I was using the drug store machine occasionally , and then one day my hubby saw these home wrist blood pressure monitors and thought it was less bulky and would be perfect for home monitoring. BIG MISTAKE!
On January 8th, 2016 I felt off, and my ears were ringing and my head aching. I thought I was coming down with the flu. Laid down for a bit and it went away but decided to go shopping and it came back, but I also realized that my left side was tingling.
We went home, and my hubby got out the "wrist blood pressure machine", and it said 125/80 and we did it twice (once on each wrist with similar readings). But finally my left leg and arm felt heavy and numb and I didn't look right so we took one last reading and it still was in normal range.
Hubby took me to the walk in clinic, as I was still convinced in my altered state that it was the flu. Not sure why I would think having one side of your body tingling and numb would be the flu, but as I said, you are sometimes not in your right mind. The doctor took my Blood Pressure with the normal arm cuff and it read 205/119!!.
I was sent to the hospital right away and given drugs to bring it down. I mentioned that I had monitored it with a wrist monitor and the Doctor said not everyone has strong veins in their wrist and therefore I should consider a proper approved arm blood pressure monitor. This shocked me, that not everyone would get an accurate reading from a wrist monitor.
I was diagnosed with a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack). I was lucky that day, as the blood pressure came down quickly with the medication and my body felt normal again. This could have been much worse had a I delayed medical attention.
OMRON makes an approved blood pressure monitor. The numbers are big and it also takes your pulse.
To make sure your machine reads properly, take it to your pharmacy or your doctor to compare the readings.
Our local pharmacist will take a blood pressure with their arm cuff, and this way you know your home monitor is reading properly.
You can get them at your local drug store but you can also get them online. This one has over 5100 reviews at the time of this writing. Such a simple device but worth every penny!
There are a few approved models on the market now, but this one is the most popular. I like that it also takes your pulse.
Take Charge of Your Health
Many things can cause high blood pressure, even the Doctors are not totally sure of everything. It may be your weight, salt consumption too high, or many other factors. No matter what the cause you need to stay on top of it before you have a scare like I did.
Everything went back to normal for me, but I am on two medications. I was almost put on a third, until I discovered by monitoring daily in those first few weeks that caffeine was a huge issue with my blood pressure. Take a look at your foods and your drinks, there may be a hidden irritant, in my case caffeine. So I switched to decaff. Try different things. High blood pressure is a warning that things are not right in your body. Don't just rely on the medications. They are necessary, but you can also help with your diet, exercise and so much more.
Watch Stress
It is something I had to come to terms with and for me it was "letting go of the little annoying things" that would build up in my day.
I learned to take deep breathing breaks and simply calm down. It can be hard at first but it does work.
Do Your Own Research - It is Your Body!
You have to do your own research. It is not a "everything fits one size" when it comes to your health. If you use a drug store blood pressure machine, many have cards that you can insert so as to keep a printed record you can show your Doctor. If you use a home monitoring system, such as the one pictured, many will save the readings. If not, get yourself a note book and record the date, time of day and the reading.
White Coat Syndrome - Why the Home Blood Pressure Monitor is a Good Idea
This is when your blood pressure goes up simply because you are at the Doctors office, maybe a bit nervous.
Either way it is good to show your print outs or your notes, so that you don't end up on more medications than you need.
If your doctor sees that you are using an approved blood pressure monitor and you can show her/him consistent readings, she/he will be able to have more accurate information.
Take care of your body. Don't just assume everything on the shelf in the store is right for you. Since a wrist monitor is not accurate for everyone, then why use it? It almost cost me everything that day. If it was not for my hubby I would have stayed home assuming the flu since the so called "wrist monitor" was telling me my blood pressure was normal.
Be proactive. Get a proper arm monitor, just like your doctor would use and USE IT so you will know when things are not right.
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