I agree. I love cheese but you can always add more at the table, you can't take it away.

Which is just, imho, nature's way of saying you CAN'T have too much cheese.

My BP was suddenly borderline high recently. I've put on some weight in the past year, but I'm not sure it's that. Stress seems just as likely, but doctors seem to discount it.

TG and I were watching the May the 4th episode of the Big Bang Theory, and I learnt that she doesn't like Star Wars. Nine years together and I never knew that. Well, I suppose she hid it well, at least.

Seska! How are you?

My grandfather's blood pressure has been high the last few times he went, but first they make him wait an hour after his appointment time and then they tell him that the doctor won't be there and he'll be seeing the physicians assistant. So he gets angry and his blood pressure goes up. My cousin is a nurse and takes it for him at home, and it's always fine.

I did the 4 oz of Romano as suggested. The Pasta Primavera was good.

Particularly since they've documented "white coat" blood pressure increases for people who are stressed by doctors.

ME ME ME

Seska! How are you?

Good thank you! Happy to be back in London, and doing many presentations on my PhD research, which continues at a variable pace. How are you?

ME ME ME

Yeah, I wonder if I get 'white coat syndrome' too. I have issues with doctors! (It doesn't help when they take the reading a second and third time, saying "breathe... relax" all the while, which is guaranteed to make me do the opposite.)

We're doing well. We both wish we could come visit you and your DW in London. Best of luck with your PhD research.

Even if the doctor doesn't know why your np is high, it is best. To get it down. One of the things they think is that people that have white coat syndrome, have tendencies toward getting high blood pressure.

My current theory ( based on no medical knowledge) is that high bp is a symptom .i have two chronic systemic conditions that is my reason for high bp

You know, my doctor pooh-poohed the stress factor in my elevated BP too, and I really think that was bullshit.

OMG, anxiety about getting my BP checked just boosts my readings. Fortunately, my doctor has figured this, and now usually gets the nurse to give me a BP True test. They hook me up to a machine that takes readings every 2 minutes for 10 minutes and then displays the average. AND...they leave me alone in a darkened, quiet room to do it. That makes all the dfference.

I just had a test on Monday, and the first reading, while the nurse was still in the room and I was still anxious, was 154/90. After she left, it went right down and my average was something like 134/82. (Normal for me.)

I think one cause of white coat syndrome is refusal of medical professionals to take blood pressure properly if doing so interferes with their schedule. It is supposed to be *resting* blood pressure. Which means they should take blood pressure five minute after you have sat down in the exam room. If they take you to the scale, hustle you to the exam room and then immediately take BP of course it will be high. Or if they take your temp for one minute, and take your BP in minute two, still not resting bp. Also you are supposed to sit still and not talk during the time they BP. So if they are "efficient" and get medical info from you while taking your BP that also will get a high reading. I'm guessing about 3/4 of exam room BPs fail to get *resting* blood pressures.