Hey Uff-Da,

Thanks. I just don't understand this b/p thing. Like tonight, after about a 3 hour nap, my b/p had jumped from low 90's/50's to 133/74. Why does it do that? I don't like increases in my b/p, no matter that it's still very much in the normal range, I just dont like it. It scares me. And I feel stressed out all the time. I think my dr. has over-medicated me. This is what he has me on, Toprol XL, 200 mgs. per day, Lisinopril, 40 mgs. a day, Skelaxin, 4 Hydrocodone a day, Pravachol, (for triglycerides, not cholesterol), Xanax, and I wonder why I'm tired all the time. He's being a jerk right now and is causing a lot of stress for me, so I'm in the process of finding another dr. I think maybe, well, hoping, that all these deaths, dealing with my husband who is a huge procrastinator, not a good mix with me being a perfectionist, and all that smoking maybe impacting my b/p. So, I'm making some major life changes, one getting rid of my dr..............finally. And even that's going to be hard, because I've been seeing him since October of 1988, and we had become so close, he once having told me that I was his favorite patient. So, on one hand, it's going to be hard, but on the other, I know I have to do it. I feel like he's partly responsible for what I'm going through now. He loves giving out pills. Probably because that's all he can do, he's just a PA. He can only write prescriptions and give shots, that's about it. So, he has the reputation of being a pill pusher.
Rambling now, I just need to be reassured, especially at this point in my life, that these little spikes are nothing to be worried about, and that's basically all I was wanting to know.
Warm baths bring my pressure down, but only temporarily. I'm just sick of it, it's either too high, or "in the toilet". The other night it dropped to 95/43 and I was SICK.
Okay, that's it and sorry for rambling so. Thanks for your help, and I'm sorry that I lashed out like I did. Good luck with your problem on the other board. I hope you can get it resolved.

Melanie

Quote from Mellie310:

I just don't understand this b/p thing. Like tonight, after about a 3 hour nap, my b/p had jumped from low 90's/50's to 133/74. Why does it do that?

A person's BP is typically highest first thing in the morning. I've read that some doctors think this might be because the body uses an increase in BP as part of the way to wake the body up. If that's the case, the same thing would be true in waking the body up from a nap. There is also the possibility that you might have had a bad dream or an exciting dream, whether you remember it or not, and that that caused the increase in BP. I have read some doctors recommend ignoring readings taken within an hour after arising. (Unless they are up in the high, high range, of course.)

[quote]I think my dr. has over-medicated me. This is what he has me on, Toprol XL, 200 mgs. per day, Lisinopril, 40 mgs. a day, Skelaxin, 4 Hydrocodone a day, Pravachol, (for triglycerides, not cholesterol), Xanax, and I wonder why I'm tired all the time. I'm not qualified to comment on your medications. It really does take a trained person who examines you personally and can take a look at the whole picture. But I agree with you that many doctors do tend to be "pill pushers." If you don't think the meds are warranted, you just have to resist. But I know how stressful that can be. For me, it sends my BP temporarily skyrocketing, like a systolic into the 180s. Perhaps your idea of finding a new doctor who can take a fresh look at your situation will be a good move for you. Have you visited the high cholesterol board about your triglycerides? Some people can get them down with just a change in diet; others can't.

[quote]I just need to be reassured, especially at this point in my life, that these little spikes are nothing to be worried about, and that's basically all I was wanting to know.BP goes up and down with exercise or rest, infections, stress, what foods we eat, cold or heat, etc. That's just part of how we are made and nothing to worry about. It is the long-term average pressure that is the only real concern - unless our pressure gets high enough that we blow a blood vessel.

[quote]Warm baths bring my pressure down, but only temporarily.I find it to be temporary only if the problem is still there which caused the anxiety in the first place. Like if the BP was elevated because of anxiety over the death of your friends, over a family illness, or over an impossible work situation that one does not have the power to change. But where I've found it to "break the chain" of BP problems is when I see my BP up, then I start getting upset that it is up. Well, once I've taken a bath and see that my pressure has come back down, then I realize I really can relax and not worry about the BP. In that case it usually stays down.

Also, once I'm relaxed after a warm bath, I'm much more able to say, "Oh, to H*** with it," and stop my going over and over in my mind about something which has aggravated me. Like my argument with that person on the other message board. After a relaxing bath, I just decided not to continue the discussion, even though I'm still certain I'm right. (It had to do with a legal matter, and neither of us are attorneys.) So she'll probably think I've decided she's right after all, but it is just not worth it to me to keep looking for more backup material. Takes too much time and gets my BP up too much thinking about it.