Scared to take my blood pressure :(
Posted , 7 users are following.
Ever since I would get these headaches (after a panic attack in January) my doctor found 2 thyroid nodules I have been scared to death of taking my blood pressure. No matter where I am, home, doctor, or the drugstore. When I take it or if I think about it, my heart beats like crazy and i get sweaty. Before my fear of taking my bp my doctor never would say anything about my bp and it would be normal. I would also take it carelessly without caring how high or low it is. Now since i began being terrified my blood pressure came from 148/80 to 130/80 to 149/80. My doctor is making me even more terrified saying if your bp doesnt go down, your heart will grow by the time your about 30 and you might even die young. This made me even more scared of those machines. About 30 minutes ago it was 168/100 something and my heart beat was 110. I don't know what to do at this point. I try to tell myself it's my thyroid nodules, stress, my parents and doctor saying this and that, or my anxiety. Im only a teenager. 
((
1 like, 13 replies
Rainboy ophelia123
Posted
You poor young lady. What a state you are getting into. You sign off by saying "I'm only a teenager". I know what you mean by that, but the very fact you are, may be a contributory factor to some of these feelings that have got out of control.
Firstly, remember these "machines" are just that. They cannot do you any physical harm. The only thing they can do is give you a BP reading, and I think your fear and anxiety are certainly a factor in the wildly fluctuating results you are getting.
Think of an example, for instance, someone decides they should make a will so when they die, their money and belongings are given to the people they really want to have them. Do you think it is reasonable to believe that writing a will is going to kill you? That's a ridiculous thought isn't it! In fact, they may live even longer because they have one less thing to worry about.
Back to your BP monitor. Is it reasonable to believe that the monitor can physically affect your symptoms? No. It simply records them. The fear is rooted in your anxiety about your general health. Start to think of the monitor as a helper or a friend who is always there for you, and is ready to keep an eye on you.
My concern is that you allow this fear to deepen and turn into a phobia. I think your post is excellent, and if you read it more than once, you have almost answered your own question.
You clearly need some moral and emotional support and I'm certain you will find plenty of that from some of the wonderful people that use this site.
Please will you accept my very best wishes. :-)
ophelia123 Rainboy
Posted
This fear of high blood pressure or taking it..I feel like it is ruining my life. Everytime I eat something, I am afraid my bp highly increases. I would be up one night feeling my heartbeat..sometimes I would concentrate so much on my heart and breathing that I feel like i can't breathe or suffocating. I would try to go to bed but for some reason out of the blue I panic, and I feel a huge thud in my chest, my heart beats fast, and i get extremly scared. I am terrified of those machines. I take a glance at them and panic a little inside. This never happened before. I'm scaring myself even more by going online and searching high blood pressure. It tells me my blood vessels or whatever become fatter which doesn't allow blood to flow properly. It also says stress and anxiety plays a big part in high blood pressure which scares me because im dealing with this everyday. This fear of dying, having a serious disease, and high blood pressure has been taking over my life for a few months now. Everytime I feel a slight bit of pain, twitching, throbbing in my body I panic. I feel and see a pulse on one side of my neck and panic, thinking my blood pressure is high or something is wrong with my arteries. Everytime someone talks about health, I get frusturated, annoying and scared.
I really think I need help. If I do, I am terrified of medicine thinking I would get a dangerous side affect and be admitted to the hospital or while I am taking the medicine something changes im my body that is dangerous and nobody will notice. I know. This is how I would think for the past months. I miss my old self, hanging out with friends, not caring about anything really and just living life. I don't want to let my parents, doctor, or siblings know what I am going through because they'll think I am overreacting and crazy. Now..I feel like I am going, crazy crazy crazy.
ophelia123 Rainboy
Posted
Rainboy ophelia123
Posted
The "long essay" requires no apology. The anxiety is driving you and it is expressing itself by blurting everything out. Perfectly understandable, and done it myself many times in the past.
Trust me; you are definitely NOT going "crazy, crazy, crazy". You 'feel' like you are, but feelings can't hurt you. I felt like I was losing my mind during my breakdown. If someone had told me one day I would be well enough to write messages and try to support other people, then I would have thought they WERE definitely going crazy. Yet here I am.
All the things you describe, the fears, the irregular heartbeats, the wildly differing BP readings; can you see what the anxiety is doing to you? Your body is reacting normally to the fear in your mind which causes your brain to release fear hormones and chemicals when actually, there is nothing to fear. The effect is horrible so, guess what. You get more frightened by anticipating them.
And guess what again? That fear of them happening again means they do!
It's a vicious cycle and that is one of the reasons you feel you are going crazy! Break that cycle. You probably do need some help and support and the lack of medication is probably causing your body more distress from the symptoms, than your fear is of taking them.
One piece of advice if I may. You have been doing a lot of research. STOP RIGHT NOW! No more Googling, Exploring, Firefoxing, or going to the Opera! :-) At least not for researching your symptoms, because in your frame of mind you will latch on to every single symptom that bolsters up your irrational fears about your health.
Take a breath, find your centre and a 'safe place', seek some qualified support, and you will get your life back under control. :-)
ophelia123 Rainboy
Posted
Thank you for your concern and replies. I really appreciate it.
Rainboy ophelia123
Posted
I don't underestimate or play down the fact that you are really struggling with yourself and these scary feelings. But, I have to say, that your attitude to listen and determination to act on advice, or at least try it out to see if it helps, is simply admirable.
You described yourself as "only a teenager". Forget that. You are a bright, intelligent, and articulate young lady and you have a better attitude than many people who are 'only grown-ups'!
Keep going. You are now on track. We are all behind you screaming support! :-)
ophelia123 Rainboy
Posted
arun123 ophelia123
Posted
Hello Ophelia
Can you pls tell me how is your BP reading now.?
Even I am facing the same problems which you came across pls WhatsApp me to 9686803386
Every day it's terrifying me. Am not able to stop thinking about it. Even my reading are varying from 80-150mmgHg
Some doctors told it's anxiety disorder.
Pls reply me. I saw your post is 2yrs old but I want to know.
Pgollcher arun123
Posted
racheld1975 ophelia123
Posted
The very first thing I want to tell you is that anxiety can cause your blood pressure to go up and your heart rate for that matter. So every time you worry about your blood pressure being elevated you actually can elevate it by that thought alone. Our bodies are weird that way. My advice to you is to STOP taking your blood pressure right now. Don't take it, you aren't helping yourself by doing it. Also STOP googling your symptoms, it will ALWAYS tell you that you are dying or have some horrible disease. I am saying these things from experience. Instead I recommend getting a new doctor, no doctor should talk to you the way yours did. Thyroid can also play a big role in how you feel, my Mother has Graves Disease, a type of thyroid disease. She had to drink radioactive iodine to kill her thyroid gland and has to take a tiny little pill everyday for the rest of her life. But she has had no issues since being on the medication and all of her out of whack thyroid symptoms went away. In the meantime I would recommend looking up some relaxation techniques, breathing, yoga, meditation, grounding exercises, whatever you can do to try and relax and bring your breathing, blood pressure, and heart rates back to normal. I know it is hard to believe that anxiety can cause all you feel but it can. Over 20 years for me and I still struggle with accepting it. Good Luck!!!
tom10606 racheld1975
Posted
Pgollcher racheld1975
Posted
Pgollcher ophelia123
Posted
Ophelia, I am not a doctor but my suggestion is the following. Firstly slow down on the salty food and also try to reduce bread.
Secondly, try and get out and walk 15 minutes per day at least. A nice fast walk. It is important that you are consistent with both the walking and the food diet. If you see better results do not stop keep going.
Thirdly everyone has a blood pressure number. Your issue is to remove the fear of high blood pressure. A very easy technique but please do read up on it and watch videos is the EFT technique. You tap certain acupressure points of the body that help to eventually release your fear but rews up on it and learn.
I hope this helps. Take care, you will be ok.