White coat syndrome.

Oh yes! Been like it since I was in my teens. My doctor doesn’t take blood pressure, but gets me to do them at home. I wore a 24 hour monitor once when I was in my 20’s and BP was fine. Interestingly, when I was in hospital following my op, and got somewhat accustomed to having BP reading taken, it got down to my readings at home. I was also lucky in finding some nurses that have it when they go for their own medical appts. 

That's reassuring Waidh. The longer I'm sitting waiting to be seen I can almost feel my heart pounding and know my blood pressure is on the up. When I had a pre op for hysteroscopy with GA it was high of course. My surgery rang me that evening before my hysteroscopy and said I was to go and get it checked because the hospital suggested it. In the meantime I took some readings from home which were okay.  Off to get it checked the following morning at the surgery and burst into tears. What with the pending GA and all things medical. 

The nurse was so kind and said she wouldn't take it. She wrote down a mean average and stamped it with surgery official stamp. She told me to produce it at the hospital the next day, but they didn't want to see it. I'll never forget her kindness. Goes such a long way. Wish I wasn't such a nervous wreck. 

Pre chemo appointment tomorrow. Absolutely dreading it. My last 2 appointments they kept me waiting for two hrs.

Good to talk..... Bit longwinded I know.

Hi Sassy

Yes- I am the same. 

During chemotherapy I had to take readings at home and bring them with me. 

As soon as the blood pressure monitor comes out- I get really panicky and it goes sky high. I also dislike the feeling of the cuff and have had bruises from it. 

I had to have a blood transfusion after chemo and I remember apologizing to the nurse who had to regularly check it- and she just said its really common. She was so understanding that by the final one- I had a normal reading and the first for many years in a medical setting!

Before cancer I used to arrive to doctors appointments early so I could take my own blood pressure using the machine in reception- I used to then take the readings in with me.

Jane

Interestingly I only had BP reading taken once during chemo, just before the very first one.

So pleased we're normal in one sense but not in another. ( If you know what I mean between the lines).

I always tell them I suffer from white coat syndrome but feel it falls on deaf ears. I imagine they're used to hearing it. 

Yes think there are a lot of us! At my pre op, nurses took my blood pressure twice, it was high, I then saw anesthetist and he used old fashioned method and said to me “ humour me and let me show you I can use the old stuff”, BP was then lower. Best thing he said he would prefer to have high BP than low BP in operating room, as they can deal with that a lot easier.