So.... I've been tracking my blood pressure off & on at home for about 6 months using a wrist cuff. (My arms are too short for an XL cuff to fit correctly AND I can't get an upper arm cuff in position thanks to arthritis AND short arms.) It's ALWAYS in the 125/75 range - which is PERFECT. But if I go to the doctor, it's always in the 145/90 range - which is NOT okay.

Doc suggested I bring my monitor in to have it "calibrated." I did this morning. They checked my bp and got the higher reading above & then had me check it with my monitor and it gave the lower reading. So they said my monitor was "defective."

So I went to WalMart & bought a much more expensive one after googling & finding the one with the highest ratings/recommendations. Got home, put batteries in it, gave it a whirl...

And it gave the same type of low readings as my old one. Did it 3 or 4 more times. Low & perfect every time.

Called the office & asked "WHAT NOW????" and they want me to bring the new one in & have it "calibrated." I asked what good that would do since it's a perfect match to the old one that they'd already said was bad. No reply....

So... then I got John's cuff out & wrapped it around my forearm and gave it a try. Same low readings as the others. Did it 3 or 4 more times. Consistently low in the Perfect range.

Beat my head against the desk for a while. Called the office back again. Now they say I can only take my blood pressure once or twice a day & that by takign it so often, it's causing me to get bad readings. HELLO!!!!! In the hospital, they usually check you every 15 minutes..... Are all those readings bad too?

So now I have no frickin' clue what to do. I honestly suspect that the lower readings are incorrect but I don't want to start taking stronger bp meds in case they aren't. AND doc won't renew my prescription until I can show him a log of at least a week's worth of blood pressure readings - which I guarantee he'll say are incorrect since they don't match the readings his nurses get....

AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!