To be scared of GP appointment?

[theluckiest]

My GP surgery called me a few weeks ago and have booked me in for a routine blood pressure checkup as I've just hit 40.

I've had high blood pressure in the past, mainly when pg, both times. I'm being silly as I'm worried. I hate having my BP taken. I would rather have a smear. Seriously.

I think it stems from my last pg - I felt bullied into having an induction as my BP readings weren't going down...no surprise really as I was stressed. It started to become 'white coat syndrome' where my BP would stay high, they'd tell me to calm down, I'd get all stressed because I was worried and hey presto, my BP would still be high

Anyway, what can I do to calm myself down? I'm a teacher so generally stressed most of the time!! I irrationally think that they'll shout at me and tell me off (for drinking too much and being a bit fat) although I'm 40 so shouldn't really give a toss, but I do....

It sounds as if you're going to get white coat syndrome - so annoying but nothing you can do to stop it.

Could you buy a home meter and take some readings from that to show the dr? I have one from boots that was about £25. If you do it each morning for a week after sitting quietly, feet flat on the floor, it might help the big picture?

It’s hard isn’t it. I had pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy, and my high BP prevented me from going home with my baby for 4 days...every time they wheeled that effing machine in I got anxious. I was on medication for high BP four months after the birth. I did what carryon suggested and got my myself a £25 Omron reader - after taking a week of readings at home, it was much lower than what the GP was getting, and when I showed my doctor she was happy to start reducing my medication, and not long after I came off altogether. Thankfully I didn’t have high BP with DC2.

(I hate the cuff tightness too, when I was in my late teens I fainted in the GP when having my BP taken for a pill check - I seriously thought my arm would pop - I dreaded having it done for years after that in case it happened again!)

Ask them to take it manually - it’s not as painful as the cuff doesn’t get squeezed so tight

Tell them you are nervous

If you need blood pressure tablets you need them - no point in harming yourself by avoiding the issue
Chances are everything will be ok though

Oh and if you can buy a home one ask your partner to put it on your arm and take when you are asleep - you’ll let lovely low readings like that

That's a good plan, thank you.

I think that's it - I know it will be high. It brings back horrible memories of having to wear a 24 hour cuff which used to take readings every hour or so and wake me up through the night (generally scaring the shit out of me and my BP would skyrocket, unsurprisingly)

Automatic cuffs are horrid - just nhs laziness - taking it manually is much much less painful (cos you only need to go a bit above what it is rather than up to 200 like most automatic machines do). You can ask any dr or Nurse to take a manual reading
I can sympathise re 24 hour readings - not exactly going to make you feel better is it!!

God yes the night ones - I actually have quite low-normal blood pressure normally. But when i was having DD, I was on the ward beforehand for a couple of weeks, and they woke me twice a night to check my blood pressure.

Oh look, when it's taken me hours to fall asleep, because labour wards are bloody noisy, and you've woken me at 2am and 6am, my readings are much higher than they are during the rest of the day.... wonder why that is......

YANBU, I'm in almost the same situation, was forced into induction because of high bp, but I have health anxiety and just being in a medical environment makes my BP high! My baby is 7 weeks old now, and I have to have a 12 hour BP monitoring done next month - I'm terrified.

Well, I pulled on my big girl pants and went to the appointment. My BP was high (165 over 98 if you're interested).

Nurse was absolutely lovely. I explained about my hideous pg experience and she was very kind & sympathetic. She has booked me to go back in during the Easter hols (she laughed knowingly when I said I was a teacher)! Am going back for full MOT of bloods, cholesterol and thyroid checks as well as BP. My family history is dreadful - every possible ailment under the sun.

Anyway, am def going to get myself a home monitor. And I think this is a bit of a wake up call. I do need to shift a couple of stone. I should drink less and get back into running.

What else can I do? She did say I might be fighting a losing battle considering my awful medical family history but I'll certainly try!!

I had this, which was weird because I liked my doctor and wasn’t anxious about having my bp done despite being an anxious person generally! She gave me an at home monitor to use for a week and wrote down readings, all of which were fine, so no further treatment required

Sorry OP missed your update, well done for going!

Thanks GlumGlowworm!

I'm feeling pretty positive. My parents both started developing health issues in their 40s but either refused to change or were in denial. Hence they now have major health issues in their 60s.

I'm determined to not go down that path!! Or at least try.

Well done for going and at least you know now so you can improve it

Interestingly I saw some research this week about more people should be on bp lowering drugs - maybe ask your gp about it?

Just a thought, does your surgery have a self checking area with a bp machine?
You could pop in and check it when YOU want too a few times and see what it's like.

But Yes, def do what you can to get it down your self. Some people have a great response to lifestyle changes. Others not so much and end up with meds too, but less so that without the changes.

Well done for going by the way. Good luck!

If you can shift that weight it may well make all the difference. I was 3 stone overweight with BP which crept higher and higher over the years, and with a stressful job, and finally ended up on BP tablets after it became very dangerously high one week (it hit 200/103).

The doctor kept telling me to lose weight to give myself a chance of reversing it. Also a friend pointed out to me that high BP can lead to other health issues.

Anyway I did lose weight and my BP miraculously returned to normal for a 20 year old. I was amazed in retrospect how far my body had just been punishing me for the extra strain I was putting it under. If it's of interest, I found the MyFitnessPal free app brilliant.