Blood pressure reading all over the place.

[Yumz199725]

Any ideas as to what can cause your blood pressure to go up and down I have a blood pressure monitor it's a very good one which I was kindly gifted by a lovely person on this forum. I check my blood pressure occasionally and the first time I did it was 160/100, the day before at doctors 121/70, then 103/71, then today 140/88 so weird?? Am I missing something or is that normal? 🤔😐🤨

[Tos92]

Blood pressure fluctuations are normal throughout the day. It can depend on a number of things such as medication, whether you’ve been exercising, diet, and a lack of sleep.

The NHS says to take your blood pressure once in the morning and once in the evening sitting down.

nhs.uk/conditions/high-bloo....

I hope others can help Yumz.

Tos x

[Yumz199725 in reply to Tos92]

Thanks tos, yeah I have been doing that I exercise alot and eat the right food, it's probably the lack of sleep if I'm on honest 😬😶🤭x

[Cavalierrubie]

Hi, l am not a trained medic but l know blood pressure goes up and down all the time. I personally would worry if it was high all the time, that is a lot higher than 120/80. Make sure you take the reading the same time of day and make sure you sit for 10 minutes before taking a reading. If you get stressed about taking it, it will spike. I have low blood pressure but if l am stressed it can be all over the place. It once spiked to 180/90. It is scary, but the numbers you have given here, wouldn’t worry me. I expect you will get some good advice apart from me, so try not to worry too much. Take care 🥰

[Yumz199725 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

Thanks x 😘

[Hidden]

As others have said, try not to worry , blood pressure readings are fickle and it's really difficult to get a true reading for the day.

When you go to the Drs they tend just to take the one and that could be after you have run for the bus, done the shopping or just worried about the appointment. Not unless it reads higher or lower than an average do they worry.

See yours as a guide, there are plenty of free apps around that you can record your results on or even good old paper and pen, soon you will begin to see a pattern and in the middle of that pattern is your average .

Please don't worry let the professionals do that for you.

[Yumz199725 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks x 😊

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Daisy - I haven't 'met' you on the forum as yet - just wanted to say hello and send a warm welcome! Carol

[Hidden in reply to Cee-Cee1]

Thank you Carol, very thoughtful of you

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to Hidden]

You're very welcome, Daisy - it's nice to meet new members.

[Yumz199725]

Thanks everyone! Clearly I worry over nothing I can't help it I'm just like that 🤷‍♀️. Will definitely take on all your advice x

[Hidden in reply to Yumz199725]

Your worry is not over nothing and you can use it to learn more about your condition, worry can be as constructive as it can be destructive , its a fine balance Yumz and you are beginning to achieve it, small steps at a time.

[Yumz199725 in reply to Hidden]

Aw thanks that's really nice of you to say 😊😄👍😁

[Cee-Cee1]

Hi Yumz, I'm not much help I'm afraid - mine tends to stay reasonably steady - not all the time, but usually. I'd agree with everyone else though that it can definitely fluctuate depending on what you're up to at any given time. x

[Yumz199725 in reply to Cee-Cee1]

Thanks hun yeah I'm beginning to realise I'm worrying over nothing as usual that's anxiety for ya! x

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to Yumz199725]

😅I think we all tend to do that at times, Yumz - and who can blame us!😂

[Yumz199725 in reply to Cee-Cee1]

True! 😅😘X

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to Yumz199725]

There now - I got a smiley face that time - you're less anxious already! xox😆😅👍

[Yumz199725 in reply to Cee-Cee1]

Thanks! Yeah I'm trying not be so anxious 😅😄x

[Jimbo53a]

Hi I have had same problem. Apparently according to my gp it depends on time of day , time between meds and all sorts of things. My gp told me to journal it for a couple of weeks doing it at same time each day with same machine. Then see how it looks you may see a pattern or may not. Hope that helps

James

[Yumz199725 in reply to Jimbo53a]

Definitely helps thank you! Hope it's nothing to worry about with your BP x

[Jimbo53a in reply to Yumz199725]

The tablets seem to be working. My BP is lower early on in day and goes up during the day which they seem to think is normal. Glad to have been of help. Take care

[Hidden]

The problem with blood pressure is it does vary as we all know. However the figures seem to be within the limits. Now I did find out a few month back that my pharmacist can set me up with a 24hr holter? I have not taken him up on the offer. Trouble with all this Is that it does take over our lives if we check too much iam no angel as I do checks quite alot. There is an app called Airmid UK. Which I had to use to book an appointment with an nhs physio. However it seems to connect to your doctors on line system. And on here you can view in graph form your blood test and blood pressures. But I do know how you feel when the slightest things seems abnormal. Take care.

[Yumz199725]

Thank you! ❤️

[Hidden in reply to Yumz199725]

For me spike of blood pressure more frequently is a sign that now is the time to increase the dose of anti high BP medicine mine dose of doxazosine went from 2mg to 8mg per day and blood pressure reading acquired a much calmer demeanour ataraxia

[Bingo88]

My nurse used to say to sit and rest for 10 to 15 minutes before taking your blood pressure and then take it 3 times in succession with a minutes interval between each one and then go on the average. And don't take it after just getting up and getting washed and dressed because it's probably sky high anyway then. Hope this helps and you have a good day Yumz199725. Brian

[Yumz199725 in reply to Bingo88]

Hi, yeah I had been sitting up for atleast an hour before I did my BP did two readings still high for me. But I wont read too much into it 😅.

[Silvernomad]

I noticed the same when monitoring my husband’s BP after his heart attack & stent morning & evening… standing & sitting.

The Dr suggested the readings were within a normal range and not to be concerned.

As an experiment I took my BP & then sat and did a 5minute breathing meditation & took another reading & found my BP was lower.

[Carercmb]

as others have said it fluctuates during a normal day. No drinking or eating 30 minutes before.Take it 3 times with a few minutes in between each reading then take an average.

Usually goes up when visiting your GP or hospital . On arrival at hospital mine was 200/100 after chatting to a lovely nurse 30 mins later it was 150/80

[RumblingChest]

Hi Yumz,

I’m not on any BP meds but my BP was creeping up every time my doc measured it. My monitor can be set to take 3 readings a minute apart and average them, it changes a bit even in that short time. Mine goes up 20 points just by going to the office and another 20 if I get an email about a problem 😀. I decided to monitor it 20mins after getting up and treat that as my “base”.

[Swedish]

get a new blood pressure monitor.

maybe your monitor is bad and not calibrated

[Swedish]

get a new blood pressure monitor.

maybe your monitor is bad and not calibrated

[RumblingChest in reply to Swedish]

This can be true in my experience. I’ve actually ended up with 4 monitors 🤪. I have an old cheap wrist one from Lidl, a recent Omron wrist one, an older cheap round the arm one and a Qardio arm. Both the wrist ones read lower than the arm ones. When I got the Omron wrist one I took it with me whenever I went to the doctor/nurse and did comparative readings against their machines, which showed that it always read low by around 10 points. I haven’t taken the arm ones in yet (portability/convenience was why I got the wrist ones), but they read 10 points higher than the wrist ones so I’m trusting them.

One other thing - I noticed that using rechargeable batteries rather than alkalines affects the readings. Should have followed the instructions 😀.

[2wheeler]

Ha, i have white coat syndrome. Taken at the doctors and it is always skyhigh. Take it for a week at home and it is fine.

I am having to take it daily at home now. I find that whatever time of day it is if i do a 5 minute breathing exercise it comes out ok.

I have just had my meds changed because my bp has been very high due to recent diagnosis of heart failure.

Lots of brilliant advice on here

Take care

Also try new batteries in the bp monitor

[Engineer46]

Yumz,

I wouldn't worry about the monitor's calibration. Even if it was out it would only make a very small difference in the readings. Others have made very sensible suggestions about when to take readings and how to average them.

The only other advice would be to make sure that the cuff is tight and above the elbow and not to move while taking the reading.

Best wishes,

Paul

[Kelling]

Personally, I wanted to know everything I could about what makes me tick after my bypass and went to the doctors for advice. I was informed that for my age, my reading should be around 150/100. That was reviewed after the pacemaker was fitted two years after the bypass, where it went down to 120/60 and probably because of the pacemaker, almost never goes over that.

These pills and potions are all to get a "norm" but please remember this "norm" will have been written for you and no one else and if you choose to ask your family doctor, which always makes my BP rise - just as any white coat and stethoscope does. they will give you a base figure based upon your age, weight, height, medication and medical history and if you ask, they will also be able to predict a - + for you.

What will affect your BP could be any bad news including family or even just watching the news on any media. Hard work, especially when it all goes awry, that will include those other forms of exercise of a more personal nature! A hot drink, a cold bath, a cold swim etc. If you suffer with your "nerves" even a ringing phone or a front door bell can do it. The more predictable stuff can be stairs, walking, running and housework, even getting up from a chair quickly. After a time, you will begin to know your body, a learning curve I suggest you follow for whatever the outcome there is usually a quite rational reason.

I sincerely hope all this helps that has not been too predictable or repetitious and I wish you well on the journey you have joined us on

[Dingledaw]

I found it's best to take my BP first thing on waking after a trip to the bathroom. Even needing a pee can raise BP! 😂

I wait in bed do the NYT wordle and then take my BP. That keeps things as consistent and steady as I can. I think avoiding physical activity, no media, messages or emails etc offers an emotional baseline to work off too.

I checked my wrist monitor against the GPs and it's the same. I had pregnancy complications with top over 200 and lows into mid 40s. One felt like a starship landed on my skull, and the other had me floating in and out of a pool of marshmallow consciousness.

What I've learned is that fluctuating BP is how the body helps us to deal with life. We need those fluctuations to maintain body temperature, to get us from A to B, to live through our days, from shopping to showering to shocks and surprises. It's a marvellous, miraculous, autonomic system.

I suggest to get to know your baseline for a couple of weeks. Then put a reminder into your calendar and you can forget about it until the next check. If there's a medical reason needing tracking then follow that requirement, otherwise, for me, once every 3 months is plenty. I only check more often when I'm given different meds or there's a change like catching a bug.

I know it's easy to be flipped by medical monitors, so I focus more on doing nice things, through kindness and compassion for self and others. I came across this and have adopted it into my life. "What one thing can I do today that will make the world a better place?" Sometimes it's meditating, or having a shower (massive energy expenditure not to be taken lightly with Long Co - vid) , sometimes it's asking my MP to change something, sometimes it's biting my tongue and sometimes it's speaking up. Sometimes it's about self care and sometimes it's big stuff. My next "big" will be to ask a hospital I visited recently to put some proper signage up to help visitors know where to go, and get a half decent map on their website. It's a vast warren which has had an unmanned reception each time I've been and porters wearing invisibility cloaks.

🤔

[Samazeuilh2]

Some things to consider which might (or might not) be relevant:

1. Is the monitor a good quality arm monitor? If it’s a wrist monitor or an old one or a poor quality one it may be inaccurate. If it’s over a year old has it been calibrated?

2. Did you sit quietly for 5 mins before taking a reading?

3. Did you eat or drink before taking the reading? At least 30 mins should elapse before you take one.

4. Did you take the average of three readings?

[PecanSandie]

When you take your blood pressure make sure your arm is supported and at heart level. If your arm is too high, your blood pressure will be lower and if your arm is too low your pressure will be higher. The 160/100 reading is on the high side but you also have some perfect readings so the high reading was probably a one-off. The way it's supposed to work is that even if your heart rate goes up, your pressure should remain close to the same because your vessels are supposed to expand to accommodate the blood flow. I would say that it's a good idea to just take your pressure daily to ensure that there aren't too many spikes and if you notice that there are, time to discuss with your doctor.

[cimarosa]

For many people the very fact of having a monitor and taking readings can cause your blood pressure to spike. Try to relax for 5 minutes plus and take the readings at the same time each day am and pm. There is a good website with info on bloodpressureuk.org/your-bl...

Blood pressure normally fluctuates so take no readings outside the two times of day you have decided upon. I too have this problem, but the fact that I get some good healthy readings suggests there is nothing seriously amiss.

[Metal_lady]

Stress, medication, certain drinks like coffee that has caffeine in. Anxiety, exercise. Anything that makes your heart pump more will ultimately affect your pulse and blood pressure. My husband would be envious of your figures at your Gp as he has white coat syndrome. So you must have been relaxed and comfortable.

The best bp and pulse are when people are asleep, as you're not conscious of anyone taking it. However that's not practical at all. Plus most people wake up when you do a BP.

Have you shown your results to your Gp? Am sure they'd be happy to review them next time you see them.