How many of you have a blood pressure monitor in your home? And how many of you take blood pressure readings yourself?
The reason I'm asking is because Tetsu's doctor recommended he buy a blood pressure monitor and check his blood pressure daily (or maybe it was twice a day.)
I think this is excessive... but I have little patience with medical issues... I think Tetsu should watch his diet and take his blood pressure medication and seeing those little numbers is just obsessing. But I'm in the minority here as I've asked Japanese friends too about their blood pressure monitoring and most of them have a machine in their home and occasionally use it or encourage their spouses to use it daily.
Tetsu's mother checks her blood pressure every time she stirs and that is definitely obsessive behavior! I shudder to think of Tetsu overlapping his mother's preoccupation.
"Well, the doctor told me to."
I know that my mother at 92 has never owned a blood pressure monitor... even though she too has high blood pressure.
I will probably buy Tetsu a machine.... just because his doctor told him that it might be a good idea... And because I love him and want to keep him healthy...
But I'd still be interested to know if this is a more regular activity than I thought it was...
22 comments:
I have high blood pressure and was told to get one too. By the grace of God, a nurse told my sister in law that raw garlic helps lower high blood pressure and it helped me so I now take one to two clove raw garlic a day and am off medication. I don't use the machine I bought cos it bruised my arms if I take more than ones a day everyday.
I chopped my garlic, scoop into a teaspoon and take with room temperature water. I also find that daily exercise where I sweat or my heart is pumping helps alot. As for diet, no to low salt, sugar, fat diet sure makes a difference. Fresh fruits and veg also makes a huge difference. If Tetsu likes garlic, then he can take them raw without water. Hope Tetsu feels better.
Grace, Tx
My husband has one. Checks his BP every morning. He had to prove to his Dr that he does NOT need BP Meds....Dr believes now.
No, we don't have a monitor, and I don't know anyone who does here in the UK, though perhaps that's just because nobody mentions it. The doctor checks it occasionally as does the nurse whenever I have a blood test and that seems to be quite enough checking. Luckily, neither of us has a problem. Checking my weight is quite enough to be going on with at home!
My mother has checked her blood pressure every morning for years on advice from her cardiac surgeon. Recently I started on advice of my GP. But neither of us are too obsessive and we miss some days! I think Tetsu is unlikely to become obsessive - he has you looking over his shoulder which is a God-given brake.
At times it is nice to have one. Here in Sweden it is not very common but since dear hubby is American we do own one. We mostly use it on my parents who have some health issues, so it comes in handy!
Hello, Tanya ;>)
I'm suffering from (very) high blood pressure + bad blood circulation and I was diagnosed about 10 years ago.
At that moment, the doctors advised me to buy that BP controller and to check it daily... A few weeks later, I realized this was making me even more nervous (and obsessive), which even made my BP go higher! So now I'm carefully taking my daily medications, try to stay on a soft diet (eg. lots of veggies, low fat, low salt & sugar, less meat and more fish. I'm also adding lots of garlic in my cooking and love it ;>) and try to have my daily 30 mins.walk as an exercise (I'm not very sportive).
I'm still overweight :>(( and I know loosing some 20 more pounds would help A LOT, yet I know a hard diet would not work long with me...
For the rest, I just check my BP every 2 months at my generalist : it's in the "average high" and stable.... I'm NOT using my BP controller anylonger and am quite happy like that.
I think this all depends on your temper : either you're easily anxious and then that BP controller will emphasize your nervousness... or you're the one who needs to control everything.
Hope this helps, Tanya.
XOXOXOOX
NADINE
I had one when I was first diagnosed with raised BP 15 years ago. It was useful because my BP tends to go up at the surgery! I haven't used it in years.
My brother-in-law has two ... so that he can check their accuracy! But he is a hypochondriac. Sadly it runs in the family, though my husband's BP is fine :D
At times both of my parents have checked their blood pressure at home. In both cases it was determined that the stress of juggling schedules to get to the doctor's appointment and getting to the appointment was temporarily elevating their blood pressure. Checking the blood pressure while they were calm at home demonstrated that they did not need medication. Now they typically take their blood pressure at home twice a day for a week or two before their annual check-ups.
Tanya, I have had high BP for years that was resistant to all medications. As a result I now have kidney disease. The good news is my kidney doctor was the one who found a medication that now controls my blood pressure. I do have a monitor that I have used for many years.
You don't say how high Tetsu's blood pressure is or if he is on medications, but it is important he knows his numbers. I say, follow the doctors's advice and take it once a day, but at different times during the day to get true readings.
Mary in PA
Hi Tanya,
Sorry to hear Tetsu has high BP. My husband has high BP too, but since he hates doctors and medications, he has found his own way to control it. Stay away from salt!Try to stay away from food that makes your BP go up (my husband reacts to aubergines and shrimps). For him, the best way to control it, is to drink fresh lemon juice daily, or when he feels the BP is not as it should be. Yes, we have that monitor, but never use it.
All the best!
I bought one when I first went on medication and, by checking it once in a.m. and once in p.m, it confirmed the medication was not working. After medication changed and tracking again for two weeks, it confirmed medication was working. Now only use it once in awhile to confirm everything still ok. I think it's a good thing to have and it doesn't take up much room in the bottom drawer of my dresser.
I like the fact that the one I bought confirmed the initial medication wasn't working and that the subsequent meds did. Now only check once in awhile to make sure meds still on track. It's a good thing to have and doesn't take up much room in bottom drawer of dresser.
I have a monitor but usually just use it for a week or two before my annual doctors appointment. And then mainly to show them that my BP isn't normally as high as it is in the doctors office. It always shoots up when I go there so I must suffer from "white coat syndrome." I take medication, but it's a generic version of an older drug and I know they would like to get me on something more expensive, which I don't need.
My current one is broken. I have had them for about 20 years, because I have what's known as White Coat Hypertension: it skyrockets when doctors or nurses take it. It's reassuring to see it so low, all the time, at home versus the crazy numbers I get at the doctor's office.
Go for a finger or wrist monitor--they're very easy to use.
There's actually a wrist monitor that's very simple to use and fits into a small box. I bought it in Japan years ago, and it's still working very well. Had to have it for first aid work at a summer camp, but it does come in handy just to check B/P once in a while at home.
we have a machine but use it rarely. I was on BP meds for a year after very high BP but with diet (South Beach Diet) I've brought it back to very low without meds.
PS..I've tried twice to make your rolled egg...any hints?
We have a blood pressure machine. We use it to occationally track our pressure. If my sweetie is feeling a little off we might check his BP. He is on BP medication and we don't want to risk his BP going too low.
To check every day is just a way to stir up unnecessary fear. Blood pressure isn.t static so if it would be any point in taking the bloodpressure it should be a 24 hour test with a digital monitor. Our doctors prescribe the test and the patient can borrow a monitor from the health care office. Ask Tetsu,s doctor if it is possible and you don,t have to buy a blood pressure monitor.
They ask you to take your blood pressure twice daily for a month and record it to get you so used to blood pressure reading that they can get a true reading.
Some people's blood pressure spikes at the sight of a blood pressure monitor in a doctor's office.'
spike
Very interesting reading today. I think it is common to own one in Japan because Sunday, a guy in the choir brought his for me to repair stitching that had given out. My husband has one too but I don't know if he uses it regularly. I have very low blood pressure EXCEPT in the doctor's office where it reads normal.
I was found to have enlarged heart tissue due to ongoing untreated high blood pressure. I started meds, exercise, and a healthy diet and took BP readings at the same time of day, every day. Once we could see meds were working, I took BP every other day. Tests now show my heart tissue has gone back to normal and I only take my BP at home once a week or if I feel bad. I think it's a good idea to own a machine to take your pressure at home when needed - keep records of the readings - it will show trends.
Beth in USA
My mother has one, the kind that fits on your wrist, which is easy to use and takes up very little space to store. She has blood pressure that dips and zooms and can go from an upper number of 65 to 180 in a single day (but she's 90 years old). It helps her to check her blood pressure when she's feeling dizzy or off-balance to separate whether it's her blood pressure bottoming out or the chronic vertigo that she also suffers from due to inner ear problems.
If Tetso's blood pressure is being treated it would be good to monitor to make sure his medication is working. If he has "white coat syndrome" where his blood pressure spikes in the doctor's office, it might be more accurate to check it in more friendly surroundings. (I speak from experience here - I'm not nervous going to the doctor but you can't tell my blood pressure that!)
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