Blood Pressure Help

[BloodPressureHell]

Hi, I'm getting very muddled trying to work out blood pressure readings as I don't really understand them.

Google says I should be 120/80, Drs say 135/85 - so which would be more normal in a middle aged woman?

I'm also wondering how much leeway there is, ie is ten points either side okay (110-130/70-90) or just a couple of points (118-122/78-82)? I'm no way near tbh as my readings are more 150/92

My next questions are regarding medications. I'm on my third one and I'm having horrendous side effects after only taking 2 doses so I'm wondering if this is normal and I need to push through for a couple of weeks or just stop? It's difficult to speak to my GP so can't ask them.

Amlopidine - crippling stomach pains, incontinence, tinnitus, headaches
Ramipril - can't take, have lupus
Doxazosin - after 2 tablets I have horrendous vertigo, tinnitus, vice like headaches

TIA!

Listen to your Dr, it’s her/him you are sat in front of and they have your history to look at.
Our GP’s are happy with up to 140/90 though, this explains why
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJWaEdfm/

Are you taking it correctly wrt positioning etc? Honestly, the more you stress as you do it, the higher you will be sending it. 150/92 isn’t horrendously high so don’t panic that you are about to keel over.
https://www.bloodpressureuk.org/your-blood-pressure/how-to-lower-your-blood-pressure/monitoring-your-blood-pressure-at-home/how-to-measure-your-blood-pressure-at-home/

There are a few other meds the dr can try.
I think there’s a difference between ideal general pop blood pressure (up to 120/70) and target b/p for people with high b/p (maybe 135/85).

I cant trust my GP as they have twice prescribed me medication that I shouldn't have, they have monitored my BP via the right arm which they shouldn't be doing, used the wrong cuff until I ask about a different one, and they haven't explained what I should be doing. Oh, and they told me that my BP was horrendously high and told me to monitor it at home. Now you see why I think I might get better answers here.

Thanks for the link though, I'll have a read of that

Has your surgery done a 24hour reading? Where you wear a BP machine and it takes readings automatically over a 24 hour period so that a much more accurate ‘normal for you’ can be ascertained. Given that the reading you quote are borderline, I would suggest this would be a sensible test prior to staring medication, which are giving you unpleasant side effects.

I don’t think a reading of 150/92 is properly managed in anyone’s book. If you’ve been taking your meds regularly for say 6 weeks (or however long they told you) then you need to take morning and evening readings daily for a week and book a medication review

No to 24hr reading, they told me to buy a home monitoring one but didn't explain what I should be looking for, or what to do with the records.

@HairyKitty I can't take the meds. One I took for 5 days before the side effects became too bad, the other I only took for 2 days and am still suffering bad side effects. Was wondering if other posters have used a specific one that causes zero/minimum side effects that I could ask my GP about.

However, thanks to the links I'm less worried if 140/90 is considered okay/borderline.

Side effects are different for everyone.
All meds have the possibility of side effects but I think there are quite a few more you can try.

Look on one of the blood pressure pages like nhs or bhf to see the drug classes and various names drugs.
You aren’t looking for anything with your home readings. You take 2 readings morning and evening for a week, record them and take the average. Then you look on nhs website, plug your average in and see whether they suggest you should see your gp or whether it’s suitable to try diet/lifestyle management.

You need a 24 hour at home monitor before they prescribe. A one off reading in a doctor’s office is not an accurate way to assess BP! Have you heard of ‘white coat syndrome’ ie you can add at least ten points to your reading just from the stress of being there!
Gosh they’re so quick to prescribe pharmaceuticals 🙄 And BP meds are notorious for awful side effects.
I am no doctor (just a person with experience of this) but if it was me I’d be doing my own BP readings at home (& taking them in if necessary) and also I’d be trying things to reduce stress in my life. Stress is a major cause of higher BP in most people.
Meditation, yoga etc is what works.

And BP meds are notorious for awful side effects.
I didn't know that, I thought it was a "me" problem. They told me to take the meds to bring it down. Didn't mention weight or drink or exercise at all (despite being very overweight due to steroids last year).

Stress is a major cause of higher BP in most people.
I am highly stressed at the moment tbf.

I am glad I posted, I've been taking multiple readings throughout the day instead of one morning and evening every day. That won't be helping

I just don’t understand why doctors don’t look holistically at patients?!
Im not a doctor and I’ve read enough to know that they have awful side effects and that stress (as well as being overweight, poor diet etc, lack of exercise!) is a driver of high BP. Sometimes I wonder why we don’t all take our own health into our own hands (certain conditions excepted of course).
Good luck @BloodPressureHell id put money on you could bring your BP down with lifestyle changes x

Ive also got high BP and Ive been put on 2.5mg of ramipril. The side effects are awful - exhaustion and headaches but the worst is mentally I feel like shit - its making me depressed and tearful which is not me at all. I think I'd sooner drop dead than have to live like this. I'm fit as a fiddle and always have been - Im thin, eat well, sleep well, take plenty of exercise, barely drink, I mean for fecks sake, there's nothing I can do to improve my lifestyle- maybe try meditation, but thats about it. Im beginning to think the whole thing about what constitutes high BP is complete bollox. I feel way worse on these meds than Ive ever done before and theyre causing me stress. Theyre actually undermining my health as I dont have the energy to exercise as I would normally.

I had high bp, horrifically high on an off chance check in the doctors. Put on 2 meds, about a year later had a heart attack. Am now on Lisinopril and Bisoprolol. I have tinnitus, but can tune it out, and the lisinopril makes me a bit colder, but post menopausal that’s fab!

Before going on the meds I was given a bp monitor and had to do readings for a week. It was consistently high, despite being relaxed at home.

Still can't get a GP appointment so not on any meds atm, but trying to walk more etc.

I am curious though about the readings. Which one is more important to "worry" about? My first number is consistently higher than it should be (140 to 150) but my second fluctuates between 80-96 so sometimes it's a perfect reading for a healthy person and sometimes it's way too high. Google is just confusing me (easily done 😂).

Have you got a chemist near you where you can pop in weekly at different times to have it tested.

I have had high blood pressure in the past and am on candesarten, there have been other meds prescribed alongside when it couldnt be brought down and I have not got on with any of them, huge swollen ankles, dizzy, vertifigo etc etc

Ive now lost a lot of weight and would love to come off the meds

The 24 monitor has never worked for me, 3 different nurses couldnt get it to take a reading from me, probably because my arms were too big (this was about 2 years ago or something like that. I bought a lloyds pharmacy home monitor which was wildly fluctuating and when i took it to the gp to test it, was way way off, he told me to bin it and not to bother with home monitors

Also for some reason they cant get a reading via a digital machine for me, they always have to do it manually.

So I pop into the chemist regularly to keep an eye on it. Im currently not taking my meds, havent now for maybe 3 weeks, my readings are still good but I notice Ive got a few headaches, not sure if its connected.

Im worried about blood pressure being a 'silent killer' and being told by the gp pharmacist that i should stay on the meds for life.......

Just take an average as PP has said. Focus on weight loss and lifestyle. Once you've got an average from a few weeks of readings email the GP with number

@BloodPressureHell 80-96 on the bottom is never an ideal reading for a healthy person.
Whilst waiting for your appointment you need to take the morning and evening readings. Take 2 readings at the same time morning and bring. Relax for a few mins before before taking the reading. Record them and calculate the average to give to the gp when you finally get seen.

80-96 on the bottom is never an ideal reading for a healthy person.
Sorry, I meant the 80 is the ideal reading, which I sometimes get. GP said anything up to 85 was okay. Which made me wonder if they are mainly looking at the first part (systolic?) of 140 when saying BP is too high rather than the second part which fluctuates from ideal to not.

Thanks @bellac11 I think i'm going to be similar to you. I'm working on the relieving stress but it might take a while (divorce) so it's looking like focusing on exercise and deep breathing, which will hopefully help with weight loss too. Congratulations on getting yours down!

Sorry but 80 isn’t considered ideal for a healthy person. The dr I think means that it doesn’t need/qualify for medication but should be managed by lifestyle changes.
It’s treated as ok for a person with medicated blood pressure as the fact is it may be as good as it’s going to get.

b/p management is really very much about your averages and not snapshots which can vary a lot.

Sorry but 80 isn’t considered ideal for a healthy person.
Google says ideal bp should be 120/80. If 80 isn't ideal what should it be? My GP did say I should be 135/85 so is 85 the ideal? This i why I'm getting confused. I have no idea at what I'm looking at or how much movement in the fluctuations are okay.

Based on which BP targets, in which guidelines and for which patient population(s)?

Our GP has upped it to 140/90 for older people too.

What your GP has told you is the ABPM/HBPM target for people aged 80 or younger.

That is an average taken from a wide range of aged people.
A lot of surgeries will accept higher or lower readings depending on each patient’s history and other symptoms etc.

Make sure you have been sat don for a good five mins beforetaking a reading - ideally thinking beautiful thoughts
I would think a daily 10-minute guided relaxation would-be a good idea whether or not it lowers the BP - certainly helps me when I am stressed .

I have chronic hypertension and also a mild heart condition, mid 40s. My cardiologist has told me my target is 125/75 max.