Blood pressure question
DanniB423
Posts: 777 Member
Alright MFP friends I need some help! I have never had a high BP reading except one time before when I was really sick and in pain and it came down right after. Today at the Doc it was 130/84 which isn't crazy scary high but the doc acted concerned. I have lost weight so she said maybe limit salt and up my exercise. I'll admit I eat too many lean cuisines out of pure convenience and being busy. I don't go over 2000 MG per day but any recommendations or tips? Or thoughts on The BP in general? Thanks!
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Stupid question (possibly), but have you been on birth control for a long period of time? I had slightly increasing BP, and apparently it can be a side effect of being on hormonal birth control. Like you, my BP was typically normal, but occasionally was a little high. I also have anxiety, and so it was usually higher at doctors visits as opposed to when I tested it at home (I bought a home monitor and tracked morning and night for two weeks at my doctor's request).
After discussion with her, she wasn't overly concerned, but recommended I get an IUD, and after I did, my BP problem resolved.
I wouldn't discount what your doctor said, but it does sound like it could be a fluke reading. I'm a fan of data, so if you can afford it, you could try a home monitor and checking your own. A lot of grocery stores also have them for free as well.0 -
You're right - 130/84 "isn't crazy scary" but you should pay attention to it. Recently, an article was published that didn't show a statistically significant association between sodium and high BP. There is a contradictory article from the CDC; it shows there is a correlation.
If you are concerned about the salt intake, be more mindful about your food / drink choices. Perhaps limiting those LC's or milk or deli meat / processed foods.
Continue on focusing on losing weight to get to a healthy BMI; that should help! Good luck!0 -
Stupid question (possibly), but have you been on birth control for a long period of time? I had slightly increasing BP, and apparently it can be a side effect of being on hormonal birth control. Like you, my BP was typically normal, but occasionally was a little high. I also have anxiety, and so it was usually higher at doctors visits as opposed to when I tested it at home (I bought a home monitor and tracked morning and night for two weeks at my doctor's request).
After discussion with her, she wasn't overly concerned, but recommended I get an IUD, and after I did, my BP problem resolved.
I wouldn't discount what your doctor said, but it does sound like it could be a fluke reading. I'm a fan of data, so if you can afford it, you could try a home monitor and checking your own. A lot of grocery stores also have them for free as well.
Yes. Six years. I plan to get off of it end of October. My husband just had a vasectomy and we have to wait two months for his "sample test" hah to come back and make sure we are good to go. Then I won't have to take it at all. Thanks for the input. I wonder if that will make any difference. I have high anxiety as well.0 -
When I was googling after the appointment i did see a few things about salt being invalid to BP. My doctor said it so I thought it couldn't hurt to reevaluate that a little bit. My weight loss journey continues!You're right - 130/84 "isn't crazy scary" but you should pay attention to it. Recently, an article was published that didn't show a statistically significant association between sodium and high BP. There is a contradictory article from the CDC; it shows there is a correlation.
If you are concerned about the salt intake, be more mindful about your food / drink choices. Perhaps limiting those LC's or milk or deli meat / processed foods.
Continue on focusing on losing weight to get to a healthy BMI; that should help! Good luck!0 -
Did you have something on your mind when you arrived at the doctor's office? That made mine shoot up once.
My ex's BP was always high right when he arrived at the office but when they took it again and the end of the visit, it would drop.0 -
I have high blood pressure only at my doctor's office. Goes back down when I leave. Someone told me it was called white coat syndrome, anxiety at doctors' offices.0
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My BP is always rather high at the doc's, but that is a snapshot reading under a sometimes stressful situation. I take my BP at home 2-3 a day and use the data to assess my recent choices, then share that info at my next doc's visit. My readings at home are never as high as at the doc's. You can purchase your own machine or use the one found in many pharmacies. That's my story. :-)0
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One reading isn't something to wig out about. Maybe you're nervous, maybe whoever took it was lazy, maybe lots of things.
Follow your doctor's instructions.
Many people have decided that salt isn't something they'll worry about until they have developed cardiovascular disease. That's their choice and they're entitled to do whatever they want! I totally support that choice. But they may encourage you to ignore your doctor's advice and that I cannot support.
If your doctor thinks that stopping something before it causes disease is a good idea, I think the smarter thing to do is to give that a shot. But, again, don't wig out about it. Just do what you're supposed to do and don't cross bridges, you know?
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kshama2001 wrote: »Did you have something on your mind when you arrived at the doctor's office? That made mine shoot up once.
My ex's BP was always high right when he arrived at the office but when they took it again and the end of the visit, it would drop.
Well it was a gyno appt.. So having my lady parts prodded with cold metal was kind of weighing on my nerves.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Did you have something on your mind when you arrived at the doctor's office? That made mine shoot up once.
My ex's BP was always high right when he arrived at the office but when they took it again and the end of the visit, it would drop.
Well it was a gyno appt.. So having my lady parts prodded with cold metal was kind of weighing on my nerves.
LOL But, I'm guessing this wasn't your first prodding so if it's not high at the GYN every time, that alone may not have been the cause.
I saw above you said you had high anxiety. You might benefit from stress reduction techniques. Yoga, rhythmic breathing, tai chi, or whatever works for you. I can lower my BP significantly in one minute just by deep slow breathing.0 -
I found that increasing exercise lowered my heart rate but only has a negligible effect on my blood pressure. Losing weight had the most significant effect on my blood pressure.
It doesn't hurt, though, to watch the salt, say, for a month, up the exercise for a month, and see what happens.
You might take the crease out of your doctor's brow by collecting more blood pressure results, say, once a week for six weeks. There are blood pressure machines in many pharmacies now. If you show in different settings and different times that your blood pressure ranges in normal, your doctor (and you) will be reassured.
A warning, though, which you may already know. Just as our weight can fluctuate as much as five pounds in a single day, blood pressure changes all day too.
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She advised checking it later on the in the day. I stopped by a medic 1 urgent care place because they'll check it for you with no paper work etc. it was 121/88. Maybe I'll try weekly. Edit: posted too soon by accident0
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Yeah, you might want that bottom number to be a little lower. I just checked my six month stats and I only had one reading over eighty.0
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Yes, @DanniB423 to put this in context, I was morbidly obese two years ago. I was on blood pressure meds among other things. When I lost my first thirty pounds, I started to have moments of dizziness which I blamed on low blood sugar and low blood pressure. With more weight loss I negotiated my way off all my meds with my supervising team. I promised to keep taking my blood pressure, which I have done. That is why I have a decent period to review my stats.
I am still in the obese category, but I lost enough weight to make a tremendous difference.0 -
If you are trying to watch your sodium then processed foods can be an millstone about your neck. There are so many ways sodium, sugar and their ilk can be hidden under a plethora of pseudonyms. Adding potassium-rich, leafy, green vegetables to your diet can help lower your blood pressure too.0
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I think this has me so frazzled because I had to say to myself "Well Danni. At 5'0 and 244lbs did you think you'd get great readings forever? Did you not think something would show eventually in the form of high BP... Diabetes..?" The good news isnt it is terrible yet.. I'm 27 and I'm down from 272. This was surely confirmation I need to keep on trucking. Not that I planned not to.. But some days have been very tough.
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Yes, @DanniB423 to put this in context, I was morbidly obese two years ago. I was on blood pressure meds among other things. When I lost my first thirty pounds, I started to have moments of dizziness which I blamed on low blood sugar and low blood pressure. With more weight loss I negotiated my way off all my meds with my supervising team. I promised to keep taking my blood pressure, which I have done. That is why I have a decent period to review my stats.
I am still in the obese category, but I lost enough weight to make a tremendous difference.
That's amazing!!! You should be proud!!0 -
These are not high number. Anything consistently over 135/140 systolic or 100 diastolic I would be concerned. If you see a pattern then you have cause for concern otherwise it could be day to day fluctuations due to a million factors.0
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An eye examine is a great way to see if your higher blood pressure can be a problem. When the eye doctor sees issues in those tiny blood vessels in the eye is when you really must become concerned. If you happen to have regular eye exams, ask that Doctor, what he or she sees there. I have high blood pressure, sodium causes me to retain water. It is the water retention that causes the high blood pressure, not the salt itself. If you notice significant water weight (more than a pound) gain after a high sodium meal or day, then limiting sodium may be helpful in controlling your bp.0
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catscats222 wrote: »get another blood pressure test just to check
stores like walmart and walgreens have a machine for checking
- ask ANY old person
Ouch!0 -
daniwilford wrote: »An eye examine is a great way to see if your higher blood pressure can be a problem. When the eye doctor sees issues in those tiny blood vessels in the eye is when you really must become concerned. If you happen to have regular eye exams, ask that Doctor, what he or she sees there. I have high blood pressure, sodium causes me to retain water. It is the water retention that causes the high blood pressure, not the salt itself. If you notice significant water weight (more than a pound) gain after a high sodium meal or day, then limiting sodium may be helpful in controlling your bp.
Thanks for the suggestion! I just had an eye exam on the 3rd. I didn't know to ask that but the nurse there took my BP (118/78) and my doctor did not mention anything.0 -
These are not high number. Anything consistently over 135/140 systolic or 100 diastolic I would be concerned. If you see a pattern then you have cause for concern otherwise it could be day to day fluctuations due to a million factors.
That is what the nurse at medic 1 said. But the doc at the gyno acted all bent out of shape and it made me nervous lol0 -
The eye exam that speaks volumes is the picture of the back of your eye. There's glaucoma that runs in my family so I get that done once a year. Yes changes to those blood vessels speaks volumes about health.
My eye doctor told me a story of a patient whom she told he had diabetes. He argued with her. It turns out his doctor had told him the same thing but he refused to believe it. In a few months he had to have some toes amputated. Those little blood vessels don't lie.
Didn't mean to frighten you. I am sure you are fine, blood pressure wise and everything else.0 -
The eye exam that speaks volumes is the picture of the back of your eye. There's glaucoma that runs in my family so I get that done once a year. Yes changes to those blood vessels speaks volumes about health.
My eye doctor told me a story of a patient whom she told he had diabetes. He argued with her. It turns out his doctor had told him the same thing but he refused to believe it. In a few months he had to have some toes amputated. Those little blood vessels don't lie.
Didn't mean to frighten you. I am sure you are fine, blood pressure wise and everything else.
Oh no I appreciate the input! My eye doctor said my eye health looked great. Hopefully that's a plus!0 -
I agree with Ignatca. Weight loss was what helped most on lowering my blood pressure...It was amazing to see those numbers go down. Mine were higher than yours but are now normal0
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FWIW -- My doctor doesn't recommend using the BP machines in stores. He says they're rarely recalibrated and because so many kids play with them they tend to be highly inaccurate. He's much more a fan of buying a home blood pressure monitor. He says to be concerned when the top number is consistently 140 or above or the bottom number is consistently 80 or above. "Consistently" is a key word there.0
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daniwilford wrote: »An eye examine is a great way to see if your higher blood pressure can be a problem. When the eye doctor sees issues in those tiny blood vessels in the eye is when you really must become concerned. If you happen to have regular eye exams, ask that Doctor, what he or she sees there. I have high blood pressure, sodium causes me to retain water. It is the water retention that causes the high blood pressure, not the salt itself. If you notice significant water weight (more than a pound) gain after a high sodium meal or day, then limiting sodium may be helpful in controlling your bp.
Thanks for the suggestion! I just had an eye exam on the 3rd. I didn't know to ask that but the nurse there took my BP (118/78) and my doctor did not mention anything.
^^This. Ophthalmologists can see lots of things...cholesterol, liver, renal issues. It's pretty cool!0 -
I have ordered some Krill oil more to see what it does for my cholesterol numbers but remembering reading it may help a bit more than fish oil with blood pressure. Of course losing 50 pounds did a lot for my BP. 0
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