created by Academic-Inside-3022 on 28/01/2025 at 13:00 UTC
47 upvotes, 37 top-level comments (showing 25)
White Coat Syndrome is where your blood pressure is higher in a clinical setting, or in layman’s, you’re afraid of going to the doctor.
I know I sure am afraid of the doctor’s for the most part. The blood pressure test is definitely the one that makes me uncomfortable, especially when they pump the arm wrap thing and hold it. The pulsating feeling running up my arm in the moment makes me so anxious and restless.
I’ve actually had my blood pressure taken in a more comfortable setting, and it came back normal. Taken from the comfort of my own recliner in the living room!
But over the years I’ve learned to just breathe deeply ahead of going in to see the doctor. Just trying not to get myself all worked up about the millions of scenarios that haven’t even happened, and most of all is to just stay relaxed when they’re doing their tests.
If you have to look away, then look away, and don’t be afraid to distract your mind too. I’ve also found that making small talk with the doctors and nurses really helps keep my anxiety down when I’m in any clinical setting.
And the sense of relief is such a great feeling when it’s all done, and you’ve been told that you’re in good health!
Comment by Roselily808 at 28/01/2025 at 13:24 UTC
28 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes the White Coat syndrome is real and some studies have shown that up to half of the population suffer from it (in varying degrees of course).
Comment by DailyTacoBreak at 28/01/2025 at 13:37 UTC
22 upvotes, 1 direct replies
My husband has this. It's anxiety, plain and simple. They now run his pressure 3 times, each time it comes down a little more and they take the 3rd reading (which is higher than what it reads at home). He has been put on blood pressure medication and we've cut it in half at home because his false readings at the doctor's office indicate that he needs more medication than he really does.
He also can't sleep on planes, even long international flights. When I ask why, he says "there might be an emergency". It defies logic. He cannot fly a plane. He isn't a doctor. He is not in good enough shape to stop a terrorist. ANXIETY. But I adore him. I just wish he would take something for the real issue.
Comment by marzipona at 28/01/2025 at 14:01 UTC
11 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Absolutely. Whenever I have my blood pressure taken at the doctors, they ask “are you nervous?”, which in turn makes me feel more nervous lol
Comment by idkbroidk-_- at 28/01/2025 at 13:12 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes. My blood pressure is always a little high but at the doctor it’s always higher than normal with a faster heart beat. “Have you had any caffeine today?” No I'm just scared you’re gonna tell me I have cancer or something. I am diagnosed with anxiety though so… lol.
Comment by Relevant-Package-928 at 28/01/2025 at 13:35 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Gosh, yes. I've had some serious medical trauma and a diagnosis that gets me gaslit every time. I'm always on high alert when I go to the doctor, especially a new doctor.
Comment by MildewTheMagical at 28/01/2025 at 13:31 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
my grandma does, IDK if it's true or not? but my my mom said my grandma once had a blood pressure reading by a doctor and got told that it was so high she should be dead, but when she takes a reading herself at home it's always fine
Comment by insideoutsidebacksid at 28/01/2025 at 14:04 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
My husband and I both have it. We have a home cuff that they taught us how to use at our doctor's office, and on appointment days we take our own reading in the morning, under relaxed conditions, and it's always normal. We will tell the nurse who takes our vitals at the office "this is what it was this morning" and they note it in the chart.
Comment by daydreamz4dayz at 28/01/2025 at 14:14 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes, my heart rate is consistently over 120 bpm when I’m a patient in a medical setting.
Comment by cannapuffer2940 at 28/01/2025 at 14:31 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes. I recently explained that to a doctor's office. That it's normal for my blood pressure to be a little high. Cuz I don't feel comfortable around you people. Nothing personal.
Major PTSD from years of being misdiagnosed. Having a wrong surgery done on me. And all around really bad medical Care..
Comment by JocastaH-B at 28/01/2025 at 15:49 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes, it's a known thing, in fact my GP surgery insisted I do my blood pressure at home for that reason. It's also important to have your arm on a table, not hanging at your side
Comment by 5k1895 at 28/01/2025 at 14:43 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I used to think I did but then I found as an adult that I just have high blood pressure so yeah. I've got pills for it now thankfully.
Comment by JelloFinal1445 at 28/01/2025 at 13:32 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes! My heart rate and blood pressure skyrocket whenever in a medical setting. Regularly using a smart watch helped me understand this, showing my average resting heart rate as normal. Same with home monitoring of blood pressure.
Comment by IllustriousBeach4705 at 28/01/2025 at 14:09 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Extremely, even though I'm not nervous about it. My heart rate is always tachycardic when it's measured at the doctor's office. My resting BPM (according to my watch) is a normal-er value.
Whenever I check my heartrate manually, it also goes up an insane amount. Even though I'm not nervous.
Comment by thutruthissomewhere at 28/01/2025 at 14:38 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes, absolutely. I try and take my BP for a few days before my dr visit to show them that I do not, in fact, have high BP. I also inform the nurses and doctors that I suffer from WCS.
Comment by _-Sesquipedalian-_ at 28/01/2025 at 14:45 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yup I do! I never knew it until I started donating blood/plasma. At one point my blood pressure was so high I almost couldn't donate and doing the regular check up every time which should be a short check became a long annoying process because they wanted to check my blood pressure multiple times or I even had to go to the doctor/head nurse at the donation centre. So I had myself tested.
It's horribly annoying because my body gets stressed for no reason, I break out in sweat and get nervous and sometimes even shaky. I even get it at the physical therapy office. In other words, I'm not necessarily afraid of going to the doctor, but my body is lol
Comment by Careful-Self-457 at 28/01/2025 at 14:47 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yep!
Comment by kallisteaux at 28/01/2025 at 15:12 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Mine is always higher at the dentist than anywhere else. I've actually had both a doctor & dentist appointment scheduled on the same day before & the dentist reading was significantly higher.
Comment by DesertSarie at 28/01/2025 at 15:13 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I joke that I have “white coat amnesia” I have to bring my SO with me because I’ll understand what the doc is saying but when I walk out my mind goes blank. And yes, my blood pressure is always high at the doc. You can get a cuff do take your blood pressure at home and do some breathing exercises first. It should help you to normalize the real deal. (Advice I don’t practice lol but my brother does).
Comment by Chasman1965 at 28/01/2025 at 15:19 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have a modified version. When the med tech does it it’s high. When the actual doctor does it, it’s lower.
Comment by weird-oh at 28/01/2025 at 15:50 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I used to. Then I had to have my first surgery, an appendectomy. I'd always been terrified of going under the knife, but it turned out to be way less terrible than I thought it would be. That pretty much cured my White Coat hypertension. Good thing, too, because I've had several more operations since then.
Comment by FunkyWolfyPunky at 28/01/2025 at 16:08 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm afraid of the doctor due to PTSD, but strangely I have always had 120/80 BP.
Comment by jleahul at 28/01/2025 at 16:20 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
There's a name for it? Lol, my blood pressure was 160/120 when I was getting my medical clearance last year. They let me relax for awhile (I had a little nap, tbh) and retested and it came back down to a normal range.
Comment by linzkisloski at 28/01/2025 at 16:30 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes. When I was young (like 10 years old) I was continually diagnosed with high blood pressure. They did a million tests on me and couldn’t figure out why. I was active, healthy and had no obvious reasons. Now that I’m much older I know that as a kid I was suffering from pretty horrible anxiety and wonder how many times I went to a doctor’s appointment terrified especially as they kept getting high readings and if that was part of the unknown cause. Now I make sure to breathe and stay calm every year at my annual. I always ask what the numbers are and when they tell me normal I am pleasantly surprised.
Comment by Expensive-Ferret-339 at 28/01/2025 at 16:39 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Yes, and the irony is that I’m a nurse. I work with doctors every day, including my PCP. When I have an appointment she spends a few minutes with me talking about general health topics, then retakes my blood pressure to get a normal reading for my chart.
She totally gets me.
Comment by Yarn_Tangle at 28/01/2025 at 16:41 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I didn't used to but now as I've been to a few more doctors who really just don't give a flip about me it's becoming a problem. I'm seeing a new one in the next few months so hopefully they will break the cycle for me.