Hypertension

[Orangesandlemons82]

In the past my blood pressure has always been normal - around 118/70. For some time now I have been feeling unwell and thought it may be blood pressure related. I have been monitoring it for the last few days and it is staying around 159/98. I have a GP appointment tomorrow, but just wanted to see whether others thought It is ok to wait until then. I think I began to feel unwell around the time I started taking Lamotrigine, but that isn't listed as a side effect.

Are you monitoring it correctly? A single reading can be misleading.

I have always had lowish BP until recently. Had a couple of high readings (150/90) at GP appointments, confirmed during home monitoring. No obvious lifestyle reasons (not overweight, reasonably fit, don't smoke or drink etc). After a false start with a drug which gave me very bad side effects I am now taking a low dose of an ACE inhibitor which works well for me.

One thing I noticed during home monitoring is that my first BP reading (of 3) is always the highest, often dramatically so, even when following guidelines strictly (5 mins quiet rest before testing). The GP will look at your average reading over several days not a single data point.

I have taken it several times and at different points of the day. Monitor is definitely accurate as I tested it on my husband. Thanks for giving your experience.