The monitor isn't supposed to squeeze hard enough to hurt you, although it can be uncomfortable for a second. I had my Omron calibrated at the cardiologist's office when I first got it so I'm taking it to the next appointment but basically the readings are ok at home. It's the stress of new doctors and not feeling "safe" or well cared for which is how I now feel after my PCP retired in 2015. I haven't been able to find a good doctor since then. The cardiologist is an hour away at a teaching hospital but my BP is high there too which it never used to be and my Omron did the same thing when I was there. He calls it "reactive". I'm going to ask him if I should have a BP monitor to see what it's really doing, I think you can wear one at least two days and send the results directly through the cell phone. I hope you can find a solution. I'm just concerned because I'm pretty old now and it worries me because of that, I'm expecting to drop dead any minute even though there's really no reason to feel that way. This really stinks.