Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
Does anyone else have the same dilemma? I have severe anxiety and panic disorder and for whatever reason since my anxiety began i freak out about my blood pressure being high. I think it comes from all those anxiety related trips to the E.R my blood pressure would be through the roof. It is so bad that even to look at a blood pressure cuff sends me into panic. At my last DR. visit he decided to take me off the blood pressure meds. that i have been on for close to a year. The doc and i talked about how the times my blood pressure was really high was during severe anxiety. So i had to start checking my blood pressure as i weaned of the meds. At first even with anxiety the numbers were looking good. (This is me checking at the store machines) I have been off the meds now completely a couple of weeks and for the past few days i have been getting pretty high readings like 150/90 range. I always panic right when i sit down to check it. Another thing after the first reading ill sit and breath and recheck it and the second and third readings are almost way lower than the first sometimes down to normal. Ok so i am so confused because anxiety plays such a huge part. Does anyone else have high blood pressure possibly due to anxiety? I have been freaking out off the meds thinking maybe i really need them. Ugh sorry to go and on. Anyone with knowledge about this?
deleted_user
Reading this is like reading something that I'd written myself. YES!! I know all to well what you are talking about. I'm 40 and thus far haven't been put on meds yet...because I have so far been able to convince them that it is in fact my anxiety. I take mine at home regularly and now when I go to the doctor..I'll take a few days readings with me..so they can see that the ridiculous number they get in their office is not accurate. One of my highest readings was at the E.R. one time for a spider bite..it was 165/105 !! When I got into my room the doctor or nurse asked me if it was always that high..and I was like, "no, I was basically having a panic attack at the time." I feel for you...I have a few appts. on Tuesday and I am already freaked out....I mean...they can shoot me with needles all day long..take blood....leave me in the stirrups..whatever.....but when I see that cuff...I absolutely want to SCREAM.....to me it is like a horror movie. You're not alone.
renee1979
Thank You! Ya i have had numbers like that yours at the E.R to. It's crazy what that fear can do. I feel the same way to i would rather have a tooth pulled than to have my bp checked!
zzztop
EVERYTIME I GO TO A DR. I GFET SKY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE IT IS CALLED (THE WHITE COAT SYMDROM) YOU SHOULD GET A BOOL PRESSURE CUFF AN ORION BEST ONE AND TAKE BLOOD PRESSURE AT HOME . THE REASON YOUR BLOOD PRESURE GOES UP IS YOU ARE ANTICAPATING YOUR BP. TO BE HIGH. YOU ARE SO YONG TO HAVE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, AND ANXIETY, I,AM 63 AND NOT TILL I HIT MY LATE 50,S DID I EVEN CARE ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE. YOU CAN HAVE PERFECT BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTROL AND STILL DROP DEAD OF HEART ATTACK .THEY WANTED ME TO TAKE MEDS, I DID MADE ME FEEL SICK ((UGH)) I WALK ALOT AND RUN BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR SELF HELPS PUT GOOD ENDORPHINS IN YOU .KEEPS WEIGHT DOWN. I USED TO BE OBCESSED OVER MY BP NO MORE AND NOW IT IS LOW. BUT GO TO A DR. REAL HIGH. SO TAKE CARE TRY TO NOT THINK ABOUT BP ALL THE TIME ENJOY YOUR LIFE YOUR YOUNG. HUGS
deleted_user
Don't use store machines, they are often not calibrated on a regular basis and can be highly inaccurate. Omron makes about the best home cuff model out there at about 75 bucks, well worth the money, I own one. If the top number(systolic) is high, that is not the main concern, unless astronomically high(above 180 or higher) it is the bottom number(diastolic). If it is consistently high, even with anxiety, it is usually a good indicator of true high blood pressure that requires treatment. Diastole is the rest period between beats. You do not want this number unusually high, as this could put extreme pressure on arterial walls and valves. If you are truly concerned about your bp, schedule a stress test or nuclear stress test, where they inject a benign radioactive isotope and literally look at your heart perform at rest and under measured stress. This is pretty much empirical in detecting any abnormalities beyond an EKG. If diastole is at 90 or above, even with anxiety, it needs to be treated. Women are at increased risk of stroke or heart attack than men with untreated or uncontrolled high blood pressure. Do not try to convince your doctor that it is because it is your anxiety or a panic attack, even though it may be, that is playing Russian roulette with health. If your diastole hit 105, Anxiousme, your bp needs treatment. Do not put it off, especially at your relatively young age.
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