I've known since college that I have white coat hypertension and experience anxiety when it comes to any sort of "test". I graduated from an accelerated BSN program in July of '07 and then went on to work at a job I just loved in Women's health in Oklahoma. My husband is in the Air Force so we just relocated to Okinawa, Japan in April. I really like it here, but it has been a stressful adjustment at times. You can't spend all day relaxing at the beach I haven't found a job yet, so I have a lot of free time on my hands, which I'm not used to, haha. I am working on an application for a nursing job and am going to be volunteering with the Red Cross soon, which will keep me busier.
Anyway, my birth control prescription is about to run out, so I went to the military clinic last week on one of their refill days to take care of it. They proceed to tell me that they don't have the pills I use and that they might not be able to order it. I ask them for a different brand and they make me an appt for about 2 weeks later (when I'll already be out of pills, haha). So, by this time, I'm a little stressed and ready to leave when I find out that they need to do a physical/health history.... umm alright. Before I even sit down, in the chair, the tech/med asst has a BP cuff on me and I get a reading of like 150/95 due of nervousness. I was not expecting a physical and had just been told that my prescription couldn't be refilled, so I knew that this reading was a product of nervousness. I asked if they could wait a few minutes and redo my pressure when I calmed down. No, they wanted me to come in for a 5 consecutive day hypertension screening. Well, great.
So everyday that I have come into the clinic, I get high readings. Today, I really tried to do some different breathing techniques in the waiting room, but then they move me to a different exam room and the nervousness takes over. First reading was 142/94. Then, the guy talked to me for a minute and the reading in my left arm was 124/82. Finally! Well, then he said "That's really odd? That's a big difference." He seems bewildered when I tell him that I suffer from anxiety when I'm "the patient" and having any kind of test done. He almost couldn't believe that a RN could have this problem. Well sorry, I am human. Then he tells me that more than likely they will want to put me on blood pressure medication.
I just don't know what to do. I speak with the actual doctor next week and I have all of my pressures I've taken at home manually documented. My average BP at home is around 117/79. I also have an Omron monitor that I use to have more "evidence" that I don't suffer from high BP chronically. I even took a reading after I left the clinic to show that it was higher than normal at that particular time.
I'm so very frustrated about this though. I'm in a new place halfway across the world and unfortunately my husband is a pilot and busy (if not deployed) a lot of the time and cannot accompany me to appts like this. We are wanting to start a family while we are here, but now I'm worried about what the OB clinic will say about my situation.
I haven't found a job yet, so I have a lot of free time on my hands, which I'm not used to, haha. I am working on an application for a nursing job and am going to be volunteering with the Red Cross soon, which will keep me busier.