Whats going on? Raised BP, Anxious, Stressed or Doc says vertigo, really?
Posted , 5 users are following.
Me - Im 35, male,tall, slightly overweight but not too much very active, lots of sports, good diet loving husband and and great daddy to a 6 year old! No illnesses apart from the very occasional anxiety spell when Im overseas or out of comfort zone etc... maybe 2 a year for 5 mins. I had liposuction 4 weeks ago on my chest, (gynecomastia op).. wearing a very tight compression vest at the minute, 4 weeks in, another 4 to go until it can come off.... OK, thats me,..Enough about me....
Recent events - Wife had minor heart attack in February, didn't notice it, taken to docs cos her bp was very high, taken to hospital, stent in her ventricle out 5 days later. Shes fit, healthy, never smoked, doesn't drink heavily, not really in family either.
4 weeks after coming out she had a TIA. Jeees WTF?!!!... another 5 days in hospital. Shes fine now.....Thank god!.
3 weeks ago I was sat at my desk at work writing an email. (im a stress-head might need to add). I was typing an email and got hit by a dizzy spell, nearly knocked me off my chair!... For no reason!,...Thought it would pass, it didnt. That evening still slightly dizzy and a headache. ( i never get those). Same the following day and couldn't concentrate, pain in back of head moving to front of eyes repeatedly. I went to A & E.
My BP was 190/110!! They gave me a diazepam and a Cortizone jab. Told me it was stress at work and waited till BP came down and sent me home.
Following day, same, back to A&E, doc says I might have developed hypertension having been through such a tough time lately with the wife, gave me enalapril 10mg, blood test - normal, ecograph, ecg, normal, xray and ultrasound - normal. Did a weird finger test and said my eyes flickered to the right and diagnosed me with Peripheral Vertigo, gave me Betahistine twice a day and told me to make appt with GP and write my BP results down 3 times a day.
3 days later, betahistine has had no affect on the dizziness and I have now developed unprovoked anxiety panic attacks! (What the he'll are they? - Horrible). Sat at home in bed, sat in a restaurant, 2/3 times a day.. for no reason?.....
3 days after that, the dizziness seems to have subsided slightly and I cant stand these panick moments so I binned the Betahistine to see if that was the potential cause, low and behold, touch wood, I havent had an anxiety attack since (maybe just coincidence), is this a side effect??
Went to GP a week later with BP results, average 160/95 morning, 158/95 afternoon and same in the evening. GP changed BP tablets to Ramapril 5mg once a day and gave me Lorazepam 1mg for the panic attacks and said I was OK to have them one a day and may also help with the dizziness and BP. I also (for my sins) have a few wines every night pretty much to destress and chill. (ive always done that) I told the doc and she said it isnt ideal obviously but to me its better than benzos??
OK so here we are today.. I havent taken the Lorazepam as theres only one of us working here and I need to be sharp. BUT I AM NOT! My BP is still 150/90 all the day on average and either the dizziness or fuzziness has reduced somewhat or I have just begun to handle it better. (I meant to say, I have zero appetite either with the headaches)
I have a permanent headache now (mainly around the crown area). I struggle to focus on anything, my work is suffering, I feel like my head is going to explode all the time, Im tired more than usual, I struggle to laugh, im just not myself at all. I feel like Im sat next to me and my body is just going through the motions... quite sad really..... My little girl is beautiful, work is going well, Im not depressed (I dont think I am anyway), my wife is fine now and although yes it has been awful start to the year, she is genuinely doing well and I cant simply put all this down to stress, I just cant, it just sounds wrong.
Appreciate this is information overload!!, but I needed to get this out. Any feedback or thoughts much appreciates. Just nice to have someone to talk too.....
Adam.
0 likes, 17 replies
adam20324
Posted
1. Headaches are still there, they seem to last longer and hurt around the top/back of the head. They make me feel lightheaded.
2. My sleeping patters are awful!. Im up every 2 hours, vivid dreams (known side effect) that I really dont enjoy and wake up tired every day.
3. BP is stable but still what I think is high at 157/92 everage
4. Dizziness and lightheaded feeling regularly with the head pain
5. Not really zombielike anymore (deffinitely the ramapril I was on IMO)
Doc has said my 20mg dose is very little and increased to 3 pills a day (30mg/day).
I have been reading up on Propranolol and some people take up to 200mg/day??.. Ive even ready teenagers with Migraine problems taking 40mg 3 times a day. This is treble what I am n and Ive had the numb elbow, bad sleep symptoms just off what Im taking. Ive also gained 4 pounds eating no different.
Not quite sure what to do now. Only scan I havent had is a CT scan on my head. Bloods came back fine apart from slightly low vitamin B12, so Ive had a shot of that too.
Not sure I should keep updating here, Ive seems to have digressed somewhat havent I?.
Adam
mike92384 adam20324
Posted
adam20324...Hang in there, Buddy. I get headaches a lot too...at the back of my head mostly, but sometimes at the top. Also, I experience lightheadedness from time to time. You could be experiencing what is known as 'tension headaches". It's very common for them to cause the back of the head to ache.
Your B12 levels were slightly low, & you've had a shot of it. Why not take B12 on a regular basis, say about 1000mcgs 2-3/week? A lot of things can go on in the body that don't show in bloodwork. Are the muscles at the top of your shoulders ok, or do they ache??? Have you had an MRI on your spine (lumbar, cervical & brain)
Propanolol...I'll guess that's a beta blocker? I dont know much about that one, but as I've mentioned in previous posts, I take Atenolol 50mg/day & don't have any problems with it...no night sweats, no sleepless nights, etc. My neck problems are likely because of what's going on in the cervical spine, & the tops of my shoulders are very sore at times as well, The muscles in the back of my neck will knot up, making things very sore. I'm seeing a Physiatrist in a few weeks.
Yes, some people do take higher doses of medications than we might, but that doesn't mean they're doing a lot better. You don't know if you're experiencing migraines. Believe me, you'd know it for sure if you were.
I would agree that 157/92 is a little high., but also take into account that when one isn't feeling well, bp will elevate. You are no longer taking the Rampiril which disagreed with you. Have you considered asking the Dr. about Valsartan, Irbesartan etc? Rampiril is an ACE inhibitor & ACE's are known to cause a hacking dry cough. Not everyone experiences the cough, but some do amongst other things. I'm certainly not a doctor, but quite frankly, I wouldn't like to have the beta blocker increased.
Please let me know how things go...please keep updating, in fact feel free to private message me at any time.