High blood pressure... AFTER quitting???

[wendysuelopez]

Hi everyone! Hope all are having a great Friday!   I went to a doctor's appointment yesterday and, mind you i was indeed nervous, my blood pressure was 160/94!  it was always as close to normal as you can be, when i was smoking.  Now i quit and it's high?  that really sucks. did anyone else experience an elevated bp after quitting?

[nae5]

Yes I did for about 2 weeks afterwards. I asked one of the physicians I work with why that is and she said it is because every system in our body is affected by the chemicals in tobacco. So once it is out of our systems the body has to do sort of a  reboot which means all sorts of levels from BP to Liver functions to nerve endings will be off kilter as we regulate . Also admitting , dealing with , and overcoming a addiction is STRESSFUL and untill we learn new coping skills (as most of us when we were stressed reached for a smoke ) then we may hold stress in our bodies for longer periods of time  which increases BP  . So drink lots of water, try to breathe as deeply as you can as often as you can and just relax . It should go back to normal within a few weeks .

[JonesCarpeDiem]

if its related to quitting it will probably normalize after the first 30 days.

in the meantime, don't blow a gasket

[Patty-cake]

Maybe that happens to lots of people when they quit smoking, but many people don't have their blood pressure taken during the first month, so they have no way of knowing it happened.

What did your doctor say about the high blood pressure? Is he/she going to take it again in the very near future?

[jojo_2-24-11]

I just recently had it happen to me. I changed locations at my job, not by choice. I do the same thing I've been doing for the last 10 plus years, just different supervisors and less people to help get it done. I think that I will be taking Kevin's route and say that I am overdoing it and that is the reason it goes up. I checked it right before I went on vacation and it was normal. I would suggest you keep an eye on it.

[wendysuelopez]

it was actually an un-related appt with my OBGYN and the nurse is the one who seemed concerned and asked me if i have a family doctor.  i did go to walgreens today and buy a blood pressure monitor and took several readings throughout the afternoon , the highest being only 135/86 or something...so maybe i was just nervous about the appointment...

[wendysuelopez]

the doctor didn't seem too worried and just said people can have isolated cases of elevated blood pressure... maybe i'm just paranoid lol

[joy36]

My Blood pressure was alway's really low. The Dr or nurse, would ask me if that was normal for me. Then about 2 year's ago, it went up, but, everyone in my family, but me, had high blood pressure. so, I thought it was just part of age, and smoking. But, I did expect for it to go down after I quit. But, It didn't. Over 1 year quit, and I''m still on a Rx for High Blood pressure. Oh well, could be worse !!

[paddypaws2]

Hi all, 

I quit smoking on Dec 10, 2015 and my BP went up at least 30 points, and has remained there. 

I have a chronic illness that causes BP to run low (80/65), and have had years of dizziness, near faint on standing etc.

I checked my BP at the two week mark while hanging at a Walgreens, and thought the machine was just wrong.

I went to the doctor when I got sick Dec 27, and first found my BP to be 135/90. Went to my regular doctor on Jan 20 to find it is now 138/110.

I told the doctor I'd quit on the 20th, and he was all excited and smiling. I pointed out my BP, and asked him to explain it. He said if it continued to go up he'd consider medication.

Seriously?

[CommunityAdmin]

wendysuelopez, Patty-cake‌ jojo_2-24-11  paddypaws2‌ joy36‌ nae5‌ JonesCarpeDiem‌

A lot of people come to our site with this question.  It would be good to know how you're doing years later.

How is your blood pressure now? Has it improved since quitting?

Mark
EX Community Manager

[jojo_2-24-11]

That's a very good question, although my b/p has always been on point

during my smoking years and is still the same, sometimes a tad bit lower

than most normal b/p's. Maybe inherent from my mom.

[Patty-cake]

My blood pressure was low normal much of my life. In the last couple years of my smoking, my pressure was starting to climb. It didn't take long for it to start going back to normal. I should be more active which would help my blood pressure stay here for years to come, but alas, I'm a bit of a work-aholic and tend too sit at a desk to much. My last blood pressure reading was around 110 / 62. I definitely feel that quitting smoking has made a significant difference in my overall health, blood pressure included.

[CommunityAdmin]

Thanks for checking in and giving an update jojo_2-24-11‌ and Patty-cake‌. Great to see what people can expect to see after being quit for some time.

Mark
EX Community Manager

[anner]

I was glad to see this topic. I quit (in favour of vaping - although at the end with no nicotine) and after a lifetime of normal blood pressure at 120/80, it shot up to 170/90. Of course, I was medicated for it, and it didn't go back to normal.

Unfortunately, I went back to smoking after breaking a wrist. It's been 18 months. I'm now going back to vaping and am  halfway. But the blood pressure today (admittedly after a stressful hospital appt) 217/95.

I'd love to hear if other people revert to normal or not over time. Otherwise, it seems stopping is more likely to kill me sooner.

[NewfieKitty]

My blood pressure went up after quitting and continues to stay high even with medication. Has not come down even 2 years later. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

I've been doing some research and there is not much out there on this. Do you know what your BP was before you quit?

I've heard of quitting sometimes causing the onset of diabetes in the first year and then the risk declines. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

Could some other factors be keeping your BP high?

[NewfieKitty]

Since quitting I have lost 30lbs and quit drinking and became more active and improved my diet. My BP was good when I was a smoker. The only thing that changed negatively is my anxiety that smoking kept at bay hasn't resolved it's gotten worse. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

I've heard that many smokers with depression and anxiety self medicated with smoking.

The dopamine release instigated by nicotine.

It sounds like you had anxiety before you quit?

What are you able to do about your anxiety?

[NewfieKitty]

I have had anxiety my whole life. I can't convince my healthcare practitioner that anxiety could be the cause he just keeps treating the BP issue. He says it's just a symptom of getting older... I was 30 when it started I don't think that's old. 

[JonesCarpeDiem]

I had anxiety after I quit. Never remember having it before then. I went to my Dr. and they put me on Celexa and the smallest dose of ativan. After a number of years I was feeling comfortable and by consulting with my new Dr, stopped using Celexa.

I still have a RX for ativan but I can't remember the last time I used it. Perhaps when a close friend died.

I believe people with continuous anxiety may have a chemical imbalance but I'm no expert.

I'm assuming you've tried medications?

[elvan]

NewfieKitty  I do think we self medicated with nicotine and that anxiety was a big thing...sometimes called stress, sometimes linked with depression...NOTHING is worth smoking over.  I would suggest getting a second opinion, I am no doctor either but there ARE doctors out there who are a lot more receptive than others.  how long ago did you quit smoking?  The weight loss and improved diet show that you are doing whatever you can to improve your health.  There certainly is a relationship between anxiety and high blood pressure...do you have a way to take your blood pressure at home?  I am thinking of "White Coat Syndrome"...that can cause blood pressure to rise and it is closely linked to anxiety.  No matter what...please don't convince yourself that smoking was helping anything.  Considering how hard it is to find a place to smoke these days...I would say that a smoker's anxiety would be through the roof just trying to find a place to get a fix.  Have you tried meditation?  I really feel for you...I told myself and anyone who would listen that if I could just get my chronic pain under control, I could quit smoking.  I quit smoking in spite of the pain...because it really wasn't helping.  I certainly do not think the age of 30 is old enough to be related to elevated blood pressure, particularly in an active person who eats a balanced diet.

I hope you come back and let us know if you find anything out and PLEASE don't let your addiction pull you back in.  As someone with irreversible damage from smoking, I KNOW that I will likely die as a result of that damage and I also know that it is likely to be sooner rather than later.  

Ellen

[kat480999]

I am currently a smoker again, but wanted to share my story. I was 46 yrs old when I quit smoking for the first time. I had been smoking since the age of 13. I quit for just shy of 4 yrs. all my life I had textbook blood pressure readings. Within a month of quitting my blood pressure began to rise and by the 4 yr mark I was just over the high blood pressure guidelines, 156/something. Now whether this is attributed to the weight gain and weighing 152lbs (b4 quitting 105lbs) or to just quitting smoking- not sure, I am not a dr. But, it’s pretty weird! Now being a smoker again (divorce stress) I am back to textbook blood pressure and down to 120lbs.