High Blood Pressure Hypertension

My B.P has been normal to low for all of my life.  I am very active and eat relatively healthy.   However, for the past year my blood pressure has been slowly creeping up.  The top number went from 120, to 130, and a few weeks ago 136/100. 

At age 54 it concerned me.  My family has a history of HPB.  My father, sister and aunt all have it and are on medication.

How did I know my blood pressure was high?  I had a few symptoms that were bothering me.  I had frequent headaches where in the past I have had zero issues with headaches.  I was constantly tired and I had to take a break when walking up 2 flights of stairs.  That's not usual for me seeing I run twice a week.  My heart kept pounding and my pulse would race for NO apparent reason.

Last week I was feeling particularly anxious about work and all the things I had to get accomplished.  I felt so overwhelmed and my heart kept racing.  I also felt dizzy.  I ended up stopping at CVS and walked over to the blood pressure machine that is in the back near the pharmacy.   I read the very easy instructions and put my arm in and let the machine do it's work.  I almost passed out when I read the final result.

I ran out of there quick and went to the emergency walk in.  They referred me to the ER.
See that story here:    https://arose4sharon.blogspot.com/2019/01/emergency-room-visits.html
I was not a happy camper that day for sure.  4 hours waiting and waiting and never saw a Dr.  Now I know why it's called a WAITING room.

I had followed up with my primary care the next day who diagnosed me with anxiety.  Huh??  What??  Anxiety can cause your blood pressure to spike like THAT?  I was in disbelief.  The Dr. gave me some lorazepam to take as needed when I felt anxious however you CAN'T drive with that so I didn't take any.   I have stopped by CVS several times this past week to take my BP and each time it was no lower than 139 on a good day.  It registered as high as 160 some days.

I called my dr. back several times and they dismissed it as anxiety.  Finally I pretty much had to demand an appointment and was finally seen by a nurse.  She took my BP and it was 139/84.  Still high.  She said she will let the Dr. know it's still a bit high and someone would call me the next day.  No one called me back.   A few days later I went to get my allergy shots and it was still in the high 138 range.

I decided to do some research and here is what is slowly working for me without medication (so far).

I drastically reduced my salt in take, reduced alcohol consumption which was a glass or 2 of wine each night.  I am only having an occasional glass, no more every night sipping.   I also made sure I was getting 10,000 steps each and every day and started lifting weights at home.  I am attempting to do some yoga, meditating and stretching.  Meditating is harder than I thought.  My mind is so busy!  I need alot more practice at that.

I also purchased a home blood pressure machine from Best Buy or it's also available on Amazon.com   It's the Omrom 10 series.  It works GREAT!  I take my BP 3-4 times a day.  The first week I was taking it, it was high in the 150 range.  After 1 week of the changes I implemented my BP went down to the 130 range on a pretty regular basis.  This morning when I took it, my BP was 126/72.  In the late afternoon it shot up again to 135/86.

I have a follow up with my primary care doctor on Tuesday.  I will be printing out the results of my BP over the past few days to show her.  Anxiety my a@@.  I have a feeling the new lifestyle changes I made will be a lifetime lifestyle change in order to control my BP.



Stay tuned.