Still fed up with GP's and High Blood Pressure Treatment Rant!!!
My BP is treated by Ramipril and Amlodipine. My BP day time is ok but my morning reading is still a little frustrating! I wan't to get to a stage where I can cut down checking it as much but my GP keeps wanting readings as I am so up and down.. Morning is now 128/85 to 138/90 and daytime varies between 115/73 and 96/66 ! Is the morning still too high and is the daytime lows in the 96/66 too low? Averaged over 24 hours it is ok.
What does everyone else run on? I feel fine - No symptoms. I'm fed up of asking the GP and getting nothing back other than give a bit more time. I am on pretty high doses - 10 mg Ramipril (morning)/10 mg Amlodipine(evening) but then perhaps not surprising as twelve weeks ago I was in hospital with BP of 222/122!
Hi BP120I’m on Losartan for blood pressure at night 50ml I been on these for two years now and Started this week on Amlodipine 5ml
I take in the afternoon because I take A beater block in the morning
My blood pressure is 178/90 in day at night 123/80
Now only been on Amlodipine for a week so I will post up how I’m doing
I’m also new to blood pressure until my dizziness I never realised about my high blood pressure levels
From your post of how high you were well done on reducing your blood pressure coming down keep posting I’m sure your posts will be of interesting and important information about Amlodipine if as well as blood pressure issues Great Post
Thanks Madyy for your reply. Its difficult, once you get trapped into HBP you can be quite obsessive about it - Well I am! It sometimes feels it dominates my life - a quest to achieve 120/80! Hence my tag BP120! I sometimes just want to forget it and live! So I though it would be interesting to find out what everyone else runs on and if they are satisfied as I'm sure we are not alone in our worries. There is so much advice and pressure to achieve 120/80 when three years ago 140/90 was acceptable. In fact didn't the used to have a saying of 100 plus your age. Anyway, hope you get yours under control and don't get as obsessed as me.. Keep well, Andrew
I look at it like I’m fixed now because of my heart surgery
but every day I get a set back , the smallish thing, I think oh is this that or the other happening and I stay in my head all day, I’m I back to square one
I’m never going to be a 10 …but I refuse to be a 1 ever again we good to ourselves you are not alone Keep your posts up it is helping me Amlodipine might not suit me I might get be posting up any one change Amlodipine and go on different medication it’s support you know
Hi Madyy You also have noticed that only a few years ago the advice was 140/90BP even by NICE now it is 120/80BP with 120 -130BP being referred to as Elevated BP & 130 - 140 BP referred to as Pre- Hypertension I personally never agreed with 140/90BP since 2015 have have aimed at 120/90BP.Well done for getting your numbers down High BP can lead to other conditions.
Hypertension is the number one consult with GP's across England way ahead of Depression, Obesity & Type2 Diabetes all ranked 1 - 4.
Hi, I had blood pressure issues and was advised that below 100 on the top was too low and above 150 needs checking. Maybe our friends in the group can enlighten us on the bottom readings.Good luck and keep happy.
When you say morning, is that when you wake before you get out of bed?
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Hi Gaz, around 10 minutes after getting out of bed. Before meds. Andrew
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Then I would suggest you check it before you get out of bed, then again as you normally do. Bet you find the 1st reading when in bed is similar, if not lower than your daytime reading.
As soon as you move your BP will fluctuate, which is perfectly normal.
I said last time you posted, even your 140/90 readings are borderline normal.
Of course worrying what it’s going to be each morning definitely will not help 😉
I would stop checking, especially as you have no symptoms.
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Thanks Gaz_chops. I will try that and am grateful for your advice.
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Thank you for your advice Gaz_chops. You have given me peace of mind for the first time in ages. I did what you advised and found my waking BP - before getting out of bed and moving around to be 120/78 this morning. I now accept that when I get up and move it will go up a little for a while and on average my BP is now pretty well controlled. I can now stop the multiple morning checks, breathe and live. Thank you so much. Keep well sir. Andrew
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Very happy that it gave you peace of mind, that in itself will help as well.
I have lots of experience in regard to Blood Pressure control.I don't usually check it unless I feel it isn't right .I also have white coat syndrome and at the moment I am doing the check at home for a week & send in readings.Take 2 readings a couple of minutes apart first thing on a morning.( I take before breakfast & meds) and then evenings.If I have they odd readings out of range they don't worry.High being over 140/90 . Difficult to be totally sure of readings at the moment as in Persistent AFib.So many things can affect BP. Heat,Cold,excercise.From experience your BP seems ok .
What a lot of us miss is the importance of taking your BP correctly. This means not having coffee, exercise or alcohol etc immediately before taking your blood pressure. Sit quietly for a good 10/15 minutes.
Make sure your cuff is level with your heart. Take three measurements about a minute apart. Disregard the first one and average the next two.
So often the professionals taking our blood pressure do it incorrectly. They talk to us, and the cuff is at the wrong level whilst taking our blood pressure. There are so many people on BP meds that probably shouldn’t be on them.
It is clear that so many GPs are uncomfortable with the changes in the blood pressure regimes introduced nationally and internationally over the recent years. We’ve got so hung up by the numbers.
Great reply and spot on, so many in clinical settings take the first reading after someone has walked through the door and expect a 120/80, I need to settle for at least 15 mins and then my first reading is always high. I take a good few and it always comes down.
Totally agree! When I went to rehab at a local hospital I used to record 160/80 before the session. They reported this to my GP practice and I received an instruction to immediately raise my medication dose. I told them no... read my notes! (unfortunately I wasn't able to speak to my usual GP). For me, hospital sets off my white coat syndrome and taking one BP reading, it is guaranteed to be high. I did explain this at the time.
Try not to obsess over it, as has been said there is a huge range during the day and as long as it is in the general area of a good BP the majority of the time, there is a very good chance it's normal all the time. I would be taking it once a week, thats what I do, even then if I am busy and forget it can be a couple of weeks. Once you know its stable then you should be good to take it less often, and don't worry too much as that in itself sends BP up!
I was like you ended up in hospital after similar readings, in fact I got higher than that! My consultant is more or less happy if it stays under 170, anything above is "bandit country" she said. However I like it to stay around 120/80. Also like you I was symptomless.
I started with very high BP in early May and had heart attack and triple bypass 2 weeks later. Before then I’d been 130/70 for donkey’s years even with Type 1 diabetes. It was all a bit of a shock to say the least.
BP has been the most difficult thing to get control of since all this happened.
Bedtime Ramipril has been played around with and I’m now back down to 5mg . Ive started to take 10mg Amlodipine at breakfast time. This week I’m taking my BP 4 times a day for 4 days to work out an average. My GP says it’s the average he’s most concerned with getting lower. Your BP varies throughout the day and it can take up to a year for the ‘dust to settle’ after heart attacks.
From my readings my average looks like my BP is going to be in the normal range again. I’ll hopefully then put my BP reader away and go back to once a month readings.
Fortunately I’m not a worrier, although I did have concerns when my readings were 200/80, and like others I did NOT have symptoms.
Yes you can get fixated on it but please just take it once a week and keep a diary. That will give you a better idea. The same time of day would be best and watching TV in the evening as you are relaxed. My blood pressure book says BP is only classed as high if its always at that level so if your relaxed measure shows a slightly lower rate that's great. Best of luck.
A lot of trial and error, White coats will make BP high, just because. 2.5mg Amlodipine daily, because I felt so unwell on 5mg. My diet has been through a tight spot. I am wheelchair dependent anyway with Rheumatoid Arthritis so GP not bothered to help, its a funding thing too.
Andrew, it looks like your GP may be trying to assess the effects of the medicines that you are on and the times that they are being taken. Certainly with two BP medications, your GP will be trying to assess the interplay between them. I had to go through a similar process when I was changed from one medication to another. I would treat this as a task to be undertaken and try not to read too much into it at this stage.
I must admit that I did get rather too obsessed by my BP at one time, so once my GP had enough information, he told me to chill and take it once a week. I now take my readings every 7 to 10 days at around 08:30 and 20:30 when sat relaxing and the average is recorded on my notes - usually around 125/75.... but, we are all different!
As well as BP readings I take my pulse rate and O2 level. I also keep a note of my formal (i. e. not casual around the house and garden) walking distances as part of my 1,000 miles a year personal challenge. Oh dear.... might that be an obsession? 😯
Just checked mine and it is 102/52 with a HR of 53 I took my meds at 8 am Bisoprolol 7.5mg Entresto 49/51mg Aspirin 75mg Omeprazole 20mg Eplerenone 25mg (every other day )Pravastatin 10mg at night. second Entresto mid afternoon. BP can be between 88/47 HR 56 105/63 HR 55
I did think the idea of the meds is to stabilise these figures for the whole of the day, albeit night time these will drop when you are inactive !!
It would be difficult to do a comparison due to us all being different in my case Heart Failure ef 40%. 100% blocked right Coronary Artery, LAD bypassed and re stented., approx 20% of Heart Muscle damaged beyond repair due to Heart Attack so nothing to be done with that ( Currently ) but who knows !!
It is the Symptoms that you experience rather than the Figures according to my Cardiologist and Heart Nurse along with my really good GP
Very interested in your situation. I recently had an a second angiogram and cardiac stress perfusion MRI. These procedures revealed "some eccentric disease in my left main stem" (the artery leading to the LAD and a "70% lesion in the LAD itself". This seemingly has all appeared since I had my AVR (Aortic valve replacement) just over two years ago, as immediately prior to the op that angiogram showed all coronary arteries clear.
I have also been diagnosed with MVO (microvascular obstruction) which is also new. However, I am consoled by the fact my blood pressure looks fine but due to the above diagnoses I have been prescribed two tablets of Ranozaline a day (each being 375mg which seems massive). My main symptom was slight shortness of breath after the AVR, but this noticeably increased after my second angiogram. Fortunately I am still able to enjoy a long (steady) walk each day.
Opposite problem here. My diastolic has suddenly gone much too low. Readinsg between 135/54 and 125/61. I'd been on furosemide for over 25 years, initially 40mg but after heart attack dropped to 20mg with stable BP around 122/70- perfect.. Now been told to cut the tiny pill in half and keep a check on readings. I still find myself either getting anxious before taking readings or completely forgetting to do them. Without any tablet BP is around 135/74 which GP is quite happy with so I'm wondering why he just doesn't take me off furosemide completely. As GP's pharmacist says, as you get older the effect of drugs changes so dosage may need to change.
Those readings seem ok really. You do seem to spend a lot of time checking your blood pressure though which would concern me. Is this on cardiologist's advice?
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