Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits > Questions About Treatment & Side Effects
Biktarvy and high blood pressure
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Heynow:
Hello all,
I’ve been on Biktarvy for just over a month and on my first check up with my infectious disease doctor they said my blood pressure was high and I’ve always had fantastic blood pressure. I was at the doctor a week before for a separate matter and it was still good. 46 years old for context. I bought a blood pressure monitor on Amazon, but not sure on how accurate it is. I plan to take it to my next doctor appointment to perform a test after the nurse to compare. Doctor says if he sees this again we are going to change ART. Has anyone experienced this with Biktarvy? Appreciate any feedback or insight.
ojo. Hi there!, i’m sorry that you are having problems with your treatment. The good thing is that, if indeed is medication as discussing high blood pressure, you have other treatment choices. Please keep us posted about what your doctor has to say.
About that thing that you bought in Amazon to check your blood pressure, try to take it to Isa three times, the blood pressure, and then check for the average. I don’t trust those gadgets. Good luck.
Ps sorry for my typos
leatherman:
--- Quote from: Tonny2 on March 18, 2024, 07:40:47 am ---check your blood pressure, try to take it to Isa three times, the blood pressure, and then check for the average.
--- End quote --- some good advice I always pass out is to monitor yourself and show your doctor documentation about the results you have collected. Numerous times, I have either gotten my doctors to take notice about an issue or to adjust treatment of an issue because I have provided data (dates, results, graphs) verifying the issue.
First, providing data helps a doctor better diagnosis you than from a single test or two in the office every month or so. Second, it shows the doctor that you're concerned. Concerned, involved in their own care patients tend to get better assistance from their doctors. As a patient, it's an easy hack towards getting better health care. ;)
Our bodies are always in some kind of flux. For example, heart rate varies with every activity you do. With other issues like BP or blood sugar, results will widely fluctuate within a day. To get a true evaluation about those issues, you would need to document results over a period a time to find an average or to graph out the data to see a trend up or down.
I've gotten my doctor to give me two BP tests every visit. I believe I did not have high BP problem which he thought by the high reading that was taken each appointment at check-in (with weight and temp taken also). I charted my BP for 2 months multiple times through the day (resting, exercising, etc). Armed with that data I had determined that it was driving an hour from the country, up through major city traffic, for a "medical" visit. Between nervousness and anxiety it was no wonder a BP check upon arrival would be problematic. A BP result near the end of every appointment was always, just like my BP checks at home, within normal bounds.
Tract your results for a while and see if you can determine a pattern and whether it's really an issue or not. ;)
Heynow:
Thank you both for the comments. I’ve started to monitor at home to confirm if there is truly an issue. I’ll follow back up after I get a better understanding and then speak with my doctor on the next follow up.
harleymc:
I have the opposite experience while on Biktarvy I have very low blood pressure.
I don't think it's the Biktarvy, I've been on it for years. But my dizziness and fainting has just been in the past year.