There’s already a thread on this topic, but I don’t feel like hijacking it.
SO I recently went to the doctor, and in the office, my blood pressure was 140/60. The doctor wrote me a prescription for BP medication. My mom flat out refused to put me on it, but the doctor said all diabetics should be on it, and my high BP was even more reason to take it.
I’m only 18 years old, and not overweight… idk it just kinda seems weird that I would get put on a medication usually reserved for older people.
The thing is though, I think it was just nerves. I could feel the adrenalin start pumping as soon as he put the band on my arm (I don’t go to the doctor very often). I would assume that the reading was probably temporarily spiked.
So my question is, should I start taking the medication based off of one test? or should I maybe get a 2nd opinion?
Dr’s love to put us on those. There are a few other discussions on here about people takign them/refusing to take them. Search for discussions on ace inhibitors. Ace inhibitors are designed to keep your blood pressure lower to help prevent organ damage. Abnormally high blood sugars (Normal is like between 80 and 100) cause organ damage. High blood pressure also causes organ damage. I think that is the theory behind it.
Blood Pressure monitors are fairly inexpensive and available at drug stores. I would suggest you obtain one and begin to monitor your BP at home. Set up 2 or 3 times per day when you can monitor your BP, write the numbers down, and see if you are able to find any trend that may be of concern.
While I am no longer 18 (still think I am, but that’s another story!), I too would have higher than normal readings when I saw my doctor. He was aware, but my numbers were not significantly over what was considered “normal.” So I began to check my own BP at home, and found that I would consistantly read on the higher end to just above normal. I requested to begin on BP meds, which I have continued and now maintain a “normal” BP.
So for your (and your Mom’s) peace of mind, that may be an easy solution to really determine if BP meds are indicated for you.
i think the reading you posted is not high enough to be put on high blood pressure meds.
the only scenario i can think of why he put you on high bp meds is that he is trying to protect your kidneys.
there is a class of drugs called ace-inhibitors which can protect people’s kidneys (whether they have high blood pressure or not).
do you have any kidney issues as well?
what is the name of the drug he gave you? it might be an ace-inhibitor
i would ask him these 3 specific questions
do i have high blood pressure (he should actually get you to come back in a week to confirm the reading before making a diagnosis
are you just trying to protect my kidneys
how are my kidney lab results.
if you really dont have high blood pressure (that reading is not that high), or bad kidney lab results, you really don’t need to be on medication: as you are young and should be given a chance to change thiongs yourself first…lose weight, less salt and fat intake, exercise more, reduce stress etc
The last time I was at the docs’ my BP was high. She was a little surprised and asked me more about it. I was pretty nervous (I get nervous around doctors, even though I’ve been Type 1 for 18 yrs and see them all the time!), and she said that a lot of people have weird BP readings when they go to the doctor because they are nervous. She asked me to take my blood pressure a couple of times at home, when I’m out of the dr’s. office, and if it was high then, let her know. I’ve taken it a couple of times in random places (like at the drug store where they have those blood pressure arm cuff machine things), etc., and it’s been normal.
That being said, it’s not something to just dismiss, although I think it’s lame your doc didn’t want to do further testing and just wrote you a Rx based on a single reading. I’d get a second opinion ASAP.
While there is a something known as “white coat syndrome” where your blood pressure runs higher in th Doctor’s office, there have been some studies that show those individuals with this are at higher risk for problems associated with high blood pressure.
Independent of blood pressure (even if your blood pressure is good) these medications (ACE inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker or ARB) have been shown to decrease the amount of kidney failure seen in people with Diabetes. There is some new research that suggests that these medications are effective in reducing retinopathy as well. The ACE inhibitor’s have been around for quite a while so safety is not as big a concern as it is with newer medications. I would just mention some people get a cough or tickle in the back of their throat when taking ACE inhibitors that will usually go away in 1-2 weeks but sometimes it never does in which case the Doc would prescribe an ARB (these usually cost more).
Despite all of this some people really do not like taking any medications that aren’t absolutely needed. Despite safety records there could be severe complications and/or unknown complications later in life from taking ANY medication. The real question is whether you are the type of person that will avoid medication at all cost (potetial kidney failure and/or retinopathy). I do not think this is a “wrong” choice if that is the way you feel. You need to do what feels right for you. I feel if there is a way to decrease my chances of DM complications by taking these types of medications I am willing to risk the off chance that a potentially serious complication MAY happen from taking one of these meds.
Maybe you can find a way to take your BP outside of the Doctor’s office to see if this is something you should be more concerned with. Untreated/uncontrolled high blood pressure combined with Diabetes is a recipe for a high chance that your kidneys and eyes will accrue significant damage in the long run.
well pointed out anthony holko - by goofy you prob mean you cant really have a slightly high systolic reading (the higher number) with a lower diastolic reading (the lower number)
like its either
145/85 …high reading
120/75…normal, or
115/60…a low reading
you seldom get a high upper reading (systolic) with a lower reading (diastolic); anthony is right - rechecl=k please
Every endo has a BP monitor for 24 hour measurement. You just wear it for one day and as a result you get your normal BP profile. Your BP medication should be based on this profile.
I had one of these monitors strapped to me for 24 hours because I have white coat syndrome. I avoided blood pressure tablets that time, but now I have diabetes and my bp has jumped to horrendous heights, I decided to take the plunge to protect my kidneys and lower my bp. They worked. This time I am lucky and do not get any nasty side effects.
I suffer from “white coat” syndrome. I get seriously stressed at Drs. appointments and have to work very hard to try to make my appointments successful. I will typically read high on the BP cuff. Instead, I test at home. I have several manual cuffs, they are $15 at the pharmacy, you can easily take your own blood pressure. As others have mentioned, most doctors will readily put diabetics on blood pressure medication as a precaution. There is a theory that early treatment (particularly with metabolic syndrome) can avert kidney damage. But every medication has side effects, I had a persistent cough from ACE Inhibitors.
You are young. Your blood pressure reading was marginally high. If you repeatedly confirm a high blood pressure reading then it would make sense to consider a medication.
You should never take a medication “just because the pharmaceutical company needs money.”
You’re a young kid, but you’ve been living with the 'betes for over ten years now. Not really a long time, but Like Mossdog says, BP meds (ACE inhibitors and ARBs) have been shown to slow down, in some cases reverse, and perhaps protect against kidney damage, maybe even retinopathy. Until Diabetes is cured, it’s a marathon so we think in the long term. Ten years turns into 25 years before you know it.
I was put on an ACE inhibitor (now on an ARB because of side effects) after I showed abnormal levels of microalbuminuria. That was the scariest 6 months of my diabetic life and it happened right at the 25 year mark where these types of complications like to start showing themselves. For me, thankfully, the meds seem to have reversed the condition. Another plus is that my BP has also stabilized from somewhere between 120/70 and 130/70 to consistent readings between 100/50 and 110/60. So, it wasn’t exactly high before the meds, but as a diabetic, the lower end of the normal range is much preferable to the higher end.
It’s good to have a healthy mistrust of meds, even if you think they might be necessary. That’s certainly true of BP meds given the long list of known side-effects. Still, BP meds have been shown to have tangible benefits for diabetics so, IMHO, they are worth considering.
Goofy in that the bottom number is so low. I think this is indication that it was tension that raised your BP. Golfers use to take Ace Inhibitors to prevent their adriline from over execiting them. I never could take them did not like the feeling I had all day long. I am on just about everything else for BP but I am also 64 years old.
Elevated blood pressure is a risk factor for all the complicatons, but ESPECIALLY for early retinopathy and kidney disease.
Diabetics (even well controlled ones, and it doesn’t mater whether T1 or T2) have high blood pressure at a much higher rate than the general population.
You might think that diabetes is “just a disease of high bg’s” but it’s far more insidious than that.
140 used to be “not a big deal” but by modern standards it’s not just pre-hypertensive, but is hypertensive.
My doc and I are happy now that I’ve gotten my bp down to 100/60. He and I are huge fans of the theory of takinig every risk factor and making it as low as reasonably possible. In retrospect I should’ve been taking steps to reduce my bp, even when I was a teenager.
I started on an ACE inhibitor as I closed in on 10 years with T1… personally I believe that it’s safe, and a simple thing I can do to help preserve my healthy kidney function as long as possible.
Personally, you are 18, right? I would tell you mom that as soon as she shows you her medical degree, you will start taking medical advice from her. Otherwise, it’s YOUR choice. If you don’t want to take the ACE inhibitor, that’s fine, you don’t have to do it, but it needs to be your choice, not your mother’s.
I agree that 140/60 is a weird reading… usually there isn’t more than about 40pts between your systolic and diastolic pressures… I’m surprised they didn’t recheck it. There has even been some reasearch that shows what were previously considered “normal” BP levels, but on the high end of the range, like 130/80, warrant treatment in diabetics.
You could have “white coat syndrome” which is why it is always a good thing to get your blood pressure checked over several visits, sometimes with the doctor,sometimes with the nurse, or perhaps someone else you feel comfortable with. I had had chest pains once in hospital and they left the cuff on, going up and down. There was a nurse sitting there with me and it was reasonably okay. Whenever a particular doctor came near it when sky high again! They did all the heart tests and decided that there was nothing much wrong.
High blood pressure is something that everybody can have, at any age. They started getting my blood pressure checked at about 21 and have had to be on medications ever since. Not really a problem. Just popping an extra pill. Sometimes comes normal, sometimes even low!
alright thanks!. i know my dad has a BP monitor… somewhere. I’ll ask him for it later.
But lets say that the 140/60 IS right. Could BP medication make the bottom number drop even more? Because if it already is low, would there be a chance of passing out or something if it goes lower.
Not sure what the medication was, my mom never let me look at the prescription. I think she might have thrown it away.
As far as I know, I don’t have any kidney/eye problems (except an astigmatism… but that’s not D related)
One high reading doesn’t prove anything. BP is even more variable than BG. Some medical professionals don’t even take BP properly to get an accurate reading. You shouldn’t be talking during the reading or 5 min before. My doctor’s nurse asks me questions during taking mine. She’s also put the cuff on the wrong place on my arm.
If you’re worried you may really high BP when monitoring at home, cut down the sodium in your diet. My mother has high BP & monitors hers 3-4 a day. Her doc told her to test again 10 minutes after a high reading & do an average of the readings. Amazing how it can change quickly.
