High blood pressure during menopause

[Ssck123]

Im 51 this year, and im quite certain I'm suffering with some menapause symptoms. I actually went to the doctors because I wanted to ask about vaginal estrogen. She checked my blood pressure which was high, so she was reluctant to offer anything so i now have to monitor my BP at home for 7 days. I've also had bloods done. Is high BP common during menopause?

I don’t think vaginal estrogen gets absorbed into your system, in fact I know it doesn’t. It shouldn’t affect whatever blood pressure you have

Mine was a bit high so I asked for meds and started on 4mh candesartan which has worked really well. Now it's a little bit low

Did you have any side effects of taking meds for your high BP. Im not against taking medication, but some people have warned me not to

I also thought the same, but I think I went of track when she read my BP and it came back high. Now I have to do readings at home for 7 days. I also had routine bloods done. Im going back to see doctor in may so I'll see what she has to say

Were these people qualified doctors? Your GP will decide, as some people can get "white coat" high BP and I'm one of them! I also had a monitor and all was fine in the end.

Vaginal estrogen is not systemic and it doesn't affect blood pressure. I use it and it's bloody brilliant for my issue which is urinary frequency. There is one BP med that can cause a cough, but there are alternatives.

How high was it?

Have the people who warned you about taking high blood pressure meds also warned you about the risks of long term blood pressure?

Do your monitoring at home and once you get your results take your Drs advice. You can start high blood pressure meds and come off later if it has been caused by something like being overweight and it responds to you losing weight etc.

@Ssck123 You don't need a BP check to use vaginal estrogen as it's not absorbed into the body, only the vagina.

It's a minute amount anyway. The weekly dose for a YEAR is the equivalent of 1 day on HRT.

I think your GP is misinformed and depending on your next appointment you might need to query this. No one needs a BP check before using vaginal estrogen. You can also buy it now over the counter at a pharmacy.

However, high BP is a health risk anyway.
How high was your BP? Was it white coat syndrome?

If it's high the usual way forwards is to try to reduce it with life style measures first. The British Heart Foundation has loads of info online.

This includes
Diet- less salt, more fibre, less alcohol
Exercise- more - daily for at least 30 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, swimming, playing sport etc.

Meds are a last resort after all of the above.

Thank you for the advice, i will query it the nxt time i see the doctor. I think she's being cautious as she mentioned a risk of blood clots.I have to monitor my BP for 7 days, although i dont know how accurate that will be as my BP goes up and down throughout the day.

Me! I have massive white coat high BP... I'd be dead if it was that high all the time.

I had to exposure therapy myself at home to the BP monitor over a week, were I was working with it round my arm and then would occasionally measure my BP.
After a couple of days it was a normal reading.

I am ridiculous and I accept it!

If your blood pressure didn't adjust during the day you'd not be able to do anything... Like going from sitting to standing and walking.

There are guidelines about how you should sit and for how long etc on line for the best accuracy.

What is terrible about this is your GP's complete lack of knowledge on anything to do with estrogen andmaking you go through this.

Vaginal estrogen is called topical. It's a cream or a small tiny pessary.

Topical estrogen (also called transdermal= through the skin) does not increase blood clots, either as vaginal treatment or systemic HRT.

Blood clots are more of an issue with the Pill and are not relevant with HRT or estrogen. They are only a risk if you were asking for HRT as a tablet to take orally.

No side effects and allowed HRT while on the meds

Hmmm this is anecdotal but one of my close friends was having the most awful menopausal time of it. Migraines, relentless hot flushes and not surprisingly her emotions were all over the place as well she was a sobbing mess (she would agree!) the Private GP she saw checked her BP and it was very high . She prescribed the HRT anyway and friend was monitoring it for a period of time at GP request- it returned to normal very quickly (along with quick reduction in headaches and hot flushes )
No idea of medical explanation of the link but it seemed as if she was in such a state that once the hormones were back on track the BP resolved. She has also now managed to lose weight and start exercising again - transforming her overall health.

Interesting. I starting having blood pressure spikes during hot flushes and ended up in hospital thinking I was having heart problems, the combination of hrt and candesartan sorted the problem out.

How’s your weight op? For me it was weight gain that caused high blood pressure.

High BP is more common as you get older and warrants attention regardless of anything else, though as others have said, shouldn’t impact on a prescription for vaginal oestrogen (which as others have also said is available otc).
Lifestyle changes can also help with some symptoms that women attribute to menopause (and I say this as a longterm committed taker of HRT).

@Ssck123 It may be too late now but your subject line is not really about high BP in menopause but the need to monitor your BP before prescribing vaginal estrogen. If you have other GPs you could see, it might be worth trying one of them.

High BP should be treated anyway but it's not relevant for vaginal estrogen.

And you can have HRT with high blood pressure - as long as it's not too high.https://gpnotebook.com/en-GB/pages/gynaecology/hypertension-and-hrt

So the GP can do both - prescribe HRT (whether topical or not) AND investigate if you need meds for the blood pressure. And it's possible that HRT will help your blood pressure.