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High blood pressure and anxiety (my story)

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Anxiety & Panic Disorders
What do you think the odds that I could overcome this?
You'll get better - 100.0% - 11 votes
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Posted 5/5/2013 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
Joja I once described my first trip to ER, everything was perfect nice supper, good movie "at home", two
beers, and when I sat down I felt like I was falling forever. a free fall thru hell, this was the first one,
there were many more and most hit me blind sided but not all. This is something I think not necessary for
others to accept. "because our brain is central control for our body that ancient part called subconscious is
there also, being a part of the brain it really does know our weakest points and uses them against us".
The trick I think is to make consciousness dominate over subconscious. It was just a thought.
Larry ***
Posted 5/5/2013 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Larry! I hope I'll get better with all of this and someday help others too just like all of you've been doing here in HW. Wish you more health and strength my friend, and more years for us to come!

Your thankful friend
Joja
Posted 6/5/2013 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
I've just been woken up by a loud noise. It's 4am here. I can feel my pulse in my neck and head. I can feel the blood going to my head. My neck started to get hot. Then I suddenly remembered I had skipped my BP med (metroprolol) which I'm usually taking every 12am and 12pm (2x/day 50mg). Made me anxious (maybe it's the reason I can feel my heartbeat in my head). Still on the bed I started to calm myself but felt my neck mildly shaking. My palm started to get sweaty. I can't take my BP med till the next 8hrs. I had the urge to check my BP but resisted because I was afraid I'm going to get a high reading that will make me more anxious. Got up instead and went here in HW. I just want to vent out because I'm anxious since I was not able to take my BP med and afraid that my BP will go out of control. Have to take deep breaths now. It helps me calm myself whenever I'm here on HW.
Posted 6/5/2013 10:01 PM (GMT 0)
Joja, Remember it takes decades for high BP to cause damage, your in no real danger, metoprolol is one
of my BP meds also and I am cutting back on it because it effects my ability to exercise. Bottom line
don't worry there is plenty of residual medicine in your system. Peace!

Larry ***
Posted 6/5/2013 10:05 PM (GMT 0)
Joja,

Missing one dose should not make much of a difference...just take your next scheduled dose when it is time.

Great job on not checking your BP! Even if you did get a high reading...our bodies are equipped to deal with fluxuations such as being startled awake...when the BP would naturally rise a bit.

The danger however is in getting yourself all worked up over a reading...and then getting into an anxiety cycle, which could drive your subsequent reading up.

Try to get back to sleep and not worry...easier said than done, I know, but I really believe that you can do it!

S.C.
Posted 6/5/2013 10:31 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much S.C.! I'm blessed to have you people by my side. Yea I stayed out of my BP monitoring device and I feel more calm right now just by sitting here reading other people's stuffs here in HW. Also especially when people like you are by my side.

Larry I'm also planning on stopping metroprolol sometime in the future when I'm already confident enough that I have my BP naturally under control. I don't want to have side effects from meds and being dependent on them for the rest of my life.

Thanks for your reassurance!

________________________________________________________

MOST anxiety happens at the subconscious level. JUST because you don't feel consciously anxious or had a day or two of calm doesn't mean your mind & body are relaxed. It can take months of reduced anxiety before a body goes back to a more non-reactive state.

Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts we create. Danger is very real. But fear is a choice.
Posted 6/5/2013 11:33 PM (GMT 0)
You are doing really well Joja...

I see so much improvement in every post.

Keep up the great work! :)

S.C.
Posted 6/6/2013 3:42 AM (GMT 0)
I never got back to sleep yet since I woke up earlier. Having a hard time getting myself back to sleep and rest more. Right now I'm having another episode of Scintillating Scotoma that started just 10mins earlier. 3rd time I ever get to experience this zigzag like patterns in my vision and for some what is called a visual migraine. I pray to God that these episodes have nothing to do with anything serious regarding my health cause it still freaks me out a bit though this have something to do with the brain or can be caused by ischemia. I also do hope I don't get the headache after this. Now as I'm trying to finish this post the zigzag had already progressed to my peripheral vision and soon to be completely faded or gone. I know not much of you can relate with me in this one but this brings anxiety since I can't get myself to check it out by doctors just yet. *sigh
Posted 6/6/2013 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
How are you feeling now Joja? The zig-zag pattern you describe sounds exactly like a migraine symptom. You may or may not develop any pain...some are 'silent'.

Lack of sleep and stress would certainly also fit into this picture! Migraines can be triggered by both.

Try not to worry that it is caused by something more threatening...remember the old medical adage, as it applies to not thinking of the least likely (and in our case most scary) reason for a symptom:

"When hearing hoofbeats think horses, not zebras."

In other words...your symptoms are easily and logically explained by a migraine...no need to think that you have some other, unlikely issue.

Hope you are feeling better today!

S.C.
Posted 6/6/2013 11:05 PM (GMT 0)
Joja, I have the visual symptoms exactly the same as you do, I never know when they will come up but
move right to left across my vision field then disappear, I use to always get a headache from them but I
have started to ignore them and now it's kind of a dull sensation not real pain.
Funny thing I am blind in my right eye but I can see the vision disturbance in it. Peace!

Larry ***
Posted 6/7/2013 8:31 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much S.C. and Larry for your warm reassurance. I feel a little bit better now and was even able to go out with my wife yesterday without thinking about it so much and possibly having a panic attack. From what I read it's true you can see these visual migraines even if your eyes are closed since it is happening in the part of our brain that has something to do with our visual sense. I got already used to seeing floaters, tiny sparks like stars and the mild flashing.. But yet I still have to accept and cope with this this pulsating shadow, flickering shadow and the scintillating scotoma (visual migraine).

Again thanks guys for being there for me whenever I freak out!
Posted 7/16/2013 9:54 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry I don't want to post a new topic since what I'm going to share now is connected to this post. 6 days ago I weaned down on my metroprolol, so it's been 6 days since I started taking it once a day. Now every morning I get this pressure thing in my head like the feeling of when you're doing a head stand. Once I get my eyes open in the morning I can feel my heartbeat pound on my chest and head which I don't usually get before. Since the day I weaned down my bp ranges from 115/75 to 126/83. Before when I was still taking my med twice a day it ranges from
103/61 to 115/72. Weaning down surely made a change.

This is what I want to share as I was scared a little
This morning kinda freaked me out cause I was startled awake and when I closed my eyes I can see flashes of light that goes with my heartbeat. I tried to remain calm and at this point I'm not freaked out yet. But when I started to feel pressure on my head I tried to move from lying sideways to lying flat facing the ceiling while stretching my whole body, and then this is what freaked me out, I felt my body move like it was being rocked by my blood pressure. I had this twice already and the first one was when I was having a panic attack in bed, I felt my body moved by my increased heart rate and blood pressure. Earlier today it felt like I was being pushed in the back because while turning and stretching it felt like there's someone pushed me on my back, it's not only a feeling but I was moved. I got out from bed to check my bp and got a 148/96 reading. I never got a reading like this since April, now I feel like I need to worry bout my bp spikes all over again.

Can blood pressure really make you feel like your body is being rocked or moved?
I also started to worry about this vibrating thing near my spine that is different from the inner tremors I get in my legs and neck. It's a constant feeling of something is vibrating on a low level that last long and doesn't stop especially when my back is resting on the chair. I tried to think it's gasses but moving gasses inside us usually stops and doesn't last for a long period of time. Also I can hear gasses using a stethoscope but with this I can't hear anything whenever I feel it's vibrating on my spine (near kidneys). My anxiety makes me think clogged arteries, fluid in the lungs, adrenal and kidney abnormality. Hope everything is just caused by anxiety and not something serious since I can't get any medical help for now.

I'm really waiting for that time when I'll be able to rule most of my worries out by getting a thorough check-up and easily tell myself there's really nothing serious/wrong to worry about. It's hard to make myself believe sometimes I'm just fine cause I don't have evidence/results that I'm not suffering from any kind of disease or serious health condition.

I'm sorry for venting this out. *sigh* I thank God He's keeping me alive. It's my wife birthday today and I didn't expect to feel this way. Even if I feel bad for not being good enough for her on her special day, I feel grateful that I'm able to spend the day with her.

Post Edited (Jojanxiety) : 7/16/2013 4:00:17 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/16/2013 4:13 PM (GMT 0)
Joja,

I responded to your other post regarding the vibrating sensation...so I will just address the BP issue here, okay?

I have had all sorts of weird things happen upon first waking up. Especially is you wake with a start...things are bound to be a little off for a bit.

Think of how your computer starts up when you first turn it on...it sometimes flashes, or has those strange electronic 'hiccups', right?

Well obviously our bodies are organic, not computers...but we do have a certain amount of electric activity going on, and being organic, we are not always predicatable.

However, different does not equal bad or wrong! You had some different sensations this morning. Your thoughts automatically attached fear and worry to them. You then took your blood pressure...and naturally, from the anxiety it was temporarily up.

These temporary spikes are noramal...and as long as they are not sustained...okay.

Remember that most people would not have even noted the sensations that you had today...it is just us anxious people who tend to focus and worry on this stuff! ;p

Enjoy your wife's birthday, and don't give this another thought if you can.

Re-check your BP when you are relaxed and feeling calm. I am betting it is going to be fine!

S.C.
Posted 7/16/2013 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
Yes it tends to go down on a normal range. Thank God it's not sustained. I'm going to sleep now and observe more and try my best not to be overly anxious about it. It's also because I get high readings when lying down >120/>80 and feel heavy on my head, feel a little pressure on my nose and eyes and I can feel my heart pounding on my neck and on the base of my skull which is hard to ignore andget myself to sleep. It's really hard to sleep well. I also feel a little bit odd around my back lately near where I get the vibrations like there's a muscle strain. I tried to dismiss everything and made myself calm, relaxed and did some breathing exercises to reduce stress but I still feel different in the end of the day.

Thanks for being there S.C.. I'll see how different things turn out this night and post an update. If I can't cope with this bp spikes anymore and have some old symptoms back and when new ones arise maybe I should get back on taking my med twice daily just to help stabilize my bp. Have a blessed day S.C.!
Posted 9/17/2013 11:20 PM (GMT 0)
Salih, good that you are here, why not open your own post and give us some background. Peace

Larry ***
Posted 9/18/2013 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
Glad you checked Joja, we have missed you...and yes, keep us posted as to how you are doing!:) Talk to you soon.

S.C.

**********************************************************

Salih,

Welcome, and glad that you have joined us! It sounds like you are dealing with quite a bit of anxiety. I hope that posting here will help you as it has so many of us! As Larry suggested, please consider starting your own thread and tell us more about yourself. You can do this by clicking on the 'Post New Topic' icon upper left.

Look forward to getting to know you better.:)

S.C.

Posted 10/25/2014 9:47 AM (GMT 0)
I'm just looking back reading several post I made in the past and seeing how much have really changed. Actually there's a lot! I see how hopeless I was before with constantly having panic attacks and developing health anxiety. I will never forget how hard it was having to worry about dying and having to experience strange things in my body, especially that dreaded "Anxiety/Panic attacks" almost every second to the point where I thought I was losing my mind. I thought it will never end as it felt like it was getting worse each passing day. I went to this site and met several people, who were also having a difficult time dealing with anxiety. I wasn't alone. What a great relief when people started to assure me that there's nothing really to be fearful of and gave me comfort when they said that there's hope and all I have to do is to stay strong. The important advises that played a HUGE part in my recovery was to STAY OUT OF GOOGLE (it makes health anxiety worse), FACE YOUR FEARS (panic attacks won't kill you), MAKE THE BEST OUT OF EVERYTHING (don't let anxiety eat most of your time and drain your energy away, do some things that will distract you and somehow make you happy), KEEP CALM (learn some breathing techniques that will help you to remain relax), HAVE FUN TRY TO LAUGH (laughter is the best medicine especially for the heart, you're not going insane, I also learned that it's not likely that someone will die from it), EXERCISE OR DO SOME YOGA (keeps you physically healthy, people who had heart attack exercise too), EAT NUTRITIOUS FOODS and also the most important thing is TO NEVER LOSE HOPE AND FAITH (God is always there for us, He loves us, we should believe in Him and in return we'll feel a lot stronger than we think we are, believe that there's an end to this). Even when we're having different, two or more chronic illnesses at the same time, we should never feel bad for ourselves cause it's still God's blessing to us. We should just need to learn how to accept whatever life brings us and never blame someone or anything for it. It's already been a year since I first went to this site feeling hopeless. But I only had 2-3 panic attacks for the last 11 months and it didn't go on becoming a full blown panic attack. Just the mild ones. All I'm saying to everyone who's having a hard time right now is that there's light in the end of the tunnel. You'll still have bright days ahead if you will not allow anxiety/fear to consume you and takeover your life. Start your day with a smile knowing that this can be defeated! It's hard and it may feel impossible at the moment but once you get used to it, you'll find ways on how to get around it. There's a lot of advises here you can get from other people. Not only they give you an advice but they provide comfort as well. Last year I thought I only have a few months to live and it really felt like it but now I'm having GOOD days back in my life! I had the chance to celebrate my birthday the other day! Thank God for this!

Post Edited (Jojanxiety) : 10/25/2014 9:06:43 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/25/2014 1:59 PM (GMT 0)
Joja!!!!  Welcome back!!  We have missed you! :-)

I am so excited to hear that you are doing so well!  What a difference from where you first were, just a short time ago.  Thank you so much for updating us!

Your post will surely be an inspiration to many people who post and read here in the forum. cool

I wish for you continued success in managing the anxiety...and in general as well.

You are kind person, who has always encouraged others here.  I do hope that you can continue to contribute here in the community when  you can.

Continued thoughts and prayers!

S.C.

Posted 10/25/2014 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks S.C. I missed all of you as well. I'm so thankful to have a family in this forum who understands people who are going through this kind of thing. Some of my friends still think I'm just making up this kind of illness just to escape the responsibilities of life and that anxiety attacks doesn't really exist. It's like we chose to have this thing in our life, or WANTED it for our own to get some attention. They even say they'll never experience this and it's only for the weak. When I try to open up to them about this they don't take me seriously and they even laugh sometimes. I'm just glad to have this forum. I owe a lot from you people here who spend their time reading other people's stories no matter how long they are and tell people what they need to hear. All of you are part of my success in dealing with anxiety. I wish you more good health S.C., to Kitt, Larry and the rest of the family! I hope all of you are doing well! More years to come for us! To those who are new here. Don't give up! More strength goes to SoulNHealing as she's going through tough times and yet she can still spend time to encourage others. Thumbs up to all of you people!
Posted 10/25/2014 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
Since this post is regarding my blood pressure concern. It's all good now. It doesn't spike anymore or feel like it since I don't check my BP too often anymore. I just trust my heart that it has no intention of killing me. I guess my normal bp ranges from 125/78 to 130/85. I'm still taking 50mg metroprolol a day. Sometimes I'll miss a dose but after knowing that I skipped one, it doesn't send me to panic mode anymore which will only raise my BP. Odd feelings regarding my nerves or BP also lessened. Now I can get myself to say that's it's all FEAR that makes me feel odd and gives me bp spikes. Now that I care less or worry about it, the better I feel. Also when my pulse rate suddenly rises, it doesn't stay that way for too long. I'll just properly catch some good air and it will slow down or go back to normal in no time. Before when I had the "what ifs" it tends to make matters worse. Now that I have less "what ifs" to not having it at all, I have less to no weird symptoms at all.

BP and pulse is all good now. I also think that having low blood sugar can make someone feel more anxious than others who have normal blood sugar. And having it low can make you have a fast heartbeat and make you jumpy/nervous. It can also give you cold sweats and the feeling of lightheaded. I was having this problem before because of wrong diet that maybe contributed on me having panic/anxiety attacks. Make sure your blood sugar is within the normal range.

Post Edited (Jojanxiety) : 10/25/2014 11:34:46 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/25/2014 4:49 PM (GMT 0)
This was a very inspiring post to read through! It looks like you have made amazing changes Joja! Congratulations to you!
Posted 10/25/2014 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Yes there were a lot of amazing changes in which I hope for everyone too! There was also a time when I felt I don't belong to the "Anxiety disorder" category as I want to label myself as "terminally ill with no cure". I was so feeling unwell that when someone tells me that it's all anxiety, I get mad as I can't deal with it as soon as possible and even if I try hard to stop myself from worrying some symptoms still show up from nowhere. Truth is it takes a lot of time. We should be patient about it. Good days will come to us. We just need to put more effort in thinking positively than giving up and let the "what ifs" consume us. It takes time for our subconscious to also feel positive, we should start everything from the surface which is our own consciousness. If we perceive ourselves as terminally ill with no hope, we will feel ill even if there's nothing really wrong with us to the point where we think our days are already numbered. Too much "what ifs" makes us think we're going insane, but we're not going to lose our minds no matter how deep we are in our absurd thoughts, but still it has to stop one way or the other.

I'm not saying I'm completely cured now as sometimes I still feel anxious. But I got my life back where I don't worry about laughing or getting excited. Before I thought that I can't ride a rollercoaster in my life anymore and I developed a little fear from riding it. Guess what. I rode one last month and everything was OK and FUN! At first I was really nervous because maybe it can make me have a panic attack while riding and possibly lose consciousness due to hyperventilation and even die from it. Again I rode a rollercoaster not just one time but 3 times. The last one was so much fun as the fear was totally gone! We should try to deal with our fears one step at a time.

Post Edited (Jojanxiety) : 10/25/2014 11:32:01 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/8/2017 8:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Joja,

Not sure if you're still on this post or not. I am pretty new to the site. Well I've read lots of posts but haven't posted much myself. I saw your first post in this thread and could relate to a lot of the things you were feeling. I've had anxiety for years. I had that and the reflux under control for quite some time but about a year and a half ago my wife and I moved and we struggled to find work and that lead to money struggles lots of stress, worry etc and back came the reflux and anxiety. My BP has also been elevated. I've had the same doctor for over 25 years and now that we moved away that caused stress for me as well but thankfully he knew a doc in our new town. so that helped. the new doc had be start on the DASH diet to lower my BP. It worked. Now it's been up again the past few days but i think it's also anxiety/stress related. i plan to start adding exercise as well as the DASH diet. Both of my docs (old doc and new doc) as well as my therapist have said that helps with anxiety and BP.

anyway, this site seems great! I don't see any recent posts to I hope that means you're doing much better! I wanted to post on this to thank you and the others that replied to your posts from a few years ago. Just reading those has made me feel better. I may go post a new thread for myself but i wanted to thank all of you. your posts have helped me, and Joja I hope you're doing better!!

Mike
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