Blood Pressure

Hi All,

My first post. I am a 31 year old male from Liverpool. I have been suffering with anxiety for about the last 4 months. I did have a bad episode of high anxiety about 5 years ago which I did manage to get through after a few months although I constantly a bit of pressure in the chest which I put down to muscular as I had had all the tests.

More recently I suffered such bad panic attacks whilst driving to work I had to quit my job. I was still suffering with GAD and getting the odd panic attack and decided to start another job. My anxiety got even worse constantly light headed and pressure in the chest. I had another bad panic attack whilst driving and had to leave that job too.

I have since been taking Citalopram for the past 2 and half weeks. Not sure if I am getting much benefit from it as yet though. Still getting constant chest pressure and dizziness. I have also just started to notice how strongly my pulse is in my stomach which is freaking me out a bit.

I also have the Linden Method and although I have found it quit informative and the visualization exercises are good I am finding it difficult to accept this is just anxiety.

I have had 2 ECG's done, chest x-ray and blood test and all where ok. My concern is though that my GP took my BP and it was 140/92 and I had it taken when I went the a&e with chest pain and it was 160/102. My GP thinks it's down to anxiety which it very well may be but my concern is if I am feeling anxious most of the time then won't my BP be up most of the time? I am starting to get worried that my BP could be causing my dizziness and chest pressure.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Sorry for the essay.

Neil

Hi Neil

Your blood pressure does rise when you are anxious; it has to. It is a biological necessity because your skeletal muscles, which need a lot of blood to function, "prime" themselves for action in response to the adrenalin in your blood. Therefore, the blood vesells that supply the outlying muscles become dilated and more pressure is required to pump blood to the outlying areas.

The light-headedness that you feel may be as a result of a change in oxygen/co2 balance in your brain but there is also a theory that this is caused by your brain's own desire to "numb" iteslf from the anxiety. Either way, this is a very common effect of anxiety and panic.

If your doctor had any concerns about your blood-pressure, he would be monitoring it more closely wouldn't he? It would be negligent not to. You mention that you are 31 years old. Do you have weight problems or anything else that would cause your blood-pressure to be higher?

The citalopram tablets generally take around six weeks to start working and in this initial period it is very common to feel a substantial rise in anxiety before it starts to fall.

You say that you are having problems accepting that it is just anxiety but emotions do have an effect on our physical state and I think this is one of the reasons that non-anxiety sufferers have such a hard time understanding why anxiety affects you so much. I have been suffering from anxiety for nearly nine years and I still find it hard to accept that it's just anxiety. If we could, it would probably go away.

All the physical symptoms you experience can probably be explained by the biological changes caused by anxiety. If there is anything in particular that you are struggling to understand, post again and I will do my best to explain it.

All the best

Chris

PS. I am not a doctor, just a fellow anxiety sufferer

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply.
I am not overweight the only medical condition I have other than anxiety is mild asthma.
I am just concerned that as I feel anxious and tense most of the day then my Blood Pressure may be high all that time. A bit silly thinking that way I know.
The thing is I have just recently had all those test's I mentioned and you'd think I would be happy getting good results, but no I have to pick up on the high BP and start worrying about that.
The other thing is now I am scared to do any exercise other than walking and a bit of Thai Chi. I was playing football and jogging regularly before this and now I am too afraid to do it. It's horrible the way this condition takes over.

Regards,

Neil

Hey neil!

Im 23 and have just been diagnosed with anxiety.

For a while in my life i wanted to join the army. When i went for my medical (the first time) they took my bp and it was 170 / 92 :o

That was about 4 years ago, since then i have had many tests and even had a monitor on for 24 hour periods. From my experience blood pressure changes CONSTANTLY. even while your asleep. I was told i was hypertensive and it was passed down to me from my father. It has caused me no problems even tho sometimes when i see the doctor it has been in the 180s or sometimes under 120.

I don't think that my blood pressure is a cause of my anxiety. I too suffer from bad chest pains, palpatations, breathing difficultys and a dry mouth/trouble swallowing when my anxiety rears its head. I too get it when im in a car even as a passenger. I too have had this for about 4 - 5 months but has been getting steadly worse. I as of yet am not recieveing any treatment.

Any advice you could may be share would be great as you sound like you are having similar problems,

Cheers!

Terry

Hi Neil

I know how you feel because I have been there. I was scared stiff to do any exercise because it increased my heart-rate.

I suppose the fact that you are asthmatic explains why the doctor hasn't prescribed beta-blockers to control your blood-pressure and/or anxiety.

I would suspect that going to the doctor's or to the hospital increases your anxiety anyway so you are having your blood-pressure measured at times when it is at its worst.

I would recommend that you start doing some exercise again. The more you do it, the easier it gets and the more your motivation will rise.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the advice. It's much appreciated.

Neil

Hi Terry,

Have you had the usual chesks done such as ECG, chest x-ray and blood tests?

I have had these and am still struggling to accept my symptoms are just anxiety. I get the tight chest, smothering sensations, dizziness, heart pounding but not fast just strong and I have started suffering with belching and a feeling of fullness in my chest after eating a meal. I am also averaging 3-4 hours sleep a night.

I know all these are symptoms of anxiety. I can be logical when I am talking about it to someone but when I get the symptoms I still fear the worst.

I like you have the pressure in the chest when I am driving or even a passenger in a car. So much so that I haven't driven my car for over 6 weeks and had to quit work.

I have been taking a low dose 10mg Citalopram which is an antidepressant for nearly 3 weeks. I believe it can take up to 6 weeks to start working properly. I suffered quite badly 6 years ago with anxiety and panic attacks and I took Citalopram then for only a month. I think being at work at the time and keeping busy got me through the worst of it then, although I was still anxious just no panic attacks until a few months ago.
I didn't want to start taking medication again and I bought the Linden Method which is good although I have to admit the 9 pillars which are the rules behind the method seem straight forward in principal but I unfortunately haven't found them to be.
One of which is to withdraw your medication when ready.
I wasn't even taking any at the time but I was struggling to cope and decided I needed to take the medication even if it's just for a few months.

What has your GP advised you? Has she/he offered any medication or recommended CBT to you?


Neil

The symptoms you described are exactly the same as mine. Even down to the heart beating in my chest. It seems to beat a little faster then usual, but very strong in my chest. I have gotten this after eating before and also just in bed.

Its great hearing someone else describe themselves as logical becuase i feel the same way. When i tell someone about the anxiety, the chest tighness the breathing and so forth. I really feel and believe that it os anxiety and thats that. Although everytime i get the feelings come over me its hard not to think that there is something wrong with me. I get silly thoughts in my head about my heart not being healthy or something else being wrong. I think this is easily done as the "dread" feeling that comes with the anxiety attack can be the cause. Everytime it comes over me i have to try to stop my minding wandering into thinking the worst.

What keeps me going is times that i have have the tightness in my chest and other symptoms, been in a situation that takes my mind off of it and it seems the disappear! That puts my mind at rest that there is nothing wrong with me.

I have had ECG reading, ultrasounds xrays and all sorts. I was in the hospital months having diffrent tests. I have even had two army medicals and have been poked and prodded :o

I am taking medication as of a week ago. Fluxotine 20mg. I will let you know if it does anything for me. I you would like to talk or send me a text ill PM you my mobile number as my internet is on the blink and i only have access from work so it may be a little while before you get a reply.

Terry