went to gp about2 weeks ago because of migraines auras. ,he took my bp. It was high ,so he doubled my tablets. (Ibersartan. And Bisoprolol) . And gave me a moniter use twice daily for a week. Now I am terrified of taking bp. Got into a right old state,. Even looking at the thing. But I am on day three. Bp average 140/ 70. Cannot get it lower. Trying deep breathing ,. Relaxing tapes ,. Nothing works. As a result stilstill having migraines ,. Anyone else have hypertension , migraines and extreme anxiety? Do you think there is a link.
I am desperate. Dont know what to do. !!l
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Lancashirelass07
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Although I don't have migraines caused by hypertension - wasn't even aware that was a thing - I feel for you over the blood pressure monitors - I refuse to use one of the electronic ones because they just go up so high at the start that I find it extremely painful which just raises my blood pressure.
Just googled it and it does look like its a really controversial area. This article may be of interest
Interestingly it says that the correlation seems to be with raised diastolic (thats the lower reading) and yours actually looks okay.
I'm not a medic but iI if using the BP moitor is getting you stressed I think that is more likely to be causing the headaches and you might actually be better off not continuing with the weeks trial. If it really is important the GP can really explain why it is important to you and you cna do the trial at another point in time but for now I would focus on trying to relax and do some things that you enjoy.
Please note that blood pressure will vary due to a number of things - including stress. There is a thing called white coat cyndrome where just the thought of test will raise someones blood pressure. There are some very senior medical professionals who are very frustrated bythe focus on treating hypertension as a disease - it can be a symptom of an underlying conndition and treating it as a disease in itself may mean that the underlying cause isn't being investigated and treated. Similarly severe headaches can be a symptom of an underlying condition.
Has your GP ever done blood test to see if anything shows up there?
You may find it useful to look through the series of podcasts that has been produced by the National Migraine Centre as they have a lot of tips on things that you can do to try and reduce the frequency and severity of attacks
thanks will check that. Never use tobe like this. I was a nurse ,so should know better. I am toying with the idea of giving up the monitor,. Its making me worse. Can get an accurate reading when I am so stressed.
You're so right about the electronic ones - I use one regularly, but most of the time it seems to over tighten on the arm to the point where its so painful I have to stop it and try again later. Even the hospital ones, which are also electronic, can do it, but I think it might be because my arm is painful from top to bottom, which I'm not aware of unless I press it... probably the nerves in it are irritable because I've got a shoulder/neck problem. Not very helpful in terms of getting a reasonably accurate BP reading...
Just a note of reassurance. You don't say how old you are, because this would need to be considered when working out a suitable blood pressure for you.
140/ 70 would not be considered an alarming figure. My pressure is routinely around this, a little higher if I'm honest and this is considered ok for my age. I'm 67.
What has your doctor given you as an acceptable figure?
thank you ,. I am 78, ,should be able to cope better by now . Have tried all relaxation I know. Its not getting any better. I am toying with giving up with he moniter,. Because it can't be right when I am so worried.
I'm very surprised that your doctor has alarmed you given your age. Obviously I am not medically qualified, but perhaps you should check with your doctor what an appropriate level should be for someone of your age. Hope all goes well.
can you see if you can take a herbal calm table as anxiety for women pre/post menopause is common and stress I know your older than the menopause period but it could be your headaches ect can be triggered by stress and anxiety and anxiety raised stress cortisol which becomes a very viscous circle try ashwagandi if it doesn’t inferior with other meds just an observation x
have you seen a neurologist? Yhe nhs wait is long so if you can afford to see one privately or you have private health care i would. Sounds miserable. Im on clonadine which can reduce migraines and is a bp medication - also on other migraine meds byt only been on clonidine for 3 weeks.
Systolic pressure of 140 is slightly high but please do not worry, it's not that bad. If your diastolic pressure becomes lower than 60 it is considered low blood pressure, so diastolic pressure of 70 is actually great for you. When you take the blood pressure, make sure to sit and relax for 5 minutes, do not walk or make too much movement and then take the readings. Anxiety is one of the biggest triggers of migraine.
I'm 72 and frankly,,if my BP was around 140 over 70, I'd be thrilled, that's a very reasonable result as far as I'm concerned. Mine is more usually 155 over something or other, sometimes even higher - I've been told anything over 160, if it never, ever goes lower, is when to worry...
As for high blood pressure being connected with aura migraine, its not in my experience - when I was having 2 or 3 migraines a day, my BP was stable at roughly 125 over 80, as it always was back then. Now I don't have aura migraine and my BP is much higher...
Hypertension may be a factor in some cases of migraine. It may be in yours, but you should not assume a causative relationship just because the symptoms coincide.
I have chronic migraine and my blood pressure is boringly normal.
In my GP practice 140/70 is a decent average. I got the arm device to wear for 24 hrs, the average came out as 115/74 though how low does it have to be to get to this? When I had taken it, it was often well above 165 (even 200+) and rarely below 145. I don't have migraines but do feel pressure in my head and go very red in the face for no apparent reason. Red legs too. I also get attacks of have extreme anxiety. Not sure there is alwsys a connection: I can feel relaxed but the BP still sky high.
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