Blood Pressure and Worry?!
Question: (22 male 6ft tall 186 lbs roughly) Hello, my question is this- I do have anxiety problems and I take medication for that and one of the medications I can is A beta blocker Lopressor. (the other is Valium) Now when I started taking the lopressor I was breaking the pills in half 25 mg pills that is, and taking them it kept my heart rate down which was the point of it and my BP was low to. Now I have taken it and its higher 135/83 and 130/85 135/93 138/90146/86 and the final one suddenly went to 128/88 >< But I want to know should I worry about this? Or could the fact that I am worried about my BP be raising it? Could my medication be the cause like its wearing off? because I have seen old pressure readings I took back in 2006 that were always around 120/80 but I admit back then I wasn't worried about my BP I was worried about my pulse so I was using it to check my pulse not my BP.. Sigh any advice ><
Thanks!
Answers: (22 male 6ft tall 186 lbs roughly) Hello, my question is this- I do have anxiety problems and I take medication for that and one of the medications I can is A beta blocker Lopressor. (the other is Valium) Now when I started taking the lopressor I was breaking the pills in half 25 mg pills that is, and taking them it kept my heart rate down which was the point of it and my BP was low to. Now I have taken it and its higher 135/83 and 130/85 135/93 138/90146/86 and the final one suddenly went to 128/88 >< But I want to know should I worry about this? Or could the fact that I am worried about my BP be raising it? Could my medication be the cause like its wearing off? because I have seen old pressure readings I took back in 2006 that were always around 120/80 but I admit back then I wasn't worried about my BP I was worried about my pulse so I was using it to check my pulse not my BP.. Sigh any advice ><
Thanks!
First...
You have Anxiety. #1 you should learn about this disease and recognize what situations provoke your anxiety. Once you do this, you may realize that you are obsessing about things and that will make you more anxious. Please research anxiety on the web and learn as much as you can about controlling it.
As for the Blood Pressure readings... they are all fine... nothing to get all worked up about... blood pressure is a variable that changes all the time depending on what is going on inside our bodies... if you run 5 blocks, your BP will go up because your heart is beating faster... that is a normal response... if you are nervous/anxious your heart and your bp will go up in response to your emotion... ciggs, and caffeine will also cause HR or BP to go up... Aging and lack of exercise and being overweight also cause your BP to go up...
Your readings are a little higher than normal... but is that because you Obessess and freak yourself out about everything?
It's important to test BP when your calm, relaxed, and quiet. Only take it ONCE A WEEK. Taking it every single day, from an electronic machine, means "diddly squat".
Now as for the Lopressor... yes it is a beta blocker... and over a great deal of time the body can get "used" to it and it may not work as great as it did before. But you are not using it to control your BP. You are using it to keep your heart rate slow. Technically you have NOT been diagnosed with High Blood Pressure. Only your doctor can diagnose that. As long as you are seeing the doc on a regular basis... not missing your appointments... then the nurses and docs are monitoring you for these changes. You really dont need to monitor yourself.
Perhaps, if your anxiety is still a problem, and the Valium is not enough to help control you, you can ask about putting you on another Anti-Anxiety med or changing the dose. Ask about Xanax, that does well for anxiety.
Lastly, the dizziness you mentioned is a side effect of the Lopressor. Be very careful when getting out of bed in the morning... or when standing from a seated position. Move nice and slow. Your BP might be going too low when you stand up, and you could get dizzy and faint. You should call the Doc's office about this and they can lower your dose.
Good Luck toyou
Nurse Angie
have that blood pressure re-checked.
let the doctor worrie about your BP-but feeling dizzy you need to talk with your MD about that
The B/P readings indicated by a monitor are virtually meaningless. Those you quote are quite typical of all kinds of people and honestly, (although you'll read a lot of tosh from trolley-pushers here on Answers of how you should immediately dash off to your doctor !) you can ignore them with complete safety and peace of mind.
Forget your pulse rate. Stop measuring it, -you can't do anything about it. It's not the basic cause, but an effect, - a symptom if you like, and the brain is making your heart beat fast for a reason,.
If you stop it (by taking drugs) going fast, the brain will find another -perhaps less safe but more unpleasant way of coping with whatever the problem is.
All drugs have side-effects, ,- even Valium and Lopressor- and if you CAN wean yourself on to less dosage, the better you'll be in the end. But by all means take them if it relieves your anxiety.
If u have an anxiety problem, the drug has 2 b prescribed by a psychiatrist after consultation. Valium is a tranquilizer, not an anxiolytic.
Blood pressure readings depend on many factors including time from last exertion, posture while taking the readings etc. Self reading is not advisable.
Hope u r not indulging in self medication which is a problem with many having anxiety.
See ur doc.
if u feel that bad stop taking it and talk to your doctor to change ur meds. but ur bp is going to fluxuate every minute of the day. so what u need to do is check it when u wake up, then around mid day and then before you go to bed. a normal bp is 120/70 textbook.
make sure when you check the BP that your arm is at heart level and resting and your feet flat on the floor. However, your BP is not really high and you should not be too concerned. No doctor would put you on BP meds for a BP in the 130's.