Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Medical assistants and nurses know this, but they are more interested in hurrying things along in the name of being "efficient" -- which indicates they don't really care about an accurate BP reading for the patient's chart and history
That's why I was pleasantly surprised when my pulmonologist's staff at UAB got into a conversation with me about proper protocol. Too bad not every office is like that.
Exactly! It is all about convenience and who care if the results are wildly inaccurate?
Did you run in the door and straight to the examining table? If you were sitting in the waiting room isn't that relaxed enough?
In the door, sit on the exam table and as I am sitting down here comes the BP machine! No, that is not enough. It absolutely does not comply with the protocol that is unniversal.
I used to work for some dingbat nurses in a nursing home who, occasionally, wanted me to take vital signs in the middle of the night. So I walk into a room, wake someone up out of a dead sleep, to take their blood pressure. No-brainer, it's going to be high under the circumstances. They may be in shock!
Nurse: You had better retake his/her blood pressure, it's too high!
Imagine what your blood pressure would be like if won the Lottery!!!!
Love this thread. This happened to me all the time when I saw my endocrinologist. I had a weird thyroid condition, and found this doctor who was at a hospital in an inner city (Newark, NJ) forty miles from my home. To get to him, I had to drive up the Garden State Parkway, which would give a saint a stroke, then take the busiest exit ramp on the entire length of the Parkway, the one that probably has traffic at three a.m., and get onto an Interstate and then a few miles later exit onto a ramp in the city where hood rats are waiting with cups to try to get you to give them money while you're stuck at the light, then through the streets to the hospital where the doctor has his office.
Then the nurse would take my BP and tell me it was high. No $#!+.
What may not be understood is sitting in the waiting room, or even worse the exam room, is not a “chilling†time for some people. It actually makes my BP go higher. The longer I’m there, the higher it goes.
Some people have reasons for these reactions, including traumatic hospital experiences as a child.
I don't have much patience with something be done incorrectly simply for convenience. Knowing how to take blood pressure correctly is hardly advanced medicine. They know better. Yes the doctor is also at fault but at least he respects my wish not to have bogus readings in my chart.
Again, she was doing her job the way your doctor told her to do it. There was no reason to be belligerant to her.
I had a really bad gut issue a year ago, I believe it was Norovirus. It was bad, horrible stomach pain, etc., and I had a fleeting thought about going to the ER but didn't. When I went to my Dr days later, she asked what my BP was. I looked at her and said, "my bp, why would I take my blood pressure? I was so agitated and in pain, it wouldn't be accurate" I thought, I may need a new Dr. Really stupid question.
They were trying to find out just how much pain you were in, based on what would have been your elevated BP. Some people go to the doc for pain pills, and if their BP isn't elevated, they know the patient isn't really in pain. Not a stupid ask at all.
Exactly! It is all about convenience and who care if the results are wildly inaccurate?
Last time I was at my doctors for a prescription refill, the nurse took my BP doing everything the wrong way. First, took it as soon as I sat down, put it over my clothing, (even when I suggested that would make the reading inaccurate) asked me questions the entire time, and of course used one of those machines that I hate, that automatically makes my BP go up anyway!
The funny thing was, waiting in the room for the doc, there was a chart on the wall, listing the correct way to take BP......the exact opposite of all the things the nurse had just done!
How to "cheat" on a blood pressure test:
-An hour or so before the test (not right before the test), go for a brisk walk.
-Time your arrival at the doctor's office to allow you to sit in the waiting room for several minutes.
-Bring a book or magazine to read, so you aren't fussing about the wait.
-Exchange pleasantries with the nurse or technician as they escort you to the room.
-Sit quietly with both feet on the floor.
-Close your eyes and imagine a favorite relaxing scenario. Maybe that's margaritas in a hammock in a shady spot, or watching your grandkids sing in the choir. I picture myself as a mermaid, swimming off my favorite beach. You do you.
I used to get high readings at the doctor's office, but not since I've been doing this relaxation technique. I've shared it with friends who also got good results.
The feet on the floor is a total deal-breaker for me. In order to do that and not be very uncomfortable, I've had to scoot forward on the chair and lean over my knees. I have scar tissue on my femur from a broken leg back in the 1980's, and I'm short. So just scooting forward means the edge of the chair is pushing into the scar tissue. In order for me to be TRULY comfortable, I need to sit on a chair with no arms, and sit in a sort of yoga-like position. Or I can sit that way on the floor.
I believe exercise can raise the pressure, but relaxation afterward drops it, so you don't want to, say, run upstairs to the office, then immediately have your BP tested.
Frankly, most of the "cheating" is distraction and calming techniques you can use anytime you're feeling stressed. They are intended to counter the stress of going to the doctor and being rushed around like they do. Deep breaths help, too.
It would hardly be effective if your blood pressure was high due to disease.
I put cheating on quotation marks because it isn't really cheating!
Exactly.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
