Woah!!! 23 weeks and BP is 144/100

Jen&Peter · April 2011

My BP typically runs high when I am pregnant, but wow. This is the highest it has ever been. Usually they have me lay on my left side and check it again in 5 minutes - it normally goes down but this time it went up. Doc had me collect 24 hours of urine to get baseline of protein and creatine. Also took CBC and toxemia blood panels. Of course they are checking for signs of pre-eclampsia. I did this with my second pregnancy too and nothing came of it thank goodness.

I think I just get really nervous about the blood pressure test - every time....I can feel my heart start pounding as I walk down the hallway with the nurse to my assigned check up room at the doctor's office. I try to take deap breaths and relax, but it never works.

We will see the results of the urine and blood samples in about a week....

CJB8 · April 2011

you have white coat syndrome!

I hope all your bloodwork and urine comes back normal!

JenniferAnnes · April 2011

Make sure you let the dr./nurse know that you are nervous or anxious, and that it might be affecting your BP reading. I had an appointment right after a really big court hearing and my BP was waaaay up b/c I was still nervous with adrenalene pumping from the hearing. The nurse asked if I was feeling ok and after explaining to her that I had a stressful morning, she said that made sense.

christinaramirez08 · April 2011

I get really nervous too when they are ready to take my BP, but I've never had high BP. My normal is about 110/75. I hope everything works out for you and you do NOT have pre-e.

KBaker421 · April 2011

I get nervous when they weigh me. lol BP for me is never a problem

Ali22 · April 2011

Yep, sounds like white coat syndrome to me too. I had the same issue during my first pregnancy. It was the strangest thing, I am not afraid of going to the doctor or anything I guess I was just subconciously nervous. I am hoping not to get it this time.

sunflwr2 · April 2011

I get really nervous when I get my BP at the doctors too! It's always 130/20 because they take it right when I get there. Yesterday I had my 20 week ultrasound and they did the ultrasound first, when they were done, I guess I was so relaxed and relieved that everything went well that my bp was 118/74!
So I think I was able to confirm that I have whitecoat syndrome!

JaysonandKristin · April 2011

My only suggestion would be to get a wrist cuff BP monitor. Wear it to bed. Have your DH take your BP while you're sleeping. Even if you wake up, you should still be relaxed enough to get a better reading. HTH! We had to do this with DS because he had high blood pressure near the end of his NICU stay and they wanted to monitor it until it stabilized after discharge.

When DS was born and immediately diagnosed with his crazy birth defect, my BP sky-rocketed to 180/101. It didn't come back to normal until after DS' surgery about 3 days later. My doc wouldn't discharge me from the hospital without medication for BP.

brit072206 · April 2011

You might feel less nervous at the doctor if you start monitoring yours at home. I bought an electronic BP monitor for around $50 on amazon. I take it when I wake up and when I go to bed. That way, at the doctor I don't feel like I'm going to get any news, since I've been taking it at home and I would know if it's running high; so I really don't sweat the Dr. BP check. Hope that helps!

MrsWarner · April 2011

You should check your BP often outside of the office, and maybe that would make you more comfortable. Find a pharmacy that has one of the free machines and stop by a few times and see what you get.

mattandbekah · April 2011

Can you check it at home? My BP tends to go up when I am the doc. as well, and last pg that masked true pre-e for me. I wish I had thought to get a pressure cuff to check it at home, then I would have known it was steadily rising so much!

NurseLaLa · April 2011

Your lower number should not rise more than a few points throughout a day... 100 has a low number is HIGH! This number represents how well your heart is relaxing between beats. Take up meditation, go for walks, and re-examine your diet. It isn't white coat syndrome...

White coat syndrome can affect the top number, which naturally fluctuates throughout the day. I high top number is some-what worrisome, but not nearly as much as a high bottom number.

StephK · April 2011

NurseMom1:
Your lower number should not rise more than a few points throughout a day... 100 has a low number is HIGH! This number represents how well your heart is relaxing between beats. Take up meditation, go for walks, and re-examine your diet. It isn't white coat syndrome...
White coat syndrome can affect the top number, which naturally fluctuates throughout the day. I high top number is some-what worrisome, but not nearly as much as a high bottom number.

I agree with this. That bottom number is really high. I have a doctor phobia and I know I have white coat syndrome. Unfortunately, over time, I also developed high blood pressure that is now controlled with medication. The only way it was discovered was by home monitoring with an automatic bp cuff. I would take it multiple times a day over many days and the trend was that my bp was too high, for a variety of reasons.

I really suggest you should look into one. It is the best way to get an accurate read on your bp over time. I hope it isn't pre-e, but definitely keep on top of it.

cmw&tdm · April 2011

I'd get a home bp monitor (you can get one for maybe 20 dollars at WalMart) and check several times a day to figure out whether it's nervous or truly high bp. That sounds like a really high reading for just nerves, but everyone is different so I guess it could be. I hope everything is okay.

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