Bella Donna

Anyone had any problems with their medicals because of high blood pressure readings?

We had our medicals in Perth on Friday and both clocked up b.p. readings higher than they wanted. I expected mine - I've had blood pressure on the high side of normal for twenty-odd years and it's always been ignored by medics as insignificant. Dh, however, clocked a high reading because the lovely doctor doing the examination had just told him he had an *opacity* on his lung x-ray. We think it was the shock of that which pushed his reading up, and he's been back to normal since we got home. However, our visa applications have been put on hold until it's officially *resolved*.

We're both seeing our GP tomorrow for further readings - what happens now?

Sue

Alison1967

I am sure they take into consideration how anxious and nervous people are at these medicals as you are facing a life changing event - migrating i mean.
Blood pressure won't stop you get the visa, you may have to have investigations done but at the worst your GP will pop you on medication.
Good luck with your partners lung thing, has he got a chest infection? As long as its not tubercolisis he'll be fine. I heard of someone who had a chest infection, got treatment and went back after a couple of weeks and had the x-ray redone.

Good luck and hope it works out for you.

Ali x

Bella Donna

Thanks, Ali. Dh's lung *shadow* is something of a mystery. They don't seem satisfied that it's only just cropped up - there is evidence of a granuloma there, which they don't think has happened recently - but his chest x-ray last June was never questioned. They kept asking him where his last x-ray was now - we couldn't help - as far as we're concerned, DIMIA have it. They asked if he had any symptoms, which he hasn't, and whether he'd been anywhere that he might have been in contact with TB.

But - as far as action is concerned, he has been put on a *TB undertaking* list, which apparently is for anyone with this sort of x-ray anomaly. It isn't going to affect the visa (strangely enough) but he will be called in a couple of months to go for further investigations at the chest clinic. We've been told it is only his blood pressure reading that will affect the visa.

This seems crazy to us - if they sincerely think that this might be indicative of active TB, why on earth are they just letting him wander around? Although I understand that this type of granuloma can occur after active TB has remitted.

We'll see what the doctor has to say tomorrow....

Sue

Alison1967

Sue

I have essential hypertension that runs in female side of family. some people are "white coaters" and my BP is always higher when my Gp does it than when i get it checked at work by a colleague. If he gets the nurse or his GP to do several times and its OK you could get a letter off the GP or get popped on to medication as a last resort... it probably won't come to that.
Let me know how he get on, fingers and toes crossed for tomorrow.

Ali

Ozzidoc

......and first resort:
Watch your diet - no added salt, no packaged foods (they're full of salt)
Do you need to lose any weight? even 10lbs makes a difference.

BP tablets are an effective method of managing high BP, but not usually started on until the above methods are tried - often for six months, but it depends on just how high your BP is.

The thing with white coat hypertension is, that the original figures/readings used to work out if someone has high blood pressure were done on people by doctors. ie white coat hypertension is a normal phenomenon which is accounted for in the "normal BP range"......and then the yanks came along and had to muck up everyone's perception of this (except the scientists!), hence WCH!

Angela Marie

[QUOTE=Ozzidoc]......and first resort:
Watch your diet - no added salt, no packaged foods (they're full of salt)
Do you need to lose any weight? even 10lbs makes a difference.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Hi - I am no expert but my BP was high in january, I have given up tea and coffee, reduced alcohol , no crisps or pre pack food, joined the gym and I now drink 2 litres of water a day. This has brought my BP down to 120/80 ish.

The caffine in t and coffee was really making a difference.

angela

wezzies

hi sue

hopefully you will get some answers tomorrow at Docs. OH has high blood pressure and kidney probs. which is being looked into at the moment. I think DIMIA are VERY thorough when dealing with medicals, and maybe they just want to make sure the high blood pressure is looked at thoroughly and the reasons for it.

what we were advised is to buy a home pressure kit ( cost £30) and take several at different times of the day each day as apparently it can fluctuate significantly at different times of the day. on it's own i don't think HBP would stop you getting the visa ( hope not or we're %$£*&"!)

take care
wezzies

ub40fan

[QUOTE=Angela Marie]
I find this most interesting as the last few readings I have had (gym, nurse, pre-op) have all been a little on the high side. So with meds in 3 weeks I think I will reduce my tea intake, I usually drink up 7 or 8 cups a day!

Shirley

Angela Marie

[QUOTE=ub40fan

I would never have believed it - I used to drink about 10/15 cups a day, due to meetings etc at work. Not saying this is a cert, but it worked for me!!
drink the water as well. and as others have said if you get one of those home BP monitors you can see the effects.

Hope you are ok.
angelax

ub40fan

[QUOTE=Angela Marie][QUOTE=ub40fan

I would never have believed it - I used to drink about 10/15 cups a day, due to meetings etc at work. Not saying this is a cert, but it worked for me!!
drink the water as well. and as others have said if you get one of those home BP monitors you can see the effects.

Hope you are ok.
angelax [/QUOTE]


Cheers mate x

Bella Donna

Thanks for the thoughtful replies, folks.

There is certainly no doubt I need to lose weight. I've piled on the pounds since my daughter was born - over 4 stones, to be precise. I put on nearly a stone when we were staying in Fremantle last year - we had to eat out every night for a month, and all the chips took their toll. I have never craved a plateful of vegetables so much in my entire life! I've lost about 10lbs since then, but much more needs to come off. But the strange thing is that my blood pressure has only gone up about 5mm/hg on the systole and diastole in the past 25 years, despite a lot of extra weight. I was having my pressure checked regularly back in the early 80s when on the Pill, and it was consistently around 140/90. My GP wasn't bothered - but that was before the goalposts were moved, as Ozziedoc says.

I do have a slightly under-active thyroid, which would contribute to (if not cause) the problem, and am in hormonal disarray due to being peri-menopausal. Can't do anything about the latter, of course....

Diet isn't too bad - apart from enjoying my own cooking too much. I eat very little processed food, lots of fruit and veg. I do succumb to the occasional cream doughnut though. I suspect like most overweight people, I look at myself in the mirror, think *must lose some weight*, get depressed - and go and find something to eat!! Much of it is comfort eating, I'm sure - I started when my mum died suddenly and haven't worked my way out yet.

I wonder if caffeine does have a part to play in my elevated blood pressure though. I drink about 6-8 cups of tea a day on a bad day, less on a good, and don't drink coffee. I would never have thought I was addicted to caffeine, until my dd spent an unexpected night in hospital a couple of years ago, and I had to go 24 hours + without a cup of tea. I only realised that I was addicted to caffeine when the foul, banging headache I had disappeared instantly when we got home and brewed up!

Sugar - definitely need to reduce it - are there any sweeteners in Oz that *aren't* aspartame?

scotty9000

my wife has HBP & had an op for it, she still passed the med OK

Bella Donna

Well that was depressing....

Saw GP today and have a battery of tests to get done tomorrow morning. He's reasonably sure dh's problem is *white coat* but given my family history he's also reasonably sure that my blood pressure is of greater concern.

I've got to have tests for iron deficiency anaemia/blood count, cholesterol, thyroid function, kidney function and sugar/insulin assessment. So it's nothing to eat after 10:00 for me!

Once that lot's done, I have to have a continuous monitor fitted for 24 hours and depending on what that reveals, perhaps an ECG as well.

GP has confirmed that visa applications will be put on hold until it's all resolved one way or another.

Such is life, I suppose....

ub40fan

Oh Sue,

I suppose you could look on the bright side and say if there is anything wrong they are going to find it and treat it, rather than finding out a few yearsdown the line when treatment may not be as effective!

Hope things go well for you

Shirley x

nick72

Hey dont panic....

My BP is high, I have already had the blood tests to check for iron deficiency anaemia/blood count, cholesterol, thyroid function, kidney function and sugar/insulin assessment.

They are all ok..

On Wednesday I have urine test another BP test and then an ECG..

My Doc told me to look at it as an M.O.T. before going for the medicals for Oz.

Its not going to affect my Visa App !!

Thinking of you....

Nick