I just got back from an appointment with an endodontist where I was supposed to have a root canal (fun!) and they refused to do it because they found I have HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE! 145/101! They checked it three times, and the last time it was up to 150/104!
I've never had the slightest issue with this, as a matter of fact, it usually runs quite low and below normal. I'm in pretty good shape, my diet is healthier than average, I'm not an ounce overweight, I don't drink - but I do smoke and there is a family history of this on my dad's side.
I already have an apointment next week with my primary doctor for a checkup, so now I guess we have something to discuss, as opposed to how these usually go:
Q> How have you been feeling?
A> Fine.
Q> Any problems or questions?
A> Nope.
Q> We'll run the standard tests and if everything checks out I'll see you next time.
A> OK. Bye.
I'm gonna call his office and see if I need to come in immediately.
So now I guess I wait for my head to explode. . . :hot:
Quote from: Raffine on June 05, 2008, 12:29:24 PM
I just got back from an appointment with an endodontist where I was supposed to have a root canal (fun!) and they refused to do it because they found I have HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE! 145/101! They checked it three times, and the last time it was up to 150/104!
It's high enough for concern when a procedure is about to be performed, but it's not at any extreme level.
If you have not had a history of high blood pressure, it could have been anxiety; or the doctor's assistant was stacked.
It's not high enough to be worried, you'll get that down again in no time with some minor treatment (if even needed, could very well be a little anxiety as the guest said)
Thanks, guys. It just was a bit of a shock, like being told by your ophthalmologist he can't fit you for glasses because of that third arm they discovered sprouting from your back. :smile:
I just got back from walking over a mile, so I'm on the fast-track to recovery. :drink:
Quote from: Menard on June 05, 2008, 12:46:18 PM
If you have not had a history of high blood pressure, it could have been anxiety; or the doctor's assistant was stacked.
Exactly.
Mine does the same thing. Low-low-low-low (at one point when I was 18, it was SO low, I stayed unconscious for about a month...), but when I go into the to doctor's office, it reads high - almost as high as your first reading.
I don't like Dr. visits. They tend to try to find things WRONG with me!
And a root canal is stressful (for the patient...I'm not sure the docs care that much).
I'm a bit surprised they got wigged out by this. It's not THAT high for a transient reading, and that it got higher once they told you about it (and you started to worry more) seems to make sense to me (a lay person, not an MD). You'd think they see this all the time for root canal procedures.
If it checks out okay with your MD, you MIGHT want to consider changing dentists. If they are THAT scared to do procedures.....well, I'd not trust 'em myself.
Zap can offer some more authoritative advice.
Mine is usually pretty low usually under 120/80 though at times I have been above that number, it's more or less something that is uncommon for me I think I've had it had 160/80 one time or something around. For just a little over a year I had my blood pressure checked weekly and for a while it was multiple times a week (I was visiting a wound center once a week and had a visiting nurse for 3 months b/c of that)
I usually find lots of way to relax myself to help bring it down if it's too high such as meditation, light music and reading to relax.
Also a bad movie now and then doesn't hurt if you enjoy it.
I also try and keep my sodium intake down. Now that I'm trying to cut down on the fast food that I eat, I can generally cut my sodium intake by a large amount.
Quote from: InspectorDC on June 05, 2008, 01:24:33 PM
It's not high enough to be worried, you'll get that down again in no time with some minor treatment (if even needed, could very well be a little anxiety as the guest said)
Who the hell are you calling a guest? :tongueout:
Yes, there is a condition called White Coat Syndrome. The very site of a doctor makes mine rise.
Raff,
Try to avoid getting sucked into taking any kind of meds over this. It's not THAT high and should be treatable with exercise and relxation techniques. Also , you may have to give up the tobacco if you want to lower it. Family history can surely be an indicator of a possible health issue, but many times you can deal with a problem through lifestyle changes.I take hypertension meds and they have plenty of negative side effects. Check them out online. Getting off them once you start is tough too, because they can have some nasty withdrawl effects, in some people. Do some research if you want and do what you feel best, just don't let someone buffalo you into the meds. I'm nowhere near being a doctor, I'm just a fat guy who knows about some medical conditions through personal experience.
Quote from: trekgeezer on June 05, 2008, 02:22:59 PM
The very site of a doctor makes mine rise.
:bouncegiggle:
You must really be into doctors. :teddyr:
Quote from: Hammock Rider on June 05, 2008, 02:44:45 PM
Raff,
Try to avoid getting sucked into taking any kind of meds over this. It's not THAT high and should be treatable with exercise and relxation techniques. Also , you may have to give up the tobacco if you want to lower it. Family history can surely be an indicator of a possible health issue, but many times you can deal with a problem through lifestyle changes.I take hypertension meds and they have plenty of negative side effects. Check them out online. Getting off them once you start is tough too, because they can have some nasty withdrawl effects, in some people. Do some research if you want and do what you feel best, just don't let someone buffalo you into the meds. I'm nowhere near being a doctor, I'm just a fat guy who knows about some medical conditions through personal experience.
Now folks, let's not get into lifestyle recommendations here.
So far this is a one-time thing that is most likely due to anxiety, or it could be organic as such due to something ingested, or otherwise a combination of different things.
If one's blood pressure is high one day, they don't need to be going out and making lifestyle changes all of the sudden. High blood pressure is only diagnosed when it is consistently high over a series of checks; not due to it being high on an odd occasion, or else everyone of us can be declared as having high blood pressure.
Uh, let's all try to keep our heads on our shoulders for now.
Quote from: Menard on June 05, 2008, 02:04:33 PM
Quote from: InspectorDC on June 05, 2008, 01:24:33 PM
It's not high enough to be worried, you'll get that down again in no time with some minor treatment (if even needed, could very well be a little anxiety as the guest said)
Who the hell are you calling a guest? :tongueout:
Haha sorry man, I must have scrolled just enough down to only see the "guest" part and not your name. Didn't mean to be rude.... or did I? :teddyr:
It's probably anxiety. I used to get high BP readings at doctor's offices, but low readings when I measured it at home. According to one study, "Few people relish the thought of a filling or root canal. Gobetti says a typical patient's blood pressure might rise by 10 or 15 points because of nervousness just walking into a dentist's office."
Dentists don't like to perform procedures if your BP is elevated because "anesthetic behaves differently in patients with high blood pressure and hypertensive patients typically bleed more during surgery."
http://www.ur.umich.edu/0405/Sept13_04/19.shtml
I wouldn't worry. But you've inspired me to start a thread about my own health anxieties.
My blood pressure has been steadily increasing over the last few years.
It runs on my father's side of the family. My dad is 64 years old and he's obsessive when it comes to his BP.
My diet has become much better over the years. Whereas before I'd eat just about anything, now you'll find the words "fat free" printed on most of the stuff in my fridge.
I also use salt very sparingly. (have for years)
I like to donate plasma for extra cash and out of the last 6 times I went in to donate, I was turned away 5 times because of high blood pressure.
It's always my diastolic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diastole) pressure that's too high.
(the bottom number)
My systolic pressure is always fine.
I have an appointment to see a doctor tomorrow for it.
Quote from: Ash on June 05, 2008, 07:32:46 PM
My blood pressure has been steadily increasing over the last few years.
It runs on my father's side of the family. My dad is 64 years old and he's obsessive when it comes to his BP.
My diet has become much better over the years. Whereas before I'd eat just about anything, now you'll find the words "fat free" printed on most of the stuff in my fridge.
I also use salt very sparingly. (have for years)
I like to donate plasma for extra cash and out of the last 6 times I went in to donate, I was turned away 5 times because of high blood pressure.
It's always my diastolic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diastole) pressure that's too high.
(the bottom number)
My systolic pressure is always fine.
I have an appointment to see a doctor tomorrow for it.
I don't have high blood pressure, though it has, as anyone's does, been elevated at times.
The only reason I mention that is that I used to donate to a plasma clinic. I noticed a trend in my blood pressure that was related to how much activity I'd had that day, or week; regardless if it was through work or exercise.
When I worked at a factory one summer, while the inside temperature was 10 degrees higher than the 95 degree outside temperature, my blood pressure was amazingly in good numbers and pretty stable. It seems to follow that course if I do a good workload or exercise up a good sweat.
Being that you do have an elevated blood pressure, I don't know if it would work much for you, but if working up a good sweat did help to lower it a bit, you may be able to use that to your advantage on days you want to donate at the plasma clinic.
Here is my understanding of things about outpatient blood pressure management.
Your arteries mainly care about what the area under the curve is.
If your blood pressure is high only during brief episodes of time (ie, at doctors' visits, at the dentist) but are NOT high other times, that's not typically worth treating with medication.
If your blood pressure is high most of the time, that needs to be reduced.
Lifestyle changes, in all but the extreme cases, can reduce systolic BP by 5-7 points or so, diastolic slightly less. If you drink programmer quantities of caffeine, elimination of that alone can reduce blood pressure quite a bit more than that. =) Many other factors influence blood pressure, and most of what causes hypertension is not understood by current science. If you're really overweight, reduction of that can make some difference. Some people are salt-sensitive with regard to hypertension, and some are not, but salt reduction is given by many as blanket advice for hypetension (though it's of dubious value in some cases).
If you're diabetic, your blood pressure should average <130 over <80. If not diabetic, <140 over <80 (that's less than all those values, not equal to any of them or greater).
Consider getting a home monitor (ie, an Omron brand, or else look up on Consumer Reports or the like about brands) for your blood pressure and collecting data before you see your doctor. Collect daily readings at varying times of the day, and write them down with times. Get an automated cuff that reads at your arm level, not, I repeat, not your wrist or finger. Bring that automated cuff with you to the doctor's office, and have its reading double-checked against his nurse's (or his, or her) reading. Make sure your cuff isn't too tight; doublecheck the fit per its instructions. If the cuff is too tight (if your arm is too big for it) your readings will be read as too high. If you have a friend who can reliably take a blood pressure (was trained how to do it and is experienced in it), that is preferable to a machine.
Collect a few weeks of data and then bring those things to your doc. It will be a much more useful visit that way, and your doc will be impressed with how you went to the big ol' internet and came to his office with common sense and good information, instead of lunacy and herbs. :bouncegiggle:
I went to the free clinic here in town this morning and saw a doctor about my high blood pressure.
I'd never been to that clinic before and was expecting some run down place but it was actually very nice.
It's a newer building and all of the staff were very professional.
And the great thing was that I didn't have to pay a cent.
The nurse saw me first and took my BP.
From what I gather, the average BP reading is supposed to be something like 120 over 80. (not 100% sure on that)
Mine was something like 120 over 115! :buggedout:
I saw the doctor and she gave me a physical exam and asked me questions about my diet and general lifestyle.
The first thing she recommended was lifestyle change. Getting out and exercising more etc...
She then prescribed to me a month's supply of Lisinopril (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisinopril). (an ACE inhibitor)
An interesting fact about the drug is that it is "derived from the venom of the jararaca, a Brazilian pit viper".
I have to take one pill a day and then go back to the clinic in 2 weeks to see how well the medication is working.
It's kind of scary being only 34 years old and having sky high blood pressure.
I'm definitely going to take her advice and start exercising more.
Maybe if I can dig up some extra cash, I'll buy a mountain bike and hit the local bike trails. :smile:
Quote from: Ash on June 06, 2008, 10:08:25 AM
The nurse saw me first and took my BP.
From what I gather, the average BP reading is supposed to be something like 110 over 80. (not 100% sure on that)
Mine was something like 120 over 115! :buggedout:
It's kind of scary being only 34 years old and having sky high blood pressure.
Your diastolic is quite high, but I don't think "sky high..." I'm older than you, have stayed trim, I get good exercise, but I still take a wee white pill each morn. Here's hoping the reading was just a fluke. :thumbup:
I know our
Raffine will be fine. :thumbup:
Raffine,
Maybe your dentist just had a tee time soon and wanted to get out of there quick, so he lied to you to get you out of there.
106/77/55 BPM. If I wasn't destined to be murdered I'd fuggin live forever.
One of the guys I work with, Kev had worryingly high blood pressure. The medics gave him a monitor to wear that would sound an alarm whenever his BP was getting too high. Of course, we all done our best to wind Kev up and see if we could set the alarm off.
i was so stressed out on monday, i actually had a normal person's BP reading! scared the crap out of the pharmacist, who knows my normal reading roughly 25 points lower than regular people. it was fine today though.