I've taken it a few times for an allergic response (wheezing but no asthma) or a sinus infection (swelling). I HATE taking it and it's always a last resort for me, and I usually take half the dose you are taking. LOL

I don't know if it could still be in your system or not. Your doctor should be able to answer that question. Try reading about prednisone side effects on the internet. I don't think I've had my bp checked while on prednisone or directly afterwards.

Are you stressed, anxious or upset about something? I have had that cause my bp to be elevated.

I hope you get it straightened out! That is scary. You already eat healthy and exercise, so if it remains high, I would guess they will put you on meds, not suggest diet/exercise changes.

tina

I was on it when I was admitted to the hospital for a severe allergic reaction and had to continue to take it when I got home. After about a week, I had to start weaning myself off of it - was told not to go off of it cold turkey. I do know that they monitored my blood sugar level each day in the hospital (never had a problem with it before) and even when I went in for a check up a couple weeks later, I had to have a fasting blood sugar done before hand.

As far as using the BP machines at a store - make sure to always use the same one and I would go at the same time each day. BP changes during the day. I use the one at the place I excerise and it reads lower than the one at the grocery store, but I use the one at the rec center in the morning and the one at the GS in late afternoon. I just record the findings on seperate cards I have labeled as such.

Make sure not to cross you legs while taking it, and use a long steady breath, drop your chin slightly as well. Some people take theirs 3 times in a row and average them.

Mine is always higher at the doctors office - anxiety mostly.

I've never had a problem with blood pressure, but I do take a few supplements that are suppose to help with that. Two of them are CoQ10 and Fish Oil, both of which are recommended as a natural way to reduce high blood pressure. There are other natural supplements out there that claim to lower BP also. I am NOT recommending any supplements and I am not an expert.Ask a DR. before you take anything.

Weight is not the only factor that can cause or keep someone from getting high blood pressure. My mother has always been on the petite side and has had it for as long as I can remember. I've had it myself since my late 20's and was very petite back then. While eating unhealthy can trigger the water retention (high salt intake), so can your monthly cycle. For now, I would avoid salt as much as possible. If the doctor says the pred should be out of your system by now, I would take his word for it and check your blood pressure daily as he suggests. I would actually do both arms to ensure the reading is accurate. Keep in mind too, that just because you haven't read high in the past, doesn't mean it wasn't happening. It just means that at the time of the reading it wasn't high. In the meantime, if you get a headache I would definitely go back to the doctor. I can always tell when my BP is really elevated by the headache I get.

You might call your pharmacist to ask how long it stays in your system.
Are you still taking that allergy med? Have you checked for side affects from it.

Fish oil will help with cholesterol ratios and with Blood pressure.
Olive leaf extract also helps with Blood pressure.

kelly...so sorry you are going through this. I have been on a Prednisone "regiment" for 8 years now, after several back surgeries. I am on 20mg's for 11 days, (not sure how long it stays in my system, but I can feel the effects wear off around week 4) break for 6 weeks and then start again. I have never had any problems with BP or any side effects with Prednisone...in fact it has been a life saver for me. I am very active, a personal trainer, and on the go always....it helps me get through life.

Did the nurse only take your BP once? If you're BP was unusually high she should have taken it in both arms and then repeated the BP later in case you were simply anxious about being in the doctor's office.

Thanks for all the comments.

My doctor seemed a little confused actually. In fact he had the nurse check his own bp just to make sure the bp monitor wasn't malfunctioning. The nurse checked it four times, twice on each arm with 10 minutes between each check. The doc told me to go straight to the drug store after leaving the office to make sure the machine has the same reading, which it did pretty much.

I'm not a stressed out or anxious person at all and my pulse is pretty low. In fact my pulse was 54 with the high bp reading. I do take CoQ10 and Fish Oil supplements and yes I'm still taking the allergy meds which has never caused a high bp before.

I do know I'm retaining a bunch of water - my fingers feel like sausages when I wake up in the morning and the scale has been really mean to me lately. I've had a bunch of lemon water today and had a hard workout with my trainer then I went to the drug store to check and it was down to 144/68 which I'm sure is directly related to the workout. I have a bit of a pressure headache right now.

This is so disconcerting!

Just my .02 but you don't need to be doing a " hard workout" while this is going on. I am the last person anyone would think of when they think of high BP...and yet I have it.

It seemed to happen over night also for me. We never figured out the why but it has been 5 yrs now and I still take 5 mg of Norvasc a day. I suddenly had a BP of 200/120 ! I felt terrible and went to the Dr asap. It has stayed down ever since I started the med. We do know that I have vasoconstriction and this relieves it.

You are holding fluid...you and the Dr don't know why. You need to find out why and you need to stop ALL extra activity until this is resolved. You are putting yourself at a terrible risk. I know from your previous postings that you still have some weight and health issues. Please take a giant step back until you and your medical professional can get a good understanding of what is going on.

Holding fluid is congestive heart failure - right sided. Please don't do anymore gym exercise. c

What are you eating...Processed food? Fast food? Those tend to be high is sodium. Are you eating out? Be in control of what you're eating by cooking and preparing meals yourself so you know what's going into the dish. They could be adding MSG and you don't know it. Check ingredients on everything prepackaged to make sure they don't contain nitrates and other preservatives. Even if these things have nothing to do with BP, it's part of an overall healthy plan.
My friend has been diagnosed with high BP and it turned out to be caused by her daily consumption of wine. She loved her white wine but now has to limit it.

Some people are predisposed to high BP, they eat all the right foods and still have it while others can eat all the wrong foods and have low BP/cholesterol.

I took prednisone for a short time (after Cortisone wasn't working) and I found that it wore off quickly. The only thing that got me off those steroids was taking a hard look at my diet, when I changed my eating habits I no longer needed the steroids.

Do your thyroid meds need adjusting? I tend to retain more fluid when my Synthroid needs adjusting.

I agree with trailrunner--I am an exercise physiologist, if your BP is that high, you need to not be doing high-intensity exercise because your systolic will go up in order to deliver blood to working muscles, and it might be reaching dangerous levels, especially if you are doing weight training. Yes, a WO does lower your BP post-exercise and it is a chronic adaptation, too.

You may want to invest in a BP monitor for home use (they are less than $100 but get the arm vs. wrist cuff) and check it twice a day day after sitting quietly for 5 min. If you have a flex account, you can probably use it for that, but you may need an Rx from your doctor.

Do you have a family history of high BP? That is also a factor. Both my parents and at least 3 out of 4 siblings have or high BP so I watch mine frequently. Luckily, I'm good for now, but I realize some day I may need medication though trying to delay it as long as possible.

Although like trailrunner said, most high BP is idiopathic, in that it is something that just happens.

Do you have access to a pool? When I am feeling bloated, especially after travel where I've been eating restaurant food, I make sure I hit the pool. The osmotic pressure makes me urinate out extra fluid.

The osmotic pressure makes me urinate out extra fluid.

Not in the pool I hope.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

NO, LOL!

2 different explanations of this phenomenon...

http://www.ebtx.com/theory/osmosis.htm and

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977290671

Was your BP taken prior to being put on the Prednisone? If not, maybe it wasn't the med causing the elevation, but rather something that's just developed. It's a little concerning that you're retaining all that fluid, and why....

Also, certain decongestants can elevate BP (more than straight antihistamines), but maybe your allergy med was contributing. If you have a good pharmacist, I'd run these questions by him/her to see what they think.

I don't like that you mentioned you had a "pressure headache" after your workout. Is your physician an internist?

I had a staph infection recently and my body was more swollen than usual. My BP was also higher than normal. My Dr. put me on a mild diruetic, his theory was that it was to help get the extra fluid out which would lower my BP and help with the staph infection.

I go in tomorrow for a BP check, but I think it's too low...I keep getting so light headed & dizzy! The excess swelling is defnitely down.

I've taken predinsone for asthma in the past and never had any BP probs when I took it. I'm leaning toward the fluid retention myself.

In case I am not the only worry wart here, I heard from Kelly this morning (after not hearing from her I emailed LOL see WORRY WART). She will post later today with an update.

tina

FYI: Saw my doc this afternoon. Blood pressure is back to normal (for me) at 122/78. He thinks I have a salt sensitivity and the prednisone may have exacerbated my salt/fluid retention.

This makes sense to me because I blow up like a balloon whenever I eat restaurant food. I've been eating no salt over the last couple days and even went back to juicing, mostly for the diuretic quality of all the veggies. I've lost four pounds in two days, so there you go.

Otherwise, doc said I'm as healthy as a horse and my cholesterol is even down. Yea!

I went ahead and bought my own blood pressure monitor just so I can keep track of it on a regular basis. I don't know why I'm just now buying one. I mean, I have a scale to monitor my weight, so why not? It was $60 at Wal-Mart and I took it with me to the dr. office so we could check it against theirs and it was off by only 2pts.

Glad to hear such a positive outcome. You were wise to get a cuff..it never hurts to be our own best monitors. I am so glad that it was only a temporary aberration. c

Glad to hear you are doing better. WTG on purchasing the BP monitor.