A visit to an ER yesterday produced a blood pressure reading of 193/107, which makes me think what I’m taking for hypertension (Inderal) isn’t doing its job very well. So, I’d like to start monitoring my blood pressure, but I’m not sure where to look for a relatively inexpensive, uh, consumer model sphygmomameter. Do they have that kind of thing at, say, Target?
I’ve never seen one in a store, but if there is a medical supply store near you, they should have one. Maybe a really well stocked drug store.
Target doesn’t have a pharmacy, but you can buy one at any drugstore or most any other outlet that does have a pharmacy.
I haven’t noticed them at our local Target pharmacy, not that I’ve been looking.
You can also drop by the bookstore of any college of nursing or medicine.
Ringo
Major’s Books, on Fannin just south of OST. Or you could try Walgreen’s or Eckerd’s. They usually sell the automatic variety, which is a little better if you don’t want to buy a stethoscope as well (although a cheap stethoscope is under $20 and a BP cuff is around $25 IIRC while the automatic kinds are over $50).
I messed up.
Major’s Books is just north of OST, south of Braeswood. I bought a cuff there when I was a first year med student. You’ll be able to get a nurse’s stethoscope there too, if you don’t want the automatic variety.
Sorry for posting a tongue-in-cheek hijack on GQ, but… what you need to do is find a Miscellaneous Etc. store that has the Ultimate Belt in stock
Not just a sphygmomanometer, but also an emergency button, radon detector, compass, and turn signals!! 
SEARS has 'em.
Walgreen’s has them. The electronic ones are very accurate.
If you’re a reasonable sized guy, you probably need a LARGE ciff.
Thanks, y’all! I got an automatic everything model at Walgreen’s (at a drugstore - who’d a thunk it?).
Well, this is too late to help Ringo, but in case anyone else is looking for one, uniform stores like Work’N’Gear usually have them. (Any place that sells nurse’s scrubs is likely to have certain other items needed by nurses.)
If anyone else is wondering, the all-auto digital model I bought was $60, and I couldn’t discern any functional difference between it and the models they had ranging up to $130.
They did have a $17 blood pressure kit which included a manual cuff, a stethoscope and instructions.
CVS’ prices were higher.
Ringo writes:
> A visit to an ER yesterday produced a blood pressure reading of 193/107, which
> makes me think what I’m taking for hypertension (Inderal) isn’t doing its job
> very well.
Make an appointment with your doctor immediately. Your blood pressure is way too high. I’m astonished that the emergency room doctor or nurse didn’t tell you this.
Thanks, Wendell. The ER doc was considering giving me something for it, but decided to watch it for a bit as they knew I was taking Inderal. It dropped to 157/97 before they released me, which is still high, but they expected it to be somewhat high in someone who’s in an ER for a head injury.
I bought the sphygmomameter so I can monitor it and advise my doctor about the performance of the medication he has me on.