Took my step father wife to the ER yesterday, seems she overdid the Exlax. They have this thing about taking a BM, if they miss a day, it is a major issue.
Anyway, the doctor thought we were nuts, as by the time we got to see one, she had several bm's and the stomach cramps were gone.
When we first got there, she was pretty lucent, even remembered her SS#, then things turned south, as her blood pressure increased, was at one point, 234/98, they gave her a pill and it started to come down, released her.
She has refused BP meds over the years, it has been a constant fight. I am really wondering if her high BP has contributed to her rapid mental decline.
Comments Please and Thank You!
I dislike BP meds quite a lot as usually measurement is done when person is under dread due to "White Coat Phobia" and it is better at home. They are given medications, and then at home, they stand up and collapse because their normal BP has become orthostatic, reacting to changes in position.
THAT SAID, Blood pressure can affect most anything, and if people are prone to small infarcts and vessel problems it can cause problems; it is awful for kidney, stroke, and etc. So should be in some decent control. MDs have moved from age stable BP that being you were allowed a bit higher with age, to now wanting everyone at 120/80. That will change next time another study is done in all likelihood.
If you can, learn to monitor blood pressure at home. Even if a machine (get a decent one, not one of those nifty finger gadgets. Ask nurse in MD office or any nurse who does visiting nurse work for an agency what kind she would recommend for ease of use. GOOD LUCK! You could even place an ad, senior center or church or somewhere "Would an RN or CNA be willing to teach me to take blood pressure. Can pay".
I prefer the old stethoscope and cuff for the most accurate reading (although my PA will always check my BP herself manually the old way) which is one of the reasons I like her. She’ll validate what the MA results manually against the automatic cuff.
Please don’t get a wrist BP cuff; in my experience they are rarely accurate. I do not trust wrist BP readings AT ALL because I have consistently noted huge discrepancies when I got to the home (I was a Homecare RN).
Also so the size cuff used is important for an accurate reading. If they used a medium BP cuff size & the person is thin the reading would be affected.
Taking BP’s the old fashioned way was my preferred method when I was doing direct patient care. However, that said, I would rather the person monitors their own BP any way they can and would not discourage them to use it. Any value is better than no values and you can retrieve the BP history from the machine.
234/98 - that might well contribute to her mental decline, only in sort of the same way as you might say it would affect her brain if her head exploded.
So the ER released her once her BP had returned to a less frightening figure; but did no one have any stern words with her about taking her meds as prescribed and *keeping* it stable? Did she tell them any taratiddles about whether she's been taking them? Have they actually been prescribed, and if not what does her doctor have to say about it, or will she not even go and see a doctor?