I'm awakened between 5 and 9 a.m. with a surging feeling that goes from my abdomen up into my head and my pressure goes spiking up to 170/100 sometimes even higher. I feel nauseated and have a headache when the pressure starts to come down. I do deep breathing excercises and the pressure starts coming down slowly. I'm taking Exforge 5mg/360 and have had a constant sinus infection since I started taking it. This medication doesn't seem to stop the spiking effect that occurs each early a.m. My pressure can fluctuate from 119/75 to 140/85 to 170/100. These attacks can last for hours as I get so frightened that I might have a stroke that I'm sure the pressure stays up. If I take a 0.25 Xanax it comes down but my doctor doesn't want to prescribe this drug as she says it can be addictive. I only take one when my pressure goes this high. Drugs such as Zoloft, Lexapro gave me severe anxiety so I couldn't tolerate them. Help! please, there must be an answer somewhere out there. Thank You.
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Q: Why am I waking out of sleep with high spikes in my blood pressure?
Do you suffer from panic/anxiety attacks?
I have the same surging blood pressure occasionally as I wake up. I had an acute case of it for two months this year, where it was a multiple, everyday episode. It made me very sick and I missed some work days. I've had it for about one year now.
My BP will usually be 99/57 at full rest, awake. When the surge happens, I will wake up very suddenly with that surging feeling and have BP of 148/92 or more, spiking further when I get up. I wind up shivering cold with the shakes after a few minutes (5-20mins) - my body temperature drops.
Early on in these extreme episodes, I would have a rapid pulse that went over 100. It was a full throttle panic attack, but none like I had ever had before. I too truly thought I was going to have a stroke and went to the emergency room a number of times. It happens during sleep, between 4am - 9am for me. It has also happened just before & just after waking up during my two months of intense, daily episodes.
Something hormonal or nerurological is happening, beyond the possible panic attack/pre-menopausal diagnosis. It is a rather severe reaction. It physically hurts and is disruptive to somebody who is in relatively good health - and for one who works at being healthy (me).
I take Paroxetine - that helps - but I still don't have a sufficient answer on the mechanics of this problem, or a name for it. The Paroxitine doesn't hinder the waking BP spike from cropping up a couple of times a month, but it does help quiet the panic reflex.
We know that beta blockers quell the high blood pressure process for some cases, and how it does that. I think this 'blood pressure spiking condition' needs more explanation in it's relationship to panic disorder or whatever it is really related to.
I think it is a dangerous condition. I would love to have some better explanations about why this happens.
OOOOKKKK....I am glad to see that I am not the only one that feels like I am hitting a brick wall at full speed constantly over the "blood pressure spike" issues! I was admitted to the hospital eight times last year and I have been to the ER over 21 times since July, 2008! I have had every test i can think of to request. I take Propranolol three times a day to control my heart rate, HCTZ for my BP, and Amitriptyline for the so called "panic attacks" (Xanax when needed at the worst times!) Without getting to long winded, last year I was sitting in my garden planting flowers and drinking my energy drink (Full Throttle) as usual and all of a sudden my heart rate rose and I could feel my BP rising as well......EMT's registered at 176 for heart rate and 210/134 for the blood pressure! This did not subside until 3 or 4 hours had passed. Since then, I have been plagued with these spikes and also migraine headaches, digestion issues, severe esophageal spasms, and tingling and numbness coming and going on the right side of my face and into my arm and legs. This is especially apparent when I have the BP spikes. I can just be laughing and carrying on with my kids or asleep....the spikes just hit and they are VERY debilitating! I have had to leave work several times to go to the ER and miss work altogether over being admitted. I have kidney issues/constant bladder infections and fatigue especially in the afternoons. I have had one doctor say that he is not ruling out Multiple Sclerosis. My sister has this condition as well! She and I are both nurses and it is very hard to explain this to our employers. Got a question for all people that wrote into this and are haveing these symptoms: have you been tested for an adrenal tumor? and has anyone had a parent or spouse go overseas during the Gulf War or Kuwait (1990-2007)? I have had an environmental doctor run chemical panels as well. Seems that my sister and I are both positive for pesticide exposure....wuld love to hear responses!!!! :) angie
P.S. I am 34 and my sister is 29. I have 4 children, married and she has twin girls, married. We both are nurses and live in stable homes.....(well, atleast for now! This has caused serious financial burden as well!)
Nic78, My doctor didn't test me for the brain infection. I was exposed to the Listeria bacteria and the symtems for sinus infection in brain are similar. I became ill in Feb and March 2011 and listeria didn't appear until August 2011. My medical records showed I had a chronic sinus condition for the past two years. After finishing the round of Bactrim the bacteria started to come back after four or five days. I took a round of amoxicillin and that finished off the infection and it hasn't come back and that has been two and a half weeks. It took two rounds of antibiotics to get rid of the infection. My doctor gave me a clean bill of health Thursday and i can go back to work next Monday.
Angie,
I am going through these same exact episodes and am only 41 years old. They all of a sudden just started one day and now seem to hit me the worst when I am totally enjoying life so I really don't agree when my doctor tells me that it is stress. My husband was in the Gulf War in 1991, do you think there could be a connection?
Just a suggestion. I have Lyme Disease and have many of these symptoms including blood pressure spikes particularly when i feel very ill. spikes seem to go hand in hand with the degree of ill i feel. I would suggest you go to a "lyme literate doctor". do not waste your time with general doctors...they know so little about this illness. It is a debilitating illness and many people go years before being diagnosed. if you are interested go to ilads.org....this is a medical association for doctors who treat lyme. You can also email contact@ilads.org and ask for a list of doctors who are familiar with lyme in your area....hope you get better!!!
Elinore, I know that our pressure is supposed to gradually rise as we awaken. I just worry about a stroke due to the persistent hypertension episodes. I responded earlier to the general topic, but I wanted to address you specifically. I too have the nausea and headache when the pressure drops. I have this between 7am and 11am and at night between 4pm and 9pm. It is daily like clock work! My husband and I have tried experimenting where I have no clocks or ability to know daytime from nighttime. It still happens and he was able to vouch for that since he had the watch! LOL. Like I mentioned earlier, my sister suffers from the same thing except one thing is different....her heart skips beats and I just have Sinus Tachycardia. We both have the BP spikes, edema, fatigue, and we are very sodium sensitive. My mother experienced a similiar health issue and was put on a special diet and medications. She is doing much better now, but despite diet and meds my sister and I are still plagued. It is getting to the point that I get afraid to go ANYWHERE! Even to the WalMart! Again, as mentioned in the other post, traces of pesticides were found in me and my sister. My brother refuses to be tested. My father was in the Gulf War region (2 yrs), Kuwait (9months) and Iraq (14 months).....and also spent 2 1/2 years on tour during the Vietnam War!! Do you have any past exposure to anyone who was exposed to these wars? My environmental doctor seems to think that my mom's breast cancer and me and my sister's illness has much to do with this exposure. Reason being is because my father absorbed the chemicals and when he would sweat the outgas would absorb into clothes, furniture, anything pourous....we then in turn absorbed these toxins as well. My father is 100% disabled due to similiar symptoms involving the muscles and the neurological issues that me and my sister are slowly developing. By the way, we had no idea that my father had been seen or treated for any of these issues until we had to PRY it out of him!!!! I would really like anyone's input.
I introduced a product called Wipee-eeze Mosquito Wipes several years ago that contain all natural ingred. After much research, I found that many men that came back from Dessert Storm were effected by millaria pills and mosquito repellant . Repellents are very toxic and can due much damage to the brain and body.. When used with certain medications including millaria pills, the effect can be fatel. Go to the DUKE University website and read their findings.
I had perfect health until one day someone decided to run their car into mine....while I was still in it. I had to have life-saving brain surgery, suffered minor but permenant damage to some regions of the brain while others were unaffected. While these devestated my life as I knew it, the worse was the damage to the Hypothalamus & Pituatry. These are known as the "master" gland for a reason. They help regulate hormone levels in one's bloodstream.
The first proof I had, for docs, that something was wrong w/ me was by BP of 172/160. I was given Lisinopril but eventually suffered moderate dizzines so we changed to Micardis. That did the trick & made my BP controllable.
Something chaged within a year or so that made my jaw just drop. I had forgotten to take my BP medicine due to memory problems from the brain injury, but my BP was within normal ranges(120/80). What changed? I finally found an endocronologist that knew what he was doing & wasn't a diabetes doctor first & then an endo. I was prescribed thyroid medicine that contained both T4 & T3. Most thyroid medicine contains T4 only & does not address the T3 deficiencies some patients have because most doctors don't test for it. T4 works for most, but not all. That is documented in the New England Journal of Medicine. I went from taking 20mg of Micardis a day everyday of the year to taking 30 doses of Micardis a year under management of my T3 deficiency.
T3 was the key for me & I know this because I once had to go to an alternate thyroid medicine that didn't have T3 & my BP shot up to 150/110. Once back on a T4/T3 combo my BP was normal again.
In addition to a thyroid deficiency, I also suffered from Growth Hormone deficiency. When I finally was able to get help for this, many hormones were normalized. While my next endo refused to test my blood levels, I knew there was a change as I sensed it. Sure enough one of the changes was that I had too much thyroid now due to my current thryoid dose plus the GH changes so I then was able to get off of another medicine while resolving other health issues. One of the other issues that was resolved, to my surprise, was that my male infertilty was now reversed. Yay! I have my first child & my first son.
The bottom line is you need a complete hormone panel by someone who actually has experience with hormones aside from what they once read in a book while at medical school. The best ones, in my experience, usually call themselves or are associated w/ "Age Management" practices. The current practioner is a F.N.P & has done more for me & my family in 4 weeks than my last doctor did in 3 years.
I had to move 3 years ago & lost my good doc. I found one that wasn't too bad, but he had to return to his country of origin. My next doc was a good listener, was probably good in diabetes management, but had no idea what I was talking about when I talked about hormones. My current practioner(FNP) is very experienced.
why does my husbands blood pressure spike some days and not others?
I have been suffering from high blood pressure for 2 years now and sometimes it would be fine other times it would go as high as 180/115 i would run to the ER. Doctor gave me some pills to take but i realized salt intake has a lot to do with my blood pressure rising. Does your husband eat a lot of foods with high sodium? I now reduced my salt intake to about 1,000 mg a day and i no longer have had episodes of high blood pressure.
Elinore:
I spent a year taking Xanax .1mg in the morning, afternoon, and then 25mg of Amitryptiline (tricylic antidepressant) at night 30 minutes before bedtime. Wow, for almost a year, my life was normal. No more blood pressure spikes and sudden elavated heart rate! Well, my female doctor left and was replaced by a male doctor who decides that I do not need to continue on the treatment that has worked for me nearly a year~as a result, I went through withdrawls-ended up at the ER several times in a 3 month period. Then, my life is again abnormal because my meds were taken away. I have a pheochromocytoma on my left kidney (adrenal gland). It is not severe enough for surgery right now. This is what causes my life to be hell. The tumor produces excess amounts of cortisol. Therefore, keeping me overweight, disturbed, and uncomfortable. Why does a doctor become so cruel and take treatment away that is helping a patient live a normal life? I am trying to find another physician at this time-my heart goes out to you! Angie
I was in the Hospital for high blood pressure for a week last October could not get it down. Took all types of test all the medicines almost killed me I have COPD and am also on oxygen 24/7. I now tak Generic Zanax .05mg twice a day which helps better to take Zanax then stroke out my Pulmo said. But lately my morning BP have been high also and it is scary. I only take 10mg of Lisinopril daily and during the day it is fine not real low but ok. Because of my COPD hypertension goes along with this disease. So when you get stressed up goes the BP that is why the Alprazolan.
I sympathize with all of you. I have been diagnosed with an arrhythmia, but I don't think that is causing the spikes in bp. I would occasionally get these spikes (180/90) but now in the last two weeks it is happening everyday. It usually wakes me between 4 and 7 a.m. I usually have a numbness in my left arm or right arm my hands are sweaty. I get really scared! Sometimes when it makes me sit up It will subside within a few minutes, but sometimes it will last 20 or 30 minutes. I take atenolol for my blood pressure and tambocor for my heart rhythm. I've also take Paroxetine for about two years and started Crestor last year. I also take an aspirin everyday. My doctor has done two blood tests and has ruled out thyroid and cholesterol. I have also had an ECG and my heart seems to be regular. He prescirbed Xanax to help me relax and sleep, but it does not seem to be helping much. I am at my wits end. Lately I have been very tired and sleepy--very light work (washing car, cleaning garage, etc.) seems to make me breathe heavy. I welcome any suggestions that anyone has as to what your doctor has told you it might be. I am glad that others share the same burden because my friends and co-workers seem to think it is all in my head. I think even my doctor seems to think it is anxiety. In truth, I would hope it would be this instead of something physical--it is really getting annoying. I, like one of you mentioned am afraid to go places because I am afraid that I will get sick. Will appreciate any help that I can get. Thanks.
Hello all, I am a 60 year old female who has struggled with unstable blood pressure for years. I have taken 3 different medications for a few months at a time, but have tried to stablilize my bp without them since they make me feel so tired and brain foggy. I have gone on a gluten free diet, lost 25 pounds, drink no alcohol or coffee---In other words, I've made the lifestyle changes recommended including walking every morning. But now my bp is high on waking in the morning and goes down during the day. Morning readings are around 160-175/94-104. Then during they day it goes down to 137-147/78-88. I, too, freak about the morning surge. If I'm asleep, I can't do much about it surging. I take many supplements including aspirin every day, and magnesium, calcium, resveratrol, fish oil, Co-Q10, DHEA, Bioidentical hormones, T3. I recently had all lab work and hormone panels come back mostly normal. T3 still in low normal range, but all else fine according to my doctor. If anyone knows what's going on, PLEASE respond. Like many of you, I worry and get scared. I feel obsessed with blood pressure readings and now, I'm afraid to go to sleep at night for fear my bp will rise uncontrollably! Thanks, all. And hang in there. I feel for everyone. Blessings.
Did they check you for a pheochromocytoma, is a tumor that raises bp
Take a brisk walk of approx 30 minutes (3 to 4 KM).High (systolic)blood pressure at waking up will immediately come down as much as 30 to 50 units.Arteries opening up ?
PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA......ADRENAL GLAND TUMOR WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SPIKES, SWEATING AND MIGRAINE LIKE HEADACHES....SEE AN ENDO DOCTOR FAST
I have the same thing happening on occassion this morning I woke up feeling bad and knew it was my BP Spiking 179/101. I take Alprazolam .05mg twice a day and that will usually keep it in check. But I also have COPD and am on oxygen at all times. anxiety is the main cause my dr. said it comes with my diesease. I only take 10mg of Lisinopril daily for BP. And my blood pressure is usually low 89/70 to 123/81 and lower. It really has no stable but don't have any real answer. I am afraid of a stroke when it spikes like that.
Hypothyroidism.
Dear Elinore,
My name is Bill. I'm 35 and suffereing IDENTICAL symptoms. I am scared to death I am on both bp medicine (Lisinopril) and a Beata blocker (Proprol) I'm still having problems. My entire life is becoming crazy because of this. I know your post is several years old but If you've been able to get an answer to this crap It would mean the world to me to know. Thanks and God Bless!!
A supplement called "Seriphos" (phosphytidyl serine 1000mg) may help...it reduces the common spiking of cortisol which raises your blood pressure........and it's safe and natural.
I have been having the same issue as Elinore accept that I ben placed on Lisinopril 10mg tabs which I have to take 4x a day to keep me from spiking bp and then for anxiety of which I never had issues with in my 32 years of life up till my bp has been out of controll I take Buspirone which des not do anything for me and does not help me sleep either!
I have changed my diet since I was Diagnosed in April I weighed 246 pounds and now I'm down to 215 pounds! The only that has helped is going for power walks every morning and then again later in the day! What sucks is that my spikes always occur around the same time which has me baffled as to why they hit at the same time!!!!
Between 12-12:30am and then 3-6pm
It has just been tough to sleep and to work but even worse it keeps me from my son at times with crappy feelings I get! I have good days and I have bad days which I hate but all I do is research on how to beat this thing!
To everyone here who has post thanks for the syptoms you posted thought I was the onlyone suffering like this and my payers go out to everyone of you!
I will be keeping you guys updated on how I'm trying to beat this!
Hi I have the same problem only mine will spike at different times. But I am on zanax because I have hypertension and COPD. It is better to take zanax than have a stroke I usually take 0.25mg twice a day on occassion I will need to take and additonal 0.25 but that is the only way I keep my BP once spiked to go down. No Dr's heart or otherwise know why this happens so they call it hypertension.
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I have found the cause of my blood pressure spikes. I had a sinus infection that got through my sinus cavities into my brain. Symtoms: Total fatigue, uncontrolable Blood Pressure spikes as high as 200 + over 100 + and headaches. Blood pressure surges usualy around 5 AM. Dr. treating me for possible listeria bacteria knocked out the high blood pressure problems with an antibotic. Bactrim Ds 800-160 Tab Pres . Other doctors had been trying to fight blood pressure with blood pressure medication for 9 months. The blood press problem, which caused other problems was caused by the brain infection, not the heart or corronary system. It feels great not to be so tired and have high blood pressure anymore.