Blood pressure white coat syndrome help

[sheepy2020]

After another conversation with the practise manager who has finally marked me to have another 24h monitor after high readings at the surgery which has been going on now since I was 18. Now 40.

Finally a flag of white coat has been put on my record. This is the third time I have had to refuse to give readings at the surgery, put a complaint into the practise manager and request a 24 hour monitor.

I informed him that I gave the nurse readings from my home machine which they asked me to BUY which averaged out to 132 over 86. He said there is no point in those home machines as they are not calibrated so we can't trust the readings. SO WHY DID YOU ASK ME TO BUY ONE THEN ARHHHHHH. 24 quid down the drain. We we have to be careful as you may have a stroke. Strange that's what the doctor said 22 years ago and I still haven't had one and they wonder why my blood pressure is high at the surgery.

Does anyone have any advice that could change my situation for the better. Even the practise manager is sick of hearing from me. And we are an first name terms. This has got to change.

Rant over.

 

[Energize]

As far as your blood pressure machine is concerned, I would suggest you phone the manufacturer and ask about calibrating it. I suspect they will suggest you send it to them and they will callibrate it. Having said that, it may depend on the make. As long as yours met the 'normal' standards etc, it should be fine. It sounds to me that your Practice Manager is not wanting to accept any responsibility. It's well known that people who have higher blood pressure at the surgery, may have much more reasonable, and healthy, levels when at home. I would have thought you were quite right to take your blood pressure readings in with you. Have you tried taking your BP machine in with you and having the GP.Nurse use it to record your blood pressure, alongside the one they choose to use? That way, you should be able to achieve some degree of comparison and validity

Good luck

At the surgery I go to, they use Omron blood pressure machines but maybe they send them back to manufacturer once a year for calibrating. That would be a useful questiion to ask your Practice Manager

Edit - During the time you have the 24-hr monitor, I would suggest you also monitor your BP (on the other arm, of course) for comparison. There is usually a slight difference between R and L arm but that shouldn't invalidate your readings

 

[Bluetit1802]

Great idea from @Energize to take your monitor in with you next time, and compare it to your doctor's machine.
My GP told me she always knocks some off her surgery readings to compensate for white coat syndrome!

 

[noblehead]

I informed him that I gave the nurse readings from my home machine which they asked me to BUY which averaged out to 132 over 86. He said there is no point in those home machines as they are not calibrated so we can't trust the readings. SO WHY DID YOU ASK ME TO BUY ONE THEN ARHHHHHH. 24 quid down the drain. We we have to be careful as you may have a stroke. Strange that's what the doctor said 22 years ago and I still haven't had one and they wonder why my blood pressure is high at the surgery.

I can see your frustration @sheepy2020

I have a home bp monitor (Omron M10-IT) which is the same as what my gp surgery uses and some of the hospital clinics I've been to, I take my bp diary in when my diabetes review comes around and also show it to my Dr as prove of my home bp readings as I too tend to get a bit of White Coat Syndrome.

Once when I was discussing bp my gp said they add 10% to both figures when readings are taken at home, don't know if this is to allow for the fact that home monitors are not regularly calibrated as those in a clinical setting but that's what he said.

 

[pumas]

My home reading average about 135/70. My surgery reading 220/110 (it does come down a bit over time)- they accept my readings and I take my monitor to surgery and have a machine on each arm to check mine. I refused the last hour monitoring as I think it keeps my BP raised just knowing what it is doing. The GP was loth to put White Coat syndrome on record as that can imply something else going on(?)

 

[Mr_Pot]

My BP was measured high (WCS?) at the surgery and they suggested it would be a good idea to get the Omron monitor. In the meantime they gave me a 24hr monitor which showed nothing wrong with my blood pressure. If the same happens again I will buy an Omron and wear it at the same time as the 24hr monitor so the two results can be compared. The Omron no doubt shows up high pressure even if the exact reading is not completely accurate.

 

[Kristin251]

Some pharmacies have BP machines you can compare it to. I have white coat syndrome too but my BP was creeping up. I bought an omron and monitored for a few days. It was up at some parts of the day and down at others. I did concede to taking 25 mg of losartan. It also helps with kidney function. No side effects other than good BP and I get side effects from everything. Often losartan is prescribed to diabetics for kidney rather than BP. I was initially in lisinopril which sucked the life out of me

 

[miahara]

When I had my HbA1C test last week I took in a record of my BP I'd recorded over the previous couple of weeks and the nurse thanked me and scanned it into my records. She also took my BP which was slightly higher than my own average, She said that next time I was in to bring my own (Omron) monitor to check against hers.
Yesterday when I saw my GP she asked me to do a 5 day record, as my BP is a on the high side and said that since my monitor is only 3 months old it ought to be accurate enough.
Interesting that the way the Practice measure BP is by recording the lowest of each pair of readings and ignoring the higher of each pair. I did it by simply averaging all readings

 

[Enclave]

I also have white coats syndrome and do have the same meter as my Drs .. they are happy to swap reading and it always shows the same as the one in the Drs ... way to high in the Drs ... normal at home

 

[Mr_Pot]

Does anyone actually wear a white coat anymore or is it just in Carry On Doctor? There must be a better name for it?

 

[sheepy2020]

As far as your blood pressure machine is concerned, I would suggest you phone the manufacturer and ask about calibrating it. I suspect they will suggest you send it to them and they will callibrate it. Having said that, it may depend on the make. As long as yours met the 'normal' standards etc, it should be fine. It sounds to me that your Practice Manager is not wanting to accept any responsibility. It's well known that people who have higher blood pressure at the surgery, may have much more reasonable, and healthy, levels when at home. I would have thought you were quite right to take your blood pressure readings in with you. Have you tried taking your BP machine in with you and having the GP.Nurse use it to record your blood pressure, alongside the one they choose to use? That way, you should be able to achieve some degree of comparison and validity

Good luck

At the surgery I go to, they use Omron blood pressure machines but maybe they send them back to manufacturer once a year for calibrating. That would be a useful questiion to ask your Practice Manager

Edit - During the time you have the 24-hr monitor, I would suggest you also monitor your BP (on the other arm, of course) for comparison. There is usually a slight difference between R and L arm but that shouldn't invalidate your readings

Thanks I never thought of tha

 

[sheepy2020]

Thanks I never thought of tha

Thanks I never thought of that I will ask 8f that is acceptable. I can only assume as you did they are trying to dodge the bullet. Trouble I'd a few years ago they well and truly over prescribed medication living me passing out. Thanks again

 

[sheepy2020]

All fantasia suggestions I wI'll buy the same one as the gp and see if I can get them to come are it to theirs. Thanks again

 

[coleyd]

I have white coat but I also have regular at home readings I take myself that are usually 130 / 90s amd I do tell the dr that . My heart rate is fine but in the drs I get 180 /117 heart rate over 130! I don't let them bully me ! I refuse regular checks it makes me more stressed and I don't care what they think because I do check it several times a week at home.

When I was pregnant all the checks stressed me so bad that I was forced onto a beta blocker and kept in for a few nights and then a week before my c section. It was quite traumatic experience waking me up super early just to read my BP n all sorts .

 

[bjones1927]

I'm the same, I'm 23 at home they're around 130-140 and 80-85 but when at the doctors it's 157/100 and it's been going on for a few years with me also. Had the 24 hour monitor 3 times and nothing has really been set in stone but got to do it again this week so should have an answer as to whether I need tablets again! Bloody joke isn't it

 

[Brunneria]

When I bought mine I went for the same brand that the surgery uses (Omron).
That was for my own monitoring.

When I needed to check the average over at home (3 readings morning, 3 readings evening, averaged across the 5 days), they let me borrow a machine. Apparently they keep a couple on hand for just that purpose.

Since then, I have been very pleased to have my own machine, because it allowed me to work out the cause of my high blood pressure (it was dietary), and eliminate it. Couldn't have done that by sporadic tests at doc or a short borrowing.

Nowadays I just check bp occasionally, say once every 3 weeks, just to make sure it isn't climbing again.

 

[Prem51]

My GP and DN said my (lower figure) BP was too high (in the 80s). I bought the same BP meter they use (Omron M3 Intellisense) and took readings 3 times a day, morning, afternoon and evening. I found my readings were in the 80s in the morning, and I believe that was due to mug of strong coffee I start the day with. And my GP/DN appointments are usually between 0900-1100am. But later readings were in the 70s, which is where they wanted me to be.
I took in the readings the next time I saw my GP and after that she has not mentioned my BP again.

btw the instructions with the Omron monitor say that you shouldn't eat or move about 30 minutes before taking reading, so just walking to the surgery would also have raised bp. I don't have any apprehension about medical appointments - except with dentists!

 

[neels]

I have also been diagnosed as having white coat syndrome. Everytime I go to the hospital or GP my BP is high, and have labelled me as border line high blood pressure patient but then saying that I have been border line for over 20 years and still going good and NO blood pressure controlling tablets thank god, though my GP did try to put me on them but Diabetic specialist said no quite firmly.

But it stands to reason, having just walked from a train station to hospital or GP and then getting whisked away to measure my BP, of course its going to be high! Then you sit there for over an hour to see the doctor,.... I do give up.

 

[Nicksu]

I have to say our practice is quite useful (for a change!). They have a BP monitoring machine which you can use yourself. It's tucked into a side waiting room and all you have to do is get yourself there, get calmed down (because let's face it who doesn't get a bit stressed when rushing to go somewhere) and then put your arm in the machine. Makes it so much easier than having to go and see the doctor or the nurse to get it checked.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I have to say our practice is quite useful (for a change!). They have a BP monitoring machine which you can use yourself. It's tucked into a side waiting room and all you have to do is get yourself there, get calmed down (because let's face it who doesn't get a bit stressed when rushing to go somewhere) and then put your arm in the machine. Makes it so much easier than having to go and see the doctor or the nurse to get it checked.

We have one of these, too, although I've never used it. My GP and the nurses don't take my blood pressure until almost the end of the appointment, so you are sitting quietly and not rushed. They also do it twice if the first one is iffy, and sometimes once sitting and then immediately afterwards, standing.