so I finally went to a cardiologist he’s said structurally my heart is unremarkable and my current work up of blood work, like 12 EKGs, 24 holter monitor has been unremarkable he’s like I can see you being anxious and tense and such. But no one can explain to me how my blood pressure can range from 130s/80s to 200/110 for example today had to go to my PCP today and my blood pressure was 199/110 but as I sat there and talk it came down to 160/88 she’s like maybe I need to just keep talking to you and it will bring your BP down yes I know those numbers are high and after having bp in the 130s to140s since I was FOURTEEN the cardiologist gave me Diltiazem 24hr 120mg to try almost a month ago but today the PCP told me you need to try it I’m so nervous with meds especially when I was told oh you could pass out on this med which I do not want to happen. But anyway I took it I’m feeling okay have some chest pain and nausea. I go back to the cardiologist Thursday. My question is have any of you had your BP fluctuate so much? And what did you do to fix it? im so tired of feeling like this I’m only 22. He did first day about a beta blocker but I was hesitant because of it possibly making me more depressed.
high blood pressure : so I finally went... - British Heart Fou...
high blood pressure
Dear Adamj
It is with great sadness that I read this and many other of your posts.
Anxiety is a powerful illness that is so strong in some cases that it can give unexplained physical signs.
But why am I telling you this? you already live this nightmare of a life and with your young age, you and your family are of course trying to explore those physical ailments which can mimic all sorts of illnesses.
I have only begun to experience anxiety and certainly PTSD but I have a trigger which helps me understand my feelings.
With the help of both medication and therapy I have mine under some form of control, but that is me and this affect each and every sufferer differently .
Please explore the mental side of this crippling illness more { as you have done in your other posts }.
I am not medically trained so I cannot rule out anything physically wrong with you, but I do know and repeat, that Anxiety is so powerful and manipulative that it can manifest itself in all sorts of physical ways.
I send you a hug and my pryers from this side of the water.
Take care of yourself, you are in my thoughts
Anxiety can raise BP by as much as 50 mmhg. You may like me have an allergy to caffeine, I have had to eliminate it totally from my diet to stabilise my BP Try giving it up for a week and see if it makes any difference.
Good luck.
sadly I haven’t had caffeine since 2016
I'm sorry, hope you find an answer soon, Peter.
Hi Adamj,
I think part of the problem is associated with your age. When we are young we are not generally disposed to take medication as health issues are not the norm. Taking a pain killer for a headache provides a remedy in the short term and is usually acceptable, but to be prescribed medication for the longer term for a condition that most people of your age do not suffer from is hard to accept. Even in my 40s when I was found to have high blood pressure that varied much as yours does, there was an element of denial... this could / should not be happening to me.
Anxiety plays a major part in any illness. At your age you naturally want this issue resolved and dispensed with. Unfortunately the route to dealing with the problem is through medication which goes against what you would expect when you are so young. All I can say is give it a go. I did, though it took several attempts to get medication that suited me. It certainly helped and after a while I felt the benefit which confirmed to me that I was doing the right thing. The key to overcoming anxiety is to look for the positives.
With my very best wishes,
Gerald
thank you all makes sense
Hi Adam, I am not medically qualified to answer but have many many years experience of high bp I am 82 now and it has taken many years of various tablets and combinations to finally get some kind of control.I know its scary but I urge you to take the medication, yes you may come across dome that may give you unpleasant side effects but they can be changed and since I was first diagnosed a lot of new tablets have been introduced. I urge you to talk with your doctor, untreated high bp can cause you many other problems, and can cause heart attacks and kidney problems. I am not trying yo scare you, but at your age there is a lot that can help. Make sure you keep your weight under control and keep fit, dont have to run marathons or anything excessive but keep active.
These are lessons I have learned, albeit later in life , but hey still going strong,. Good luck and remember take good care of yourself.
Annie
thank you yeah I’m definitely being like need to get this all under control
hi adam,. Me again. I am recently out of hospital for a heart problem, caused by having barely controlled high bp over many years,Probably controlled when younger cos swam a lot and played squash (badly) and also had adverse reactions to some medication. Happily now doctors seem to have found a recipe that works for me, and am sure they will for you too! Also has anyone done any testing to find the cause, might be worth asking. Stick with the medication think of it as ammunition to fight the high bp.
I was admitted to the hospital with 268/100 and it reached 290/113 before it was finally controlled so its lucky yours has been discovered early, GO ADAM you can do this!
Keep us informed
A.
thank you I’m glad you were able to find something that worked for you that would be scary!
Adamj, does anyone in your family (parents, grandparents, uncles/aunts, cousins have this or a similar problem? As others have said above:
- take the treatment; there are lots of options and hypertension has important long term consequences, so important to get it under control
- also take treatment for anxiety
- investigate any causes - ?phaeochromocytoma, overactive thyroid etc. etc.
- do take exercise; it's really good for anxiety/mental concerns as well as hypertension, so "kills both the birds with one stone".
My second blood pressure reading taken 5 minutes after the first is always much lower. A third reading taken 5 minutes after the second is lower still about two thirds of the time.
My blood pressure was OK about a year ago though I'd been prescribed 10mg Ramipril plus 10mg Amlodipine and 2.5mg Bendroflumethiazide. About 4 months ago my blood pressure increased to an average of 148 - 85- pulse 61. As my doses are near the maximum and my Doctors surgery is in disarray with no nurses available and far fewer doctors I've given up on them.
My medications are delivered sometimes by an NHS vehicle that just shoves them through the letterbox or an ordinary car and on occasions a taxi. Sounds good but some items are missing and on two occasions too many of one item. So I end up going to the surgery anyway. I get the feeling no one cares very much. I said 8 boxes of one item are in my drawer now - reply, "never mind at least you have enough".
I decided to self medicate as so many people appear to be doing now as the NHS from Surgeries to Hospitals are muddled up, swamped, and in disarray.
With some success I have been taking 400mg of Coenzyme Q10 capsules each day - 2 x 200mg and twice the recommended dose by most manufacturers but not all. I purchased quite expensive ones as low priced ones from local supermarkets are useless. It seems the quality is a big factor - not to be taken with any form of BLOOD THINNERS as research so far has not come out with a result. Taking these has lowered my systolic blood pressure and I sleep far better - the average is now down to 133 from 148 and occasional readings are as low as 122.
SPS NHS on Coenzyme Q10: sps.nhs.uk/articles/using-c...
Links on Blood Pressure: google.com/search?q=coenzym...
** Ideally read the above very carefully. **If under a consultant check first with the person.
Hi, I read this and your other posts and I am so sorry you're going through this. I noticed you are in the US, is there any way you can get some therapy, preferably from a trauma informed (as you mentioned PTSD) CBT therapist?
Your most recent post makes me think you have health anxiety (you could Google CCI health anxiety for some information about that) but clearly your anxiety likes to 'hang its hat' on lots of different pegs so I'd urge you to speak to a mental health professional to help you.
I wish you recovery, anxiety is a bully that steals joy.
Hello Adam.
I am over twice your age and had a HA 12 months ago. After op and recovery my time has been stable but always fraught with worry. About a month ago my BP started to rise to sometimes circa 200/110 give or take. And then sometimes it’s in the 130/80’s. GP has just upped my ramipril from 5mg to 10mg. Sorry I’ve got no answers but you are not alone.
Philip
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