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High blood pressure

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Male Under 60

Interview 21

Interview 21

Age at Interview: 51
Sex: Male
Age at Diagnosis: 42
Background:

Brief outline:Discovered following GP check for migraines.

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Explains how high blood pressure was discovered after visiting the doctor with migraines.
Print I went to the doctors because I was a migraine sufferer. And she said 'Let me take your blood pressure.' This was the doctor where we lived previously and she said 'You're extremely high, you're lucky you haven't had a stroke.' She said 'You're over the top.' Then she put me on one form of tablet, I can't remember what it was now because I've had it changed several times. And she said 'We must get your blood pressure down as quickly as possible.' Basically that's how I discovered high blood pressure.

Considers high blood pressure is stress related but he doesn't want to worry about it.
Print I think blood pressure is basically stress related; the stress of being made redundant, the stress of making ends meet isn't it? That's basically what I think. If I had a million pounds I wouldn't have the stress thing and perhaps I could relax more. It hasn't worried me; some people can become... not hypochondriacs, but that type of person and think "Oh my blood pressure is up". And I don't really want to worry about that sort of thing happening.

Explains how sometimes having more knowledge can do more harm than good.
Print I read those pieces of paper that are in there, they're all basically the same. They all tell you that you can get nausea, drowsiness... I think the more you delve into something like that the more you tend to get yourself uptight. It's only recently that I've known that it can affect your kidneys. But a little knowledge is dangerous - people say 'Don't take salt, don't do this, don't do that,' but you might be depriving your body of a mineral that you actually need.

Describes his symptoms and concludes much of high blood pressure stems from stress.
Print It feels like your blood is boiling, when you're at work and you get agitated, that's the only way I can describe it: your blood boils. You just go and lie down. Only now and again I may get a migraine and then I just go to bed and sleep it off. And that may be just due to pressure of the day. More often that not if I have another migraine it would be coming home from work - I do a couple of hundred miles driving a day - like I said it's all tension and stress and everything. I really believe that's what high blood pressure is; because people are under pressure, lots of pressure.

Explains he tries to keep to a religious routine but doesn't always succeed.
Print I try and take one at 10 o'clock religiously every night. But it has been as late as 12 o clock when I've come in and I've taken the tablet.

Explains he treatment leaves him with a feeling of fatigue that he tries to fight off.
Print They slow your body down which is what they're supposed to do. It's very hard while you're trying to do a physical job to slow your body down as well. That's the only thing that I've found - they make you not tired but not 'workish'. I talked to the nurse about that and she took my blood and she said 'Speak to the doctor' - Who've I've got to see next week, but I feel alright now. I feel that I can cope with that. I know that they all do the same thing; as I said before, slowing your body down. So I'm bound to feel tired, but I've got to combat that feeling of fatigue that's all.

Expresses his dislike of drugs because of the damage they can do and the expense.
Print I just don't like to take drugs. I like to know what it actually does, because there are side-effects to drugs obviously, and if you've got to take it for all your life then I'd like to know what it's actually doing and can it do more damage and you know what it's supposed to stop. But if they stop me having a stroke or a heart attack then obviously I've got to take them. Though the most thing is the expense; they can only give you so much at a time before you've got to go back to the doctor and be checked again before he can re-prescribe to you the drug again - you'vegot to go every 28 days they supply the tablets for. So it's every month you've got to go and have your blood pressure taken. When they change you - I've had new tablets now - they take your blood and check that it's not affecting your kidneys. I didn't know that it could affect your kidneys but I actually asked the nurse what they checked and they check for all these different levels in your blood.

Considers there is disparity of drug prescriptions in different areas of the country.
Print It's funny, when you move from area to area different doctors prescribe different blood pressure tablets. Now I don't understand that because when I moved from the area and we moved here about 5 or 6 years now and they didn't sell those tablets over here.

Describes a family history of hypertension.
Print My sister has high blood pressure as well, which she's discovered. She's older than me but she's discovered that she's got high blood pressure and my mother suffered before she died with high blood pressure. I think my mother's was more due to worry and tension and things like that.

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