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A friend on another group posted this about her BP this afternoon and gave me permission to print it and talk about it here. Makes me wonder more about the machines used for these readings.
((Call me crazy (many have) but I won't take any drugs except for when I have an infection (short term use). My doctor has been after me to take BP medicine for years and I have refused. They usually take my readings with a machine and one day my reading with the machine was 160/98. My doctor at the end of the appt asked another nurse to take my reading again and she used the manual reader and it was 132/79. I told her that her reading was wrong. She told me, and I was shocked, that the manual reading was correct and that they calibrate the machine reading 20 points higher. And, I did notice that when the machine tightens the 'belt' around my arm that it squeezes it to the point of pain but the manual reading does not. I bet that extra tight squeeze makes the blood flow faster (thus the higher readings). I just don't believe those machine readings anymore. When you have your readings done ask for the machine AND the manual reader and make your own opinion. I've been suspicious ever since.))
I know my arm has hurt a lot when it's squeezed too tight.
I don't understand why you would call this tinfoil hat, etc. The same thing has happened to me. Not sure about the point of the calibration being set higher, but I hate those machines and the pain and I am sure it causes a rise in blood pressure for those who feel the same way about those awful machines!
If you really believe this to be true, you could always get your own machine and bring it with you to the doctor's office. They will either let you use it for your BP reading, or you could take your own BP in front of the doctor and show him that your machine has a dramatically different reading from their machine.
I don't know what I believe anymore, but I question it all NOW. And I'm not carrying a machine around to the doctor's office. I"m on BP meds probably for the rest of my life and my readings are just fine, but who knows...do I really need the drugs? I'm relating a story from another person who questions it all too and does NOT take BP meds like her docs have been trying to get her to take them. And while some members just love to attack what I post, they need to attack others who question so much too. Good Grief. Pick and choose right?
Last edited by jaminhealth; 04-13-2019 at 11:46 AM..
A friend on another group posted this about her BP this afternoon and gave me permission to print it and talk about it here. Makes me wonder more about the machines used for these readings.
((Call me crazy (many have) but I won't take any drugs except for when I have an infection (short term use). My doctor has been after me to take BP medicine for years and I have refused. They usually take my readings with a machine and one day my reading with the machine was 160/98. My doctor at the end of the appt asked another nurse to take my reading again and she used the manual reader and it was 132/79. I told her that her reading was wrong. She told me, and I was shocked, that the manual reading was correct and that they calibrate the machine reading 20 points higher. And, I did notice that when the machine tightens the 'belt' around my arm that it squeezes it to the point of pain but the manual reading does not. I bet that extra tight squeeze makes the blood flow faster (thus the higher readings). I just don't believe those machine readings anymore. When you have your readings done ask for the machine AND the manual reader and make your own opinion. I've been suspicious ever since.))
I know my arm has hurt a lot when it's squeezed too tight.
After a heart attack, I was enrolled in two stints of Cardiac Rehab at our local hospital. So before and after working out the nurse would take my pulse and b/p. More times than not, after taking it the first time on the digital machine, she would ask if I had taken my b/p meds. Upon confirming that I did, she would check it on the manual device which always came back with a good read. This happens at several Dr's offices, and they only cross check with a manual if I ask. They must know the digital devices are not so accurate. Makes one wonder if Big Pharma hands out the b/p machines???
And I'm not carrying a machine around to the doctor's office.
Why not? They're not heavy. They're actually quite portable. They're also not expensive, if you don't own one yet. I'd think it would be very reassuring to use a machine that you know was calibrated correctly.
I know my arm has hurt a lot when it's squeezed too tight.
I would not be surprised. I got one of those machines for home use and it is 20 points higher. But even medical people are sketchy. Last year I got a result of 140/80 with the nurse. I told my doctor about it and i was concerned and she took it again 110/60.
I really don't know what to make of that. Was the nurse just bad at taking it? Was my doctor just lying to me to shut me up? Don't know.
But anything that is subjective like that now... I don't know ... how can I trust it?
People, learn how the machines work. It's not that hard to understand. Learn how to use a cuff and stethoscope on yourself so you can see how your tinfoil theories are nonsense.
Why not? They're not heavy. They're actually quite portable. They're also not expensive, if you don't own one yet. I'd think it would be very reassuring to use a machine that you know was calibrated correctly.
I'm on meds and will stay there. I don't care to check and check machines as I've been that route years ago when I took it at home and journaled it all and finally said "scre** it" and now feel resigned to the meds. And once they have us on lifetime meds, that's it for the most part.
People, learn how the machines work. It's not that hard to understand. Learn how to use a cuff and stethoscope on yourself so you can see how your tinfoil theories are nonsense.
Learn how things work.
Thanks, but no thanks. And it's questioning the establishment, and why not.
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