I was going to do a separate post about my BP issue but yours is the catalyst to end the procrastination. Shortly after my DIL died and I was exposed to my son who I thought may have still had COVID, I had my then upcoming appointment changed to a tele-visit. I took my blood pressure so I could tell the doctor what it was and I was astonished because it was higher than I'd ever seen it...something like 176/121 & 160/109. I admitted that I hadn't always been taking my BP meds daily so my doctor wasn't too alarmed, Plus i told him I thought my machine may have been malfunctioning because it showed a couple of error messages in between those readings and I hadn't experienced any odd symptoms. In addition, I thought since I'd been under so much stress that could have caused it. I agreed to take the medicine faithfully.
FF to about 2 weeks ago I got a minor nosebleed out of the blue and was experiencing a low grade headache for a couple of days. I was pleasantly surprised to get an appointment for the next day. My BP was high again...190/109! When he took it again using a larger cuff, it went down to 145/95. Obviously still too high. I asked him if I was on the verge of having a stroke and he said he's not about to let that happen. He added Amlodipine and told me to take it twice daily but if my pressure got too low, take it once a day. I find that the medication has been causing me to be sleepy so I've been taking long naps during daylight hours. I decided to cut out the morning dose and am continuing to take the Olmesartan and HCTZ faithfully. Only problem with HCTZ, the water pill, is it's very inconvenient to take if I have somewhere to go, especially if bathrooms are not readily available. Two days after I started taking the medication, my pressure was 123/83 then 110/73 then 110/78. I should track my BP more often. I usually waited until my doctor visits 3 or 4 times a year at which time my BPs would be in the ranges of 120/80 - 123/78. I guess I'll need to keep better track at home now.
