Top or bottom? (and a PSA)

OK, get your mind out of the gutter…we’re talking blood pressure numbers!  The last week and a half was one I’m happy to soon forget regarding this topic.  Here’s the cliff note version:

My normally regular blood pressure and resting pulse skyrocketed.  (Spoiler:  I’m fine!!)

I wasn’t feeling so fine during this rollercoaster week or so.  For anyone who knows Blood Pressure 101, we typically strive for 120’s/80’s.  And since everyone is different, I have typically recorded lower numbers (the runner in me).  So when my numbers suddenly spiked and hung out at 150’s and 160’s (top number) with 90’s and 100’s (bottom number) and a resting pulse of double (peaked at 101), I paid attention.

My new BFF

I also paid attention when last Saturday, the spike reached 166/108 and included a headache and some nagging pain/cramp-feeling in my left shoulder.  I now entered panic-mode.  I thought for sure my next breath would send me into a heart attack or stroke.  A call to Mom calmed me down and a prompt trip to the ER ensued.

My bodyguard Scott's ER hall pass

After several hours of monitoring, an EKG, and extensive bloodwork, the ER medical team was left scratching their heads.  I did tell them as part of my intake ‘interview’ that my doctor had prescribed a medication for me just 2 weeks ago.  Everyone had the same reaction:  “I’ve never heard of that impacting blood pressure”.  After consistently acceptable blood pressure readings and, according to the ER supervising physician, a “boring” EKG, they sprung me.  I chewed on a handful of aspirin….just in case.

Held my breath each time the DART departed or arrived

Nothing is more frustrating than feeling unwell and being told you’re “fine”.  Don’t get me wrong, I am eternally grateful to be "fine", for the medical team, and have a new appreciation for what goes on there on a Saturday.   But now what?

Here’s where I decided to trust my gut -

I took myself off the new prescription.  Within a day or two, I watched my numbers plummet to normal territory again and have watched them stay where they belong. 

Oh, and the blog title?  My 108 number of last Saturday was on the bottom; my 108 number one week post-ER was on the top.  Exactly where it should be.

Things I learned from this scary experience:

• Don’t ever ignore or allow your brain to explain/rationalize symptoms that throw a warning flag off in you.
• Don’t ever be so desperate for relief (of whatever ailment you’re experiencing) that you don’t research all of the medication’s potential side effects.
• Do trust your gut.  You may not be an MD, but you know your body better than anyone.
• Do familiarize yourself (women) - symptoms of heart attack can present very differently than how they present with men. 
• Do ask for help/support.  I’ve never felt so afraid in my life and I had family & friends calm me down and help me not feel like a crybaby.

And now?  I think I’ll keep the blood pressure cuff out just a little bit longer.  I sense another blood pressure spike coming…as soon as the insurance deductible, ER, and aspirin bills start rolling in!!

Stay well friends!