Elevated Blood Pressure

One summer, prior to the time I began my downhill slide, I suffered from sporadic bouts of elevated blood pressure. I could feel the difference in my body, the pounding, the increased shortness of breath, and the headaches. If I was in a store, as most of these ‘bouts’ occurred with activity, I would check my blood pressure using one of those machines you see in and around the pharmacies. The reading, even when I sat for a few minutes to offset the activity, was always elevated far above my norm.

Was this going to be a new problem for me, I wondered. Did I need to worry about stroke on top of everything else?

The episodes were often enough to be of concern, but not so frequent as to cause panic. So, as is my usual, I watched it for a few weeks before I went to the doctor. In the office my blood pressure was elevated, but my doctor chose not to jump into treatment. She’d had an MS patient with the same thing, but she got treated for her elevated BP. When her blood pressure dropped to her normal levels she bottomed out because she was on medication to lower a blood pressure that was no longer elevated.

My spells lasted about a month that summer, and have never returned. Every time I have my BP checked its well within normal limits. Just another one of those MS things to keep life interesting.