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August 2012 Moms
gestational hypertension/PIH
Hi Mommas,
I've been diagnosed with pregnancy induced hypertension (no pre-e/protein) and readings about 140's/90's. I spent last weekend in the antepartum unit in the hospital after I thought I had abnormal amounts of swelling. I didn't know my BP was up, but I just did not feel quite right.
I saw 4 total of the different OB's having been in the hospital, and had a follow up on Tuesday and saw another. I had a BPP and baby had a perfect score. I am at home on bedrest until baby is born. I was not given any medicine or any other changes except no more work and no getting up except restroom/shower/make a sandwich (but no cooking).
Assuming no protein develops and BP stays about the same, the doctors' plans were induction anywhere between 37-39 weeks. 2 of the 4 said 38 weeks, 1 said 39 weeks if possible, and one said 37 or 38 weeks. I haven't been able to see MY personal OB as she is on vacation this week. I won't see her next week either I don't think, because they couldn't get me an appointment for the BPP when she was also available.
I am wondering if others have had experiences with PIH and what their doctor's plan was/is. I'm guessing my real OB would ultimately make the decision, or whoever is on call if my situation changed.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: gestational hypertension/PIH
Mostly a lurker here, but I was just diagnosed with this last week.
For most of my pregnancy, my blood pressure was in the 110-120/60's. At my 30 wk appt (4 wks ago), it was up to 130/80... still not high, but enough of a change that my OB said we'd need to keep an eye on it because it could signal the start of something. I started checking it periodically at home, and my numbers stayed around 120-130/70-80.
On Sunday 7/24, though, I ended up in L&D. I'd come home from work and noticed that my feet were incredibly swollen (which was a sudden change) and decided to check my BP. It was reading 150/90 at home... when it didn't drop with rest, my OB sent me to the hospital for monitoring. It was 155/90 when they first checked it (after I'd been laying down for about 30 min), but dropped to 125/80 after about 3 hours so they sent me home.
I've had two follow-ups since then. At last Tuesday's appt, my BP was back down in the normal range (I think 130/80 again?) and my 24-hr urine catch was negative for protein, so the OB decided not to make any changes in my care yet, but to be prepared for it and that she'd be surprised if I was able to keep working more than 2-3 weeks. This Monday, my BP was 150/85 at my appt my feet were huge... my doc said she'd prefer to pull me from work but it wasn't quite necessary at this point - we decided that I could continue working 'for now,' as long as I agreed to biweekly appts. I have my 2nd appt of the week this afternoon, and I'm pretty sure I'm ready to be pulled from work. I've checked my blood pressure 9 times since my appt on Monday morning, and 4 of those readings were over their 140/90 cutoff - the highest was 158/75 after laying down for half an hour on my lunch break yesterday. I've been starting to get increasingly bad headaches, feel very "mentally foggy" at work, and my feet swell so much after 9 hrs on my feet that I think my skin is going to tear.
So, we'll see what BP reading the OB gets today, but I suspect I'll be in your shoes soon. They haven't mentioned bedrest yet... just that I'll need to "relax and take it easy." And I've been told they'll induce between 37-39 weeks (I'm 34 wks now), depending on how high my BP and whether I develop protein in my urine.
Sounds very similar to me. Doctor wouldn't let me keep working, but I also work in a very poor/unsafe part of town an hour from the hospital and it's a high stress job. It's hard to be on bed rest because I feel like nothing is wrong with me and WANT to be at work, but I am trying to be thankful for every day I stay pregnant. The truth is I lost 7 lbs of fluid over the weekend (think - an entire GALLON of fluid I was carrying around) and the aches and pains I had and headaches are gone.
I lost 5 lbs of fluid overnight last weekend (in just the 12 hours that I was sleeping - I was up to pee every 1-2 hrs all night long!). That was pretty amazing... but then it came right back over the next day or two. Boo.
Although my job is high-stress and physically demanding (I'm a veterinarian working in a very busy corporate practice that should have two doctors but instead has me working solo 40-50 hrs/wk), it's only about 10 minutes from the hospital. I guess that's why they've let me continue working for now.... but, like I said, I have a feeling I won't be going back to work tomorrow. We'll see.
To me, the most frustrating part is that they keep telling me that my BP is GOING to keep rising, there's a good chance that I'm GOING to develop protein in my urine, etc etc. I feel like a ticking time bomb. I'm not too terribly worried, because I know that (at 34 weeks), our LOs have a good chance of being fine, even if they have to come tomorrow... but this watching and waiting is driving me nuts. Every time I see an increase in my BP, I worry "uh oh, is today going to be the day that it skyrockets to 200/100?" And I'm sure that stress isn't helping.
I can't find the study I was originally thinking of.... these are older, but it looks like they're still pretty frequently cited in more recent articles.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11303208 - women who are diagnosed with hypertension between 24-35 weeks gestation have 46% likelihood of developing pre-e.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9853766 - risk of hypertension turning into pre-e is only 10% if hypertension is diagnosed at/after 36 wks gestation.
So I guess that's why the doctors disagree so much.... apparently earlier diagnosis means higher risk of pre-e, but I can't find any articles that break it down by week to really get an accurate number that would apply to us.
Just had my doctor's appointment and I'm now also pulled from work! BP was 150/85 at my appt today. No bedrest yet... the OB just told me to "take it easy" and only to run short errands, not go out for hours at a time.
I have an ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow, and biweekly NST's starting to tomorrow. She thinks there's a decent chance that I'll make it to 39 weeks, but emphasized that things can still change in a hurry.
I was told I had PIH at 30 weeks. I have to have weekly NSTs, extra bloodwork to check on my kidneys from time to time, and I've had weekly office visits every since. I'm told I'll be delivered at 38 weeks as well. I was put on bp meds 3x a day and a water pill about 2 wks ago. I was told to stay laying on my left side as much as possible and to let someone else run around after DD. I've had a little bit of protein show up in my urine.
I had PIH with DD as well, but it didn't show up until 38 weeks so I was induced a day before my actual due date.
BFing SAHM to 2 under 2
DD Annelise Madison (Sept 24, 2010) ? DD2 Madalyn Elizabeth (July 11, 2012)
Bloggin' // www.SWEETSEPT.livejournal.com