Blood Pressure Cuff Pain

I had an epiphany yesterday. I had to get my BP taken, and as usual, the BP cuff hurt like crazy. When I got home that night, my whole left arm was in extreme pain, and today, I'm hurting pretty badly from the waist up.

I had a light bulb moment and realized that the BP cuff probably doesn't hurt as badly for normal people AND it is probably what caused my flare. For the longest time, I just thought it was supposed to hurt that badly.

Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know of an alternative way to get your blood pressure taken? Another way that fibro makes "normal" things "not so normal."

Hugs - Austen

Austen, I have that problem and ask that they don't inflate it so tight.  I also have a blood pressure machine I bought at Walmart that I can monitor my own BP and that cuff isn't bad at all.  But, yes, those hurt me.  I feel like my hand is going to explode if they pump it too tight.

 

Sherrine

I thought I was the only one who hurt from the bp cuff or it was suppose to hurt like that. The things I learn on here!

The blood pressure cuff KILLS me now, but didn't before the fibromonster got me. I have a wrist unit to use at home. My doctor had me bring it in to test it for accuracy (it passed). I donate my O-neg blood every eight weeks. The blood bank uses a cuff instead of a tourniquet. Hurts like h***, but I can tolerate almost anything for five minutes.

 I don't know if the cuff hurts normal people or not. I have never been normal, or so I've been told!   LOL 

Hi Austen,

Oh yeah, does that ever hurt! I have had a problem w/ the cuff and also the tourniquet. I have been taking several meds for HBP for several yrs, so each time I go to the dr they ck my bp. The dr also told me to get a set for home, to ck my DH's and my BP. I hurt so badly when it tightens. I feel like I'm gritting my teeth.

My DH was in the hospital awhile back, so at our follow up visit w/ dr, she told us DH was NOT to take his bp med if his diastolic was below 60. So I watched that like a hawk. Recently, my diastolic was 60 or below, so I didn't take my dose of meds. I had a visit w/ my cardiologist 2 days later and decided to bring a sample of my readings for the past wk. He was more concerned w/ my systolic. I couldn't hit 110. Many times in the mid-hi 90's, several low 100's. He had me reading my bp several times per day and to dose or NOT dose accordingly.

I had to go to my pcp yesterday for stuff re my DH, I wrote down all my numbers for the past few wks. My pcp's DH is also a dr and he saw us. He said I was off all bp meds and I was sent for immediate blood work. I'm waiting for the results. My numbers were low for quite awhile, but never in the drs office.

Regarding the tightness of the cuff, I find it more so when my systolic is lower than it should be. IF my sys is 110, the cuff is horrible, if my sys is lower, the cuff is unbearable. It is weird how you entertain yourself by trying to gauge your numbers by the level of pain. My arm hurts terribly after each test, so I dread the next test.

Someone at HW (I can't remember who - surprise! ) said if someone, even you, is taking your BP and the cuff stops inflating, then starts up again, stop the test, deflate the cuff and start over. That does happen to me, even in the drs office. My arm hurts unbearably w/ that mishap.

I am amazed at the things 'other' ppl don't find painful. Hopefully, we will all have a pain free day today and tomorrow and ...

God bless.  Alice. 

 

Wish I had joined this several years ago. My BP is ALWays up when at my Internal Medicine appointment. Yet is low to normal when at school teaching (even in the midst of bad days), at the Y, or at my pain doctors... UNless I am having a pain flare, whether the Fibro or the RA is causing it.

My Internist still says I am mildly hyper-tensive. Yet it is mostly only UP with her. And she and nurses there insist in ratcheting it up as far as they can get it. I found years ago when working for a gynecologist that with my Normal BP of 110/68 I did not ever need to go much over 160 to get an accurate reading.

Now that I have RA, Fibro and other"myalgias" and deal with constant daily pain, the now mandatory (?) guidelines of going above 180 are Extremely painful and red for much longer than being in the doctor's office. I thought I was crazy. We have a wrist cuff that takes accurate readings on my husband and continues to read mine at normal to low, but I felt maybe I should have a new machine? I bought an automatic one so I could more easily take my own BP. Machine goes up on it's own to above 180 and cannot overide the setting. doctor wishes for me to take daily readings, (seriously I am proving it really IS only high with her; except when the machines go to 180 and above) I thought I would have more credibility with the regular cuff than the wrist monitor. But I am bringing pain on myself. I am no masochistic. The only time I ordinarily have high normal is during a bad pain day, or when my kidney disease rears it's head for a bout. How to prove this to this Dr??

I have this same problem. When I told the nurse at my gastro's office, she asked me "Your BP usually runs low, doesnt it?" Which is usually the case. She said we wouldnt have to inflate it as much, in that case, so I get away with less pain than usual. If you have a normal-low BP, you might ask about that.

Also, with the blood work--I get HUGE, horrible bruises within minutes of having blood drawn. And they are always very purple and blue--they really do look horrible. And they last for at least a week, many times longer.

It's so interesting that so many of us have this issue. Besides my pain/IBS etc. for years, what finally sent me to a new Dr. was my arm pain. I had not had my BP taken, but that's exactly how I would describe my pain. It was like I had a BP cuff on constantly. I couldn't let my arm hang even when I was laying down, had to have a pillow underneath it.

It's really my left arm - so I always have my BP and even blood drawn on my right side. For some reason, it's my left and I won't go through 6 weeks of that kind of pain again. It sent me to PT where the guy must have asked me 6 times "are you sure you haven't been in a car accident??"
(yeah I think I'd remember that). He couldn't help me - tried massage, tens unit etc.

It is very hard for them to get a reading for my bp. It also hurts like crazy. Drawing blood or starting iv's are a nightmare. They use a butterfly needle but it still hurts bad. They usu wind up taking my bp several times and changing bp cuffs. Sometimes they just give up. I thought i was going to go crazy when i was in the hospital they had to ck my bp and bld work so many times a day.

I had a chemical stress test yesterday and one of the first things i told them was the vein issue. I have been told they do everything they are not suppose to do.

 

Absoultely. Those can hurt like H***. I tell the person doing it I have had problems and they bring out a more gentle cuff. Also, if they can do it manually instead of one of those machines that can reallly help.

 

Wow! I just assumed that nasty BP cuff hurt everybody! That rubber band they put around my arm when they draw blood is so painful too.

I get pain when they take my blood pressure. It hurts!

Considering the new research about circulation problems being related to fibromyalgia pain, it makes sense...