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#1
03-23-2019, 08:31 AM
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Blood pressure quandary
I take my blood pressure a home, using a good wrist cuff.
I am always in the normal range- 122/72. Yesterday I had a routine check up with my new doctor. Her nurse had me sit on the edge of the table and used the standard arm band, The reading was 181/90. The doctor had me wait 15 minutes and the pressure was read again. This time it was 167/79. I was still sitting on the table with my arm hanging down when these readings were taken. I said the instructions on my unit back home said to sit in a chair with a back, feet flat on the floor and the cuff at heart level. She said her unit was calibrated to work her way. She then proceeded to write me a prescription for high BP. meds. Back home I retested myself using two of my units. Each read within 3 points of each other, and both in the normal range. I decided to trust my readings and not take the pills, reasoning if my readings are correct, the meds might drop my into a very low BP situation. Appreciate your feedback on this.
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 Master of Contemplation Last edited by Ol Mike; 03-23-2019 at 09:48 AM. 
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#2
03-23-2019, 08:42 AM
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Calibrated to work her way...
 Did they sneak into your house and rearrange your pump and interior plumbing? Change the way gravity pulls on our bodies? BTW, I don't think the BP meds work on me, even they keep changing things up, down and sideways. I think it's their way of making moola etc...
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Hi I'm Tom. Darned if I can remember anyone else's name.   MDCGA The Road Goes On Forever... To Ride is Life... In search of the Doof 43. . . .           ...... .  . .  Colorado Motel Wreckers 2012 ... Midnight Riders of The Beartooth 2013...      
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#3
03-23-2019, 12:06 PM
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I'm going to assume it was one of those automated BP machines.
They don't work on me. For some reason, both the nurse and the doctor have to use the old fashioned, pump up, manual type. Day surgery is in another building and when I had a minor operation several years ago, the only BP machines in the building were the automatic kind. It was actually pretty funny watching them scramble around pulling their hair, wondering what to do. A nursing student had one in her car for school and went out and got it. We all lived happily ever after. That, and now I have a special, old-style, manual BP cuff hanging by the clinic manager's office door. Call a nursing friend and have her test your BP the right way. The cuff should be at heart level, above your elbow, with your arm resting on a table, sitting as you describe.
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 April 13, 2016 -- The day Richard was speechless. May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift. May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift. May your heart always be joyful, and may your song always be sung, May you stay forever young! --Bob Dylan
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#4
03-23-2019, 01:40 PM
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I want to say don't take the pills. But I'd better say go back to the office, sit for 10-15 minutes, close your eyes,breathe calmly, then have them take your BP sitting in a chair. Blood pressure can go up just from driving in traffic, after a meal, after coffee, etc. Your BP is lower right when you wake up so it is normal to be a little higher later in the day but not abnormally higher.
Unnecessary BP meds can make you lightheaded and dizzy and possibly make you fall over when going to a standing position after sitting or lying down.
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 “We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield.”—George Orwell, 1946 "The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but that's how you bet." - or - that's how the smart money bets...attributed to Damon Runyon
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#5
03-23-2019, 01:44 PM
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...
__________________
“We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield.”—George Orwell, 1946 "The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but that's how you bet." - or - that's how the smart money bets...attributed to Damon Runyon
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#6
03-24-2019, 10:49 AM
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Quote:
I'm not a doctor, I don't play one on TV and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. But I do have high BP and I know the process I went through to get it under control. The doc didn't even discuss medication until she was sure it was really high which involved me checking it every day on the same machine for at least a week. Yours was down 14 points in 15 minutes and it tends to go up when taking it repeatedly, maybe not with a 15 minute break but the downward trend shouldn't be ignored. I'm surprised she wouldn't want to at least confirm that it wasn't an anomaly before prescribing. The other issue is that all medications don't work the same and in my case it took some time to find the combination that worked. I don't know if your doc planned any follow up or monitoring but she certainly should have. For me nothing was working and since I have every health issue that my dad has or has had I found out what he was on and that worked perfectly.  But my point is that it takes some time and effort to get BP under control so always question your doctor why they do what they do and what the plan is going forward. In your case I would call the doc back with your readings. If she still gives you a hard time take your cuffs in and compare readings with the ones in the office. Then they can't tell you yours are wrong.
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Tom                 
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#7
03-24-2019, 02:18 PM
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Go to the pharmacy section of Wal-Mart. They have a free tester there. You can compare that reading against your unit. That should give you some idea of its accuracy.
Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
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------------------------------------------------ I know you think you understood what I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."        [       
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#8
03-24-2019, 02:35 PM
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Thanks guys for all your comments and suggestions.
I did buy a top of the line, air pump, upper arm device. The tests are consistently in the 120's over the 70's. I think my doc needs to re-learn how to give a proper test. 
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Master of Contemplation
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#9
03-24-2019, 03:15 PM
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Probably.....
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87 FLHTP..."Alma"...my therapist   The AWAKENING 
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#10
03-24-2019, 03:37 PM
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Quote:
Maybe it's time for a change. 
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  Kimber     
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#11
03-24-2019, 10:05 PM
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Quote:
A number of things can effect BP readings. When to my Doc for my regular check-up once and when the nurse took my BP it was more that 20 points higher usual. When the Doc came in I mentioned the discrepancy to him. He looked at the cuff and mentioned that it was the smaller cuff which is more commonly used for smaller adults and children. He switched to the larger cuff and 'shazam!', back to normal.
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Tom  "Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it don't matter."...Satchel Paige "Mother Nature may dictate I grow older but there ain't nothin' nor nobody can make me grow up." ..Me            
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