Doctor told me to get a friend to take my BP?

[spanieleyes22]

So I had a phone consult with the doc yesterday and in order to prescribe meds I need she wanted a BP reading . She asked did I have a friend who could do it for me and I said not really and she said ok well let
Me know when you get the reading and I'll release the prescription . I was a bit taken aback and rang off but am thinking now how or where can I can my BP taken anyone any ideas?

Pharmacy?

Most pharmacies can do this for you

Yep, loads or all chemists seem to have BL machines these days.

I have a machine at home to do mine - think it was from Lloyds pharmacy?

Most doctors surgeries have one too. Libraries also have machines you can borrow/use.

Just go to a chemists and get it done. I've done this for my GP.

Ah great I didn't know this thx

My local leisure centre did it for me.

If you belong to a community Facebook page, ask on there. That where I was told about the gym staff having a machine.

I’ve just had a look, you can buy one for about £15 which might save you having to take time off to go to a pharmacy.

My surgery will loan one.

My GP has a machine in the entrance for height, weight and BP. Maybe ask on local Facebook to see if any like that are around?

Our boots chemist has a machine that does your weight and blood pressure. So does the doctor surgery. The chemist also does free blood check

Sorry, am I going mad here - shouldn't the GP check you in with a nurse to do it? Or health care assistant, or whatever?

Pharmacies - and I'm surprised the GP practice doesn't have a machine you can go in and use yourself,.which gives a print-out for you to hand to the reception staff.

I recently had to take my blood pressure twice daily for a week, so bought a machine from the pharmacy for £15. Quite a few people have them now, which is why the GP thought you might have a friend who did.

No need, a pharmacy can do it or a home machine

Not when you can go to the pharmacy and get it done for free.

Waste of an appointment when a pharmacy will do it or OP can do it herself with a £15 machine she can order online. There’s no need for a nurse to do it.

@spanieleyes22 I recommend buying one. In my experience, once they start asking for readings it becomes a regular thing. The blood pressure monitors are cheap and easy to use.
My pharmacist recommended getting the cheapest I could find “as they all do the same thing and there’s no benefit to spending more money.”

If you go to a pharmacy, take a few minutes to chill before they take it and relax, otherwise it will give an artificially high reading. This is why if this is something ongoing for you it's best to buy your own device.

Pharmacy.

I had a text from my GP asking for my BP before releasing meds last week. The text said using a home BP machine or going to a pharmacy was acceptable, if not, they have a machine in the surgery you can pop in and use.

My niece, who is a nurse practitioner cardiac specialist, gave me the exact same advice about buying the cheapest BP machine!

Library's and pharmacy does them here and more. All free

The guidance they sent me for taking it twice daily was to take it every couple of minutes until it stopped going down.

Our GP surgery has been requesting a DIY BP reading for years - pharmacy, or you can buy one for £10/15 ish on amazon.

Yes. And ask if they can possibly take two readings, a minute or two apart. It's normal for the first reading to be abnormally high, and the second one more accurate.

I've been having to record my BP twice daily for a week, and the doctor said to take three readings each time, ignore the first, and take an average of the second and third. Every time the first one was much higher than the other two.

It's be a bit much to ask the pharmacy for the, but they'll understand if you ask for two.