high blood pressure?
sparks2987
member
normally my blood pressure is average at my prenatal appointments. The doctor says it looks good and I go with that. I never keep much track of it, well today I had my apt. and nurse said my blood pressure was a little high, she asked if I was more stressed than normal. Well yes I am, I had a crazy day at work and needed to get a ton of things done, but instead was sitting at the doctors waiting for hours. She said it isnt to high but it is high for my normal, it was 138/88.
She said I need to try and control the stress and monitor the blood pressure, to look out for signs of pre-E such as headaches, swelling, blurred vision, sudden weight gain (more than 1-2 pounds a day) and abdominal pain. She stressed that it wasnt a huge concern but something that needs to be watched. (tell a prego not to worry, yeah right)
how are you ladies and your blood pressure doing? Anyone else trying to control stress?
Re: high blood pressure?
My blood pressure has slowly been going up from the beginning. It started around 120/50 and is now 120/70. He is starting to worry because the bottom number continues to rise. However I knew i would probably have to deal with this since my mother and all of her family had pre-E through all of their pregnancies.
My youngest brother was born at 27 weeks because my moms blood pressure was something like 250/190. She was basically in the hospital since April on and my brother was born a the end of Aug. I wouldnt worry to much, just start keeping track of it at home and as long as you dont have any signs you explained you'lll most likely be fine. Worrying will only make your blood pressure continue to rise!
I would say that is pretty high being pg. Did you have any protein in your urine? Did they say anything like that to you?
Did they have you rest on your side and take it again?
Do you have a blood pressure machine at home? I have one and I had to use it with my first dd toward the end. I was put on hospital / home bedrest due to it being high and having protein in my urine.
Are they having you come in earlier than what your next apt should be to monitior this?
Anyway if you don't have a machine I would suggest this one....
https://www.amazon.com/Omron-HEM-780-Automatic-Pressure-Monitor/dp/B0009XQUES
I have the older version of this one
My pharmacists (sp?) told me that they make the best ones......
Here is a slightly cheaper one that my mom has and loves....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006WNPX/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0009XQUES&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1SSBHVQWHJ86JF40ZAG9
Up until about a month ago, my BP throughout the pregnancy was 110/60ish (which is my normal, non-pregnant BP as well). On the day of my glucose test at 25w, my BP was almost 150/98. I had to be there for an hour for the test, but ended up being there for almost 3 hours until my BP came down to 135/80.
They are having me come in every 2 weeks now, so at my appt last week my BP was 132/76, which is still a little high, but he said not into the abnormal range to worry about for now. He wants me to reduce stress as much as possible.
I didn't have protein in my urine but I do have swelling in my legs, and had gained 4lb in 2 weeks. So now I really have to be mindful of the swelling and keep my feet up when I can.
A+S | Met 8/24/06 | Married 9/27/08
Started TTC 12/2008 | dx PCOS 5/2009
6 failed clomid/femara/TI cycles, 1 failed clomid/ovidrel/IUI cycle
Successful Cycle: 5/12/11 - 1000mg Metformin + 100mg Clomid(late response) + TI = BFP
2/13/12 - We proudly welcomed our daughter, Hadley Teresa!
Lots of Luck to all of 3T/IF
Your reading is average for me. Not a great number, but I have no protein in my urine and my doctors don't seem too concerned yet. My sister had pre-e with both of hers, so it does concern me. I've been thinking about getting a home blood pressure machine. One thing that usually helps for me is to have my blood pressure taken again at the end of an appointment. (Haven't done that during this pregnancy, but have in the past). I get nervous about doctor appointments. By the end of an appointment, my blood pressure is usually lower.
And if you're stressed, that will definitely affect it. I had a pretty bad reading in September, on the first day of school (as a teacher) when I had to cover for someone else who was unexpectedly out and ended up teaching in 3 buildings in one day. Of course my reading sucked!! These days, I just try to lay low. Easier said than done, I know.
DId they mention anything about your diet? You can lower your blood pressure simply by eating more protein. I had elevated BP during my first pregnancy and was able to bring it down in 2 weeks and keep it down by eating at least 80 grams of protein a day. It can be a challenge at first (especially if you eat a lot of carbs), but is totally doable and a easy way to keep your pregnant body healthy and prevent pre-E.
This is a very common recommendation in the MW community where the focus is more on diet and prevention. Give it a try...I bet your BP will be normal at your next visit if you follow this plan until then.
In addition to meat and eggs, you can find protein in dairy, nuts and greek yogurt has a LOT of protein per serving. Also, you can try a protein supplement once a day, but make sure it does not have any added sugar because that can just make the problem worse.
GL
My blood pressure has been as high as yours plenty of times during the pregnancy and the doctor hasn't worried about it. I asked when does bp become worrisome and they said when it gets to the 160s. Not sure about the bottom number.
I started drinking protein shakes from GNC once a day (their Lean Shake). It has 25g of protein and only 170 calories. I started drinking them a month or two ago and since then my blood pressure has been a lot better- usually in the 120s/80s at my last few appointments.
In addition to eating a lot of protein, try to cut back on salt as well. Not only not adding salt to things, but also trying to avoid eating out too much and prepackaged food.
I have one of the Omron high blood pressure monitors, and I don't know if I just got a bad one or what but its not very accurate at all. If I take my BP three times in a 5 or 10 minute span I'll get three drastically different readings. Before you spend the money on one I'd just ask your doctor if they feel that's necessary.
Great suggestion! And don't forget that not all salts are made the same. Table salt is horrible for you (and doesn't really taste that good), but using a high quality sea salt sparingly is fine.