Whitecoat BP help?

I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

On 2003-11-16 11:01:28 -0800, (Pong543) said:

I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

Relax. That's it. It works for me.

Pong543 wrote:
I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

Since you are asking this in r.a.p., I'll guess that your question
means: "I don't really have high blood pressure, but my readings
at the doctor's office say I do and that means I may have trouble
with my medical." An alternative meaning, had this been asked in
sci.med, might be "My BP is high in the office but not at home;
do I have high blood pressure?"

People with elevated readings in the office but normal in other
settings, "white coat hypertension", typically have cardiovascular
risks somewhere between people who read normal in the office and
those who are always hypertensive.

If you are trying to convince an AME that your elevated readings
are not actual hypertension (and so not a problem for the FAA),
I would think that getting 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure
monitoring might be the answer. I have no idea what the FAA thinks
about this issue, but from a medical standpoint it's a good way
to distinguish real from white coat hypertension.

--
David Rind

great answer..

BT

"David Rind" wrote in message
...
Pong543 wrote:
I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal,
but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

Since you are asking this in r.a.p., I'll guess that your question
means: "I don't really have high blood pressure, but my readings
at the doctor's office say I do and that means I may have trouble
with my medical." An alternative meaning, had this been asked in
sci.med, might be "My BP is high in the office but not at home;
do I have high blood pressure?"

People with elevated readings in the office but normal in other
settings, "white coat hypertension", typically have cardiovascular
risks somewhere between people who read normal in the office and
those who are always hypertensive.

If you are trying to convince an AME that your elevated readings
are not actual hypertension (and so not a problem for the FAA),
I would think that getting 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure
monitoring might be the answer. I have no idea what the FAA thinks
about this issue, but from a medical standpoint it's a good way
to distinguish real from white coat hypertension.

--
David Rind

(Pong543) wrote in message ...
I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

Eat lightly that morning, lay off anything with caffine for a day or
so prior, take a good book with you and arrive early. I found that I
could run my BP up twenty or more points by just running late to the
appointment. Even with the nasty schedule that I have now, I just
arrange to arrive early enough to do any paperwork they need and to
have a 20-30 minute window to unwind and relax. Most of the time the
nurses have to come over and wake me up I'm so relaxed.

My cardiologist swears that caffine doesn't have a big effect on BP,
but I can point to that being the only change that I made in a 12 week
time period, and my BP dropped a little more than 25 points in that
same time. He claims it is my imagination or just that the meds were
catching up, but at that time I had been on the exact same dosage for
a little over 18 months, so I seriously doubt it had anything to do
with the meds.

Craig C.

On 16 Nov 2003 14:06:18 -0800, (Craig) wrote:

(Pong543) wrote in message ...
I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?
assuming your bp is generally normal;
get one 0.1mg Clonidine, take 1/2 tab 2 hrs before trip to AME, take
bp before leaving-should be 110/60. At AME it will be normal.

just kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On 16 Nov 2003 14:06:18 -0800, (Craig) wrote:

(Pong543) wrote in message ...
I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

Eat lightly that morning, lay off anything with caffine for a day or
so prior, take a good book with you and arrive early. I found that I
could run my BP up twenty or more points by just running late to the
appointment. Even with the nasty schedule that I have now, I just
arrange to arrive early enough to do any paperwork they need and to
have a 20-30 minute window to unwind and relax. Most of the time the
nurses have to come over and wake me up I'm so relaxed.

My cardiologist swears that caffine doesn't have a big effect on BP,
but I can point to that being the only change that I made in a 12 week
time period, and my BP dropped a little more than 25 points in that
same time. He claims it is my imagination or just that the meds were
catching up, but at that time I had been on the exact same dosage for
a little over 18 months, so I seriously doubt it had anything to do
with the meds.

Perhaps you should get a new cardiologist. Caffeine certainly DOES raise
blood pressure -- systolic and diastolic can easily go up 10 poits after 2-3
cups of tea or coffee.

Your cardiologist may have meant to say that this should not be worrisome,
but to say there should be no effect is just straight nonsense.


Craig C.

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 21:54:19 -0500, "Jay Somerset"
wrote:

On 16 Nov 2003 14:06:18 -0800, (Craig) wrote:

(Pong543) wrote in message ...
I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?


I have found many times, that if you also take you BP at the end of
the visit (assuming no bad news) you will find that it will closer to
your normal readings.

10 mg of Valium should do the trick.... ;-)

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL

Pong543 wrote:

I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal, but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

"Pong543" wrote in message
...
I take my blood pressure at home (monitor is accurate) and it is normal,
but
everytime I go to the doctor or AME I get nervous as hell and my BP goes
skyhigh. Anyone have any good tips to overcome this?

Do a search for bio-feedback.
--
Jim in NC