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    Low blood pressure and dizziness

    This is probably not a MS thing, but I have to wonder. Has anyone ever felt dizzy and had a low blood pressure reading (at home) at the same time? I got the swirlies this morning, checked my b/p and it was 108/48. But I walked around a few minutes, took it again and it was better and has stayed better.

    The terrible thing is that I have White Coat Syndrome and am pretty sure that if I had been in the doctor's office at the time my b/p would have been high.

    Does this sound like an autonomic problem to anyone?
    Marti




    The only cure for insomnia is to get more sleep.

    #2
    Originally posted by marti View Post
    This is probably not a MS thing, but I have to wonder. Has anyone ever felt dizzy and had a low blood pressure reading (at home) at the same time? I got the swirlies this morning, checked my b/p and it was 108/48. But I walked around a few minutes, took it again and it was better and has stayed better.

    The terrible thing is that I have White Coat Syndrome and am pretty sure that if I had been in the doctor's office at the time my b/p would have been high.

    Does this sound like an autonomic problem to anyone?
    Hey Marti...sorry to hear about your BP issues.

    Be really careful if it's low because you don't want to fall. There's something called "orthostatic" BP and your BP can bottom out when you stand up.

    My BP issues are autonomic, caused by a lesion in the medulla. As with all things MS, so darn hard to control. For years I thought I had White Coat Syndrome because the reading in the docs was high. Then it started going crazy high, not only in doctor's office but at home. My great GP finally found a combination of meds that worked.

    And now I've had to cut back most of my bp meds because now I'm on the low side, even without the medication. I was in the hospital last weekend (not for BP), and I was 90's over 50's. They push salt when that happens, salt and water. I never take BP medicine anymore than I don't check my BP first. So it's become on an as needed basis.

    My GP was the one who figured out how to treat it, but I was referred to a Nephrologist to rule out any other cause than MS (pheochromocytoma, etc.) I wore a 24 hour BP monitor, just like they do for your heart with a 24 hour Holter monitor. Sounds to me like one of those might be helpful for you. No white coat syndrome because no white coat around

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      #3
      About a billion years ago (31 to be exact) I was pregnant with baby #4 and felt exhausted & got dizzy a lot. A trip to my OB revealed that I was more of a weirdo than we thought. My bp was super low!! It lasted about 2 months. 2 exhausting months. Then all was well. Baby girl was fine. (& is now the best daughter ever).

      So, to answer your question, low bp was the cause of my dizziness. So said my doc.
      "Hope for the best and plan for the worst. That way, all your surprises will be pleasant."
      Verin Mathwin, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

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        #4
        Hey marti, you don't happen to be taking Zanaflex, do you? I wound up in the emergency room about six weeks ago with BP of 70/52 and pulse 46. They gave me saline IV and when it got back up to 105/65, they sent me home, telling me to get a cuff and monitor.

        I figured it out on my own, as I realized I had started feeling woozy at the same time I started taking this med. I checked, and sure enough, low BP is a side effect. Called my doc, and she had me taper off right away. Numbers are OK now that I've stopped it. Since it's a common anti-spasticity med, I just thought I'd ask you.
        PPMS
        Dx 07/13

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          #5
          Originally posted by J-Bo View Post
          Hey marti, you don't happen to be taking Zanaflex, do you? I wound up in the emergency room about six weeks ago with BP of 70/52 and pulse 46. They gave me saline IV and when it got back up to 105/65, they sent me home, telling me to get a cuff and monitor.

          I figured it out on my own, as I realized I had started feeling woozy at the same time I started taking this med. I checked, and sure enough, low BP is a side effect. Called my doc, and she had me taper off right away. Numbers are OK now that I've stopped it. Since it's a common anti-spasticity med, I just thought I'd ask you.


          Thanks for your help. No, I don't take that one.
          Marti




          The only cure for insomnia is to get more sleep.

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            #6
            As mentioned, it can be orthostatic hypotension due to autonomic dysfunction and it is known to happen in multiple sclerosis. Drinking a big glass of water 15 minutes before getting up may help.

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              #7
              Well...

              I have to start by saying that I am coming of a steroid infusion so this may not make that much sense.

              That said, there are people here who have had lesions cause this problem. It happens to my cousin all the time too, and he does not has ms. He just kept on falling out at work and when the paramedics arrived to take him to the hospital his bp and heart rate would be extra low. The condition he has does have a name, but it basically means "you keep getting low bp".

              The docs don't know why, but he manages his symptoms by adding salt to his diet, mostly drinking gatorades, and monitoring his bp at home.

              Good luck to you!
              You can't stop washing your feet just because you're afraid you'll fall in the shower.

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