Blood pressure monitors

Yes important to ensure cuff is correct size. I have a boots one but had to buy an additional larger cuff for DH. Bought it from Amazon for £12.99 and it fitted well. We had a letter from our surgery asking we buy one as all routine reviews now taking place via phone, and we were requested to have information ready.

Have been using an upper arm BP monitor at home for a long time. Yes, they are uncomfortable when working, and do cause feeling of pins and needles - but it is for such a short time, and they do give far more accurate readings than the wrist ones.
It is important to remember that BP should not be taken immediately after eating or drinking - allow at least 30 minutes after that. Sit still and position arm as close as possible to be level with heart whilst taking the reading. I usually find arm on cushion on the arm of my chair is a good position. Try to be as relaxed as possible and do not talk, etc whilst taking reading.
Readings will change very quickly often second reading taken minutes after first one will see low bp -also readings should be taken on both arms at times.
Readings at home are usually so much better, as many of us - even if we do not realise it - suffer from some sort of 'white coat syndrome', which means that whenever a health care professional takes our BP - it shoots up.
Stress does see an increase, quite dramatic at times. When I went for my first cataract operation, I thought I was coping well, until the nurse took my BP - which was so alarmingly high I thought they would cancel the op. Fortunately, I had a very experienced nurse and he just told me to sit and relax for 20 minutes and he took it again, and although, still high, had fallen enough for him to send me through to the doctors.

The ones on the British and Irish recommended list are all upper arm ones.

You can now get smartwatches that constantly monitor your blood pressure while being worn. Many come with various health authority guarantees, and reviews from those that have purchased them online are in many cases very positive.

My wife and I are both thinking of such a purchase and are looking around, but it seems to be advisable to avoid the cheaper models. Samsung, Google, Huawei, Levono etc are the brands that seem to carry the most accreditation and positive reviews at this point in time.

Larman50, it would probably be best to start an actual thread on this and include the name of the condition in the title.
Your post will get likely lost in the replies about BP monitors..
Good luck!

We got ours some years ago from Lloyd’s, about £15. Works well, it’s an upper arm one, I understand they are supposed to be more reliable. Also recently bought an oximeter which was £11.

Does anyone here get cerviogenic headaches that generate from the neck . Any tips as the medication the doctor gave me has minimal effect

I agree with Alexa, the ones that go on the upper arm are better than the wrist ones.

I should have said it was an Omron wrist monitor I chose

The doctor wasn't convinced I had HBP and asked of I could test it for a fortnight. I bought an Omron. Did three readings a day. Morning, noon and night and proceeded to prepare a spreadsheet for the doctor. It proved I didn't have HBP and was suffering from the medication a consultant had recommended for me.

Can I give a shout out for having an OXIMETER in the home alongside a blood pressure monitor.

I thoroughly recommend using an OXIMETER and have found ours invaluable and it can be a possible life saver because it is simple to use , accurate and when passing information to relevant sources in an emergency aids their ability to assess your health from a distance and need for urgent attention.

Omron or Boots. Have both, equally reliable.

Mine's the Omron, bought online following advice from the practice nurse. £30 is all it cost. Like others, I've been advised to monitor my BP for a week and provide a report which I can either email or post through the door of the surgery. The doctor will review my readings and advise. Simple.

I use a cuff one because the upper arm ones are really painful, though not as painful as the one used in the surgery. But the cuff one makes my hand go numb with pins and needles. My husband says he feels no pain, just a gentle squeezing.
Odd isn't it?

Yes, it's called labile BP, Bluesky, something to do with how the vessels work.

Elianne until I had to wear a 24hr monitor I didn't know and wouldn't have believed that BP can and does go up and down through the day, even to the extent you mention!

Mine is an Omron Intellisense and it has a memory button which gives the past 20 readings which is quite good for comparisons.
Mind you, you'd think it contained two peoples' readings as 102/62 can jump to 150/101 in a day or less for me. A difference of 50 or 60 figure is strangely common for me.

I have an Omron machine too. I check my bp on the 1st of the month and record, then when i go for my check up 6monthly at surgery they take the average from my readings plus take my BP on their machine. So far so good, no need for meds. checks are done as BP issues run in my family.

Don’t forget to check the cuff on the monitor is the right size. Some fit smaller upper arms than others.

I have had a blood pressure monitor for years. Some have been much noisier than others and some have started up suddenly with a sharp sound and alarm you. If at all possible listen to them if you are easily startled!

My newest one is also an Omron. It is reasonably quiet and not alarming.

Agree with Alexa about the upper arm ones. Mine is a Lloyd's basic but reliable was checked against the surgery's and it was spot on. My average weekly readings too have been much more acceptable than those I get at my check up! I now just check randomly a couple of times a week.

You need one with a cuff that goes around your upper arm. More reliable.

mine is an Omron and it is fine. The instructions are very easy to follow.

My Bp was sky high at a pre op assessment and a GP told me to buy a monitor (£25 from Boots)
A week’s monitoring showed my average Bp at home was absolutely normal. Very reassuring.

The home monitors are fairly accurate, we have two, one is a wrist type and the other is an upper arm cuff. One is a Braun, can't remember what the other is.

I take my monitor every so often to the surgery where it is checked against theirs. It has been spot on every time.