BP follow up

ashie0610

After my BP scare on Monday, I had to go back today for a follow-up visit. After being whisked into the room full of anxiety, my BP was high again when the nurse first took it. The midwife came in right away. After lightening the mood and going through the usual heartbeat check, measuring etc., she took it again and it was pretty much back down to normal. Thankfully I didn't have to go back up to L&D for monitoring again, but they did do more labs and she expects those to be fine. 

Right now the goal is to make it to at least 37 weeks again and then they will decide if I need to be induced or if I can go another week. She doesn't think I'll make it much farther though. I'm doing my best to go with the flow, but the control freak in me is resisting! I guess at least now I know ahead of time this time? I'm kind of down about the idea of an early induction but glad nothing seems to be genuinely wrong. 

Anyway, just wanted to give you all an update. Thanks again for all the t&ps this week!!

vrj0522

Glad results were good today! FX bp continues to stay down! 

ladybug0088

I had a similar situation yesterday. I've handled my anxiety well since going off meds when we found out we were pregnant, but since last week I've had that overwhelming feeling take over again.Unfortunately, my BP was up for the first time yesterday which resulted in a NST. I think that only freaked me out more, but my BP went down slightly. My OB ran more blood draws to check for pre-e and to check the bile levels in my body. She also ordered me back on Friday for another BP check and another NST. 

I'm really bummed because I've had such a healthy pregnancy. After talking to the nurse today all my blood work came back normal, except my white blood cell count was still high (which it tends to do when I'm anxious--I had to see a hematologist for two years because of this and we finally ruled out cancer). 

I'm with you on being petrified that baby is going to come next week. I'm worried that I'm stressing out the baby and I'm trying to relax. Thankfully, she prescribed me anxiety meds again and something to help me sleep since I haven't been sleeping.

Thoughts and prayers we can relax and LO stays put.  

ashie0610

Thanks, ladies!

@ladybug0088‌ Sorry to hear you're dealing with this too. I'm glad they are able to help you manage for now and your tests came back clear! The weird thing for me is that I've never had anxiety prior to this, even throughout my pregnancy up to this point, so they are hesitant to try to manage that with medication now. It's hard to know if it's just anxiety from my last birth or if it could really be the start of pre-e.

Hopefully we can get through it together and end up with healthy full term babies!

ladybug0088

@ashie0610 have they done bloodwork to rule out pre-e?

I'm not sure what has triggered my anxiety except I am a little nervous and excited about having a newborn, but I do feel a little overwhelmed by all the weekly appointments and trying to get things in order at work to take off (being a teacher makes it really hard to leave sub plans). 

The one thing my doctor mentioned is that if I'm anxious now I will probably go into post-partum depression so she was wanting to start the meds immediately to let them go into effect since they can take 1-2 weeks to get into your system. Maybe this is something you want to talk to your doctor about too and see if it helps?

ashie0610

@ladybug0088‌ They did rule out pre-e for now but it sounds like that could change very quickly so they did the labs again today (only two days later) to be sure. I think that's what's freaking me out.. It may be fine now but the BP is a sign that something is off and that makes me worry more.

I feel the same that there's not really anything specific triggering it. I think I have some issues from my birth experience with DS1 that were never really dealt with so I'm going to talk to her about it at my next appointment to try to get ahead of it this time. Stinks to be in this situation but glad to know someone out there can relate.

jesslinnn

Glad to hear. Fx it stays down.

meggiev123

Glad LO gets to stay put for now.  FX that BP can stay down a bit longer! 

Roseypants

Have you been on BP medication? Just curious

ashie0610

Roseypants said:

Have you been on BP medication? Just curious

No, never. My BP is typically normal.  It just spiked for the first time this pregnancy at my appointment on Monday.  The same thing happened with DS1 around this time in my pregnancy with him too.

ss265

@ashie0610, didn't you have a C-section with your first and you were hoping for a VBAC with this one, right? Ugh, that sucks even more then that they might induce you early. Are you still trying for a VBAC? Sorry that you are having so many BP issues and FX that you are able to bake LO for a little longer. 

ashie0610

ss265 said:

@ashie0610, didn't you have a C-section with your first and you were hoping for a VBAC with this one, right? Ugh, that sucks even more then that they might induce you early. Are you still trying for a VBAC? Sorry that you are having so many BP issues and FX that you are able to bake LO for a little longer. 

Thanks!  

Yes, that's right.  My first was breech so he was a c-section.  One of my questions on Wednesday was, "So does this mean no VBAC?" and she said absolutely not.  She said they would recommend an induction this time but would only use pitocin and it would be a long, slow induction.  

Not sure how I feel about that.  I want to know more about risks and rupture rates for early induced VBACs before I agree to it.  I will need to ask some more questions at my next appointment if they say baby needs to come right away and then can decide if I still want to try for a VBAC or have a RCS instead.  As long as VBAC is still truly safer I will go that route but 37 weeks sounds like setting myself up for failure so it makes me nervous.  I'm hoping my labs continue to come back clean so that we can keep pushing it off until I go into labor on my own!

ss265

ashie0610 said:

ss265 said:

@ashie0610, didn't you have a C-section with your first and you were hoping for a VBAC with this one, right? Ugh, that sucks even more then that they might induce you early. Are you still trying for a VBAC? Sorry that you are having so many BP issues and FX that you are able to bake LO for a little longer. 

Thanks!  

Yes, that's right.  My first was breech so he was a c-section.  One of my questions on Wednesday was, "So does this mean no VBAC?" and she said absolutely not.  She said they would recommend an induction this time but would only use pitocin and it would be a long, slow induction.  

Not sure how I feel about that.  I want to know more about risks and rupture rates for early induced VBACs before I agree to it.  I will need to ask some more questions at my next appointment if they say baby needs to come right away and then can decide if I still want to try for a VBAC or have a RCS instead.  As long as VBAC is still truly safer I will go that route but 37 weeks sounds like setting myself up for failure so it makes me nervous.  I'm hoping my labs continue to come back clean so that we can keep pushing it off until I go into labor on my own!

I think my OB mentioned something similar if they needed to give me pitocin during a VBAC, that it would be a very low dose to avoid the risk of rupture. 37 weeks is so early though - I can understand your concerns.

Do you regularly have BP issues? Or is something stressing you out? A friend if mine had BP issues and was on bed rest for the last month of her pregnancy - maybe try resting more when you are home? (understandably difficult with a toddler, though). I remember how much you were hoping for a VBAC and I'm sorry that you might not get it.

ashie0610

ss265 said:

ashie0610 said:

ss265 said:

@ashie0610, didn't you have a C-section with your first and you were hoping for a VBAC with this one, right? Ugh, that sucks even more then that they might induce you early. Are you still trying for a VBAC? Sorry that you are having so many BP issues and FX that you are able to bake LO for a little longer. 

Thanks!  

Yes, that's right.  My first was breech so he was a c-section.  One of my questions on Wednesday was, "So does this mean no VBAC?" and she said absolutely not.  She said they would recommend an induction this time but would only use pitocin and it would be a long, slow induction.  

Not sure how I feel about that.  I want to know more about risks and rupture rates for early induced VBACs before I agree to it.  I will need to ask some more questions at my next appointment if they say baby needs to come right away and then can decide if I still want to try for a VBAC or have a RCS instead.  As long as VBAC is still truly safer I will go that route but 37 weeks sounds like setting myself up for failure so it makes me nervous.  I'm hoping my labs continue to come back clean so that we can keep pushing it off until I go into labor on my own!

I think my OB mentioned something similar if they needed to give me pitocin during a VBAC, that it would be a very low dose to avoid the risk of rupture. 37 weeks is so early though - I can understand your concerns.

Do you regularly have BP issues? Or is something stressing you out? A friend if mine had BP issues and was on bed rest for the last month of her pregnancy - maybe try resting more when you are home? (understandably difficult with a toddler, though). I remember how much you were hoping for a VBAC and I'm sorry that you might not get it.

Thanks, me too.  I think I will be glad to have at least tried though, so I'm glad it's not off the table yet... And that I don't have to make a decision yet either.

Aside from the final weeks of pregnancy, I've never had BP issues before.  It just spiked for the first time this pregnancy at my appointment on Monday.  The same thing happened with DS1 around this time in my pregnancy with him, and instead of running tests then, my OB at the time just did a c-section that day.  It was hectic and scary and my memory of it is not a good one. Since last week, I've been thinking about what I would have done differently with him (Should I have pushed her to run labs? Tried a version first so I could have been induced?  Was she only doing the c-section that day because he was breech?, etc...)  

I feel kind of dumb for questioning it and feeling like it was so traumatic for me when I ended up with a perfectly healthy kid, but that's what's been weighing on my mind leading up to the most recent appointment so I'm sure that is contributing to the BP readings.  I literally feel 100% fine until I sit on the table and she puts the cuff on my arm.  

ETA: I also took my BP at home before I went in.. 121/76 and 130/74... it was 150/100 in the office the first time, then dropped down to 134/76.  So she took that into consideration as well I think, but doesn't think I'll make it another 3+ weeks like this.

themiss

Glad to hear that your BP is better for now!

My BP is generally on the higher end of normal, so my OB knows to sit and chat for a bit in our appointments and then take it after about 5 minutes. If it seems a bit high, she'll wait and take it again...it always goes down.

ss265

ashie0610 said:

SNIPPED

Thanks, me too.  I think I will be glad to have at least tried though, so I'm glad it's not off the table yet... And that I don't have to make a decision yet either.

Aside from the final weeks of pregnancy, I've never had BP issues before.  It just spiked for the first time this pregnancy at my appointment on Monday.  The same thing happened with DS1 around this time in my pregnancy with him, and instead of running tests then, my OB at the time just did a c-section that day.  It was hectic and scary and my memory of it is not a good one. Since last week, I've been thinking about what I would have done differently with him (Should I have pushed her to run labs? Tried a version first so I could have been induced?  Was she only doing the c-section that day because he was breech?, etc...)  

I feel kind of dumb for questioning it and feeling like it was so traumatic for me when I ended up with a perfectly healthy kid, but that's what's been weighing on my mind leading up to the most recent appointment so I'm sure that is contributing to the BP readings.  I literally feel 100% fine until I sit on the table and she puts the cuff on my arm.  

ETA: I also took my BP at home before I went in.. 121/76 and 130/74... it was 150/100 in the office the first time, then dropped down to 134/76.  So she took that into consideration as well I think, but doesn't think I'll make it another 3+ weeks like this.

Considering your experience (going in for a random appointment, having high BP and a C-section that day), I don't blame you for feeling upset that you had a C-section, even though your kid was perfectly healthy. It took me a little while to get over my C-section as well. I think it's great that you learned from the experience though and now have an OB that is willing to at least try and let you VBAC and is willing to monitor you with the high BP. 

It might help if you accept the worse case scenario - sometimes when you dread something, the dread ends up causing more stress than the actual situation. And it probably helps that you have been through a C-section before so you know what to expect, if that situation arises. If you prepare for the worst (have your hospital bag packed, have everything ready for the new baby, discuss logistics of caring for your DS1 etc.), it might help you relax more when you go for your appointment. (I'm just telling you what would help me in your situation - if I am prepared, it usually helps ease any stress I have). Good luck with everything!