GP appointment has made me worse

I went to my appointment this morning and I usually come out feeling slight more relaxed after reassurance however no today.

Firstly I seen a doctor is had never seen before then he took my blood pressure, took the cuff off then put it on again and took it again. He then said my blood pressure was 120/90 which he describe as high! This is not what you want to hear when you have health anxiety focused on your heart!! I asked him about it and he then said it's nothing to worry about but that he would prescribe propanalol! Why do I need meds if it's nothing to worry about??? I am now more scared than I was before!

On a different point has anyone tried acupuncture to relieve your anxiety? I have been offered a course of this but not sure how I feel about it

Awe sweetie, I have had that same blood pressure and it's only because I was nervous, white coat syndrome it's called. The doctor was an idiot to say he would prescribe a high bp med off one reading.  Ignore him your fine, I would bet that if your bp is taken again when you are relaxed it would be fine.

Hi Babyz,

I am sorry that you had a bad experience at your appointment.:(

It could very well be that under the circumstances, your BP became elevated temporarily...

Everyone's does from time to time, as this is how our system is designed...

It is the overall average that really is indicative of any risks to our cardiovascular health. (and extrememly high spikes, of which yours was not.)

Do you have a cuff at home that you can monitor yourself with? If not, you may want to get one. In this way, you can take readings and record them for a couple of weeks...before starting your medication.

You can show your results to your regular doctor, and make a decision with him/her at that time.

Try not to worry about it...a little jump here and there is not going to hurt. Get a monitor, and work on recording your own readings ...I bet they'll be just fine.:)

As far as your acupuncture question...I have known people who have used it for CP, but don't know a lot about it for anxiety relief.

We had a member post a video on accupressure for anxiety...maybe you want to start off with this less invasive technique? :) I can find and post it if you'd like.

Keep us updated, okay/

S.C.

I only WISH I had your blood pressure! My white coat syndrome is so bad that my blood pressure at the docs was 230/80!!!!! He put me on Toprol and said I definitely have WCS for sure. Your blood pressure is almost perfect.

Glad to hear all your tests came back good!!! You are okay, anxiety is just so overwhelming.
After three trips to the ER in my first few months of anxiety I started using money as an excuse not to go anymore because honestly I can't afford it.
I hope you can find someway to take the stress off and relax.

I know that docs are encouraging people to be lower than the long-standing traditionally accepted 120/80, but let's be real folks.

That BP reading you got was not that high at all. (Not unless your normal BP was around 90/60!) :)

I would (me personally) get to my regular docs, get my home BP cuff and take regular readings (like 2 or even 3 a week).

As S.C. said, it is absolute NOT about the one single reading one single doctor gets one single time at one single visit. It's about regular readings, what your average is,....for you!

I was put on propanalol decades ago, and it was for anxiety, not BP (but so many of these meds seem to crossing symptoms). For me personally, I hated it like there was no tomorrow. Couldn't get off of it fast enough.

Mind you, that being said, lots of people take it quite effectively and in fact, most people tolerate it rather well.

I suppose you could try it (but before doing so, I'd encourage you to call and speak with your doc and clarify WHY he's giving you this med.....as was stated, perhaps it had less to do with the BP and more to do with the anxiety).

Check it out.










M.