More Medical Fun

[Jon Miller]

so I was feeling odd today (weak and with weird feelings in my chest) and had been feeling odd since sunday

on a hunch, and thinking about my high blood pressure sunday, I went to Health Services to get my blood pressure checked

the reading was 157/111

I than talked to a doctor there, who said I should go to the emergency room or go to be seen by Kaiser

not wanting to pay real large sums of money, I talked to Kaiser 3 times for 1 hour and 10 minutes duriing which I rechecked my blood pressure (same thing) and was told to wait and get an appointment the next day

finally I got one of the nurses that I was talking to (yuo have to get approved over the phone for emergencies which are not 'to the emergency room right now' ones) to talk to a doctor and I was told to come in as soon as possible

it took my 30 minutes longer to get there than I thought (40 minutes) because of traffic, during which I felt even worse (And paniced a lot)

my freind let me out, and I got to the place (after a little time of being dioreinted), where as usual they had no record of me

than people who knew I was coming found me, I had more blood prssure checks (usual was ~150/120)

my heart was checked some (I had told them it felt odd, but didn't really know how to communicate howit felt to them) because I think that they were afraid that it was messed up

I talked to a doctor some, who checked some stuff over (I don't really know what anything does)

I was given a blood pressure pill, and my blood pressure dropped to 130/101 where I was released to give some blood samples and return the next day

I am 22

last friday my blood pressure was checked and it was 120/83, which I had considered high at the time (and is high in general for me)

sunday it was 148/11? I tihnk, I don't remember, but I had not been too concerned because it seemed like it was just a result of the Pseudophedrine HCL overdose

but now this

this sucks, and I am still scared (Even though not as freaked as I was before I went into the hospital (of course I am feeling a better now))

I mean, I ahve been sick a lot recently, and so have not exercised much in a month or so

but I don't take the elevators, I take the stairs (and I am on the fourth floor so I do that often), I walk to school, walk to food, walk to most everything else, I am a vegeterrian and while I don't eat super healthily, I also don't eat incredibly poorly

and now I am on
Gen Keflex (Cephalexin 250 MG) - ear
Gen Tenormin (Atenolol 50 MG) - blood pressure
Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Hydrocortisone Otic Solution USP - ear

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

shower eat and doctor again

I hope this goes well

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

(does no one here have high blood pressure? I expected more advice)

JOn Miller

[Japher]

Drink lots of Red Wine?

My father has high blood pressure, and mine is starting to creep up.

The blood work will tell if it is a cholesterol problem. If so they should be able to give you something to address that, instead of just thinning out your blood. Hopefully it's not a heart problem.

I have a heart murmur, and am told that if my blood pressure gets too high I could have some serious problems, thus I need to watch what I eat (little carbs, the only carbs I get is through beer).

Not sure, but being a veggie could cause some problems. Does your doctor know your a vegitarian? Maybe you need to see a nutritionist, though I am sure your probably good at getting everything you need.

Don't exercise too much without consulting your doctor about it.

[SpencerH]

I'm not an expert on blood pressure so take this with a grain of salt. But heres something to think about. One of the things I've noticed is that my blood pressure can go up fairly dramatically when I've got an infection. About a year ago I had a sinusitis and went to see my GP for an antibiotic. My blood pressure was up to 140/85! Now I've always had 'white coat hypertension', and I knew that a regular size cuff (that is too small for my arm) would artificially raise my BP, but that seemed high even for me. I bought my own BP reader and started checking it daily. Within two weeks my BP was back to 120/80 and has stayed there over the last year except when I have an infection.

My best guess is that these types of infections (I have a lot of sinusitis and upper respiratory inffections) causes me to retain water (usually 2-3 lbs) and may also constrict the blood vessels for a while which raises BP.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
(does no one here have high blood pressure? I expected more advice)

Well, I am around 50 years old, and over 100lbs overweight, and mine hang around 125 over 70, so I will just opine that you are ****ed somehow.

[Dr Strangelove]

You need to get your hypertension treated for the sake of your long term health, but the levels you're having will not pop the blood vessels in your brain and make you do an F.D.R. If you don't get your blood pressure lowered then over a matter of many years the formation of atherosclerosis in the arteries to your brain, heart, kidneys, and legs will be accelerated and you may have a stroke, heart attack, renal failure or loss of circulation in a leg or two. We're generally talking about decades here.
You can start the treatment of your hypertension by reducing the salt in your diet an, if you are overweight, by losing some weight too. Stop adding salt to your food, but you may use salt substitutes. Avoid certain inherently salty foods like pickled foods, ham, snacks, and canned foods. Within a few weeks your blood pressure may go down on its own. If it does you should continue the low salt diet indefinitely. Losing as little as 5 to 10 pounds also has been known to bring high blood pressure under control, but only if you're already overweight. At least an average of 30 minutes exercise 3 times a week can help too.
If diet and exercise fails then you may need medicine.

[Guynemer]

What he said.

[alva]

Get a pet, it's been proved they lower your bloodpressure
A new hobby can help too, hmm, how about some gardening

[Jon Miller]

my blood pressure was normal when I went in today (And it had better be with the blood pressure medicine I took)

it was normal last friday, this is something strange

I bought a blood pressure testing kit, than I can check it

I would like to go off the Meds

the Meds were good for yesterday, but I am hoping that they are(were) unneeded for today, tomorrow, and the future

I will see the doctor (who I saw yesterday) on monday, saw one today who just made sure nothing was wrong on my blood tests and that my pressure was ok and sent me away

I am slightly overweight (about 25 pounds), don't exercise enough (walk to and from school and up stairs, ect), am vegeterrian and try to eat healthily but eat out a lot (And so don't always)

I am one of the least stressful people I know, and I don't like salty foods

does anyone know about the Med I mentioned? is there any adverse affects for dropping it?

it did wonders for me yesterday (took me from feeling weak, funny (not very discriptive but I don't know how to describe it) and disoreinted to feeling close to fine in 30 minutes (both numbers dropped by 20))

Jon Miller

[Dr Strangelove]

It's a beta-blocker. While you're taking it you won't be able to test any new games. That's probably why you're feeling better, the anticipation of being dissapointed was just too much for your system to handle, and the "freak out" center in your hypothalamus went on the fritz.

On a more serious note, beta-blockers act to reduce the effect of adrenalin like substances from stimulating certain tissues. At one time we thought that the blood pressure lowering effect was mediated by the blockage of stimulation in the heart and blood vessels, but it turns out that the effect on blood pressure is actually mediated in the kidneys.

Do not take this stuff on a "when I feel like I need it" basis. The medicine is supposed to be taken daily. Be aware that you won't always know when your blood pressure is up. The majority of people afflicted by high blood pressure have no symptoms stemming from their high blood pressure usually, so relying on your feeling is not advisable. You also should be made aware of the fact that people taking beta blockers can have a "rebound" effect when they stop taking their medicine suddenly. Their blood pressure can rise precipitously to the point of becoming a medical emergency.

You might someday be able to go off the medicine, but wait for your doctor to tell you that you can quit. I notice that you're on keflex and antibiotic ear drops. Do you have an ear infection? If your blood pressure wasn't elevated before you developed the ear infection, then it is possible for discomfort to drive the blood pressure up.

[Nubclear]

I once had 200/120

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
It's a beta-blocker. While you're taking it you won't be able to test any new games. That's probably why you're feeling better, the anticipation of being dissapointed was just too much for your system to handle, and the "freak out" center in your hypothalamus went on the fritz.

On a more serious note, beta-blockers act to reduce the effect of adrenalin like substances from stimulating certain tissues. At one time we thought that the blood pressure lowering effect was mediated by the blockage of stimulation in the heart and blood vessels, but it turns out that the effect on blood pressure is actually mediated in the kidneys.

Do not take this stuff on a "when I feel like I need it" basis. The medicine is supposed to be taken daily. Be aware that you won't always know when your blood pressure is up. The majority of people afflicted by high blood pressure have no symptoms stemming from their high blood pressure usually, so relying on your feeling is not advisable. You also should be made aware of the fact that people taking beta blockers can have a "rebound" effect when they stop taking their medicine suddenly. Their blood pressure can rise precipitously to the point of becoming a medical emergency.

You might someday be able to go off the medicine, but wait for your doctor to tell you that you can quit. I notice that you're on keflex and antibiotic ear drops. Do you have an ear infection? If your blood pressure wasn't elevated before you developed the ear infection, then it is possible for discomfort to drive the blood pressure up.

thanks for the info

I will talk to the doctor monday, try to develope a plan to get off of it

I did not have high blood pressure before saturday, it was near normal friday

my dad was on high blood pressure meds, than dropped it and was fine (this was a few years before his death)

I have a blood pressure tester, which I would be much happier using on a daily basis than the pills (I am an anti pill sort of guy)

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

I am hoping that the rise (which has probably been there from at least sunday, but deffinitely not since friday) is caused by a numbeer of factors which will not normally be the case

such as

pain
illness
coffee (that would only hold for wednesday, but it was wednesday when I was feeling weak and very poor)
other things that raise blood pressure

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

can I still drink alcohol?

can I still play basketball

Jon Miller

[Dr Strangelove]

Be sure to remember to tell your doctor from whom you got your information, me, Dr. Strangelove. If he's not familiar with me remind him that I was the guy who came up with the plan to save humanity from extinction by having a select few weather out doomsday by hiding out in deep mineshafts.

[Jon Miller]

ha ha ha ha

Jon Miller

[Jon Miller]

I just remember her telling me

no modrin/Aleve
no caffienne
no pseudopherine

Jon Miller