Does a hard gym work out affect blood pressure?

[bran]

I had to go for a blood test today and the phlebologist also took my blood pressure and it was a shocking 155 (I can't remember the dystolic). This was quite soon after a tough-ish work out, probably about 30 mins after I'd left the gym.

I have a home blood pressure cuff thing (because I'm a bit of a gadget freak). So I took my pressure when I got home and it was 187/110. I kept taking it every hour or so and it went down gradually during the day. The last two readings were 137/100 (at about 4pm) and 132/92 just now.

Obviously I'm going to go back and have it checked again, but I have to have a medical to be approved as an adoptor quite soon. Should I make sure I don't work out on the day of the medical, or is it more likely to be a medical cause (in which case it's possibly going to be the death knell for our plans for a second child).

I've never had high blood pressure before (except when I had HSS following IVF), and I've recently become a bit of a gym bunny which I thought would have had a downward effect on my bp. I'm a bit unnerved tbh.

Actually initially exercise can cause blood pressure to rise - in the first six weeks or so, it can cause an increase. So don't panic just yet. However the dystolic is high. I've just come back from being admitted to hospital because my dystolic was 120 and 90 is the point at which they get worried if you are pregnant.

Also blood pressure medication can sort it in any case. It's not an automatic no-no for adoptive parents!

So if I cut right back on the exercise for a week before my medical do you think that would drop my blood pressure? I reckon I've been seeing the trainer for about 8 weeks now, but it's only about 4 weeks since I started doing cardio sessions inbetween trainer sessions.

I really don't want to have a another medical problem. Our approval panel date was cancelled because my BMI is too high and since then I've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, so the SWs are insisting on another medical. If yet another problem pops up it's going to make life difficult. Even if we get approved there is quite a lot of competition for children so I imagine that we would struggle to 'beat' the other prospective adoptors and have a child placed with us. We had a long wait for ds without any major medical issues (although I was the same weight as I was before my cancelled panel).

Are you exercising a lot? Any more than three times a week is probably too much - at least for the first three months. I know you get a lot out of it and it's great but since you have other medical problems you do need to take it steadily.

I find it so hard to fathom why they make fostering and adoption so hard when there are so many kids who need homes. We looked at adoption and were told we were too old (well actually DH was too old), yet surely age brings valuable experience needed in raising kids.

There are lots of ways of reducing blood pressure - medication, meditation (not having SW breathing down your neck would probably help). Have you thought about biofeedback?

It's funny isn't it - you can be a stupid drunk and get knocked up, smoke through your pregnancy and have a kid, yet if you have a boil on your bum and you want to adopt or foster a child, it requires an enquiry

I'm doing two one-hour sessions with a personal trainer on Mon and Wed, and then most weeks I do an hour of cardio on the treadmill (fast walk) and cross-trainer on Tues and Thurs. My sessions with the trainer are quite knackering, yesterday's had lots of boxing, and I really push myself on the cardio days because I want to lose the weight. Other than that I don't do much except walk to DS's school to pick him up if it's not too sunny (about 30 mins leisurely walk).

I try not to ponder the mysterious ways of social services, that way madness lies. We just toe the party line and do what we're told. Although I did draw the line at expressing gratitude for them cancelling our last panel date (our SW said something along the lines of "Don't you think it's a good thing that you didn't go to panel? It's because of that that you are losing weight now." and waited with pencil poised for my positive spin).

I think I'll drop Tues and Thurs until after my medical. I didn't do anything today except sort out stuff to go into storage and loads of laundry and my bp is 135/90 which is low enough for the SS medical adviser not to get her knickers in a twist.

Sounds like a sensible plan. It does sound like you are overdoing it a tad. You realise of course that it's not the exercise that makes you lose weight but the increase in metabolic rate? If you build up more muscle, you'll burn more calories at rest, so concentrate on toning up and try not to worry too much about losing weight - that will come as a side benefit.

My mum and dad were both social workers while I was growing up. You can imagine

I'm sure your parents are lovely but at the thought. Have you ever heard Claire in the Community? It gets repeated fairly regularly on BBC radio and it's the funniest thing.

Our sw last time was lovely and had a sense of humour and some perspective. This time around our sw is also lovely but she is totally lacking in cynicism or any sense at all that the system might be even a tiny bit flawed, which winds me up a bit.

Exercise smarter, not harder, that's the thing. Your heart rate and BP will get lower as your fitness increases, but jumping in with too much exercise too soon will send them both haywire.

I'd suggest getting a heart rate monitor, and trying to exercise within the "safe" zone for you. The instructions with the monitor should help you work this out. You'll continue to lose weight this way, I promise.

Yep, twasn't great at school TBH - kids coming up to you saying 'ooy your mum took me and my sister into care last night'

Oh dear, that is so much worse than being the dentist's daughter (quite a few of my friends were patients of my Dad). (bp 127/80 immediately after training session today, after soothing words by trainer. Perhaps most of the problem is in my mind, the guilt is a bit crushing tbh.)