My husband offered to come with me to my doctor’s appointment this week, which I thought was super sweet. Then he braked short on the way there, and I’m pretty sure my blood pressure arrived before the rest of me! Funny enough, the follow-up was for low BP readings I’d been getting at home. So we were clearly off to a promising start.
When I got to the office, the receptionist forgot to check me in. Other people were getting checked in, and I was still waiting. Tick, tick… I could just feel the blood starting to boil as I sat there and thought, do I or don’t I make a scene? Before I knew it, I’d made a scene. By the time we sorted that out, my own bedside manner could have used some improvement. We hadn’t made it to the exam room yet, and I felt like we’d already conducted a fairly thorough stress test.
Fortunately, I really like my GP. I actually enjoy seeing her, which is a first for me. I can share what I’m noticing, ask questions, and laugh while we work through whatever I’ve brought in that day. This time, I’d brought my blood pressure cuff. Thankfully, I had remembered today was show-and-tell!
My readings at home had been consistently low, and I’d mentioned them during my annual visit. We were trying to figure out if medication adjustments were needed, so I brought the cuff along to compare it with the equipment in the office. A complete shock… we did our little experiment, and the readings were about twenty points apart.
My husband had been so proud of buying that cuff! Wah wah. I’d been faithfully tracking the numbers, and apparently my machine was taking a more creative approach. Now I needed a reliable replacement and another round of readings. For the moment, we’re keeping meds as they are, and—lucky me—I get to come back in a few weeks.
Was I an alarmist? No, she said. It was good I was tracking things because we couldn’t assume everything was related to MS. And she’s right. I know she’s right. But I also told her that this is how I end up feeling like a hypochondriac. Once everything isn’t automatically MS, there are suddenly a lot more possibilities to consider.
MS has become the junk drawer of explanations in my head.
Balance off? MS. Exhausted? MS. Something strange happening that I don’t know what to do with? Into the drawer. Then my doctor reminds me that everything doesn’t belong in there, and now we have to take it out and sort through it. I wasn’t planning on that spring cleaning today!When you live with MS, every change can seem like a symptom, or an existing symptom deciding it would like more attention. My balance is off, but is it more off than usua, or was it just another curtsy? I’m fatigued, but am I more fatigued? Something I haven’t felt in a while shows up again, and now I’m trying to remember when it last happened and whether I mentioned it to anyone.
There’s almost a little relief in thinking something is probably part of what I already know. Then comes the other thought: what if it isn’t? What if I’ve been blaming MS for something that deserves a closer look? And there I am, mentally going back through the list.
That’s what makes my doctor’s reminder both reassuring and a little unsettling. I’m glad she’s considering other explanations. I want her to. I also wouldn’t mind if my body could send a brief explanation along with each new development. Just enough information to tell me whether to make a note, make a call, or get on with my afternoon.
Instead, I bring it up, we talk it through, and sometimes we check something. This time, checking meant discovering that the cuff I’d been relying on wasn’t giving us the same readings as the office equipment. Even the thing I’d bought to help me understand what was happening needed investigating.
If you live with a chronic condition, you may know this routine. You get familiar with your usual symptoms, but familiarity doesn’t always come with certainty. You can feel a little ridiculous listing everything and still be concerned about the thing you haven’t mentioned. You’d like to know what deserves attention without spending the whole day wondering about it.
So we’ll get another cuff, keep tracking, and follow up. I’m glad I brought mine in, and I’m grateful for a doctor who looks beyond the diagnosis already on my chart. But I had to appreciate how this particular visit unfolded.
I went in because my blood pressure was low, had a short-braking incident, got cranky at the reception desk, discovered my cuff was off, and discussed how everything couldn’t be blamed on MS.
And we wonder why my blood pressure was up!
Yes. The American Heart Association recommends bringing your home blood pressure monitor to an appointment so your healthcare professional can check how you’re using it and compare its readings with the office equipment. They can also check whether the cuff fits correctly.For more information, see the American Heart Association’s guide to home blood pressure monitoring.
Write down what you’re experiencing, when it started, how often it happens, and how it affects daily life. Include your questions and any readings you’ve been tracking. You don’t need to know whether something is related to MS before bringing it up—that’s part of the conversation with your healthcare team.