To not go to work with a 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor?

[Hyacintharehighersincelasttime]

ie.
i cant drive so will need to go on the bus.
i wont be able to use phone - that's ok, i can get away with that
but the noise, everyone will know, and i dont want them to

I think if I had to wear one to work it would stress me out and give a false reading. I know the decision has been made but I suppose it would also depend on your job. I work in an office so sit on my backside most of the day, so maybe working from home wouldn't be much different BP wise. Either way, hope your BP is ok OP.

OP, you’ve said that you would take flexi today, this suggests on a ‘normal’ Tuesday (or today specifically) you would expect to be working. If dry it husband isn’t Althea casevyou would be doing yourself and your consultant/nurse/doctor a disservice to do something not in you normal routine.

But you clearly don’t want to for all the (imho) lame excuses you’ve set out, so don’t! You’re an adult, you can make the choice, but please don’t moan when you get the results and they don’t reflect what you went for to the drs for in the first place.

Seemingly everyone here thinks YABU not to go about your working day.

no use checking BP if you are lying on the sofa watching tv!

Well, no use checking in a clinical setting either, then!

The op is not a medical guinea pig! If her BP was dangerous she would have been put on immediate medication. She needs to check regularly and make the correct lifestyle choices to ensure optimal cardio vascular health.

I wore one to work, for three days running. The first day I found it irritating; hence having to wear it for more. No one was really that interested once they'd seen it and it had gone off for the first time. People are generally much more interested in themselves than you, even if it doesn't feel like that at times.

By all means take it at home today, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they ask you to wear it on a work day too - if you really can't bring yourself to do that, this test isn't going to work for you.

Try not to stress about it too much

but please don’t moan when you get the results and they don’t reflect what you went for to the drs for in the first place.

Monitoring does not improve blood pressure. It is just a series of measurements. Lifestyle choices do.

@coolcrispsnow, they check it to establish if it is a problem, or white coat hypertension, then they medicate.

blood pressure is taken at doctors/nurse or at occ health.

not while i am generally working at my desk.

perhaps arguing the toss on mumsnet will raise it?

but i know the causes of blood pressure which probably include too much coffee!

I went to school with one at 14. I was mortified initially but noone cared. Missing work would be a step too far IMO

Surely the point of wearing is to prove white coat hypertension, ie, without the white coat you are ok

Honestly, you don't need to prove anything to anyone else up yourself. Get your own monitor. They are relatively cheap and pretty reliable. I even had a midwife check that mine was calibrated correctly for me.

To check for white coat syndrome, yes, you do need to remove the stress of the test.

@coolcrispsnow, they check it to establish if it is a problem, or white coat hypertension, then they medicate.

I know that. I have white coat syndrome. However we are talking about levels here. Dangerously high blood pressure needs to be brought down ASAP. If they are monitoring like this OP is not in that situation. She is the right candidate for making lifestyle changes to ensure optimal cardiovascular health.

Prove anything? You need verified medical results to get medication. It's not a competition.

Prove anything? You need verified medical results to get medication. It's not a competition.

I would have thought op would prefer not to need medication, ideally.

Crisp, when my high BP was verified I was then sent to a cardiologist to check I had no underlying heart condition causing my BP. Its not necessarily "lifestyle changes". Christ, so much angst about a one day test

A colleague of mine (teacher) had to wear one, she thought it was work that was giving her high blood pressure but it was, in fact, her complicated home life. You need to do normal things to get a proper picture.

A patients angst and stress levels does affect testing, though. You can't wave a magic wand, unfortunately. If she needs a cardiologist appointment so be it. But if her levels were such to require ones that happens within a very short space of time. I have also had numerous ECGs too because they are naturally cautious before cancer treatments/ operations. They can refer very quickly if need be.

I’ve worn these lots and always just functioned as normal, driven, worked in a retail environment, done the shopping, everyone will have come across one before and it really won’t provoke a reaction when it goes off. My son has also had to wear one to school. Just get on with it.

My dd wore one to school, then after school activity a few months ago. If your colleagues are less mature than 9 year olds then that's worrying. Go to work and fuck what anyone says.

coolcrispsnow

You are talking absolute bollocks.

The whole point of 24 hr BP is to see if there are any patterns to it, that's who it should be a normal working day.

You cannot make a diagnosis over the internet, you have no idea what other tests are being done or the results of any previous tests.

As for, 'probably borderline' - borderline what? Hypotensive? Hypertensive? Syncope?

OP

PLEASE go in to work. you are wearing several hundred £ of equipment designed to monitor 24 hours of normal life.

This test is costing the NHS money and the time for someone to fit it and analyse it.

If you do not have a normal day then you might as well not bother with it.

You should have told the physiologist fitting it about your commute, the monitor can be programmed to not go off for a hour while you are driving.

nope, they know my work commute, and were unable to programme it

what has normal working day got to do with it? seriously? that is not the issue, who ever said it was?

So much incorrect information on this thread!

Please just do it properly and go to work. It's not about proving someone wrong, it's about your health.

sashh, I am not attempting to diagnose. I am just pointing out to the op that she does have a choice to make the right treatment choices for her, personally. Stress is good for nobody especially with regards to blood pressure. The bottom line is if she tell her doctor how she feels about the monitoring and her blood pressure is such that she needs referral to a cardiologist then that is still a good choice.

I agree with sashh

The gp needs a picture of your normal day. I've worn one a few times: to work, on the bus, shopping, chairing a meeting etc and yes, people may ask out of curiosity but adults accept it. Upthread there were 9 year old children who accepted it without laughing.

It's your health. Sitting at home is not going to give the picture of your normal day. Up to you.

As you know the causes of high bp, then you will also know one can be stress. It will benefit to show them how being at home compares with work, and general activity. I find housework less stressful than work personally. If the machine can’t take a reading it will stop trying after a couple of attempts (when driving).
My colleagues didn’t react. It couldn’t be heard over the general hum of the office.
Go to work

I went to work in the NHS with it on YABU.