Those office visit bp tests and blood draws.

treeguy64

treeguy64

Hari Om, y'all!
Location
Austin, TX.
There was nothing more frustrating, for me, than to go to my MD for a visit and be seen by a nurse who immediately started to hook me up for a blood pressure test. When I told her I didn't want the test there was always an argument, of sorts, and then she had to get the doctor. I patiently explained that I'd been waiting to see the doctor, my appointment was for a half hour ago, and I'm not in a great mood. That makes my blood pressure go up a few points, right there. Then, I explained that my arm is very sensitive to the pressure of the cuff and the pain it causes since I have a plate and screws right where they place the cuff. I ask that the cuff not be goosed up over 160 mmHg, and they ALWAYS pumped it to 220! I'm in pain for the next three to four days. Guess what? The results indicate elevated bp. Yuh thaynk? The above scenario played out too often. I take my bp at home several times a week. I average 110/70 with a 72 bpm heart rate. If you go by what your office visit bp shows, I guarantee that they'll get you on bp meds, ASAP. You don't need them, odds are. I now bring my own bp testing gear with me. It amuses the nurse and she accepts the reading. If you are uptight at your doctor's office, if you don't like how tight they make the cuff, I guarantee the reading they get will not represent your average bp. It never represented mine!

As for the blood tests they run, be aware that cholesterol and trig levels are very dependent on what you've eaten in the preceding twenty-four to forty-eight hours before the test. Don't pig out on steak and eggs right before your blood profile is run, or they'll get you on meds for chol and trig control, as well, and, once again, you probably won't need them unless you regularly eat bad foods. Even then, modify your diet, have some self-control and stay off the meds!
 

i have the same problem with my doctor i have to set there 2 hours before they call you back ---my blood pressure is always high you cant get an appointment til after breakfast so you have alredy eaten if i could find another doctor i sure would change but there isnt any more arround where i live
 

I know how you feel ! My old doc used an automatic machine --- that thing pumped it up so hard , my hand turned purple & went numb. When I said something , the reply was "Sorry" . I had to take the freeway to his office and climb 2 flights of stairs - no wonder my pressure was so high ! I quit this guy and now I see a doc 10 minutes away from my house .
The old doc put me on blood pressure meds ( of course ). It makes me wonder if I really need them. Treeguy64 ,you give good advice !
 
Last edited:
nvtribefan said:
Some possible solutions.

Schedule the first appointment of the day.
Have them test the other arm.
Fast before your blood draw.
Click to expand...

First appointments are what I go for, but I'm still kept waiting. "The doctor had an emergency," usually.
The other arm is just as sensitive to excessive pressure.
Fasting would have to be done for a few days, prior to the test, to clear the influence of foods eaten. I am vegan, so my results are always very low. However, one time I ate a piece of birthday cake that had eggs and butter in it and, the next day, had a blood draw. Results were way off my baseline. My MD at the time, a great guy I lost because of Obamacare, called me and we figured out what had happened. He was the one who told me how those tests are not great for long-term predictability.
 
Toomuchstuff said:
I know how you feel ! My old doc used an automatic machine --- that thing pumped it up so hard , my hand turned purple & went numb. When I said something , the reply was "Sorry" . I had to take the freeway to his office and climb 2 flights of stairs - no wonder my pressure was so high ! I quit this guy and now I see a doc 10 minutes away from my house .
The old doc put me on blood pressure meds ( of course ). It makes me wonder if I really need them. Treeguy64 ,you give good advice !
Click to expand...

Thanks, TMS! You may want to get a bp kit for your home. Get one where YOU control how much you pump it up. Then, you want the process to be automated AFTER the inflation stage. I have one of those. Great unit. If you can stand, put the unit at chest height, on a shelf, with your hand and wrist comfortably resting on that shelf. Run the test. You may be pleasantly surprised and be able to gradually wean yourself from the bp meds, with your doc's help. Best of luck to you!
 
I don't have high Blood pressure to begin with but I do have white coat syndrome and if I'm anxious on a particular visit my pulse and BP will be higher.

My dr will then take it again at the end of my visit and it's usually back to normal. I have a wrist type cuff at home and that one tends to read a little lower than the arm one at the drs.
 
O.K. Here's why they have to pump it up so hard.

When he listens with the stethoscope, the sound of the blood pumping has to stop. That's the first reading.
Then he lets the air out gradually and listens for when the blood starts pumping again. That's the second reading.

But I often wonder. What if the doc is hard of hearing?

I have an electronic unit and he recommended I take it with me to check against his readings.

It's right on.
 
Camper6 said:
O.K. Here's why they have to pump it up so hard.

When he listens with the stethoscope, the sound of the blood pumping has to stop. That's the first reading.
Then he lets the air out gradually and listens for when the blood starts pumping again. That's the second reading.

But I often wonder. What if the doc is hard of hearing?

I have an electronic unit and he recommended I take it with me to check against his readings.

It's right on.
Click to expand...

The blood stops pumping, under the stethoscope, when the cuff is pumped up to the first number's pressure on your reading, the systolic pressure. Anything above that is overkill, except for a few extra clicks to give the reader/listener a silence baseline. Routinely pumping to 220 is absurd and quite painful to people like me.
 
treeguy64 said:
The blood stops pumping, under the stethoscope, when the cuff is pumped up to the first number's pressure on your reading, the systolic pressure. Anything above that is overkill, except for a few extra clicks to give the reader/listener a silence baseline. Routinely pumping to 220 is absurd and quite painful to people like me.
Click to expand...

I see your point. My doctor just pumps up to when he can't hear the pulse. He doesn't routinely just go to 220.
 
I've also heard of something known as "white-coat anxiety"- some people are so nervous abut visiting the doctor that their blood pressure increases without any reason.

I'll add in the only blood-pressure incident I ever experienced, though, in case it could be helpful to someone: my blood pressure has always been a shade on the low side, so I was mindboggled when the readings were quite high one time. Turned out the temporary increase was due to eating quantities of black licorice. I knew black licorice is a natural blood-thinner, but did not know it increased blood pressure.
 
JaniceM said:
I've also heard of something known as "white-coat anxiety"- some people are so nervous abut visiting the doctor that their blood pressure increases without any reason.

I'll add in the only blood-pressure incident I ever experienced, though, in case it could be helpful to someone: my blood pressure has always been a shade on the low side, so I was mindboggled when the readings were quite high one time. Turned out the temporary increase was due to eating quantities of black licorice. I knew black licorice is a natural blood-thinner, but did not know it increased blood pressure.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Different things, effect different people, differently. That's why personally tailored medications and treatments are certainly the wave of the future. The "one size fits all" approach is going down the tube, as it should. In the old days, before I became vegan, eating eggs would give me palpitations that were scary as hell, yet most people eat eggs with no problem at all.
 

Back
Top