Blood Pressure

I've never really paid much heed to BP, being of the "la la la, I'm not listening" school, so I never had it checked. Inevitably, it's been checked several times over the past couple of months: several times by my GP (anything between 120/80 and 135/85) and once by the Practice Nurse at my first review session, when it was 180/105-ish which - of course - caused panic and despondency (and I was a bit vexed too ). My GP very sensibly suggested that I get a cheapo BP monitor from Boots and measured it twice a day for a week, to get an average, having used the monitor for a week or so beforehand without taking readings, to get used to it and to stop it spooking me. I've done this and, after a week of measurement, I have an average of 130/80, with the highest systolic during the week being 136, and the lowest being 123. I now have to report back to the Quack.

My understanding is that this average puts me right at the top of the recommended scale for diabetics and I suspect that I'm going to come under pressure (see what I did there?) to go on some sort of medication to bring it down a bit - I don't think there is much else that I can do to reduce my BP: I only consume modest amounts of salt, don't drink much alcohol and have a normal BMI, plus I'm not giving up coffee (it's one of my few vices), though I have cut back recently. Any views, from those with previous similar experience, as to what the Doc is likely to say? Would I be foolish to allow the status quo to prevail? If I'm put under pressure to go on medication, what can I say (apart from "it's my life") to convince my GP that I'm not going to accept a drug regime? I know that I can tell him point blank that I am going to ignore his recommendation but we get on well, he is an excellent clinician and I don't want to antagonise him. However, I do have a concern, which seems to be coming true, that once you put yourself in the hands of the medical profession, they spend their time finding more and more things wrong with you, and order an ever increasing battery of tests and barrel-loads of medication for you. It's all done with the best of intentions, but I hate the idea of getting trapped on a pharmaceutical merry-go-round, consuming more and more stuff that meddles with my body chemistry.

I have normal total cholesterol (4.0) but I suspect there is going to be another, similar argument over statins, in due course.......

Mumble, mumble, mumble .... 58

Since diagnosis in the summer I've tried to do 45 minutes' brisk walk per day, and the city I live in is hilly, so it's reasonable exercise. I also garden and sail, both of which have their moments, particularly if you're winching on a boat

alliebee said:

For your age this is a number that its unlikely your dr will advise medication ..
More likely to advise lifestyle changes. A good walk every day ect. White coat syndrome very common. I would ease up on the coffee though. Not great for hypertension. But honestly you could improve on these readings quite easily yourself

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OK, thanks; I'll see what he says. I'd also be tempted to tell him that I'd like a few more months to see if the exercise that I'm now doing, together with the healthier diet I'm on, will have further impact, before I succumb to medication.

I'm honestly not sure I could ever give up coffee completely but maybe if all else fails .....

Meditation is certainly another thought.

noblehead said:

Your right on the Max that they want people with diabetes to aim for (130/80). I don't know if this is the normal practise in the NHS, but my previous gp always added 10 to the systolic pressure and 5 to the diastolic pressure when taking into account home bp readings, why this is case when they sometimes use identical bp monitors in their practice as we do at home I'm unsure about.

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Probably for the same reason that they double the number of units of alcohol that their patients tell them they drink

...or p'raps because you are ultra relaxed at home and the numbers are artificially low? (if there is such a concept)

noblehead said:

Perhaps, but don't be afraid of taking meds if you need to. I've been on a bp drug called Ramipril for several years now without any side-effects, I went on it despite my bp being well within normal range, the reason being I developed diabetic retinopathy and they want people with this condition to have lower bp levels than normal, my Dr and Ophthalmologist both agreed that I should keep my bp below 130/70.

I've been clear of retinopathy problems for 9 years now and I do believe keeping my bp low has helped a great deal.

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Thanks; that's useful to know. I'm not implacably opposed to taking medication (I am on Metformin, after all) but I'm always keen to avoid taking anything unless it's absolutely necessary. In the case of potential or actual retinopathy, I wouldn't hesitate!