Erratic blood pressure readings

27 Responses to “Erratic blood pressure readings”

1. Daniel says:

   June 20, 2010 at 6:56 pm

   WOW! At last someone that I can share my utter frustrations about my Hypertension with.
   I’m 48 years old and live in South Africa. I had trouble in controlling my BP for the last 10 years, but the last 3 years was the worst. I was using the normal BP medication-combinations-diuretics and Beta blockers. One morning about 3 years ago when I woke up, my eyesight was not normal as it was the previous day. I could not read at normal distance and had blurred vision in my mid range. I thought that the 40’s syndrome of weaker eyesight has eventually caught up with me. I got prescription glasses and went on my merry way, not knowing what was actually happening with me.
   I started to get agitated easier and was losing my temper on a regular basis, so much so that my wife and children started to avoid me on purpose when I got home from work. My doctor said that it was stress and that I should change my lifestyle…. wonderful!!!! I started to go to the gym and got totally addicted to it though I could not understand why I did not lose weight. I’m 192cm and weigh 112kg at the time. I was doing cardio only and not trying to build muscle. My weight sky rocketed to 128kg’s in less than a year. I then took up road running and ran my first ultra-marathon in April last year. Wow, what a feeling of accomplishment! I finished in time and got my first medal! My weight dropped to 102kg and I thought that I’m on the right way, eating healthy, exercising etc. My moods were better and people wanted to be around me again.
   At that stage I was monitoring my BP on a monthly basis at the gym, and although it was on the high side (145/90) it did not bother me so much, seeing that I’m taking my meds and did the lifestyle changes recommended.

   Sitting at my computer one morning in May last year reading my e-mails, my nose started to bleed. I did have a slight cold, and thought that the bleed stems from that, but it got worse and did not stop. I went to nose and throat specialist that diagnosed an arterial bleed in the back of my nose. He took my BP while fixing the tear. What a shock!! My BP was 256/165!! He immediately referred me to a specialist physician. And this is how it all started for me. I was hospitalized and put on a drip to stabilize my BP. it took 3 days to do that. During that time they started with the tests to determine the cause of the high BP.A 24hr urine test showed highly elevate adrenaline counts. My physician told me that a “normal” count is around 3000 units (of what I still don’t know)and that mine was 13500, 10500 more than the norm. This could only indicate a tumor on my adrenal glands. Ct scan and kidney sonar showed normal. Then a heart sonar showed thickened heart muscle and some mitral valve noise. My cholesterol levels were normal but as a matter of precaution he put me on medication to lower it more. My sugar was elevated and he prescribed Glucophage to help control that. All that with my new BP medication had such an adverse effect on me that I could not walk for about 3 weeks. Every move was painful, I was constantly tired but could not sleep. When my BP started to control to about 140/105 he added an antidepressant into the mix to help me cope. In the meantime my ability to work decreased. I started to forget stuff, ordinary things like names of my co-workers, how to change gears on my car and where I was going to when driving. My outbursts of rage came back big time, I would loose my temper over the slightest things. Even at myself for forgetting things or the inability to plan ahead for the next hour or day. Work became a monster that was slowly defeating me and driving me mad. I lost concentration and nothing mattered for me anymore, all I wanted to do was to curl-up and die!
   My medication changed again and my muscle soreness went away, but in its place came the most excruciating headaches. I was booked off from work to see if that would not help in curing me. My medication worked well and some days my BP would drop to 90/60 and my heart rate would be at 160 for 24 hours. My BP would then “normalize” and my heart rate would go back to 60 or 62 but then I’m so tired that I cannot move.

   Now I’m on this roller coaster ride, one day BP high (167/116) feeling if I can murder everyone around me and as stupid as a brick, and the next day my BP would be (116/75) and I would get the worst angina attacks imaginable.
   I really don’t know what to do any more.They have done a brain MRI and found nothing wrong and my adrenal levels have normalized. A radio isotope spectrogram also showed nothing, no tumors or any abnormalities. All my blood tests were normal and still BP that is all over the place. My last heart sonar showd a 8% decrease in heart function over the last 10 months which is a disturbing factor for me. If that is the ratio of deterioration of my heart, the I think I have a problem coming soon.

   I hope that I have not bored you to much with my story. I only which that some one would find a cure or explanation for our BP saga’s.

   All the best for you all!

   Daniel

   Reply
2. Steve says:

   June 21, 2010 at 2:26 pm

   Hi Daniel,

   Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like a dreadful ordeal. I hope you can find the answer to your situation. Certainly if we get any responses to your comment, I will forward them through to you.

   Best wishes,
   Steve

   Reply
   • Daniel says:

     June 24, 2010 at 9:13 pm

     Thanks Steve.

     It’s just good to know that there are people out there that understand.

     Regards
3. John S says:

   June 23, 2010 at 12:19 am

   Daniel………please ask your doctor to run a fasting insulin blood test. It should be under 10. Most high blood pressure is caused by hyperinsulinemia. You undoubtedly have high insulin levels. I would think that an insulin lowering diet will help your health. Go get the book Protein Power and read it. It is in paperback and in the US costs about $7. Here’s a link to a paper by Dr. Ron Rosedale about the biological effects of insulin.

   http://nourishedmagazine.com.au/blog/articles/insulin-resistance-the-real-culprit

   Some of the blood pressure medications you take or have taken contribute to your high insulin levels which exacerbates the cause of your high blood pressure. As Rosedale says if you only treat symptoms and not the cause you will end up taking lots of medications many of whihc are prescribed to counteract side effects of other medications. It’s crazy!! While this may not be a total “cure” for your BP problem it will almost assuredly help control your BP and it will get you off some if not all of your medications. Take a look at the supplements that Rosedale recommends. Fish oil, magnesium, chromium, etc all of which you should seriously think about taking. If you do try the insulin controlling diet (low carb) then you need to make sure your doctor is on board because within days you may need to cut back on the blood pressure medications and the diabetes medications in a few weeks. Good luck to you.

   PS: Here’s a link to Dr. Eades website for more information:

   http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/

   If your cholesterol wasn’t high then I, personally, would not take a cholesterol lowering drug. In fact i would never take a cholesterol lowering statin drug.

   Reply
4. First Watch Respite Care says:

   July 4, 2010 at 2:34 am

   Hello, I am a Private in-home Care Provider and see this problem in clients quite often. It would be wise to pull your medical records and see what other underlying health problems are in your records that no one has told you about. I would start there. What I have found in the case of some clients was the long term stress that can destroy your health and also Low Kidney functions. These were 40-50 years olds males. Just and FYI and good health to you all!

   Reply
5. John S says:

   July 9, 2010 at 2:25 am

   Good point. I try and get at least 4 days/week of moderate aerobic exercise to deal with stress. I also try to do the breathing exercises to reduce stress. Here’s a link to an outfit that provides breathing tapes but also has a demo on the website. Scroll down toward the bottom.

   http://www.control-your-blood-pressure.com/index2.html

   Reply
6. Lorri says:

   December 4, 2010 at 2:45 pm

   i dont know if you have found any answers yet but i had a pheochromocytoma 8 yrs ago. erratic blood pressure high and low, excrutiating headaches, high blood sugar, sweating profusely…they never would have found my tumor had I not been pregnant. the tumor grew with the growth hormone, with the baby. it was the size of a grapefruit when it was FINALLY discovered. i am well now!

   Reply
7. Cindy says:

   February 16, 2011 at 4:32 pm

   My blood pressure goes up and down, from 120/81 (rare) to as high as 162/116. What’s up with that? I hear people say things like “my blood pressure is 135/90″. What the heck does that mean? No one gets the same reading all the time. I’m wondering what the typical fluctuation really is. And I’m not finding the answer anywhere. Can anyone help me?
   Also, I hear all these cases of Doctors putting people on Blood Pressure medicine after just one reading. According to my cardiologist that is just wrong! You need to do a diary to see what level it typical reads. And he told me to get my device calibrated to make sure the readings are accurate, which I’ve never heard anyone else say.
   What percentage of the population is on on Blood Pressure meds I wonder, and what are the long term effects?

   Reply
   • Steve says:

     February 19, 2011 at 8:51 am

     Hi Cindy,

     > I hear people say things like “my blood pressure is 135/90″.
     > What the heck does that mean?

     Typically that should mean a reading that is taken under a certain set of conditions, such as: having sat still for a few minutes, not drunk coffee or smoked for 30 minutes, sitting upright and having an empty bladder. For more information see:

     http://www.my-health-software.com/view/items/bp-home-guide.html

     > No one gets the same reading all the time.
     > I’m wondering what the typical fluctuation
     > really is.

     Personally my readings usually come in +/- 5 mmHg of each other, assuming that I take the reading as described above (which is what is recommend by the various medical groups).

     I am not sure what the typical fluctuation is. I think that is an individual thing.

     > According to my cardiologist that is just wrong!
     > You need to do a diary to see what level it typical reads.

     I agree. This website exists to support a computer program that does just that.

     Steve
8. Joe says:

   February 19, 2011 at 9:49 pm

   Having taken more than 6 different types of BP medication over the last 2 years I came to the conclusion that none were helping my BP. Every one of them made me feel like I was spaced out and I could not function normally. They also increased my weight whether I dieted or not. This was probably due to water retention, because my weight would return to normal within a week or two of discontinuing the medication.
   I then discovered that my BP was erratic whether I was on medication or not and put it down to the stress. It would fluctuate between 130/80 and 180/110 without any change in what I was doing.
   I am 59 and have always had a slow rested heartbeat of between 48 and 52 and I am not overweight. Recently I discovered that my BP decreases when my heartbeat increases. I checked it one morning and it was 177/103 with a pulse of 51, I then exercised for 10 minutes, my pulse increased to 90 and my BP reduced to 155/95. I have done this exercise a number of times since, always with the same result. I am baffled, but one thing I am sure of is that BP medication does not help with erratic blood pressure.

   Reply
   • Tinabeaver says:

     July 19, 2011 at 5:09 am

     Joe, you are the first person i have read about that has a condition almost identical to mine. erratic bp and very low pulse. different is that i can’t get my pulse up. it only goes up under emotional stress and then only to the 80’s. i had a stress test and they couldn’t get my pulse high enough to get a reading, but my bp was near stroke level.
     i have taken 3 different bp meds and they not only make me sick, and the bp prob continued. i did find some relief with a CPAP, but after 2 yrs the prob returned and now for the last month is is out of hand. as i was writing this i had to go lie down for 4 hrs.
     they say it is stress and the dr can’t figure me out. she gave me xanax for my panic/stress attacks and i take as needed.
     i haven’t taken bp meds for a yr and again it is still the same except when i have these “episodes” where it gets out of control.
     at least i have learned how to bring down my bp and i am not running off to the er every night. but i can’t control it when i go to bed with decent bp and wake up with bp running from 175/95 to 210/115, but i still have a pulse averaging 52-55. ANY SUGGESTIONS?????
9. sonya says:

   August 5, 2011 at 5:39 am

   I have erratic blood pressure. It especially goes Wacko at night. Really high like many of you. I got put on BP medication which helps somewhat during the day. It still can go pretty erractic often at night. I’m going to see an endocrinologist in September to have my adrenal glands looked at . A decision I’ve made ( not my primary physician’s – she’s not interested)through research. If I have any luck I will let you know.

   Reply
   • Steve says:

     August 5, 2011 at 7:54 am

     Sonya, good luck with your appointment, and please do report back here if you have any luck.

     Thanks! Steve
   • Felix says:

     September 20, 2011 at 11:08 pm

     Ho Sonya,

     Just google the following term “Circadian
     Rhythm” and read about blood pressure. My wive has similar problems.

     Good luck.

     Felix
10. Pete says:

    August 20, 2011 at 4:34 pm

    Some terribly sad BP stories there guys.

    Many seem to be anxiety related either physical (possible endocrine related, thyroid/adrenal etc) which you cannot control, or mental (stress etc) which you can control.

    It is crucial you get your BP down to an ideal of roughly 120/80…up to 130/90 is tolerable. Any more than that and you WILL be damaging your body, kidney especially. So it really is vital to get it under control. I have kidney disease anyway, which has then caused high BP. I discovered clonidine recently and it seems particularly good at controlling BP which presents with anxiety issues for whatever reason. And seems to have very few genuine side effects. I’m now on 100mcg am – 150mg Irbesartan midday – 100mcg last thing at night. For BP control the range is usally 300 to 600mcg spilt morning/evening.

    DO NOT take Lisinopril because it will damage your kidney even more, and certainly do not take combo ACE/ARBs (irbesartan/lisinopril etc)

    If you have mild hypertension, chocolate is very good at controlling it. But obviously normal chocolate is no good at all (milk) it needs to be the strongest, plain, dark chocolate for an instant hit. But you cannot sustain eating that or you will end up a tubOlard. What you can do is buy raw, organic cacao nibs, which is cocoa in it’s basic form.

    You also need to seriously adjust your lifestyle if you are in trouble anyway and remember you ARE WHAT YOU EAT. If you eat bad food and drink then you will suffer in the end.

    Finally if you cannot control the stress in your life (job etc) then you need to seriously consider walking away from it before it kills you.

    high BP is NOT ok no matter what anyone tells you. So get it under control quick.

    As for when to take BP? You need a routine and stick to it. The best times are first thing in the morning before you do anything, but at least 20 minutes after you have woken up. And last thing at night before bed. These should then be the markers you are aiming at controlling. The highs and lows during the day can be safely ignored in general, and are considered normal. sit down for at least five minutes relaxing, no moving or talking. Arm on a cushion and take the BP.

    Don’t use a wrist cuff monitor as they are notoriously unreliable. Use an arm cuff monitor, Omron are very good. It’s vital whatever you use, wrist or arm, that you have the correct cuff size too or your readings will be way out. Most standard cuffs are for small/average people.

    HTH and good luck to ya’ll.

    Steve how about doing discounts for multiple purchases of software? ie: if we own BP, we can buy one of the others at a 99% discount? lol

    Reply
    • Johnny Shack says:

      October 26, 2011 at 2:54 am

      Have erratic BP: daytime, 97/64 HR 59 to 220/83 HR 48 at night. Some nights overloads my Amron and it EEE’s out.

      Am taking clonodine patch, Tekturna when needed and 80 MG micardis.

      Dragging all morning and aftn; better in evening except for high BP readings.

      waiting for results of 24 hour urine test.
11. Carol says:

    September 20, 2011 at 7:18 am

    Amazing to read all your posts!! So I can join the Club?!! Started 8 years ago, nurse at my new doctors took BP. It was in the 150/ 80 range. Ended up in hospital, due to anxiety at being unable to control it, and put on the usual combo. Like most of you, just made me so much worse, everything they gave me made things worse.
    In the end I really had to stop all meds saying I would prefer to drop dead than go through what I was going through. That was 7 years ago. Since then I have regularly taken my BP with a cuff monitor but have always checked it with the arm monitor at the docs and it is correct but am thinking of buying an arm monitor. I have found, sitting at computer or in a chair can rise my BP significantly. Stand up and it goes down immediately!! Lie down and it goes down even more!! I did think I had some kind of vascular problem in the stomach area cos of this. I also can go as low as 83/54 albeit rarely, and this year reached my record high on one occasion 202/135 62. I have been told the pulse rate of heart compensates for the highs, have also seen somewhere that you take the diastolic from the pulse rate or the other way around to give indication of ….I forget what!! Find BP goes down with less food eaten. Am at moment walking with determination every day and eating only fruits and vegetables salads etc. Not sure how long I can keep it up . Definitely have “anxiety” problems where the least stress rises it remarkably. Nurses everywhere comment on how high it is but when I get home it goes down !! I do not sweat but have what they term IBS being investigated at moment, as I have considered all along chemicals causing the BP rise , eg tumours etc. Had to stop the running test they give you as although “nothing wrong with your heart” I could run forever! the BP dropped so low at resting , they did not want to carry on with the test! They do do screenings privately here in England and I have missed two opportunities to participate in them( have to pay) but I will definitely pay if they come to the area again. In the meantime I eat healthily, exercise and pray!!!!

    Reply
12. Carol says:

    September 20, 2011 at 6:11 pm

    Wikipedia give a lengthy and interesting account of BP but we are all individual and also remember to have high BP readings must be CONSTANTLY high same witn low.

    “In practice, each individual’s autonomic nervous system responds to and regulates all these interacting factors so that, although the above issues are important, the actual arterial pressure response of a given individual varies widely because of both split-second and slow-moving responses of the nervous system and end organs. These responses are very effective in changing the variables and resulting BP from moment to moment.”

    Reply
13. Carol says:

    September 22, 2011 at 6:15 am

    “The difference between the systolic and diastolic blood pressure is referred to as pulse pressure; if the number chronically exceeds 60, advanced atherosclerosis is usually present.”

    Reply
14. fbk says:

    October 4, 2011 at 3:58 am

    kellie and steve….your blogs and posts are saving my life….thank you so much….
    ferne

    Reply
15. Kimberly says:

    November 30, 2011 at 7:50 am

    Hi All!

    I found this site, and thought you might think about another possible aspect of this problem.

    I have always been “petite”, until recently..I’m now having edema from my problems, but not “pitting”.
    I was a runner who had very low BP (90/60) until I started having back and neck problems about 15 years ago (at 40). . I found myself making more trips to the Dr’s office, neurologist, physiatrist, etc. My BP reading was usually 140/90 there, while in pain. For awhile, they attributed it to anxiety, but I’m so laid back I could be mistaken for dead. Finally, my GP put me on Lisinopril and HCTZ. No one could figure out why my neck was giving off the charts surface EMG readings with a “normal” MRI, etc. I had awful headaches, nausea, pain and spasms that the doctors thought twice about doing trigger point injections (said they were afraid the needle would break- the muscle was so tight). I moved to a larger area a few years ago, and my new GP noticed my BP readings were relative to my pain levels. She decided to only leave me on HCTZ, feeling that lowering my BP too much was just as harmful as these spikes. I don’t take pain meds regularly, and on “good” days my BP is 118/68-80 now. My pain “episodes” have gotten progressively worst and more frequent. I went to the ER last month with a BP of 191/117. The ER Dr. said this was much more common than they’d originally thought, and felt the weather was playing a part with barometric pressure change. I hadn’t told him this was my main problem, because every other time I’d mentioned it to medical people, they’d say, “Oh, that’s just an old wive’s tale”. But, these “episodes” ALWAYS come right before a thunderstorm. The closest I can find is some sort of autonomic disorder, rather than what he called “hyperactive spine”. He only gave me an anti nausea pill and pain medicine. Within the next 30 minutes, my BP dropped to 150/90, and the next morning was back to 118/70.
    I had another MRI recently, this time one of the upright varieties. A neurosurgeon a few years ago thought it might be some sort of compression, and an upright MRI might be beneficial. It apparently was, I have a slightly compressed spinal cord at 3 cervical levels, it didn’t show when I was laying down for the other MRI’s(lying also relieved my pain). So, I think that the barometric pressure changes causes just enough more compression to set off these problems?

    Another possible cause, if you are having neck issues. I got the impression they’re still learning about interrupted signals that cause your autonomic (controls BP, temp, etc) system to do odd things..

    Hope you all are feeling well today!

    Kimberly

    Reply
16. Trevor says:

    November 30, 2011 at 7:14 pm

    I have been having erratic blood pressure in the mornings that I feel I have a sinus headache and after taking sinus x2 tabs, I feel better very soon with headache gone and blood pressure perfect and after a Google search I found this is linked to the carotid artery that supplies blood to the neck/head and can be a very dangerous condition.

    Reply
17. Lesley Humphreys says:

    March 30, 2012 at 9:00 am

    I haven’t had erratic BP but I was on Atenolol for years – then I started having a good amount of coconut oil in my diet and now my BP is ‘normal’. I got the doctor’s permission to stop the Beta blockers. It might be worth trying coconut oil; unlike the prescription meds it has no side effects and does help to reverse a great many debilitating conditions.

    Reply
18. Katiana says:

    April 12, 2012 at 10:51 am

    Hi all. Daniel’s struggles match mine.Today I was 167/116 hr 107.On a good day my systolic ranges from 115-130,my diastolic is almost always over 90.Usually its around 100,my heart rate can go from 70 after just waking to 110 just standing or doing normal activities.My peculiar situation though is that I’m a 26 year old female who struggles to stay over 100 lbs.I have kidney problems as well and no insurance,no Dr I have seen will listen to me just because of my age I guess.What is happening to me?

    Reply
19. Brian says:

    April 24, 2012 at 10:25 am

    Just glad to know I am not alone. At 27 I have been dealing with erratic BP for nearly a decade. I’m a heavy set guy 5′8″ with weight ranging from 185-220 during this period. Always been very active with sports and exercise so I’m not a couch potato just a stocky guy. I have had extended periods of no symptoms and stretches of months on months where I’ve experienced numerous symptoms from dizziness to extreme fatigue, sweating, heart pounding, chills, nausea you name it. BP during these episodes is usually in the 160-180/90-110 range. Have been on & off meds and also had an ablation performed at 19 when the tachycardia was at it’s peak. Currently on 10mg norvasc & was percribed 10 mg lisinopril on top of that today which when taken together resulted it bouts of postural hypo & hypertension which landed me in the ER. Doctor’s have no idea where to start. They are attempting to control the BP but I’m certain there is an underlying cause to the madness? Have returned to my cardiologist at different points but nothing has shown up since they performed my ablation several years back? Just venting my frustrations here. I know people have varying beliefs but you all will definitely be in my prayers because I fully understand this struggle

    Reply
20. Grace says:

    April 30, 2012 at 3:01 am

    I have been having similar issues with my 17 year old daughter. Sweating, tired, erratic high BP and heart rate, headaches, and stomach pain. One doctor told us to look into pheochromocytoma – tumors on the addrenal glands. We are currently going through testing now. It is very rare and normally does not show in children so the pedicatrician is not quite on board witht his. We’ll see.

    Reply
21. Linda says:

    May 9, 2012 at 12:31 pm

    Hi,

    I’ve struggled with high and low blood pressure for years. At times I’ve given up on prescriptions totally.

    My current theory is that many of our problems are insulin resistance based, which in turn leads to inflammation.

    Please read the following informative article and see if any of it sits right with your problems. It is a good starting point for research into erratic blood pressure problems.

    http://www.my-health-software.com/view/items/erratic-readings.html

    Reply