How long for blood pressure to stabilize?

jrrs

When I experienced post partum preeclampsia with my first son my blood pressure shot up and then we switched blood pressure medications and it was stabilized within a matter of weeks.

This time around I was diagnosed with preeclampsia, that then developed into eclampsia at 34 weeks - 3 weeks ago.  My blood pressure went down in the hospital - but when I was discharged it was already going back up.  Now I'm in the 180/117 range.  Still.  We're upping the medications and it's not touching the blood pressure.  My MFM keeps telling me I need to be getting enough sleep - yeah right buddy.  They think it's going to take 6 weeks or more to stabilize. 

Both times I've had preexisting HBP, so I'm not expecting miracles.  But I would like to get it out of the danger range.  I'm just wondering what everyone else's experience was. 

bride711

How are you feeling after having eclampsia? You must have been terrified?

 I too had PP Pre-e with dangerously high blood pressures (220/110). The medications they used in the hospital intially to get those numbers down were IV meds. I was in the hospital for about one month after delivering DS to control the labile hypertension. I was on a combination of Labetalol 800mg (by mouth) that was my daily dosage and also Hydralazine (by mouth) and that was my daily dosage when I went home after one month. The month following I was running BP in the 160's with a one time 170. After that I would say that I was getting 140 readings. The medication combo seemed to control my blood pressures as well as the further I went out and my body not feeling as if it was still pregnant I think also contributed to the decreased readings.

Not that I was one for a large sodium intake but I did see a cardiologist when all of this was going on and he recommeded to follow a 1500 sodium strict diet. So I did that as well. It took me 6 months to become medication free. My blood pressures have since been normal. They intially told DH and I that the classic window was 6 weeks.

If you don't mind me asking you, what were your BP readings when you developed eclampsia? Were you diagnosed as having Pre-e at that point or did it all of sudden just present itself. I am sorry to hear that you had to deal with this again. I hope each day gets better and you feel more and more like yourself. If you are still running high numbers such as those, I would place a call to your OB office or your PCP. Do you see a cardiologist? When I was still seeing high numbers DH and I went to a cardiologist to oversee the medication management as we felt it was more their speciality. GL:)

jrrs

Right now I'm doing 800 mg. labetalol and 90 mg. Procardia.  I saw a cardiologist previous to pregnancy but since then the MFM clinic has handled everything.  We're discussing when to send me back to the cardiologist.  I feel like I should now. But they want to continue to follow me.  With my first pregnancy I went directly to the cardiologist. They just keep telling me to wait six weeks, I'm just impatient

When I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia it was 160/110.  But I was also on 600 mg. of labetalol and 30 mg. of Procardia.  The MFM thinks that masked some of the high blood pressure.  When I progressed to eclampsia it was 200/140 (despite being given additional BP medications via IV).  It progressed quickly very quickly - I went from preeclampsia diagnosis to eclampsia in less than 24 hours.  Looking back, I probably was showing early signs of preeclampsia up to a week prior. 

Overall, I feel terrific.  Which is why it's so hard to sit around and take it easy.  I felt so crappy during the end of my pregnancy that this is a cakewalk.   I'm waiting for the MFM clinic to call me back.  I was supposed to report additional BP readings to them today and see where to go from here. 

 

Halo79RN

I was diagnosed with pree at 32 wks with dd, she was delivered at 37wk after a 40+ hr induction and a pressure of 160s/120s, my b/p worsened the week of induction and for 2 weeks after with a diastolic (bottom #) from 110-130... that was on labetolol pp (they did not place me on anything prior to induction).  my primary weaned me b/c I was bf'ing (he was clueless and I was too exhausted and out of it to question anything) and then sent me to cardiology.  My baseline prior to pg was 90-100/50s-60.  it took 6 wks for my diastolic (bottom number) to get below and stay below 90.  and for a few months it fluctuated from 70s-80s. 6 months out it was back to the low70s with the systolic around 110ish.  

seastar77

I had severe pre-e and delivered at 27 wks with my first. I was not on any BP meds prior to delivery, but I was on Procardia for six months postpartum. I was not closely followed (hurray military health care!), though I monitored my BP at home... I think I could've come off meds a month or two sooner, but it didn't really become stable until at least 4-5 months out.