Blood pressure and MS

[hbananas]

Hi, all.  I have spinal lesions and punctate brain ones.  I am diagnosed with transverse myelitis, because I haven't shown the doctors objective dissemination in time.  Details are in my journal.

Over the last week or so, I've been getting dizzy some.  Since I'm laid off from work, I can take my blood pressure whenever I want.  Today when I got concerned it was just 90/60, way below my usual 120's/80's or high 70's.  I am on two blood pressure medications.  Maybe if this keeps up, I can drop the brand-name-only one.

Could this be related to my neurological condition?  To affect BP wouldn't there have to be something in the brainstem?  Or am I simply so terribly laid back while at home that my BP is falling and it'll pop back up when I go back?  I have been doing my PT exercises for my back and neck, but I'm not getting in my 40 minutes of walking to and from the bus, so it's not because I'm getting in great shape.  I'm not lying around watching TV and eating bonbons, either.

[jensequitur]

I had severe lightheadedness for about a year, which the doc thinks was caused by the lesion in my cerebellum.

[hbananas]

Had my PCP appt (with my husband's doctor, since mine's on maternity leave).  He didn't look at the chart I'd been keeping of my BP, didn't think anything was related to my neuro issues.  Just told me to take one of my meds in the morning and one at night to see if it evened things out.  Also ordered metabolic and lipid panels to see if anything there would contribute to lightheadedness.  Guess I'll just keep on keepin' on and stick fairly close to home until this all resolves.

[hbananas]

Whether neurologically related or not, I'm finally going to have to do something about it.  I set off on my 3 hour drive to visit my kids, and ended up turning around about an hour into it.  I'd felt a bit off this morning, so I downed a bag of beef jerky on the road.  When I got scared, I drove on a slower road to the nearest small town, and happened to park in front of a clinic.  They took my BP, and apparantly all the salt had done its thing, because my BP was pretty high.  That, and I was probably in the midst of a panic attack from feeling lightheaded while driving 70 mph.

The nurse practitioner there prescribed me one blood pressure pill, which I bought and downed at the pharmacy next door.  Then I hung around until I felt more sure of myself, came home and called my own PCP for an appointment tomorrow.  Back on the road, I got a call from my sweet boys, volunteering to come take me and my car home.  Thank heavens they didn't have to do that.

[Deb61]

I do think that there's an MS connection with blood pressure.  The brain is so complicated with all that it controls.  Some of the glands in the brain such as the hypothalymus and pituitary can cause problems with blood pressure.  If there was a lesion or malfunction in those areas, blood pressure could be effected.  In addition, autonomic dysfunction can be seen in MS patients.  What lesions/problems that cause autonomic dysfunction for MSers is far beyond my medical knowledge.  

[jensequitur]

I have really low blood pressure - usually around 100/60.  But at this time I can't say if it's caused by the brainstem, or just naturally low blood pressure.