High Blood pressure

[Vermillion12]

Hello, I have been told I have high blood pressure (168 / 107) in a routine health check. The nurse recommended I contact my doctor. However, my doctor's surgery have no appointments either face-to-face or on-line for at least 4 weeks, and I have been told to phone back in 4 weeks time. Is there anything I can do to help myself while I wait for an appointment? I don't smoke or drink alcohol. I am overweight which I'm working on. Is there anything else I can do? Thanks

[Happyrosie]

yes indeed! Your best resource is Blood Pressure UK, the specialist charity. Do have a look at their website and when you’ve absorbed what’s there, do get back to us here if we can help - we are willing!

[Franks-Nan]

2 words "dont panic"..there are people walking around with readings alot higher than yours, try not to stress, you can always go to your local pharmacy and they will monitor you till your appointment, or you can buy a blood pressure monitor, always handy for the family. If you really dont feel well and your bloods are high, just go to A&E, they will sort you out. Mind you going to A&E is enough to send your blood pressure sky high.

[Turnipgirl in reply to Franks-Nan]

Back in 2017 when I had blood clots in the lungs I dragged myself into a and e at 7.30am and didn't get admitted to a ward until 11pm and it was frightening and stressful!

I walked into a and e seriously ill and my friends asked me how did you manage to walk into a and e seriously ill?

[BeKind28-]

Hello

When you phoned your Doctors did you mention you had been told by the Nurse that you need to see a Doctor as you have high blood pressure and must make an appointment

I would phone again sometimes second time round an appointment might have come available and mention the Nurse if you didn't the last time

While you are waiting if you can I would invest in a home blood pressure machine as someone said always handy to have at home for all the family and if you do I would start taking my readings Morning and night always wait about 30 mins to an hour after you have eaten before you take it

What they usually say is take it 3 times when you are doing it leaving about 5 minutes between each reading and the best reading put that one down

Sometimes when you see the Doctor they will ask you to do this for a few weeks so they can get a good idea what your blood pressure is doing so if you do it now you can be one step ahead and if they do ask when you get an appointment you can produce them and say already been doing that while I have been waiting to see you

Not sure what you are like with salt but try and cut that out if you have any and watch what salt contents are in foods you eat as that can make your BP higher

Do some gentle exercise if you can even if just a walk and like someone has already said don't panic lots of people have high BP but they will get it under control when you get an appointment

Let us know how you get on x

[Turnipgirl in reply to BeKind28-]

I was disgusted when I saw the added sugar and salt in products that don't warrant having extra put in like tomato sauce!

[BeKind28- in reply to Turnipgirl]

Hello

Yes when you start reading what is in things it can be quite a surprise I have been shocked at times with certain products why I always read the labels x

[Desktop54]

I wouldn't take no for an answer. Ring back and ask for an emergency appointment. When they ask why, tell them you are living with (list your conditions) and say you have been to the nurse and now you also have high blood pressure, give them the readings. Tell them you are worried about this given your other conditions and would like an emergency appointment. Hopefully you will get one. Good luck.

[Vermillion12]

Thanks for all your advice. I'll try ringing the doctors again

[TheMiloKid in reply to Vermillion12]

Do you have a local walk in clinic near you? They are usually good but wait times like a and e

[fishonabike in reply to Vermillion12]

in an attempt to reassure you I would add that you have probably been living with raised blood pressure for quite a while and have been completely unaware of it - it is worrying for you that you can't get prompt attention but this delay should not make any difference in the long runmeanwhile there are plenty of online sources of helpful info about changes you can make to help yourself, you could start here: bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

[Vermillion12 in reply to fishonabike]

Thank you

[devonian186]

Firstly, do you have your own BP machine? A good quality one can be purchased cheaply from Boots.

The reason I ask is that a measurement in a surgery is rarely taken correctly. They are often rushed.

You need 5 minutes of calm rest with no distractions, the cuff needs to be placed at the correct position relative to the heart and you may need 2 or 3 checks at least 1 minute apart before arriving at an accurate figure. You may suffer "white coat syndrome" which increases anxiety and the reading.

I would get a BP machine and take a reading several days running under the correct conditions, soon after getting up and late afternoon, both times at least an hour before eating or having caffeine. Is the reading the same?

It is worth trying to get another appointment with the nurse to get the reading confirmed.

In the meantime being overweight has a dramatic effect on BP. As does drinking caffeine, not getting enough exercise (walking the dog doesn't count) and anxiety

[DWizza in reply to devonian186]

Walking the dog does count , especially if the person is obese ! They have to start somewhere . It all depends how you walk the dog , distance and time on feet. Yours and mine perceived effort would differ if we carried a rucksack with 15kg in it like most people carrying extra weight.

[devonian186 in reply to DWizza]

When this subject came up before I observed dog walkers. Whilst some walk briskly, the vast majority just held the lead of their dog who would amble 5 yards , sniff, amble 2 yards, sniff and wee (the dog that is not the owner) and this would continue for as long as I was within sight.

All I am saying is that walking separately to a dog for x minutes twice a day at a reasonable pace is likely to be more beneficial than merely following your pooch.

All bets are off if you have a husky you have to exercise briskly for 10 miles a day.

I think it would do people a lot of good to appreciate the amount of weight they are carrying by putting the equivalent of their excess weight into a rucksack worn front and back and carry them around for a few minutes.

Those carrying 20 pounds or so are doing the equivalent of dragging around a fully laden holiday suitcase every time they go up the stairs.

[DWizza in reply to devonian186]

Exactly, thats why I advise any of the people that reach out to me for loss and fitness help to start by walking or any movement , if they are obese , never trained before (all depending on their goals etc). 👍🏻

That hygrometer arrived , well pleased with it , thank you for the tip 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

[devonian186 in reply to DWizza]

Will be most interested to hear the general levels of humidity inside and outside and whether keeping it within reasonable levels has any health impacts.

[Doodlebug63]

As others have said on here ring the doctors again and tell them the nurse has referred you to a dr and would like an appointment asap.

With regards to your weight, which you say you are working on and may already be a member but Slimming World has helped me. This time last year my own health concerns led me to asking the nurse at my annual review if the doctor would sign me up for 12 free weeks of Slimming World (our area does this not all do). As I had high blood pressure I did qualify and I joined shortly afterwards (about a week). I felt I couldn’t let anyone down having been given this chance for free and it went really well. I’ve continued to pay for my membership since and have lost 4 and a half stone. My blood pressure annual review this week was in the normal range (still on meds albeit) I feel so much better and I’ve much more energy.

Good luck with getting your appointment and your journey with your health.

[Jetcat]

hi verm, you can also try taking your BP at home too.? My readings were always above normal at the doctors so my doctor suggested I take my own at home to see if there was a difference. There was quite a difference to be honest and it was simply because I was at home and not sat infront of a nurse.👍

[DWizza]

It’s been mentioned above , already some great advice , I will echo the reduction of salt in your diet . It’s hidden in so many foods , ultra processed . If you are able to make meals from scratch using fresh ingredients use the BHF recipes as a start. You could also chat with the BHF online nurses , they are fantastic for immediate advice regarding diet and your high BP.

[Qualipop]

Was it just a single reading that was high? Many people have white coat syndrome which always raises BP when in a medical setting. Mine is always ridiculously high when I go to the doctor or to hospital but my readings at home are good; average 124/69. You could do with a home BP machine because even if you got an appointment tomorrow, your GP would be likely to ask you to take readings for a week. Someone else has explained how to do that. You can buy pretty cheap BP machines from any chemist. The GP will then work out the average for the week which is likely to be much lower when you are at home and calm. They should never treat you for high BP on the basis of just one reading. I would also phone the practice again for an appointment and tell the receptionist that the nurse has said you need to see the doctor. If you ring at a different time of day you would probably get a different receptionist who could be more helpful.

[Vermillion12 in reply to Qualipop]

Thanks

[PecanSandie]

Are you saying that if you call your doctor, you cannot make an appointment even if you accept that it's going to be one month from now? So if you call back in four weeks, are they going to say there aren't any appointments? If you call and insist that you need the next appointment regardless of when it is, do you think they might let you do it?

[MWIC]

Agree with other comments on here - absolutely don’t panic BUT get on to the doctors again and tell them you want an appt ASAP due to high blood pressure - If you haven’t got a BP Monitor get one and take readings morning and evening to see if it is consistently high or not (£20-£25) and not down each reading - easily treated so don’t worry but need to get seen earlier than later especially if it is consistently high