My 87 year old mom literally cries in pain when having her blood pressure taken. Any explanation?

Thank you everyone for your replies. I was especially encouraged to hear that it is not an unusual occurrence. She was hospitalized at the time that I originally wrote about the BP/crying issue and they were taking her BP all the time. We later learned that there was something wrong with the machine and it was over-inflating the cuff. We still insist on a manual BP instead of the machine, though, because she still winces and it results in a super high pressure reading.
Thank you again, everyone.

My Mom would say it hurt. I think its the desease. I feel they become like children. And as such, every little bump and bruise seems so much more. Maybe instead of a cuff a wrist BP can be used. They aren't as accurate but she may tolerate it better.

Yes, Luz developed this and it actually would raise her bp to as much as 273. I initially thought it was just the compression of the bat wings. She had some big ones for a little person. A wrist cuff and talking to her helped.
It mattered not where the cuff was placed with that #%* machine. Whether on her arm, her wrist, or the ankle.
Things got so bad the aid ripped it off of her once and called the RN. Of course this was followed by bp meds being injected into her IV.
Our PCP no longer uses that machine. All is done manually.
Of course hospitals will not change. Technology is just too great to ignore.
The wrist cuff gave us the best readings. Manual was second best.
Good luck to you.

The same thing used to happen with my mother. I do think the older you get, the more fragile you become and the more pain you can have from simple things. The skin is more delicate and everything just hurts worse. Mental decline/dementia/AD doesn't help either.

Is it fear? I feel for her.

As a child I used to squirm & cry when the BP cuff was presented, then scream when it was on. I just hated the feel of the squeezing pressure. I handled injections though (inc the big penicillin jabs in thigh given often).

I would check her reaction when presenting it. Make sure she SEES it - not just surprise! It's on. Explain it will squeeze but *not for long* Count to ten slowly with her until finished. Then a big well done, that's over!

A kindly nurse did that for me. (I do warn the nurse or Doctor I still hate it & still count to 10 in my head).

Both arms? Have they tried putting the cuff on the other arm?

Does she have arthritis or rheumatism or any kind of inflammatory disease?

Also - if the skin is loose, check it isn't being folded and pinched when the cuff tightens.

It could be that her pain threshold has fallen, but it could also be that nowadays she is more sensitive to squeezing or bruising or constriction, or it could be that there actually is a hidden problem.

I think any sensations can be misinterpreted by a damaged brain.

Mom would yell and wiggle around too. Her little skinny arms just didn’t want to cooperate. So they’d have to take it multiple times to get 1 reading. Or go the the RN. Ugh. I bought her a wrist cuff and had the aides use that, problem solved.

I have had a bp cuff really hurt my arm a couple of times at an urgent care I go to from time to time. I’m not sure why. Have never had that problem until recently. And it did really hurt. Like a bad pinch. I agree with all the others. Ask for a different cuff or refuse altogether.
If it’s a mental issue she will probably forget in time that she had a problem.

If she does not have a blood pressure problem (high or low or drastically fluctuates) I would request that the BP not be take each visit.
You can get a BP monitor that will go on her wrist and does not go as tight.
If her BP can be taken occasionally you can bring the info into the doctor that should satisfy them.
If not...just have them put "refused" in the space where the results are to go.

Agree with CWillie...........why take her pressure so often if it's an issue? With dementia and Alzheimer's, EVERYTHING can become an issue, unfortunately. If it's necessary to take her bp daily, check out a wrist cuff instead:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=blood+pressure+monitor+wrist&crid=38UHL7SF0ZKAY&sprefix=blood+pressure%2Caps%2C199&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_14

Good luck!

I've noticed that when my pressure is higher the cuff is more uncomfortable, I've also noticed that the sleeve on some cuffs really digs in🤔. If she cries with discomfort often enough that you are bringing it up here on the forum I question why you need to continue with these routine measurements, is there a compelling reason to keep checking her BP?