake longing for a couple more hours to pass so that I could take my next 'fix' of Paracetamol, so I held off the Pred first thing the following morning. She rang mid-morning to enquire how I was (more like the friendly caring 'Doctors' drama on tv than what many of us experience with our local GPs these days, it seems sadly!) When I described my easier night with the head pain resolving, she made me promise to take the Pred if the head pain returned. I later saw a consultant rheumatologist who took further blood tests and swabs and diagnosed meningitis, saying he was uncertain as to whether it was bacterial or viral. But wherever that lovely locum went, her patients are very blessed!
linda17563
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