Prescribed Procardia at 12 weeks for Chronic Hypertension

Berries607

Hi everyone!  I was prescribed Procardia 30 mg Xl since they found out my pressure was high at 12 weeks.  I think 165/110 was the reading.  I am worried about the effects taking this medication will have on the growing baby.  Trying not to stress since I know I have to take it, but it's been tough.  Has anyone else had to take Procardia for the entire  pregnancy and how was your experience?

caitlinmca

I took it 1 night, the night it was prescribed to me and the next day I had to stop it. I woke up feeling like I bottommed out my blood pressure, I was flush red, hot, and my head was pounding with an overall blah feeling. However I was taking it to try and control my everyday migraines. Needless to say, I quit that and was out on Labetalol twice a day which has done wonders.

Monicagail1

I took Labetalol throughout my first pregnancy. I had a very healthy 7lb13oz baby

mac-n-cheesy

I'm just shy of 34 weeks and have been on Procardia (aka Nifedipine) 10mg every 6 hours to stop "pre-term contractions" and it's horrible. I feel dizzy every time I stand up and have headaches and nausea much worse than usual (also have HG and severe migraines that worsened with pregnancy).
I actually had my baby shower today and one of the women there was a pharmacist and said in her professional opinion I should not be concerned about it harming the baby but she was concerned that my blood pressure before starting it was low/normal (90's/50-60's) and that I needed to keep an eye on this. I will only be on it for three more weeks and then they will not stop my contractions and let my body take over if it decides to go into labor (I've been in L&D 5 times in the past few weeks now for the contractions l).

rms694

Hi there! I am 45 years old yes, 45! I am 29 1/2 weeks pregnant with my little fighter baby boy! I am obviously high risk and have been contracting since about twenty weeks having contractions every couple minutes with no dilation thank goodness! I was put on indocyn originally for them but then told it was hurting babys heart as i get checked almost every week! I am now on procardia which is used for high bp as well as preterm contractions. I dont always feel great on it and get flushed as one of the ladies already mentioned but it also is helping to keep my bp lower as it was high before becoming pregnant. It definitely helps me with both contractions and my blood pressure so to me it is worth the not feeling so great all the time. I in fact took myself off as to me my bp was going too low and i felt kind of cruddy and ended up in triage again with too many contractions and elevated bp again. I was told by the dr not to decide on my own about taking medications like that or not to alef dose basically. So for me it has been well worth the icky feeling sife effects to know ir is not only keeping me from contracting too much but also from developing preeclampsia from too high blood pressure which i had with my daughter and delivered five weeks early. So sorry to be so lengthy with my story but unless the side effects are so bad that you cant deal with them or the meds make you so sick please discuss it with your doctors forst before doing anything rash and god bless to you and your little baby love! Good luck!

gvgauthi

lynem29 said:

I'm just shy of 34 weeks and have been on Procardia (aka Nifedipine) 10mg every 6 hours to stop "pre-term contractions" and it's horrible. I feel dizzy every time I stand up and have headaches and nausea much worse than usual (also have HG and severe migraines that worsened with pregnancy).
I actually had my baby shower today and one of the women there was a pharmacist and said in her professional opinion I should not be concerned about it harming the baby but she was concerned that my blood pressure before starting it was low/normal (90's/50-60's) and that I needed to keep an eye on this. I will only be on it for three more weeks and then they will not stop my contractions and let my body take over if it decides to go into labor (I've been in L&D 5 times in the past few weeks now for the contractions l).

I'm taking procardia for preterm labor as well and have been experiencing all of this as well. It makes me so sick.... I can't wait to be able to stop taking it (35 weeks on Thursday) because the side effects are horrible!

Berries607

The first night I took it I thought my head was going to explode. It has eased up, but I still get a headache every few days.

AFwife566

I have 2 babies and trying for #3. I had crazy bp issues and took Procardia. Son has Autism and one functioning kidney. Genetics confirmed my bp meds did not cause his issues. Just a random fluke. Good luck and hope you have good bp!

kolwe

I know am months late on this post, am currently 6 weeks pregnant and on nefidipine. It's keeping my blood pressure low which is were i want it to be. I don't mind taking it and moreover i lost my baby at 25weeks last year due to PreE and have been on meds since. Hope it nefidipine helped @ Berries. 

Knottie86487289

It’s been two years and I have a very happy bouncing energetic boy.  I hope everyone had wonderful pregnancies and happy little ones.  The procardia helped to regulate my pressure but I did have to end up getting induced two weeks early since towards the end even the medicine couldn’t keep my pressure normal.  Thank you to everyone that responded it was supportive and helpful especially during a time that I was so worried about the outcome of taking medication. - Berries607 OP

mcgeeva

Hey there! I am on my third high risk pregnancy and was on procardia last time at the end of my pregnancy when I had a placenta abruption, preterm labor then got pre-e. This time I started niphedipine 30 mg right after my ivf transfer date bc it was 168/110 and had been like that for months. It's completely safe and I only had headaches in the beginning and if I forget to take my meds. I have still had some higher readings but hoping it stays decent until this baby is cooked. I should say my boys are perfectly healthy as well.