My blood pressure inconsistently reads as high. There are occasions when I visit my doctor and it is normal, and other times it is extremely high. I understand that there is a genetic influence and both my maternal and paternal sides of the family have hypertension. At one point after having my daughter, I was prescribed medication which I took for about 6 months. My doctor told me that I no longer needed it because my numbers were normal. Well, it’s several years later and today I had another doctor visit and the reading was high. Immediately, I felt frustrated and upset. I have been exercising regularly and monitoring my sodium intake. Part of my reason for joining SCS was to eliminate my stress to maintain normal blood pressure. I really do not want to have to take daily medication for this. It was okay after having my daughter because I rationalized that it was due to the pregnancy, but now I have the thought that it is something that I can control. I work in the medical field and see how many people are dependent on medication for high blood pressure. Also, I am thinking that if I take it now then I will always have to take it. Here is my model:
C: BP reading of 162/99; currently not taking hypertension medication T: I do not want to take medication. F: Frustrated A: Blame myself (“I should be able to control it”), avoidance- don’t monitor my levels at home; do research to discover the cause; maintain vegetarian diet, beat myself up if I have a “cheat meal” (something with added salt) or don’t drink enough water, exercise at gym, doctor appointments, eliminate foods from my diet that could be the culprit, complain to my husband R: I create stress by trying everything except medication to lower by blood pressure; I increase my likelihood of increasing my blood pressure or getting sick because of the stress; blood pressure remains “high”. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!