Good news and bad news. Last week, I went in for my pre-anesthesia screening, and my blood pressure was off the charts. 230/130, and it would not come down. I've had "white coat" before, but it usually settles in the 145/90 range, which is still high, but not 'holy crap your veins are going to explode' high. Three untreated hours in the University of Chicago medical center ER, then home, then off to Edward Hospital for actual treatment. After two nights in the hospital, two EKGs, an echocardiogram, a renal ultrasound, an adenosine stress test, and a bunch of different drugs later, I'm home and chilling out and getting into a routine there. The hypertension isn't shocking given the 60 pounds I've put on in the past 7 months from the megace and general stress eating. I also have family history on both sides for it; so, again, no surprises there. I still need to do a sleep study to check for sleep apnea (which I think is likely, but easy to treat).
It was definitely scary, but as the cardiologist said, it was probably spiking for months, and we just never caught it before. Hypertension is something I'd definitely prefer treated than untreated, even though it means that I have three more pills to swallow every day for the rest of my life (or until they tweak things). I'm watching what I eat, and I've cut out caffeine. So far so good.
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