Blood pressure cuff.
Hi I know this is a stupid question but I can’t bear checking my own BP at home does anyone else feel similar?! I got a bad result about two years ago because of ongoing stress at work; tested my own BP at home and long story short ended up on tablets which have slowly been reduced in January this year. Would love to come off the tablets and the only way I can I guess is to check at home and record results but can’t stand that cuff near my arm!!
och it’s easy peasy..i do it every day lol.. just tell yourself it’s for your own good.. go on.. you can do it👍😉
I’m going through a strange phobia at the moment regarding taking my blood pressure because it was high through some recent stress when it should have been normal. I became a bit obsessed and kept taking it too much. Every time I took it it went up and up so have stopped for a while
I don't think it's stupid at all. You know the bit I hate when it's done by professionals? That spiteful little extra nip it gives you before the cuff deflates! I always tense up waiting for that and of course, my BP skyrockets. It gets doctors shaking their heads, even when I plead White Coat Syndrome, so now I take it at home over a few days before I have an appointment and then I can take my own record in. They still test it of course, but I can show it's not always that high. I still don't particularly like the pressure of the cuff, but I reckon if I don't do it myself, they're going to have to practically knock me out to get my BP down, and if you do it routinely, you get used to it, especially if you use some dull TV or music as a distraction.
I use one that fits onto your wrist. So much easier and comfy than the ordinary type.
I didn't know they do those. Can you buy a cuff by itself without the machine and is it accurate?
It’s an all in one. Very very easy to use, just slip it onto inside of wrist, then press attached start button, I could not cope with the usual top of arm style, too fiddly, too constricting. Recommend looking on internet for demo...xx
Thanks, I'll look into this. Agreed, it is awkward to put the cuff on your upper arm by yourself and I'm never quite sure I've got it tight/loose enough. x
My wrist one is much more comfortable!
Give yourself a prize each time like the doctor gives out. I don't really like the suckers but the gummy bears are pretty good. Chocolate is too messy.
I suffer from “white coat syndrome” I think because of bad results from an undersized cuff when I was young & fit and the panic in the family it caused until I had it proven wrong a few days later. I believe my issue is irrational (but there’s little I can do about it) & it takes a lot of trust in someone to get a decent reading. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to sneak up on myself recently and take a reading without myself noticing - therefor I spook myself too. My anxiety seems results based & I usually get a couple of high readings (1st much higher than 2nd) until I realise that my results aren’t that bad, relax & get decent, repeatable (hopefully true) results. The mind is a complex & powerful thing - I have to constantly try & stop the rapid fire, negative thoughts and “what ifs” bouncing through my head during these tests by distracting myself. I’m not always successful at that & abort the odd one part way through when it’s out of control so that the ensuing falsely high result doesn’t fuel more of the same.... I’ve just read that back and nearly deleted it for fear that I sound like a complete lunatic, but I can assure you I’m not & that is the best way I can describe the situation. So, in hope that it may help somebody, I’ll leave it up there.
Hopefully one day I’ll shake it off but it took about a year to get my “white coat” recognised at my GP’s & I really don’t think that helped me either. Yes - I understand their reluctance but I really wasn’t being listened to & also previously ended up on BP medication (because of stress) that made me quite ill so am now left nervous of having to take BP medication - another anxiety trigger?
Ps. I’m actually quite a chilled bloke (when not having my BP tested or having an injection) but that may be hard to believe by reading this. 👍
I always hated getting my BP taken full stop, the feeling just made me queasy. Especially during hospital stays when they leave the automated one set to 15 mins... it made me feel ill and raised my BP, often keeping me in longer than needed.
In early 2018 I was diagnosed with Takotsubot/HF and just had to get used to it, even going as far as to buy a meter.
Last year I was struggling with readings being so high at clinics/GP/Nurse that I was refused meds I need for other issues due to my "extremely High" BP... two 24 hr blood pressure monitors later from different hospitals (one voluntary for a clinical trial on BP) I had absolute perfect readings! One nurse was actually excited as I came back exactly on the figure they use as their base line! Turns out I do not have high BP just white coat syndrome.
Means over the last 2.5 years all the heart/BP lowering meds I was given made me too ill to function because they were turning normal in to too low!
I still don't like the cuff but overcame the fear because I knew it had to be done, potentially to save my life.
Yes I still get occasional scary results but half hour later can be fine... just anxiety doing its thing!
Take care and try and overcome your hatred and make the machine your friend.
Yeah it’s like Shrek1974 says the mind is powerful. They’re doing studies on how the brain affects blood pressure ; ‘the greedy brain ‘ is how they’ve described it. I can’t remember enough of the article to describe here but worth googling! Thanks for replies, all helpful.
I know how you feel 🙂
Someone suggested to me to check BP every day early morning. I wondered if it makes any difference before or after my first cup of Tea?
Maybe silly question, I'm a beginner.
I hate having BP taken with the machines, much prefer the old fashioned way with the rubber tube and bulb.
I spent the most miserable 24 hours of my life about 18 months ago. Had to have BP monitored. Have large cyst on left arm so all readings done on right. Cuffs are designed for left arms so not easy to adapt and fasten. The damn thing was slipping down even as I drove home. Had to keep readjusting it.
It kept doing that pinching thing when it blows up so hard you think your fingers are going to explode, then starts to deflate, only to blow back up again. Every half hour during the day and hourly at night, it was a nightmare. Couldn't wait to take it back and then they had the nerve to say my readings were still a bit high!!!
Have just had to do my own readings for a couple of weeks which is ok as it's me doing the testing, had meds readjusted, but if it is going to be a regular thing the wrist version is looking good.
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