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I Want To Help My Grandma


Anoj

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I am not sure where to start. My grandmother has had uncontrolled high blood pressure for many years. It got so bad that her kidneys are going. Her blood pressure numbers were so high (almost 200), none of the doctors could control it, even with clonidine patch and other medications. Her numbers seem to have settled down recently. However, she did faint a few times. It got me thinking that maybe some of her problems could be dysautonomia instead of just what you would consider normal things that happen to seniors.

I want to research this for her but don't know where to start. I have seen discussions on this forum about kidney function in relation to dysautonomia, but to be honest a lot of the stuff posted here still goes over my head.

The last time I was at her house, I asked to see her numbers and discovered that she has an EXTREMELY wide pulse pressure. Here are some of her numbers:

131/55

157/65

122/56

143/59

131/61

118/54

I don't know what this all means. If anyone can point me in the direction of what to research, I'd be grateful. She doesn't have the internet, so she won't be able to. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree with my theory on dysautonomia. If dysautonomia is basically the body's inability to control blood pressure, maybe this fits her? It seems like she's either been way high or way low.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

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Those numbers don' t look too bad. But, what happens when she stands up? That's the big question.

With my grandmother, I suspect that our families dysautonomia came through my maternal line and think my grandmother had POTS too. She's no longer alive for me to find out for sure. But, she sure had the symptoms and also she seemed to have EDS.

Issie

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This is a lovely gesture. My own grandmother had a history of fainting and upon reflection, I am certain that she had some sort of dysautonomia. I wasn't diagnosed until long after she passed.

Could you accompany her to a doctor visit and ask about it? I think it would be a nice thing to do and it certainly wouldn't do any harm.

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she has had several TIAs, and her kidney function is deteriorating. her numbers are way more controlled now than they used to be. i am glad that you guys think her numbers look good. i have been researching, and i think the wide pulse pressure might have something to do with hardened arteries.

she fainted once while trying to wean off of lexapro (same thing happened to me), and she fainted once after taking a pain pill after a dental visit (same thing happened to me!). so, i thought dysautonomia might be something to explore with her.

thanks for your replies.

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