Double whammy.

[Dris]

Further to my sleepy head thread I was at the Practice Nurse today to give blood samples.

I advised her about my 'borderline' thyroid results and she told me that for the past 2yrs my results havent been remotely borderline and I should have been on medication.I'm a bit tee'd off with my GP as he was trying to postpone lifelong medication but at what cost has it been?

I then got the full MOT -my BP was 190/117.Yet another duller :(

I have to have a cuff on Monday for 24hrs -it wasnt felt it was going to give a true reading as I was anxious.

Any connection do you think?

Anyone else had a cuff and is it like getting your BP taken every 5 mins?

I didnt ask as I was flummoxed.

[redcrx]

hi Dris,
I had the cuff for 24 hours, i think it reads every half hour and then every few hours through the night. Just same as having it done at GP.
There was only one point it went funny and didnt deflate, i had to take it off

mine showed that my BP is only really high when at GPs (white coat syndrome)

[cazzz1975]

A lot of doctors like to sit on bordeline results without medicating.
you probably have white coat syndrome which causes your blood pressure to raise in a clinical environment.

[Dris]

Hi you two -I even said that to the Nurse that I get agitated when I have to wait to see the GP Dentist Nurse anything.Thats why I opted to leave it a few days for the cuff as i'm up to high doh and thats 5hrs later.Feel better for hearing that.So red is the cuff on the upper arm then like usual?
cazzz - think this time i'll get the Thyroxine as even I notice the difference in myself but suppose i'll have to see what GP says after the results are through.
Can see his point in a way as he has said to me that he was postponing due to the lifelong medication.

[ethandron]

dris, treat yourself to a home blood pressure monitor, they're about £25 from the likes of boots. i too suffer from 'white coat syndrome' and this home monitor is great as it tells me (and the doctor when i take in my list of readings for 3 months) that my high blood pressure is under control. i took it with me to the doctor when i first got it so she could make sure it worked ok, she tested against the one in the surgery and it was perfect. well worth the money for peace of mind.

[Sqad]

C.ock up comes to mind.

Thyroid we haven´t been given your results yet, but it would seem that you need to be on thyroxine.

BP...I think that the "white coat syndrome" is an overplayed card and i am not a big follower of the so called syndrome.

BP varies from different times of the same day....ethandron is right get yourself a monitor and take your BP morning afternoon and night.

[redcrx]

yes it is on the upper arm, dris

[Dris]

ethandron-TY -will do for peace of mind.I didnt even think of that.
Sqad -think i'll be having a heart to heart with my GP when I get the results.Im not ecstatic and I can still recall him saying we should stall the medication.Like i said at what cost -just live for my next sleep....
Thanks red -I would much rather be prepped before Monday-sorry again but does it just start inflating at set times? If it does and they hadnt told me I would have freaked as I hate that intense feeling.
I'll let you all know and thank you for taking the time to calm my jets:)

[ethandron]

squad, i can only speak from my own experience and can assure you that the so-called white coat syndrome does exist. on the surface, a visit to the doctor really doesn't bother me, but whenever i have my blood pressure taken at the surgery - by the doctor or the nurse - it's significantly higher than at any time of the day when i take it at home. if the doctor assessed my blood pressure purely on those results i would now be on increased medication. maybe a coincidence, but i don't think so, it's happened too many times and my gp recognises it.

[Sqad]

ethandron....I didn´t say that it didn´t exist........I said that in my opinion it is an overplayed card...............and I believe that to be true.

[redcrx]

it does start at set times, i too dont like the feeling of the cuff on my arm but i think by time my BP rose the reading had been taken anyway. If i hadnt had that 24 hour testing then i would have been on medication too as my GP would never believe that my BP was only high at doctors.

My dads BP is always high when read that way, some phobia he has. So he bought a wrist once and uses that.

[ethandron]

squad, as a matter of interest, can you explain why you see it as an over played card? i'm not sure what you're getting at. thanks.

[Sqad]

Right............many times when a patient goes to a GP and the BP is high. medication is withheld because of this so called "white coat syndrome". It is only in the last 20yrs that 24hour monitoring has been used and that is usually following a hospital consultation.

I bet, that the majority of people who go to the GP do not have any monitoring at all, let alone 24 hour and many times, the raised BP is said to be due to WCS and no medication is provided. Now you and perhaps others buy a machine and can monitor your BP three times a day or more and can thus establish whether or not WCS actually exists.

It would be a very brave doctor or indeed patient to have BP reading of 160/100 and put this down to WCS withholding treatment and without substantive evidence by 24 hour monitoring, which does not always happen.

Again, I didn´t say it doesn´t exist but I doubt the validity of many of the diagnosis.

[ethandron]

i see what you mean, although i'm not sure i would agree with all that you say.

[Sqad]

ethandron...that is fine...you have relatives who are Drs, ask them their opinion.

Medicine is all about opinions.

If you went to your Dr in the USA with BP, you would have an ECG and blood tests with 24hr monitoring as a routine. Does this happen routinely in the NHS?..No because of financial restraints.

Up until 15yrs ago, if you saw a consultant privately for BP in the UK you would have been admitted for 24hour monitoring and an ECG, but the private insurers refused to pay for the in-patient care.

You get what you pay for by and large and this is the worry that the Americans have after the introduction of the Obama Medicare scheme.

[karenmac60]

Sorry to hear that Dris, but the one silver lining is if you get put on Thyroxin you won't have to pay for any of your prescriptions (for anything, not just the thyroxin).

[Dris]

Thanks again red - I know what to expect now.
Sqad/ethandron -i'll be the guinea pig as I get my results there and then so can add my experience to the WCS.Plus I shouldnt be stressed so will be interesting to see if there is a significant change when I go to have it fitted and return.
Karen -every cloud etc etc :)

[ethandron]

dris, your blood pressure of 190/117 is pretty blooming high, even taking whitecoatsyndrome into account, so i really hope it gets sorted out. i'm sure it will :)

[ttfn]

Hi Dris, have had high bp for many years now - started at 240/140 and was rushed in to hospital for 10 days so they could see me have my 1st heart attack/stroke! Kept 'em waiting. After that I had to have my bp taken twice weekly at GP's surgery. I bought my self a home cuff outfit but it turned out to be not calibrated as my readings and the GP's were at some variance. I got a full refund on it when I said it was faulty. Just something for you to be aware of. Just get a good book to read to go with the 24hr cuff unless you can sleep through anything! ♥

[Dris]

I know ethandron-the Nurse had to re-check the doo dah and of course that made me worse.
She re-assured me (not) that she would have gotten my GP in if it had hit 200.I will of course be on tenterhooks until Monday even I know i'm usually 130/80.She did say that even at that I wouldnt have been admitted to hospital so that was a relief !!

[ttfn]

btw Dris, I always try to get to my med appointments 20 mins early and sit and read my book to make sure I am as relaxed as can be, not having just dashed in for car parking problems etc