re: Anyone in their 40s taking blood pressure meds?

quote:

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Doctors and nurses always pawned it off on "you must get nervous coming to the doctor, your blood pressure is high". They were the experts, I believed them.


They weren't wrong in that white coat syndrome is real and fairly common. That is why doctors will often tell you to buy a blood pressure monitor and chart your BP at home. That is probably what they should have done.

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That's what happened to me. I would get high readings but I could feel my nerves. High initial reading, the doc would take it after we chatted and it would be mostly normal. I started to get concerned and went back specifically to try to see what was real and what was in my head. I tracked it myself for 3 months and had a follow-up. He looked at my numbers, checked my home machine to "calibrate" and said "these look great... you're fine"

I just went to the dentist and it was very high. I checked it twice this morning before going and it was perfect.

I can't totally shake the lab coat syndrome, but at least I am understanding it better.