# Low Blood Pressure?



## Dromond (Feb 9, 2013)

I took my blood pressure this evening and the reading was 105/56, with a pulse of 53. This seems low to me. I took my BP because I was feeling very sleepy for no obvious reason.

Now that would be a good BP if I were an athlete, but I'm not. I'm a couch potato. The most exercise I get is walking the dog three times a day.

I've always had a low normal range BP. I routinely shock doctors who expect me to have sky high blood pressure because of my weight. However, it's generally not that low. These waves of drowsiness have been happening with increasing frequency lately, to the point where I'm having one nearly every day. I don't believe it's sleep apnea, because I've been sleeping in a chaise lounge lately. That means my upper body is considerably elevated while sleeping, similar to if I were sleeping in a recliner.

I'm not scared, but I am concerned that this may be a symptom of something going on. Anyone have any thoughts?


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## CastingPearls (Feb 9, 2013)

My normal bp is 100/60 as has been for at least the past 20 years regardless of my activity level. I have had entire teams of doctors and nurses that have blamed themselves and faulty equipment before they can accept I have low bp. The only thing that raises it from time to time is emotional stress which I can't escape, or is ongoing. I'm treating this with 1 mg of Xanax a day (although the prescription allows me to take 3 a day) to sleep and sometimes half a mg to calm anxiety. Usually I treat that with meditation and my Reiki Master Teacher has me on mandatory 20 min minimum but I usually do quite a bit more. 

Back to you, yes, feeling sleepy and/or sluggish is a symptom of hypotension. People assume that low bp is a great thing but your heart needs to pump and if it's not pumping enough to get oxygen to your brain, something can be wrong, like mild congestive heart failure. I slept all day today but that might have had something to do with the blizzard outside.

When was the last time you had your heart checked? If it's been a while, I would suggest you see a doctor. Meanwhile, if you aren't already, keep a log of your bp readings. Also, don't rule out sleep apnea anyway because there are different kinds of sleep apnea and can affect each individuals differently. Please mention that to your doctor when you see him/her too.


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## moore2me (Feb 10, 2013)

Dromond,

I too have had a couple of experiences with low blood pressure. One turned in a dangerous direction accidentally. For years I have taken two kinds of blood pressure pills. A couple of years ago, the doc changed one of them to a different kind. Everything went fine for a couple of weeks and then my blood pressure started dropping lower and lower. The bottom reading was around 45-50 when I was last able to take it myself. I started seeing things (stars, things moving across my eyes, weird objects moved like furniture) - this all happened when I was awake. I begin losing the ability to talk right, and then the ability to walk was compromised. I looked up the symptoms and sure enough they matched with a bad reaction to my blood pressure medicine - not an overdose - just sort of an allergic reaction. He stopped the new pills and within a few days the bad stuff stopped.

Fast forward to last week. I went in for another checkup and the same doctor said my bloood pressure is low again. This doctor always recommends that when a non-threatening low reading for BP comes in, that I take a series of readings at home, record them and bring the data in - along with my testing machine. He wants to see several weeks or a month's worth of readings before my dosage is adjusted. He also asks me to use a wrist type measure device at home (for fat arms). He did not change the readings, but he may during my next visit. He also said if I started to feel faint during the day, to call his office.

Drumond - you also mentioned that you have been walking the dog three times a day. Could it be that this amount of healthy activity (daily walking) could be advancing your conditioning to the point that it is making your heart and lungs a little better and therefore lowering your blood pressure?


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## Jah (Feb 11, 2013)

Walking the dog 3 times a day could be the cause. My blood pressure went from being 139/90 to 120/80 because of going for a walk once a day and I was also a couch potato. Exercise can lower blood pressure in some people and walking the dog 3 times a day is a decent amount if you are obese.
If the low blood pressure is causing problems then you should definitely go to the doctor.


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## snuggletiger (Feb 11, 2013)

If you are consistently having a low pulse rate like that, you could have whats called Bradychardia where your pulse rate is less then 60 beats a minute.


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