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Menopause Matters magazine ISSUE 75 out now. (Spring issue, March 2024)

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Author Topic: Blood pressure  (Read 2360 times)

lizzog

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Blood pressure
« on: June 09, 2013, 08:13:08 PM »

I am totally baffled! My bp has always been on the low side, and have just been prescribed  midrodine to try and elevate it. I have been told I also have vasovagal syncope, which means my bp falls when I stand and have had stilt table test where I only lasted three minutes before passing out.
Being a completely paranoid hypochondriac I borrowed a friend's home bp machine. I took my bp three times over last 24 hours and my bp seems to be on the high side (about 134/84) so very reluctant to take this drug for obvious reasons...
Does anyone else get huge fluctuations in their bp? Is this menopause related?
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smudgesmum

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Re: Blood pressure
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2013, 08:08:00 PM »

Hmm those home BP checkers are notoriously unreliable as they need constant recalibration.

I too have low BP but when I become anxious it rises but have to say 134/84 is not very high.  I don't take medication but do have to be careful when getting out of bed or standing up too quickly.

I have also had a tilt test but they had to abandon it as I started to panic  ::)  If you are coping in yourself then you don't need to take medication if you decide not to... but you may need to speak to your GP about this or ask for a referral to a specialist as you may be in danger of passing out if not controlled properly which has all sorts of implications in itself.

I think it is meno related as my BP has always been on the low side of normal and has dropped a little through meno - I try to eat little and often now as this seems to help me a lot and I do get some odd symptoms sometimes like shelves seem to move in shops or a muzzy head feeling but I just try to sit down and do some deep breathing.

Try to get more specialised advice before you decide.

Good luck

Smudgesmum xx
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lizzog

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Re: Blood pressure
« Reply #2 on: June 11, 2013, 06:51:48 AM »

Spoke to the specialist nurse about it, and she advised the same. I took my first dose of midrodine yesterday at a low dose, and despite weird side effect of tingling scalp, felt a lot clearer mentally and slightly more energetic.
Hoping this continues! I've got a 24 bp monitor in July so will monitor things closely.
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