New nurse scared to death r/t high bp....help!

DDRN4me · Jun 1, 2005

Rose, you are very young to have all of these untreated issues. I cnat tell you to go to the er tonoc. because ia mnot there with you...if you are going to have an anxiety attack thinking about it thaen you should go. If not then your primary md tomorrow..those walmart machines are not always very accurate!

Katnip, RN · Jun 2, 2005

See your doc. He'll need to have more than 2 readings from you. Usually docs ask you to come in several times to the office over a period of time before they can dx high blood pressure.

Once you have a dx, he will either advise you on diet and exercise or prescribe a med, or both.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jun 2, 2005

I developed HTN when I was only 22, when I was on oral contraceptives. I was overweight, yes, but not seriously; unfortunately, I had bad genes on top of everything---both parents and both sets of grandparents had high BP, so I was sort of doomed from the outset. I've fought it now for almost 25 years, and have had pressures as high as 260/130.......God must have really been watching out for me over the years, because I've never had a stroke or heart attack, and the only complication I've developed thus far is some mild left ventricular hypertrophy.

Your pressure is elevated, but nothing to panic about just yet.......in fact, panic makes everything worse! You need to see your physician, it just may be that you need to control your anxiety, cut back on your salt and fat consumption, move around more, and lose a few pounds. At your age, it also may be beneficial to be checked for less common causes of blood pressure elevation, such as certain renal problems, if it turns out that you actually have high blood pressure......sometimes secondary HTN can be cured, unlike the kind most of us have.

Most likely, however, you will need to modify your diet and get some exercise, which of course is far easier said than done.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

SharonH, RN · Jun 2, 2005

I am a new grad nurse. some hx-
23 years old, 60 pounds overweight (for about 3 years), no exercise, eat too much fatty foods, too big portions, and mother had/has high bp. I also have severe anxiety issues (untreated)
bp was high (140/94) last week. TOday it was 150/100 at walmart. But again, i had high anxiety leading up to it.
I am scared to death. Do you go to ED for high bp like that? OR can I see my doc tomorrow? I do have really really bad anxiety and am scared I'm going to die.
Please help, I really am scared to death.

Rose, make an appointment to see your PCP for a physical;issues with your BP and your anxiety can be addressed then. Why should you suffer? If you came into my clinic, I would not recommend you go to the ER for that BP reading unless you were having other symptoms, it can be followed up with your PCP.

PatrickJ · Jun 2, 2005

I like how you outlined your risk factors. Agreed, such a bp is not er time, but it is action time.

One motto you can consider

"If it's gonna be, it's up to me"

So, check with your doc, disregard those wal mart machine bp units :chuckle and have the doc guide you.

Heck, with a lil ole modification to those risk factors, you will have more chances at being just fine. Keep them as they are and well, hmmmm, suggest you do not. Best of luck, some roads are hard to travel, but once completed, the rewards are nice.

Patrick

Florida is a great place to work.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Jun 2, 2005

((((Rose)))) Take a deep breath and try to calm down. You have a lot going on so it's probably normal for your BP to be a bit high ...... you just finished nursing school, had a baby not too long ago, preparing for the NCLEX, about to start a new job ..... that's A LOT on your plate right now.

I would do like the others said and just make an appointment with your regular doctor and see what they say. And yes please keep us posted.

HappyNurse2005, RN · Jun 2, 2005

Thanks ya'll. I think that was just a panic attack. I am scared straight now. Healthy diet and exercise for me. Thank you, thank you. YOu're right RainDreamer, I do have a lot going on. My baby is 7 weeks old, I just started my job this week, I was waiting on my ATT (which I got this morning in my email!), so its alot going on.

I've not been symptomatic. No headaches, swelling, no exercise intolerance, etc.

THe 15th is the first day I have off other than a weekend, I think I'll make the apppointment for then. Thank you!

MIA-RN1, RN · Jun 2, 2005

Thanks ya'll. I think that was just a panic attack. I am scared straight now. Healthy diet and exercise for me. Thank you, thank you. YOu're right RainDreamer, I do have a lot going on. My baby is 7 weeks old, I just started my job this week, I was waiting on my ATT (which I got this morning in my email!), so its alot going on.
I've not been symptomatic. No headaches, swelling, no exercise intolerance, etc.
THe 15th is the first day I have off other than a weekend, I think I'll make the apppointment for then. Thank you!

hi rose! I have 'white coat hypertension" which means that I totally FREAK when someone other than me takes my blood pressure. It doesn't matter how I try to relax, it is always up at the docs or at the store. I got an electronic monitor (Omron brand) that i keep at home and I took it with me to my doc, he did my pressure the 'old fashioned' way, and then I did it with the electronic one. They match pretty well and so my next step was daily bp readings at home. I wrote the reading and the time, and went back to the doctor when I finished up the month. My readings were FINE at home. BEfore/after coffee, while dealing w/ kids; I took it in as many different situations as I could find. And of course, the doc took it, and it was up :chuckle So maybe if you monitor closely at home, your anxiety issues will be much less severe while you are away from the doctors and you will get a more true reading.

CarmsOU25 · Jul 9, 2008

I too am having the same issues with my blood pressure. 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.