[Surferboy]

HI again guys, sorry to keep throwing questions at you all. But I have been having a weird sensation these last few days which I need some feedback on.

Along with my blurred vision (which I mentioned in a previous thread) I now feel pressure at the back of my eyes when I bend down. Weird I know, but it only happens when I bend down and lower my head! It feels like something is pushing down on my head and putting pressure on the eyes.

No head aches or anything - other than some pain at the back of the neck at times.

Possibly high or low blood pressure?

I will be booking yet another appt with my GP after the bank holiday just to get it checked out.

 

[lazylegs]

Hi Surferboy,

Could it be sinus pressure? You don't always have to have other symptoms to have sinus pressure. Just a thought.

Take care,
Lazylegs

 

[x_claire_x]

Hi Surferboy, I was thinking maybe sinus too.... high blood pressure can make you feel a bit dodgy bending down but you usually get a whooshing in the ears too..... you will have to go back to your doctor with the rolling eyes!!:rotfl:
Claire X

 

[Surferboy]

Hmmmmmm! So is sinus pressure yet another lupus symptom?

How does it occur? I don't have a runny nose or nothing!

Let me go and Google it......

 

[x_claire_x]

hiya.. no sinus is just an ordinary problem..yippee. and you don't usually have a runny nose cos it is the sinuses that run round your eyes and nose that are blocked up!! Makes you feel a bit yuk, headachey, when you bend down a funny sensation and quite painful cos of the pressure in the sinuses etc etc.. expect you got all that and more on google :lol: go to the Dr if it is still bad, nag nag nag
Claire X

 

[spellbinder]

:wavey:hi suferboy

i have eye problems too. the blurry vision thing drives me batty, and the pressure is uncomfortable and even have pain when i move my eyes. i know that mine isn't due to my sinuses as my face/cheekbone don't hurt or throb. i usually use eye drops when they get too bad cause eventually they will dry up.

i guess that doesn't really answer your question but know that someone else has something simiular. so if you find out what it is let me know....

i also use a cool rag on my eyes and rest... it couldn't hurt.

feel better
hugs and kisses

 

[Surferboy]

UPDATE: Went to see my GP just now. Explained all my above symptoms (including a slight difficulty in breathing). He said "it's nothing" without even checking me out. But I persisted in trying to reassure him that I was not making any of it up.

I asked if it could be high blood pressure. He said "possibly". I was waiting for him to check it - which he didn't. Until I asked him to.

Anyways, it turns out that it isn't HIGH BP but the reading came out at 90/66! "Wow! Thats low" I said. He replied "no. its normall".

Surely not? I used to be a 120/80 man. My last rhumy appt showed a 106/88, where the rhumy herself said it was a tad low.

Can anyone give me some feedback as to whether my GP is right about it being "normal". To me it seems very low. And according to some websites I just checked they also say it's low!

Could this drop in BP be down to my prednisolone course (currently on 7.5mg per day)?

So confused

 

[Katharine]

Er no, for me 90/60 is definitely not normal. It is low, I feel dreadful when mine goes that low, tired, dizzy, headaches - in fact quite similar to if it's too high.

The problem is that you have probably been to see your GP so many times (you do tend to be a little anxious :wink2 that he has given up paying much attention which is not a very good thing. It is still a very odd statement to say that that is normal. I wouldn't like my GP telling me that

Katharine

 

[Surferboy]

Very true Katherine about me having visited him too many times! I feel that way too. But I think that if I visit him and something like this comes up he really should not ignore it. And to say it's normal - well that's borderline criminal!

Anyways, thankfully I'm not getting the dizzy feeling or severe headaches. But I did read somewhere that low BP normally does not give any distinguishing features - which makes it even worse.

Are there any reasons why it could have dropped so much? My initial guess is the pred. May be a bad diet? Although I must say I do eat rather healthy. Lots of fruit and veg, soya etc

And most importantly what can I do to increase the BP again?

 

[Maia]

I think what he means is that you don't have any symptoms consistent with low blood pressure and hence it's within the normal range for you. I frequently have BP's of 90/60 & I don't have any symptoms of low blood pressure either; with the exception of if I stand up too fast then I can get some symptoms but they pass quickly & are not a problem. There are actually quite a few people that have "normal" blood pressure of 90/60, and the old 120/80 is now the upper limit before the BP is considered HIGH!

So be grateful you have a good blood pressure....

 

[spellbinder]

:wavey: hi

my bp is usually at 90/65 of course my doctor says he doesn't know why. the only problem i do have by having a low bp is drawing blood is hard, for lack of volume and ability to find veins. doctors usually don't get upset unless the disolic reading (the bottom) is high...like 140/80 isn't that alarming but if it like..150/100 that would be considered high. so i would imagine the same is true for low. i did have one scare when my bp dropped to 88/46...that one caught some attention....

so i don't think that 90/66 is something i would be too concerned about but do keep checking it regulary.

just my thoughts, i could be totally off .... :wink2:

hugs and kisses

 

[keebler]

Hi there,
I have low BP it can go from 98/69 or 106/77. The lower bp for me means my heart isn't working hard. That is what my cardiologist wants to see.

Take care,
Lyn

 

[Surferboy]

LOL! I sometimes give up trying to understand my body

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I used to get a lot of credit from the Dr's when my BP used to measure around the 120/80 or 118/80 ish mark.

Then my last visit to the rhumy my BP read something like 106/88 - at which the nurse and my Rhumy were a little concerned.

And today 90/66 and I'm told it's quite good But is this good for a normal person? Or for people with an illness?

I guess I don't have the severe dizziness, which is a good sign. But I do have the blurred vision and random headaches, which occur at the back of the head. Oh and the random occasions during the day where I feel I need to gasp a touch to get my breath. I did explain all these to my GP - but as is clear via my posts he didn't really care too much. I'm just hoping this is a good sign rather than him just not caring / being fed up...........

Maia, when you say "There are actually quite a few people that have "normal" blood pressure of 90/60, and the old 120/80 is now the upper limit before the BP is considered HIGH!" do you mean 120/80 is the upper limit for those whose normal limit is 90/60? Or do you mean that in todays age 120/80 is the upper limit for MOST people?

Thanks all for your replies - and apologies for my ramblings :blush:

 

[x_claire_x]

HIya.. BP of 90/60 ish is considered low but many people have this bp quite happily, and it is usually less of a problem being low rather than high... Drs don't usually consider BP medication until the diastolic (lower figure) is 90 or over and /or there is a big gap between the diastolic and the systolic (upper figure). I wouldn't be concerned at having lower BP as long as I was feeling well... one of the signs can be when you get up too quickly from laying etc etc, can feel a bit dizzy but in terms of less pressure on your heart and circulatory system that has to be good.. with or without Lupus. I know my Rheumy puts people on BP tabs with Lupus if diastolic over 90 consistently to protect the heart and kidneys...(kidney probs usually raise BP). I have had to go on them, since the MCTD I have has increased my BP, in fact that was a fairly early symptom along with malar rash.... and I thought it was stress!!!!!!!
Wish I had your BP surferboy!!
Take care, Claire X

 

[Maia]

What I meant was that doctors are considering changing their guidelines so that they want to see a BP in adults of less than 120/80. They don't normally consider treating a person with BP medications until it's at or above 140/90; with the last number usually being more significant/counting more towards indicating a problem.

Furthermore, there are a lot of people that most always have a blood pressure in the range of 90/60 and that is normal for them and is not indicative of any health problem; nor do they have any symptoms of low blood pressure like fainting, or "whiting out" of their vision, etc.

Most children for instance, with have a BP of 90/60 or less and be healthy as a lark. So maybe you are just young at heart! Many adults have a low BP too - and it's perfectly normal.

The reason they were concerned before with your reading was because the bottom number was close to 90 too by the way...

 

[ALWIN]

Hiya Surferboy

The problem with medicine is that it standardises people.

They take a tonne of reading from a tonne of poeple, then work out the average. Out of all the readings required to come up with the average BP, few will have actually had that BP. In fact it is logical that the majority will not have had an 'average reading'.

There isn't a standard person, so we cannot get 'truth' from medicine - only 'educated' guesses based on number crunching and what is considered 'average'.

My blood pressure is like yours is right now. It means I CAN eat salt cos if my BP goes up a bit my body will cope. Salt sends it up I am told (doesn't work for me). It means my blood vessels are less likely to burst and my heart is comfortable.

My blood pressure goes 'UP' considerably sometimes, and I get headaches. Headaches for me are associated with a blood pressure of anything over 120/70. Guess my body like to keep itself at 90=100/50-60. I rarely feel dizzy when it is at it's normal 'low' pressure, but feel a bit squiffy when it goes to the 'normal / standard level of 120-30/70-80. In fact i imagine I can hear the blood banging through my brain!

The top number is the pressure exerted on your blood vessels when the heart is in full 'squeeze' and the bottom number represents the pressure in your blood vessels between squeezes.

I have known people with blood pressure as high as 220/120 who have not had a heart attack or stroke and others that have with readings far closer to normal that HAVE had both.

No wonder we get confused, eh?

You have my sympathy, but it is far better for your blood presure to be lowish and it is rarely treated becasue there are few associated risks compared to a high BP.

 

[Surferboy]

Thanks again guys for the helpful and informative replies

But a slight change to my story. I had to go to get my prescription of pred today. This time very nice nurse took my BP and this time it read 110/77. She seemed a lot happier that it was at this level.

I too have been feeling a lot more energetic these last few days

 

[nadiasophia]

my first thought is a sinus prob, have you had a cold recently? if you have, I think it could be to do with that.