I wonder if BP machine is wrong.

[blizzard2014]

I'm having a lot of weird readings today on my BP machine, but I'm more inclined to believe the numbers are truly high because headaches prompted me to check my BP. I have a consistent standing BP of 130/108. But it is jumping to 140/113 and once jumped to 150/137. None of these readings had the erratic BP symbol and my heart is pumping hard today and not getting any error codes. The monitor is reading strong today. I took some BP meds and hope they will help. But I want to try and get better evaluation from a real doctor and a real BP machine. 

[StayAtHomeMom]

You can buy a manual cuff fairly cheap. They come with instructions and it may be easier to get a more accurate reading. A nurse can help you if you have trouble. Personally I have issues with any one's BP except mine. Because I hear my heart beat so loudly in my ears and it interferes with the reading.

With BP numbers like those I would be careful. Those are stroke ranges. I would definitely see a doctor soon. 

[blizzard2014]

35 minutes ago, StayAtHomeMom said:

You can buy a manual cuff fairly cheap. They come with instructions and it may be easier to get a more accurate reading. A nurse can help you if you have trouble. Personally I have issues with any one's BP except mine. Because I hear my heart beat so loudly in my ears and it interferes with the reading.

With BP numbers like those I would be careful. Those are stroke ranges. I would definitely see a doctor soon. 

Yeah. My left sided-heart pain is back again too since stopping BP meds. I was hoping the left sided pain was referred pain from my bad Gallbladder, but it isn't. Tomorrow if the Amlodipine does not help, I will go back to taking Clonidine to knock down the high BP until I can find a better doc. I was getting excited at not having to take so many medicines, but even when I went off the stomach acid meds, the intense stomach burning came back after a day. I guess medicine is in my future for the foreseeable future. As you all can see with me bouncing back and forth between cutting meds and re-starting them, I'm not toe worlds best medical patient. I rebel against this stiff. I hate being on more medications than old peeps are on. But at least I know what to look out for. It's the headaches and the seeing blood pressure pumping in my eyes and seeing flashes of light in my field of vision that alert me to higher BP. Also, I'm not working until next week, so I can go back on my meds in time to be good to go for work. I just need to stop questioning the meds and needing them. 

[StayAtHomeMom]

Yea I have that problem. I rebelled for a while because I hate taking medication but I have gotten to the point of I don't have a choice. If I don't take it I feel bad and I am tired of feeling bad. 

[p8d]

I know exactly what you mean.  I hate taking them but have no choice.  One thing you might not be aware of but clonidine has definite rebound effect when you stop it.  For me the scary high BP comes 24 hours later.  I checked with a pharmacist and it’s true so it’s very important to wean off it if you want to stop.  

[blizzard2014]

2 hours ago, p8d said:

I know exactly what you mean.  I hate taking them but have no choice.  One thing you might not be aware of but clonidine has definite rebound effect when you stop it.  For me the scary high BP comes 24 hours later.  I checked with a pharmacist and it’s true so it’s very important to wean off it if you want to stop.  

Yeah, my higher BP always returns about 8 hours after taking Clonidine. But since I do not move around a lot at night, and it is mostly high when standing, I do not re-up on Clonidine at night. My waking BP was 114/100 today. I took .1 mgs of Clonidine last night and within 15 minutes my BP was down to 100/75. I was getting chest pains and feeling really unwell and another BP check when standing showed a BP of 160/110. It was starting to go higher. My sitting BP was 130/96 and not dropping either this time. I feel much better today. I took my Lisinopril and if that does not fully work, I will take a tiny amount of Clonidine. My BP does climb after the Clonidine wears off, but in a very slow and predictable way. Waking will usually be 130/100, then a few hours later 140/108, then a few hours later up to 170/120. It always follows this pattern. It never just jumps that high all at once. It's kind of like putting a frog in warm water and then slowly turning up the heat. But I check my BP sometimes 20 times a day, especially on the days I am not taking any meds, because I want to get a clear picture of how my BP is behaving. I call it "time lapse BP photography!"

[blizzard2014]

5 hours ago, StayAtHomeMom said:

Yea I have that problem. I rebelled for a while because I hate taking medication but I have gotten to the point of I don't have a choice. If I don't take it I feel bad and I am tired of feeling bad. 

Yeah, I also rebel against my pain meds. I wean down to 1 or 2 pills a day and fight the pain until I cry uncle. Sometimes you don't realize how much the meds are helping you until they are taken away from you. Maybe one day I will follow doctor's orders and not fight taking my meds. I just feel like giving in completely to the meds is kind of like admitting defeat. I guess 3 weeks since the blood transfusion and my body ate up the other guys blood and now owns it. I went 5 days with BP 120/100 and never a lick higher. That is still considered stage 1. Now we're back into stage 2 and stage 3. 

[StayAtHomeMom]

In theory if you take the meds like you are supposed to it will help you get on your feet to help you feel better. 

Have you ever been put on something just to bring down your BP. That seems really high. 

[p8d]

@blizzard2014  my BP goes up as the day goes on too.  Cardiologist says this is normal, just not as high as mine goes.  Unfortunately, mine doesn’t lower in the evening and I get supine hypertension so I take a clonidine about an hour before I go to bed to read.  I only take a 1/4 tablet at a time, around 10am (BP is too low before this), 1pm, 5pm and 8 pm.  I am hyper sensitive to meds and fluids.  My BP will rise 10-30 systolic in about 15 minutes after drinking 8-16oz.  I also blood pool quite a bit so have to have enough fluid to keep hr under control but not too much to raise BP too much.  I rarely have the balance right for more than a couple of hours on any given day.  Neurologist told me early on we put both the gas and brake on at the same time and try to keep going forward.  A fairly good analogy.  When I started this I had low BP most of the time.  The hypertension worries me more.  If I go to PT or Dr appointments (only places I go) I have to take extra clonidine.  I even have to to talk on the phone because BP jacks up with any activity.  

[blizzard2014]

2 hours ago, p8d said:

@blizzard2014  my BP goes up as the day goes on too.  Cardiologist says this is normal, just not as high as mine goes.  Unfortunately, mine doesn’t lower in the evening and I get supine hypertension so I take a clonidine about an hour before I go to bed to read.  I only take a 1/4 tablet at a time, around 10am (BP is too low before this), 1pm, 5pm and 8 pm.  I am hyper sensitive to meds and fluids.  My BP will rise 10-30 systolic in about 15 minutes after drinking 8-16oz.  I also blood pool quite a bit so have to have enough fluid to keep hr under control but not too much to raise BP too much.  I rarely have the balance right for more than a couple of hours on any given day.  Neurologist told me early on we put both the gas and brake on at the same time and try to keep going forward.  A fairly good analogy.  When I started this I had low BP most of the time.  The hypertension worries me more.  If I go to PT or Dr appointments (only places I go) I have to take extra clonidine.  I even have to to talk on the phone because BP jacks up with any activity.  

I'm having a problem finding my equilibrium again. For the longest 20 mgs of Lisinopril and .2 mgs of Clonidine kept me stable for 8-10 hours a day. Then it kept changing. Yesterday I didn't even need Clonidine like I did the day before to stop the surge. 20 mgs of Lisinopril left my BP (sitting BP 88/65) almost all day long. My standing BP was 100/110 over 80/85, so there was still a standing surge going on there, just on a much smaller level due to the meds. Today I just took 10 mgs of Lisinopril and I will see how it goes. I do not get too many side-effects with the lower BP, I just feel more sleepy sometimes. But honestly I still feel light-headed and unwell with low BP, normal BP, and also with the higher BP.  I always feel bad. My headaches and muscle pains are back too which makes me want to get my kidney function tested again. It was down to 43 three weeks ago, went back up, but I think that is what gives me headaches and muscle pains. I'm growing weary of having to re-adjust meds all of the time. The same thing happens with my diabetes meds. I have been having decent blood sugar control for 4 weeks, but then all of a sudden it will go high and I will need to start using insulin again. Just really makes me wonder if my machines are bad. In the hospital on 20 mgs of Lisinopril, my sitting BP was 130/89 consistently and I did not have too many lows. The lowest BP was on the first day when I also had some clonidine in me. It was 109/76. I had to tell them I was on strong meds, because a low BP and high HR (mines was over 100) is a sign of sepsis in patients with a bad Gallbladder. They were thinking I might have possible sepsis. So maybe my machine is underestimating my BP, overestimating it. Nonetheless, I have not passed out from even a few BP readings of 80/60. So maybe my body just has no BP regulation whatsoever and is used to these peaks and valleys. Before meds and discovering all of this, I used to have 2 weeks of extreme fatigue and sleeping and not even being able to remain awake while watching television. Then I would have a few weeks of being alert and sleeping less. Maybe it all has to do with BP levels. 

[blizzard2014]

19 hours ago, StayAtHomeMom said:

In theory if you take the meds like you are supposed to it will help you get on your feet to help you feel better. 

Have you ever been put on something just to bring down your BP. That seems really high. 

I'm just on the Lisinopril right now StayAthome. I don't need the Clonidine. I used it two days ago though to knock down the spike because Amlodipine didn't do anything. Yesterday the Lisinopril dropped my BP too low so today I am on a lower dose. The BP keeps on changing on me. My ideal control is sitting 109/75 and standing 120/89. That is the sweet spot I used to get with 20 mgs of Lisinopril and .2 mgs of Clonidine. Now I'm getting 88/65 sitting and 100/80 standing. I need to get the sitting BP up a little bit higher without raising the standing BP too much. I wish there was just a set it and forget it pill. Take the pill and just get on with life every day. Sadly, there is no such pill and I need to keep on finding the sweet spot with meds. 

[StayAtHomeMom]

1 hour ago, blizzard2014 said:

I'm just on the Lisinopril right now StayAthome. I don't need the Clonidine. I used it two days ago though to knock down the spike because Amlodipine didn't do anything. Yesterday the Lisinopril dropped my BP too low so today I am on a lower dose. The BP keeps on changing on me. My ideal control is sitting 109/75 and standing 120/89. That is the sweet spot I used to get with 20 mgs of Lisinopril and .2 mgs of Clonidine. Now I'm getting 88/65 sitting and 100/80 standing. I need to get the sitting BP up a little bit higher without raising the standing BP too much. I wish there was just a set it and forget it pill. Take the pill and just get on with life every day. Sadly, there is no such pill and I need to keep on finding the sweet spot with meds. 

Are you doing anything that could be upping your BP, like smoking or caffeine? Even some medications.  My hubby's blood pressure came way down with the lisinopril and no caffeine. And it is staying pretty steady. 

[blizzard2014]

1 hour ago, StayAtHomeMom said:

Are you doing anything that could be upping your BP, like smoking or caffeine? Even some medications.  My hubby's blood pressure came way down with the lisinopril and no caffeine. And it is staying pretty steady. 

I do drink really strong coffee twice a day because it helps with my fatigue. I won't give that up though lol. I'm good today. I found the current proper balance of meds. 10 mgs of Lisinopril has lowered my sitting BP to 114/80 and my standing BP to 117/90. That little number is still trying to creep up on me, but as long as it doesn't go over 95 when standing and the higher number is good, I'm good. I can deal with that. Lets just hope the doses don't need to be changed again. I know when summer time comes, the doses will need to be changed as heat makes everything so much worse. I wish I could give up the coffee, but it is the only thing that keeps me from being drowsy all of the time. 

[StayAtHomeMom]

2 hours ago, blizzard2014 said:

I do drink really strong coffee twice a day because it helps with my fatigue. I won't give that up though lol. I'm good today. I found the current proper balance of meds. 10 mgs of Lisinopril has lowered my sitting BP to 114/80 and my standing BP to 117/90. That little number is still trying to creep up on me, but as long as it doesn't go over 95 when standing and the higher number is good, I'm good. I can deal with that. Lets just hope the doses don't need to be changed again. I know when summer time comes, the doses will need to be changed as heat makes everything so much worse. I wish I could give up the coffee, but it is the only thing that keeps me from being drowsy all of the time. 

Can you try different types of caffeine for your fatigue. Like soda (it is half of what coffee is)? Just curious. I know fatigue is awful but your blood pressure could so many worse things. 

[p8d]

One thing that helps my fatigue and doesn’t mess with BP or HR is modafinil.  I don’t take it every day because it seems to lose effectiveness but it helps when I need it.  I have bad crashes when it wears off so take a half pill in the morning and then another half around noon.  

[blizzard2014]

8 hours ago, p8d said:

One thing that helps my fatigue and doesn’t mess with BP or HR is modafinil.  I don’t take it every day because it seems to lose effectiveness but it helps when I need it.  I have bad crashes when it wears off so take a half pill in the morning and then another half around noon.  

I tried to get that from my sleep doctor for my speed apnea and he wouldn't give it to me. It is kind of like trying to get speed or something. We have all these good meds and then they refuse to prescribe them. I read about that med working to make you more focused and alert but it is not the same as taking Adderall. 

[blizzard2014]

21 hours ago, StayAtHomeMom said:

Can you try different types of caffeine for your fatigue. Like soda (it is half of what coffee is)? Just curious. I know fatigue is awful but your blood pressure could so many worse things. 

No, I drink extremely strong coffee and even then sometimes can fall right to sleep some days. But usually my BP is the same with and without caffeine. The only thing that really spikes my BP is when I tried Premetine. It's a med that stimulates you. I read some bodybuilders use it for energy and it didn't do anything for me other than spike my sitting blood pressure to stroke level. I was 190/120 sitting and afraid to even stand up for what the spike would be. I took Clonidine and doubled up on my other BP meds at that time and went to bed for four hours and my BP went back to normal. I still have the Premetine here just in case I ever need to raise my BP levels. I also know that Nyquil raises my BP because I had a really high BP attack on it, but back before I even knew I had high BP. I woke up and saw my vision pulsating with headache and rapid heart rate and then threw up.