High blood pressure at doctors
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi there!
I'm 23 years old and I've had high blood pressure since I was 17/18. I'm just now starting to get treated for it because being a teenager I didn't think it was that big of a deal! Boy was I wrong! My average is about 140/100 at home, sometimes slightly lower. When I'm at the doctor, its about 160/100.
I'm on 50mg Losartan and I find that it lowers my blood pressure to a very safe level. Top typically stays 110-120 and bottom 70-80. When I'm AT HOME. For some reason, when I go to the doctor, it shoots back up, even if I just took my medicine a couple hours prior. Last check up at primary it was 158/84. They were about to up my dose, but they had me sit in a dark room for 5 minutes after my appointment and it came down to 130/80.
I had a minor exam done at the urologist the other day and their machine said 170/104!!! I was nervous about the exam, I will admit.... I had just taken my medicine a few hours before this too.
I know that my blood pressure monitor is not wrong because I change the batteries all the time and I've checked it at the doctors office.
I have to get a surgery done in May and they actually postponed it the first time so I could get my BP under control. Now I'm afraid that when I go back up there (I have to drive 2 1/2 hrs for my surgery) it's going to still be high even though it's mostly controlled at home!!
What could be causing this? I do have an anxiety disorder that I do not take medication for but I feel like the medicine should be working regardless of my anxiety, or maybe not? Does this happen to anyone else? Doctors are always really concerned when they see my numbers, especially because of my age.
0 likes, 6 replies
Waffalobill kati96329
Posted
kati96329 Waffalobill
Posted
lyn1951 kati96329
Posted
White coat syndrome, Dr's do know about it and you would be surprised how well they understand.
To have such high blood pressure at 23 would seem to be an issue, I would think, not that I am a medically trained.
Do you eat alot of salty food, or do you put salt in your food when you are cooking it, or even as a sprinkle when you are eating, try cutting down your salt intake and see what happens to your blood pressure, certainly can't do any harm with less salt in diet.
Othe issue I can think about is do you have a weight issue, that can make your blood pressure be much higher.
I have a weight issue and finally getting onto a reaaly good dietian through my GP has been a big help, my blood pressure has also changed towards a better reading.
I was getting very close to having to increase my medication again, so the Dr had a really good talk to me, he was not nasty or even saying YOU MUST DO THIS OR THAT, he just went with the line you will feel alot better if you lose some of that excess, he was right, I do feel better.
As an aside it has also helped my arthiritis, and I have a long way to go, just trying really hard to keep away from the bad and unhealthy foods.
kati96329 lyn1951
Posted
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply! I'm about 70 pounds overweight for my height. I ate really bad before I found out I had high blood pressure and drank alcohol in excessive amounts a few times a month. I've switched it up a lot in the last two months. No more drinking and I'm eating much healthier and exercising so I'm hoping to get off these dang meds! Very rarely did I use the salt shaker and now I definitely don't use it.
They did a full abdomen and renal ultrasound on me, blood work, and an echocardiogram. All were normal except for risk of diabetes (4.6 hemoglobin AIC), slightly high cholesterol and pretty high triglyceries at 252. Glucose 100. So they are boiling it down to genetics/essential hypertension because of weight and diet.
I feel much better with the way I'm eating and how active I've been, but I too have a long ways to go. Good luck to you!
craig_26014 kati96329
Posted
Anxiety and stress both play HUGE rolls in BP readings , also from what you describe this sounds
like " white coat syndrome " . Which is a very real disorder .
mike92384 kati96329
Posted
kati96329..it seems you have "White Coat Syndrome"..big time! You say your bp monitor is ok because you regularly change the batteries. Changing the batteries doesn't make the machine accurate. It should be calibrated (compared) with your doctor's bp mechanism. This is hard for you to do because when you go to the Dr., the readings shoot UP. How you you check it at the Dr. ofice? They practically proved "White Coat" by having you sit in a dark room...it was dark..dark can be very calming = lower numbers.
Your potassium level at 3.9 is just fine..no worries there. I wouldn't be venturing into taking a lot of supplements in the hope of lowering bp numbers. Thats' just 'snake oil'.
B12 levels can be checked..as could a few other vitamins, but a lot of Dr.'s don't think of this. Some do; that's for sure..especially B12 because they know it can cause all sorts of symptoms if the level gets too low.
Let us know how you get on with this.