I have my medical coming up soon (45 years old) and am a bit concerned about my blood pressure readings.
At home when i take them they are fine but as soon as i get to the doctors they shoot right up…white coat syndrome! Does the doctor take this into account when filling in the D4 medical form and would he go on my home readings?
Thanks in advance.
Richard.
Think he would go on the readings taken at the time
I don’t know about the UK but I had to go and see a cardiac specialist here in Canada as part of the medicals for my permanent residence application because I was having high blood pressure readings. I was “diagnosed” with white coat syndrome and sent on my merry way.
Here we have to do a medical every time we renew our licence, which in New Brunswick is every four years and while on some visits to doctors my blood pressure is normal, on others it shoots up so I always explain my diagnosis and even if my readings are high, they still pass me.
Hiya the answer is yes they do take in the white coat allergy. even if you are a little high on the blood pressure
they will give you a coarse of pills to lower it. maybe your problem will be you left your medical to the last minute.
you can have your medical 2 months earlier than when you apply for your new licence, if you do that you can get
a coarse of pills in before your licence expires.get into your doctors as soon as pos and see if you need a coarse
to lower the high blood pressure dont leave it to the last minute
John
Explain your situation to the Doc and if he’s is anywhere near reasonable he will take it into account.
Or you could just renew you photo on your photo card licence and they might give you another 5 years regardless.
Said without prejudice and without warranty or guarantee either given or implied.
No refunds, other opinions are available.
Jim
Thanks for all your replies chaps.
Dont worry take the medical send it to DVLA even if its too high, they will give you the ok to keep driving as long as it can be controlled by tablets/loosing weight/getting fitter. Its usually tablets though. If its under control within 2 to 3 months DVLA take no further action.
Rather than worry about it, if it is high enough for the doc to comment on it, ask them to do it 3 times and take an average. I took part in a survey over 6 months concerning high blood pressure where everyone’s initial readings were high due to the white coat. They took three readings & found then all to be within acceptable limits. I did it with my doc next time around & he was happy to do it, it dropped significantly from the first. He put the average on the med form.
I suffer from high blood pressure and is controlled by medication on a Permanent basis. I take my blood pressure at home and it’s normally fine, however the morning of my medical it was raised (still acceptable limit mind). When I went for my medical my doctor used the readings I had taken and recorded over a period together with one he had logged from a previous visit. So I suggest you log results over a period of a couple of weeks. if you can logging the times and take this with you to your doctor when going for your medical.
thehairyarsedtrucker:
Dont worry take the medical send it to DVLA even if its too high, they will give you the ok to keep driving as long as it can be controlled by tablets/loosing weight/getting fitter. Its usually tablets though. If its under control within 2 to 3 months DVLA take no further action.
“DVLA aware - BP under control” is what you stick on application forms. They might ask you to name the particular pill and dosage at some employer’s offices, but it’s no bar to either holding a C+E license, or what hours you can or cannot work.
Being diagnosed a Diabetic though is a lot more complicated…
I think that the doctor MUST use the readings that he takes at the time, anything else would put him in a lot of trouble should anything happen.
His input to the form must match the input he inserts in your records in his office etc.
Having said that most (if not all) doctors would take two or three readings to allow you the benefit.
Try and visit the " sister " at the surgery as much as you can between now and your MOT so she can take your blood pressure , then by going through the motions a few times you wont be so hyper on the day.
tamarman:
Try and visit the " sister " at the surgery as much as you can between now and your MOT so she can take your blood pressure , then by going through the motions a few times you wont be so hyper on the day.
That is good advice, some people do suffer from white coat syndrome. I suffered very badly from high blood pressure, it was in the region of 240 /120, in fact I was having a medical one day and the doctor called an ambulance for me and wouldnt carry on.
I took Felodipine for 3 years and they told me I would be on them for life, however I lost some weight and have been hypertension drug free now for 7 months with a steady BP at 110/80 
If you go to your own GP/surgery then it shouldn’t be a problem, but if you use the ‘Doctors on Wheels’ or similar then they will simply write down what it is on the day and that’s it - they don’t have time to go into any diagnosis, explanation or anything.
My Son had a medical,it showed he had a heart problem,yet when he went see a specialist and had “machine tests” nothing showed,it was put down to anxiety and tension.
Blood pressure has the same effect on some people,if the problem persists,then a tablet a day will put it right.
Tell the doc your BP tends to rise due to white coat syndrome and ask him to take it when you’v ehad a chance to sit for a couple of minutes. Try some deep breathing for a couple of minutes as well, that can help lower the BP.
Wheelnut, nearly caught up with you. Mine was 226/126 end of last year. Going down, would help I know if I got my head round a diet!
Rich The Stag:
I have my medical coming up soon (45 years old) and am a bit concerned about my blood pressure readings.
At home when i take them they are fine but as soon as i get to the doctors they shoot right up…white coat syndrome! Does the doctor take this into account when filling in the D4 medical form and would he go on my home readings?
Thanks in advance.
Richard.
The BP allowed on the D4 is quite tolerant at 180/100.
At my last medical I gave a reading of 170/96, whereas at home when I check my own BP, it comes up as 130/74,still higher than what is though of as “Normal”,(What’s normal?).
The doc wrote on my D4, “White coat effect on BP, home monitoring 130s/70s, no concern.”
This did not arouse any interest with the DVLA as regards renewing my licence.
That was last year when I was 70, I’m now warming up for my next medical at 71!.
I suppose it depends on your doctor at the end of the day.
Is the first medical at 40 or 45 in the UK, I just need a heads up to knock the pies on the head for a while before hand, I’m 38 a week tomorrow…
First medical is on initial application for a Provisional licence, second one is when you hit 45 years of age.
I thought that the second medical was when you next renewed your licence after 45, so could be up to 49 years.
may have changed since I was there though!