My mom has white coat syndrome

[Blueberrylover22]

Hello. My mom is 71 years old and she has white coat syndrome and she gets nervous at the doctor her BP is always higher at the doctor.do you guys know anything that would help my mom calm down at the doctor's any info would help.

 

[LaoDan]

Me too, in fact it’s so bad, I have to test my blood pressure at home, just bring in the log when I visit. Doc spotted this and totally ignores the measurements the nurse takes... buy a blood pressure monitor.. it is what it is, pretty hard to change it

 

[Tophat1900]

Me too, in fact it’s so bad, I have to test my blood pressure at home, just bring in the log when I visit. Doc spotted this and totally ignores the measurements the nurse takes... buy a blood pressure monitor.. it is what it is, pretty hard to change it

That's what I did.... bought one, comes in handy at home.

 

[Goonergal]

Same here. My GP accepts my home blood pressure readings.

 

[AloeSvea]

I join the 'BP monitor at home' crowd here! It's marvellous - and you can get really interesting readings like - immediately before, after a work-out, and a couple of hours later - that kind of thing. Ditto stress! Otherwise, I do first thing in the morning readings, which is what the directions suggest, for a good comparison over time.

The last time I was at my trusty GP's she wanted me to talk during a BP reading - I was appalled! Because the BP monitor comes with directions like - feet flat on the ground, straight back, back support - definitely no talking, no activity etc! My GP was amused that I insisted on not replying to her - but I knew I was right .

 

[JenniferM55]

I've had one for over 10 years, it cost me at the time quite a few bob. Think it's about time it's retired, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much they've come down over the years. I've just ordered a new one, a Salter, not only does it read your BP it also monitors your heart rhythm, there's a 'traffic light' alert which tells you you're good to GO (green) or there's an alert (red), it also memorises previous readings.... and all for under £23!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00N8YGUOA/ref=ewc_pr_img_3?smid=AZH2GF8Z5J95G&psc=1

 

[Mrs T 123]

Hey, I am part of the white coat syndrome club too. I have my own BP machine at home - I bought mine at my local chemist shop (around £25, I think). I take my own readings for a week or more randomly before my yearly check up and write down the readings. The DN does a check when I am there, but as it keeps going up and up she just laughs and says ok, what readings do you have there and just notes down an average of them. I don't know why this happens it just does - as nothing scary or anything happens at the appointment. I thought it was just me so good to know I am not alone and indeed in good company!

 

[Chook]

Same here - I came off of some meds after giving the doctor my own readings and having a really annoying day with their 24 hour monitor which backed up my own monitor.

 

[TeddyTottie]

Yep, I’m another one... my BP monitor is Bluetooth and talks to my phone to record the readings, couldn’t be easier or less fuss. I can just show the doc the app, if they ask.

 

[KK123]

I'm the same! I have no idea why as I do not feel as if I am stressed at the Doctors, she keeps saying 'relax' and then goes on about glucose levels and cholesterol etc. In the end they did an ambulatory test (for which I had to go private as the Dr wouldn't do one) and over a period of 24 hours my BP levels were perfect, in fact at night they went lower than average as opposed to higher. It just goes to show how useless a snapshot of anything is, they had been murmuring about BP tablets based on singular readings, if I had been placed on them my BP would have plummeted unnecessarily. I do have my own machine now (two actually as I panicked at the start and wanted one to calibrate the other!!). Both are excellent.

 

[KK123]

Same here - I came off of some meds after giving the doctor my own readings and having a really annoying day with their 24 hour monitor which backed up my own monitor.

Hi Chook, the ambulatory test! Ha, ha, 24 hours of the blooming thing attached to your arm going tight every 20 minutes! x

 

[Rachox]

I’m in the white coat brigade too! I had a pre op assessment on Thursday, so took my BP at home just before I left and it was 116/74. By the time the nurse took it, as soon as I sat in her office and after 1 1/2 hours waiting in a hot windowless waiting room wearing a mask, you’ve guessed it, it was super high for me at 138/100! She did agree to taking it again later on and it had come down a bit but still nowhere near my normal! She then asked to see all my recent readings and by the end of the appt she was suggesting that I don’t take my BP med on the morning of surgery as she thought some of my readings were ‘too low!’.

 

[pumas]

As above, use home readings.
I don't know how useful the 24hr thingy is, as I've never been asked what I was doing, when it 'goes off'.
Just looked back at 2 of mine: Nurse -214/104, on both hers and my machine. Home - 130/68.
My BP goes up if I even think about it, my head is calm, my heart ain't!

 

[Ceppo]

Had that happen to me many times. It increases the stress when you don't reply too!

 

[Ceppo]

Hi Chook, the ambulatory test! Ha, ha, 24 hours of the blooming thing attached to your arm going tight every 20 minutes! x

Its even better when they put the wrong size cuff on and it turns and slips all the time. Not to mention incorrect daytime and night setting so it goes off at short periods all night and long in the day. Not to mention failing to take readings so inflating three times to get one. My last one was a disaster whereas the previous one was very good. Great sympathies

 

[Robbity]

I think white coat syndrome is a fairly common occurrence and provably all we can do about it is get agreement to record our BP at home.

I'm another one whose BP goes through the roof when checked at the surgery, but I'm definitely not anxious/worried - I've known my GP for donkeys years and he used to be a neighbour of mine. He suggested I do checks at home, and I currently use a wrist monitor. Most of the time it reads far lower than my "official" results, but having taken it in appointment to do a comparison at one point it read just sightly lower. But he still takes surgery results as gospel.

 

[SaskiaKC]

I learned how to use a wrist monitor but was told they're not as accurate as the arm ones. But they are less stressful for me.
I bought an arm one.
Last time I checked mine at home it went up and down 10 points in 15 minutes. I don't bother anymore. I don't just have white coat syndrome, I have BP cuff syndrome, I think.

 

[carty]

Similar story,when I started taking my BP at home to show the nurse at my review I found that because I knew it was usually ok I had lost the white coat syndrome and it read as normal
Carol

 

[Daibell]

My nurse uses my home readings. I provide around 10 readings from the preceding week and she enters the average into her computer.

 

[Resurgam]

I have the opposite problem - my BP is normal at the surgery. So the nurse yanks the cuff so it pinches my skin, demands that I answer questions and goes to find a different sphignomononeronometerr thingy because it is obviously faulty. I bought my own at the pharmacy as they were selling a whole lot of different meters really cheap. I have not been checked for some years - all part of the sulking over my remission I think.