High BP vs. Low BP

Hey everyone,
I know this is a PM support group but I am wondering if anyone could give me some advice.I have suffered from High bp for years. Today I went for a check-up with my pcp. My bp was 100/70 so he worked out a new routine for my meds. I have been feeling very woozy for about an hour or so along with being weak and very heavy in the shoulders. I used my home bp monitor just now and it showed that my bp is now 85/60. Since I know that those #'s are normal for some people I don't know if I should just ride it out and see if it goes up or if it drops lower or go to an urgent care facility. What do you guys think?
Mona

4 Comments

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by Tracey_E - 2009-03-16 09:03:55

Well, you don't feel well and it's low for you... at the very least you should be calling your doctor, probably a trip to the ER or urgent care would be in order. Personally, I wouldn't go to urgent care for anything cardiac because they don't have a lot of equipment on hand but that's just me. You will likely waste time there for them to refer you to the ER so you'd be waiting and going through the hassle twice.

Low Blood Pressure

by Pookie - 2009-03-16 10:03:32

I agree with Tracey 100%. It is always wise to get yourself checked out for safety sake and peace of mind.

I too "suffer" from low blood pressure and it's not fun being dizzy and having that woozy feeling, it's hard to function. I have Hypotension Intolerance & Neurocardiogenic Syncope. A lot of people suffer a swing/drop in their BP when they go from sitting to standing, so make sure if your drugs are changed and you're feeling woozy, to stand slowly.

I was given a medication for my low blood pressure (Midodrine) but it didn't agree with me, so now I'm left with wearing compression stalkings (keeps me warm in the winter) and I drink more water and I was told to eat salt on everything!!! I hate salt. When I do eat something salty...my lower legs puff up and they feel tight and ache.

Anyways, I'm sure you're not feeling very chipper right now, but you really should get this addressed as I'm sure between your doctor(s) and your pharmacist they could set up a better schedule for your medications. I try and take my meds that make me dizzy right before bed.

good luck
Pookie

Low BP

by ElectricFrank - 2009-03-16 11:03:28

For some reason there seems to be a drop in BP when they get a pacemaker for many people. Mine varies more than it used to. It may be because I am in good physical condition for my age that I don't have any real problems with low BP. A few minutes ago after relaxing in my recliner for an hour watching TV my BP was 82/56 with a pulse rate of 72. I felt sort of wiped out, but as soon as I got up and headed for the computer room I was alert again. I just checked it and it is 123/69 now. I never seem to have light headed experiences even with such a low BP.

One problem that doctors have in treating BP is that they don't have information on it over day to day activities. They depend too much on the office reading and even if you don't have "white coat" hypertension the one reading isn't a good indication of what you need. The readings above are fairly common for me, but one day the docs office found me in the 150's/90's and were ready to start me on a regimen of meds. I refused and left with dire warnings of my risk of a stroke, but by that evening it was back down to my usual range.

Hope this helps,

frank

How high was it?

by BillMFl - 2009-03-17 11:03:14

When you weren't on bp meds? And which meds/dosage are you on. If you are on a dieuretic (water pill) make sure you aren't dehydrated. I take a vasodialtor in the morning and an ACE inhibitor in the evening. Both are minimum doseage. Over a period of time, the effect can be cumulative, so if I start to get a little too low, I skip one of them for a day. You should chart yourself and see if you have peeks and valleys and if they correlate to when you take your meds. If you take more than one per day, try skipping one of them and see if you come back up to normal. You can also try breaking your pill in half to see what happens. Take your bp every 2 or 3 hours for a few days while experimenting. If you are taking two pills a day, you may need to cut back to one. If you are taking one pill a day, you may level out better by taking half a pill 10 or 12 hrs apart.

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