Shockingly high blood pressure/ADHD

[Bythestrikeofthenight]

I'm due to have an ADHD assessment tomorrow. Paid privately as I believe this condition is ruining my life.

As part of my ADHD pre-assessment I had to fill out my blood pressure, which I did with a monitor off amazon.

These are the readings that have come out yesterday and today:

191/132
210/140
175/155
169/129
177/131
180/120
140/90
150/95
174/124

What the actual? I haven't had BP done for maybe a year - I think it was verging on slightly high then but not like this. I'm now convincing myself I'm about to drop dead. Is there any way this could be wrong? About half the readings I'm getting are error message.

Also, does anyone know why it counts up higher for other people. As in, when it's measuring it goes up to anything between 240-70 before counting down to reveal my result. When my boyfriend took his it only counted up to 164 or thereabouts.

If I survive until the assessment I'm guessing that makes meds a complete no-no. Not sure if there's any alternatives for those with hypertension.

My plan is to try and get it taken at a pharmacy tomorrow to double check. Obviously if it looks similar, I'll book a GP appointment ASAP.

In the meantime, I'm so worried. I have had the most stressful two months in years/probably ever. Horrific anxiety problems that had me signed off for ages and still experience crippling anxiety every day, which is probably making the reading even worse.

And now I'm even more worried :(

There are alternative adhd meds that do not cause high blood pressure.

Definitely do check it again and see the GP. You should stop checking at home though, you know it’s high and it isn’t telling you anything new.

As previous poster says there are a variety of ADHD meds and treatments. Guanfacine for example is not a stimulant but in fact a medication originally for hypertension. Good luck

Do you have the NHS app - and are previous BP results on there? Do you know what is “normal” for you?

when you take your BP try to settle yourself for 10 mins beforehand, take some deep breaths and do that yoga thing of scrunching your shoulders up to your ears then release them with a big sigh 2-3 times. Then take your readings.

you said you’d been through a stressful time. Explain that at your appt and talk through what the options might be for meds.

Don't be even more worried, be thankful that you have spotted the issue and can now take quick steps to change the situation. Let your GP surgery know and the pharmacy sounds like a really good idea. There's lots of great medication you can take and by heading it off now you will minimise lots of future problems.

To take blood pressure manually you listen to the heartbeat then slowly inflate the cuff until you can't hear it any more, so you keep going up inflating until you are sure that was the last beat. So the machine 'hears' the last beat but will carry on for a margin to be sure, so the top number it goes up to is your top pressure + certain amount. So if someone has a lower top number it goes to it would suggest they have a lower blood pressure over all. HTH

How often are you taking your blood pressure, and when? If you say half are returning an error message then do you know why that is? Your anxiety about a high result may well be driving it further up.

The cuff inflates to wherever it guesses it’s sensible to start - if it inflates and senses your bp is high they can faff around a bit up and down trying to find the top end without cutting your arm in half. Give it (and you) a chance to chill for a bit between readings. My gp generally does the best of three and that’s it.

High blood pressure is treatable - knowing you might have it is your first step to healthy blood pressure. Can you step away from the monitor and get it checked by someone else tomorrow?

Thanks all - and thank you for the explanation about the count upwards, makes sense!

I'm going to try and get to a pharmacy in between work tomorrow to get a second check.

I am at least 4 stone overweight, used to exercise quite a lot but not much at all for the last few months. Diet is OK but definitely not spectacular - again, was better until quite recently. High BP runs on my Dad's side. My grandma's was in the 200s when she was on meds in her late 20s, so there's definitely a genetic risk factor.

Good to know that stimulants aren't the only option for ADHD as I was hoping to be able to explore meds at the very least.

I got to the Pharmacist on my lunch break and their BP monitor was a lot nicer than mine but wasn't working! Went into the GP and tried their DIY one there and it was 150/102 on two readings, so slightly better but nothing to celebrate.

Took it again this evening and it was 177/111 again. Called the GP and they're giving me a 24 hour monitor hopefully in the next few weeks and take it from there.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in my assessment. Obviously I knew I wouldn't be medicated on a stimulant with my BP, but she's also not willing to try out the non-stimulant meds until the BP is sorted out.

So, looks like it could be a long road ahead before any treatment meds wise, but do feel brighter today than I have in some time :) Actually managed to clean the house a bit, concentrate a little better and actually ordered a supermarket shop - have been living off meal deals, ready meals, takeaway and wine for the last two months. Feeling good about the first step - and even though it wasn't quite the news I wanted in terms of meds, the high BP is a strong motivator to get things back on track with my lifestyle.

Glad to hear you are getting sorted. High bp can be very responsive to medication and lifestyle changes.