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Hypertension and health anxiety

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Posted 5/25/2016 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
I am 42 years old and It all started two months ago when stressful events began,
1. New home, renovations, etc.
2. My little boy got sick eventually hospitalized. He is ok now.
3. I got three bouts of sinusitis and strep throat. I finally am ok after 7 weeks.
4. Got diagnosed with hypertension. 140-150/90-100 without Meds.

And I was told I was hypertensive and started on Meds. I have since been on a healthy diet and exercise regime. But my bp is still fluctuating. I get more and more anxious when my gp starts saying things like blocked arteries, heart, kidney and liver damage! Now I am imagining all sorts of things. I finally got blood drawn two days ago and am awaiting results. Meanwhile, I am just going nuts with my anxiety!

For the past two months, I have been waking at 5:30am every morning. No matter what time I sleep at night. On exhausted nights, I am able to drift back to sleep. Otherwise, I just rest in bed with my eyes closed till 7:00am. I am worried that this lack of sleep is not helping too! Does anxiety cause one to wake up early??

I am so scared I will leave my four year old alone. That he won't have a mom. That is my greatest fear. I so want to see him grow up!
Posted 5/25/2016 11:25 PM (GMT 0)
hi,

yes stress, excitement, happiness, big next day, definitely anxiety can cause you to wake up early.

for me all the above i had had sleeping problems all my life im almost 32 now. for you waking up at 5:30 am is a god send to me. i wake up at 1:am and drift in and out of sleep after that till 7:am. always been a conscious sleeper i sleep with ear plugs and people fart and it will wake me up, i am not bloody joking, its pretty annoying, "superman hearing".

otherwise my health is excellent, had 4 blood test in a 3 months by 1 hospital, 2 different doctors. i was also born with liver disease. the sleep never affected my liver, i just don't drink and smoke.

i always like to say even when your brains not sleeping, your body is still getting plenty of rest. try not to toss and turn.

take care
Posted 5/25/2016 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
KP,

Do you have a BP monitor at home? If so, what is the average of your readings? This is the number that really counts...because with anxiety, you are going to have fluctuations...

What does your doctor say? Is he/she happy with how you are managing it? If your doctor is not concerned about it...neither should you be.:)

Your numbers show a BP range that, while needing to be managed...is not terribly high...

...and with your meds and lifestyle changes, should be coming more and more into optimal range!

As far as the waking early...yes, this is common with both anxiety and depression. Keep working on your treatment plan to lower your stress as much as possible with coping skills/therapy ect...

Wishing you the best in all around health!

S.C.
Posted 5/25/2016 11:38 PM (GMT 0)
Those numbers aren't going to put you in danger of orphaning your daughter. The top number probably fluctuates with your stress and the bottom number should even out with your meds. Breathe easy kaipooi, if your GP actually suspected that you had anything on that long laundry list of possible hypertension causes, you would be getting a swack of tests right now.

Truthfully, your BP is just a little above high-normal and I'm sure you're going to be okay.

Be kind to yourself, kaipooi. :)
Posted 5/26/2016 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for responding. Reading your responses has certainly helped. My mom suffered from health anxiety too and I was determined to not be like her. And I had my first health anxiety at 16. And then another one at 22. And now, this one.

Hubby thinks I should change gp as she is the one putting all these ideas in my head. He says she should not have mentioned all that heart, liver, kidney stuff. Hubby is travelling for work and will only be back tomorrow. As such, I am trying to hold on to my sanity here by myself. I thank you all for giving me the support, I really needed/need it.

Every twitch on my chest feels like a heart attack. If my hands go numb and tingly, it feels like a heart attack! My dad and uncle had heart problems which led to diabetes and kidney failure. My mom, and two brothers have hypertension. So I don't have the best base to start with. I am scared to continue use exercise just in case I induce a heart attack. This is ridiculous!

Post Edited (kaipooi) : 5/25/2016 7:17:18 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/26/2016 1:31 AM (GMT 0)
Kaipooi, I will try to make this short. I am 74 at age 35 my ekg's became abnormal, funny thing is I was
still in the military and it was time to reinlist, i needed 1-1/2 years to retire, they would not allow me
to finish, the strange thing was i requested and was given the chance to prove i could still do my job,
I did a 10k and had no pain, go figure, fast forward to age 58 and i did have a tripple bypass, that was
16 years ago, I have never not done anything i wanted to do, i work hard each day i never have real
heart pain, i do have those false stabs, and such but the doctors say i'm ok, believe in the tests, ekg,
ect. Also my mother passed at 88 she had two stents at age 62 and never looked back, Kid the cure for
fear is "living", We are only born once and die once, in between we just must Live, don't die every day
live, you are going to be a pretty old lady one day many years from now. I wish you Peace. Larry ***
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