24 hour BP monitor

White coat syndrone is common but that is normally why they give you a 24 HR monitor. What was it that stressed you out so much?

Tell your doctor that you found the experience very stressful.

PS our medical practice accept patient readings as long as there is a regular reading take over a period of a week so keep a record of every reading you make, the time and the activities you were doing at the time and take that with you for discussion.

Yes I was exactly the same! Could feel my BP rising each time machine came on. I understand NICE now recommend accepting home readings.

Take a series of readings with your monitor at various times of day, include some early morning ones before you get out of bed. Also take your monitor to the surgery and do a reading there at the same time as they do a reading to check that your monitor is working ok. Good luck!

Thank you, thank you, thank you - not just me then.

I found it stressful cos I'm still worrying about ecg results. I have irregular heartbeat, but no medication given. It is made worse by acid reflux so there's lots going on. Waiting to see GI as well.

I wasn't given much info or instructions. No diary requested. Just told to sit down when it bleeped but that was not always possible. I had been bending over when it showed 199/95. Often it half inflated then seemed to stop and start again. I am just an anxious person at the moment.

Tell them that.

I was on a 24 hour BP monitor a few years ago and one time it beeped while I was doing something else and couldn't just stop and it damn near took my arm off (I think it had three attempts, each with a longer motor pulse than the last) before recording "Error"!

The doctor did ask what happened but wasn't particularly fussed by the anomaly.

I have the same problem, when ever I go to hospital/GP etc (have major health issues).

I had a reading higher than than that it's frightening. I like you check my BP at home & keep records which my consultant checks & is more than happy with. Could u take your home monitor with you next time going & check at same time, that will at least so you roughly the same & put your mind at rest? I also bought my self a wrist one & once a week check at home with both machines (proves to me they are roughly same & working ok). I even spoke to my nurse at the hospital & she the same but other way round, checks at hospital & fine goes to GP & goes through roof!

My wife had a 24H blood pressure monitor. The results over the 24 hours produced a graph for the GP to look at the activities over 24 hours. The machine can be difficult to handle. What I did was to make a note of the readings through out the day evening and the following morning to produce our own graph. When the results came from the GP no action required. My wife now days go to the gym 5 days a week for 45 minutes each day. This is helping the blood pressure under control. No special food intake or medication.

When you go to your GP please ask for full explanation, the high BP and low GP as well as heart rate. If a graph is available ask for full explanation.

Well in the last day and a half my BP has not risen above 136/83 pulse 85, but mostly lower, even if my machine is not 100 % accurate it pretty well matches my friend's wrist one. Was 102/69 a little while ago. What worries me a bit is that if it spikes occasionally and they gave me meds they would take it down too low. But just like John, I could feel my BP going up as soon as the b.... thing bleeped at me!