An update

I had a hospital appointment where I was going to be given some test results. I had to get the bus as my husband was out with the car. The buses had just changed and it was a bit confusing (one lady who got on the bus discovered she was going the wrong way).
As soon as I got to the hospital I was told to go and get an unexpected xray. I found the department, went back and was whizzed straight in for blood pressure check, weight etc. Surprise, surprise, in the letter sent to my GP, my BP was up!
My GP is happy for me to take my BP when I remember. I write down the date and the reading, average it and hand in the readings when I visit the surgery.

That's interesting Bradfordlass. As I said in an earlier post my bp is high when checked but considerably low when I had to do a 24hr test. So it does vary throughout the day maybe more in some people.

I had my BP taken yesterday at a 'free BP check stall' in the health centre and it was a bit high, not much but more than I'm used to.

The nurse asked me what I'd done in the previous 30 mins and I explained I'd been up to the 2nd floor (in the lift) to pay my annual elder's group fee, then come down and walked the full length of the long corridor to where the BP is taken.

'That's why it's a bit high' she said and went on to explain that physical exercise, not necessarily rushing, or desperately trying to find parking spaces, but just walking or going up and down a few stairs as I'd just done, can affect BP.

She said, 'If you're really worried, ask your doctor or a nurse, to take it when you first arrive for your appointment, then again 15 mins later when you're with the doctor perhaps, and finally by the nurse just before you leave'

That enables them to get a much better idea if your BP is consistently high or just "situationally" high as with 'white coat hypertension.

That would certainly send my BP soaring, BlueBelle. Best to stick to a glass of water.

annodomino the cup of tea stuff doesn’t always work last time mine was taken at the hospital and was high I had sat down for a cup of coffee in the hospital cafe only to splash coffee on a pair of light coloured jeans dashed off to find a loo to wipe it and the toilets had been moved so I had to rush round to find the new ones so it doesn’t always calm you down ???

My BP is always higher than usual when it's taken in the Out Patients department. I am sure that this is caused by the stress induced by trying to find a space in the car park and anxiety thinking I was going to be late for my appointment. I generally turn up breathless and with seconds to spare. Yes- I know what other more prescient posters will say: I should get there earlier, in time to have a cup of tea before I enter the waiting room! Maybe next time...

When I was in hospital (February), my blood pressure went up and down like a yo-yo and yet I was doing the same thing each day. I don't understand that.

Once it fell so low I was told to stay in bed. The next day it was high.

I don't usually have any problems with BP but hospital seemed tosend it (not me) into a panic!

My DH has been on blood pressure tabs for years after a heart attack which he had 3 stents fitted in his heart and we use a monitor, he also has white coat syndrome, when we check it at home his blood pressure is so low which is what the doctor wants it to be we have a joke when we take it and I say are you alive and then say you have the heart beat of an athlete but not the body.

I've been on bp tablets for the past 20 years. All OK till last year when it shoot up and I even spent a night in hospital. So after seeing the consultant one tablet was doubled up, the other one changed and a diuretic added. But when checked at the doctor it was still higher than they
expected. So fitted with a 24h monitor that revealed much more acceptable readings. The readings are still somewhat high even if I check it myself so now I don't as I obviously have white coat syndrome and panick unnecessarily.

I've had a BP monitor for years because of being a " white coat " person (anxiety-related ) but unfortunately I had a blip a few years ago and the reading was ridiculous. I don't quite know what caused it at the time but it was struggling. After a time on Candesartan, it came down and thankfully has stayed down but now has a tendency to be on the low side, though not a problem if there's no dizziness as it shows that the heart isn't struggling to pump.

Some doctors don't seem to accept that BP fluctuates now and again which means that medication is handed out needlessly and can add insult to injury.

Thank you BlueBelle, that's interesting information, I will have a look on Amazon too.
Glad your BP was 'in the green'. ?

Thats good news and will be such a relief for you.