|
Post by ironingboard on Nov 28, 2012 16:42:27 GMT -5
What information is out there about spikes in blood pressure due to anxiety? Are there ways around it? What tricks work?
|
|
|
Post by idoitforthepong on Nov 29, 2012 12:03:57 GMT -5
Sorry to hear you have that problem...can make getting into studies hard as i'm sure you know. I would say try to give yourself ample time to get seated and comfortable with the tech or whoever is doing the vitals. Ask to do blood pressure last if you can so you can do some deep breathing or quick meditation techniques to get your pressure down.
Also If they are taking it in an environment with people running around and making conversation, joking around etc ask if you can have it taken in a closed door setting.
AND If you can get a study that supines you for vitals (sometime ten minutes prior) that would be the easiest to calm you i would think. Good luck
|
|
|
Post by travelingrat on Dec 1, 2012 16:23:14 GMT -5
hi, that is a bummer that your BP spikes. i had an experience once of my BP going to 154/over 90...usually it is 115/75. they knew me and were very nice about it ... told me to go try to pee (they said that might help), had me lie down for another 20 minutes. they took it again and it had gone down to 134. i had had several paper cups of icy water right before they got the 154 reading. now i never drink that icy water in the coolers when i screen. i don't know if this only applies to me but you might want to keep that in mind. i also do better if i have walked a bit about an hour before my screening appointment. good luck to you.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2012 11:18:14 GMT -5
Traveling, do you feel it was the coldness of the water or the water itself that caused your BP to spike?
I know that having a full bladder might increase your BP slightly, and peeing could help. I haven't ever heard anything about the temperature of water affecting it, but then I never really looked into it before either.
|
|
|
Post by travelingrat on Dec 5, 2012 12:12:47 GMT -5
hi, yes i think it must have been the icy water plus i rapidly drank 3 or maybe even 4 large paper cups from the water cooler.
it was a peculiar situation in that a nurse knew i had been waiting for a while, and when she walked by, she said, "oh, you should drink several cups of water so you will be able to do the urine sample with no problem." this is never a problem with me, but i try to dutifully follow what the staff wants me to do, so i drank the cups of icy water (while she watched!). right after that i was called for my BP etc. I have NEVER had a reading so high, anywhere!
i was very lucky in that this was a clinic where i was known and they went out of their way to see if my BP would come down, and it did.
i don't know for sure that the icy water caused the whole thing, but now i do not even drink one cup of it, let alone several!
|
|
|
Post by travelingrat on Dec 5, 2012 12:19:53 GMT -5
ironing board: also, i have another suggestion .... if you live in a big city, many times there are health screening fairs where they take one's BP for free. maybe if you go to as many as possible, you can practice relaxation techniques in a no-pressure setting. God knows, a screening can be very intense and high-pressure when we are desperate to get into a trial (i usually am!).
personnel at some large drugstore chains will also take one's BP for free as a public service if it is not too busy.
maybe also practice meditating once a day while you imagine your BP being taken.
again, best wishes to you.
|
|
|
Post by itsugly on Jan 10, 2013 15:11:33 GMT -5
I went through that soing fierce a few years ago, and it made it really hard for me to get into studies. Here's a dumb-sounding tip that worked wonders for me that I learned from a therapist who specialized in nervous system diss:
Sit relatively still and say the word "voooo" over and over in a low tone -- you should feel it vibrate in the back of your throat and a little lower down, maybe in your chest. (It rhymes with "stew.") Practice it -- the vibration you feel is a signal to your nervous system that everything is okay and to calm down, kind of like what happens when you pet a dog's back back-and-forth and it sits.
Anyway, practice this at home for a while, and you will find that it works. (You can verify it if you get a heart-rate monitor app for your smartphone -- try it before voooing and after, and you should notice that your body is at least a little bit more calm.) I still get a little bit of the white coat syndrome when screening (which I haven't done in a while), but it helps me lower my blood pressure and pulse to a level that will get me through the screening.
|
|
|
Post by carmel on Feb 1, 2013 6:26:59 GMT -5
I've yet to find a cure for this problem as I suffer from it also. You could be the healthiest person on the planet, and 10x healthier than anyone screening for the study. Yet your heart rate spikes the minute that cuff goes on which increases your BP. How frustrating. And those screener nurses/medics have no sympathy for you. They will just stand there and retake it and your BP is left to chance. It would be better if they gave you 20 minutes before taking again. But they will do it fairly quickly. 5 minutes in between at the most. It may go down on second try, and then go back up on the third try. You have 3 shots.
The problem lies in the current way in which medical facilities take blood pressure. It is an outdated od and very non reliable for accurate BP readings. Canada has these newer automated BP machines where your BP is taken once every minute. The nurse/medic leaves the room leaving you on your own. But this just isn't going to happen in a study. You have to beat this condition. I think the only way to do that is if you have better control of your brain. Read all you can about neuroscience.
I'm wondering if clinics would allow you to listen to music? Anyone tried that? Based on my research music helps. As long as it's positive music.
I like the ideas presented by travelingrat. Just to add what she said, when you visualize the process make sure it's very vivid. This is what I read in my research for information about anyone trying to overcome any event that is distressful. (It isn't really distressful for me to have my BP taken, but my brain evidently feels otherwise.) I don't think it's very likely that we will find a free health clinic... especially if we're not in a city. That being said, you can get free blood pressure readings at pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS. Some of them only have automated devices, so keep checking if you come across this. Just ask the Pharmacist if he'll take it. Whether this helps or not I don't know. Visualization might actually be better since you are not lying down in a clinical setting in the same type of atmosphere.
|
|
|
Post by laureljb on Mar 6, 2013 17:25:40 GMT -5
I experienced this for the first time, when I was screening for an $8800 study. I got myself so anxious about possibly NOT getting in it, that I created anxiety. I have never had high bp, but it spiked to 174/94. Ultimately, it eliminated me from the study. I am going to be 56 end of April, and I know at that time, my chances of getting into any more studies is slim to none. So, I was so worried, that it was my demise at that time.
|
|
|
Post by carmel on Mar 8, 2013 3:28:25 GMT -5
I have never had high bp, but it spiked to 174/94. Ultimately, it eliminated me from the study. Your bottom number (diastolic) seems a bit high to me. I've heard of the top number sky rocketing as high as yours for white coat syndrome, though. My top number (systolic) has reached as high as 150. But I had read several places that the bottom number stays normal. I'm not a medical professional, but you may want to check on that. My bottom number remains mostly unchanged when this happens. It's the top number that sky rockets with bottom number staying neutral which is as I understand very characteristic of white coat syndrome. What are your numbers like at home and on the road using those automatic BP readers at pharmacies? Mine is about 106/65 at home (via Omron arm cuff) and 118/76 via automatic machines at pharmacies. Ranges from 128/76 to 140/82 when a medical professional or pharmacist is taking it. So diastolic (bottom number) does go up slightly, but not significantly. I now know of a cure for this problem since writing my last post. Unfortunately it does cost a lot of money, but it will be worth it if it means not only getting into a study but also staying in a study. Because getting into a study is only half the battle.
|
|
|
Post by thegoliathfrog on Mar 12, 2013 12:39:27 GMT -5
You now know of a cure? That's great. What is the cure? I'd like to know.
|
|
|
Post by respect on Jun 29, 2018 11:31:07 GMT -5
What information is out there about spikes in blood pressure due to anxiety? Are there ways around it? What tricks work? An app you can experiment with to help control your vitals is Heart Rate By Camera. Try various breathing techniques using the app to practice leveling out your vitals. For the more advanced you want to experiment with the app while in the bathroom. Have you ever taken a dump and feel like you are passing out. Well that is because the stimulation of vagus nerve can affect both bp and hr. Use the app to get a sense of what happens when you press down to evacuate and adapt what you learn to your vitals setting. Make sure you are completely evacuated when you try this because an accident is not cool. Give me your feedback when you get into the study.
|
|
|
Post by bebaardefietser on Sept 14, 2018 14:14:41 GMT -5
Sorry to hear you have that problem...can make getting into studies hard as i'm sure you know. I would say try to give yourself ample time to get seated and comfortable with the tech or whoever is doing the vitals. Ask to do blood pressure last if you can so you can do some deep breathing or quick meditation techniques to get your pressure down. Also If they are taking it in an environment with people running around and making conversation, joking around etc ask if you can have it taken in a closed door setting. AND If you can get a study that supines you for vitals (sometime ten minutes prior) that would be the easiest to calm you i would think. Good luck
|
|
|
Post by deanamite on Mar 31, 2022 9:57:19 GMT -5
You now know of a cure? That's great. What is the cure? I'd like to know. I have been doing studies for years and recently developed a case of white syndrome. I am heart broken...sounds dramatic, but this income has really helped supplement our income. I only do studies a couple times a year. Someone posted that they know a cure. Did you ever find out what it is? I feel that I have tried about everything, but need to know if there's soing! The only time my bp is high is at research facility. My gosh this is so frustrating. Any tips or links would be greatly appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by FloridaGirl on Jun 17, 2022 5:22:27 GMT -5
I've yet to find a cure for this problem as I suffer from it also. You could be the healthiest person on the planet, and 10x healthier than anyone screening for the study. Yet your heart rate spikes the minute that cuff goes on which increases your BP. How frustrating. And those screener nurses/medics have no sympathy for you. They will just stand there and retake it and your BP is left to chance. It would be better if they gave you 20 minutes before taking again. But they will do it fairly quickly. 5 minutes in between at the most. It may go down on second try, and then go back up on the third try. You have 3 shots. The problem lies in the current way in which medical facilities take blood pressure. It is an outdated od and very non reliable for accurate BP readings. Canada has these newer automated BP machines where your BP is taken once every minute. The nurse/medic leaves the room leaving you on your own. But this just isn't going to happen in a study. You have to beat this condition. I think the only way to do that is if you have better control of your brain. Read all you can about neuroscience. I'm wondering if clinics would allow you to listen to music? Anyone tried that? Based on my research music helps. As long as it's positive music. I like the ideas presented by travelingrat. Just to add what she said, when you visualize the process make sure it's very vivid. This is what I read in my research for information about anyone trying to overcome any event that is distressful. (It isn't really distressful for me to have my BP taken, but my brain evidently feels otherwise.) I don't think it's very likely that we will find a free health clinic... especially if we're not in a city. That being said, you can get free blood pressure readings at pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS. Some of them only have automated devices, so keep checking if you come across this. Just ask the Pharmacist if he'll take it. Whether this helps or not I don't know. Visualization might actually be better since you are not lying down in a clinical setting in the same type of atmosphere.
|
|