Past Pregnancy Hypertension/Pre-E

kjd291 · July 2016

Wondering if any of you you had pre-eclampsia / hypertension with one pregnancy and then carried to term problem free with the next?

DD was induced as soon as I got to 37 weeks because of hypertension. (Preeclampsia concerns but never full on diagnosed-just boarder line and moving that direction) I'm anxious this time around will bring the same thing, or worse have it set in sooner. Any one experience this?? TYIA

ETA: I will obviously ask my midwifes this question and what my past history means for this pregnancy. However I don't have my first appointment till twelve weeks.

JessyKV · July 2016

Yes!! I had hypertension with my first and they worried about Pre E but I was never diagnosed. I ended up with a c section at 39 weeks (she was also breech). My blood pressure stayed high after birth so I was on blood pressure meds for 6 weeks. I never had an issue after that.

With my second pregnancy my OBGYN had me take baby aspirin for a period of time to help prevent. I never had issues with my BP and went to 40+3 before having an amazing vbac.

CanadianintheSouth · July 2016

Yes I had hypertension issues with my first, my doctor says to expect it again. We scheduled my induction for 39 weeks and 6 days because they started to worry about pre-e, luckily my DD decided to arrive at 39 weeks and 5 days, so no induction needed. My blood pressure is still moderately high right now (white coat syndrome) so for now she told me to monitor at home.

I've never heard of using aspirin for bp, I will ask about that next visit @jessykv.

kjd291 · July 2016

Thanks ladies!! @JessyKV @CanadianintheSouth

Lexxilou1986 · July 2016

I'm wondering the same thing! I delivered via induction at 34 weeks due to htn and pre eclampsia. We had a stay in the NICU and it was all so scary. I'd love to know that it's possible to have a normal/healthy pregnancy and birth this time around.

kjd291 · July 2016

@Lexxilou1986 that's scary! I know I was very blessed to at least be able to wait till 37weeks and go home with my babe. hopefully none of us have to deal with it this time around!

wintersong · July 2016

I'm I the same boat. My midwife called me to tell me I had developed preeclampsia at 38 weeks exactly and I was induced the same day. So scary! I would love to know ways to avoid it this time

Bluebird2318 · July 2016

When I was pregnant with DD, I delivered at 29w0d due to sudden and extreme pre-eclampsia/HELLP (I was symptomless at my 28 week check-up except for swelling). With my second pregnancy, I carried to term (delivered at 40w2d) without ever having any hint of pre-e whatsoever. I took baby aspirin from 12 weeks to 36 weeks with my second, which is supposed to help (my MFM specialist suggested it).

julievdm12 · July 2016

I have a terrible memory so I can't remember exactly what week my blood pressure spiked but I am almost positive it was before 30 weeks. They gave me the steroid shot to develop my daughters lungs in case I needed to be induced anytime soon. My OB it was great and held off on putting me on any medication at first but when it spiked again a couple weeks later I ended up on labetalol all the way through until it went back down to normal after my daughter was born. Even on the labetalol my pressure was on its way up slowly but steadily. Once I got to 37 weeks my OB said that she wanted to induce me by 38 weeks. So at 37 weeks and 6 days I had my daughter.
I am really really really hoping that this isn't going to happen again, but I guess there really is no way to know.
I have never heard of the baby aspirin being taken as a preventative, but I am definitely going to be mentioning that to my midwife! Good info to know!

Burrberrymum · July 2016

I had abnormally high blood pressure throughout the last trimester, but never ended up being diagnosed with pre-e, just concerns for it. I was put on labetalol and I was scheduled to be induced at 38 weeks on the dot because of risks relating to a few issues, and my water broke the day before anyways. I'm really nervous about it this time with a busy LO and no time for rest, which the meds made me very slow and tired.

julievdm12 · July 2016

Burrberrymum said:

I had abnormally high blood pressure throughout the last trimester, but never ended up being diagnosed with pre-e, just concerns for it. I was put on labetalol and I was scheduled to be induced at 38 weeks on the dot because of risks relating to a few issues, and my water broke the day before anyways. I'm really nervous about it this time with a busy LO and no time for rest, which the meds made me very slow and tired.

Oh man, I know eh?! The labetalol made me feel awful too.

no fun.

Burrberrymum · July 2016

julievdm12 said:

Burrberrymum said:

I had abnormally high blood pressure throughout the last trimester, but never ended up being diagnosed with pre-e, just concerns for it. I was put on labetalol and I was scheduled to be induced at 38 weeks on the dot because of risks relating to a few issues, and my water broke the day before anyways. I'm really nervous about it this time with a busy LO and no time for rest, which the meds made me very slow and tired.

Oh man, I know eh?! The labetalol made me feel awful too. no fun.

How I described it to SO was that it felt like my heart was beating very very slow. It gave me anxiety, I would constantly be trying to feel my pulse because it was so strange feeling so slow and blah. Not looking forward to a repeat of that if it happens again.

kjd291 · July 2016

Everyone please keep updating us on how you're doing this time around!! FX we can all avoid it completely

EISG918 · July 2016

Lurking from Jan 17... I was on labetalol with DD but stopped bc side effects and briefly tried it with this pregnancy but both times I was extremely short of breath, so fatigued and I also felt like my heart was either too slow or too fast. There's other meds out there if you guys feel nasty on the Labetalol. Good luck

kjd291 · August 2016

Bumping this from a month ago.

hows everything going in this pregnancy thus far with this issue?? How will you be monitored differently this time around??

Just wanted to share: my midwife said one thing that can't hurt is Epsom salt baths every once and a while. There was a study in England that showed use brings chance of pre-e cases down a teeny bit. Even if not--it is super relaxing and has helped with aches and pains, and also helps with swelling/water retention & Aids in digestion!! Can't hurt!!

CanadianintheSouth · August 2016

@kjd291 I've started taking my own blood pressure at home weekly and bringing in the readings to my doctor. Of course it measured high at the doctor, but it looks great when I use the machine at home. She was really happy with my home results and recorded them in my file. Fingers crossed that it stays low!

wintersong · August 2016

In my case the only differences will be labs in a couple of weeks to get "baseline" numbers (whatever that means...proteins I guess?) and an appt with a high risk docot to go over just in cases.

catybug820 · August 2016

I had pre-e with my dd, and was induces at 38 weeks. I went from no symptoms or concerns of pre-e or hypertension, to one appt going in and being diagnosed with severe pre-e. My OB said I am more likely to have it again because one risk factor for pre-e is having it in a previous pregnancy. I am having extra labs including a 24 hour urine sample to give them a baseline, and he said the frequency of my appts is going to increase earlier than last time. My OB also said that a baby aspirin could help my chances, so I'll start that soon as he gives me the word.

wintersong · August 2016

catybug820 said:

I had pre-e with my dd, and was induces at 38 weeks. I went from no symptoms or concerns of pre-e or hypertension, to one appt going in and being diagnosed with severe pre-e. My OB said I am more likely to have it again because one risk factor for pre-e is having it in a previous pregnancy. I am having extra labs including a 24 hour urine sample to give them a baseline, and he said the frequency of my appts is going to increase earlier than last time. My OB also said that a baby aspirin could help my chances, so I'll start that soon as he gives me the word.

Sounds just like my experience. I went from "Everything is Awesome!" to "You need to come to the hospital right now. Don't go home first, just meet me there."

kjd291 · August 2016

I will say, I'm glad that I'm going with midwives overseen by doctors this time around.

I trust if I need to be induced again, they'll monitor me well, and get me in and deliver w/ healthy baby! But--I also trust that the midwives won't dive in with interventions unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes I find myself wondering if everything my doctors did was completely necessary with DD since I never fully crossed the line into pre-eclampsia diagnoses. Just danced around it. I'm obviously glad I have a healthy baby, but I can't help but wonder if early induction could have been avoided even if by another week.

Are you all going to the same practices where you delivered your previous children? I couldn't go to the same one with a change of insurance-but I'm enjoying my experience with my new practice.

kaylaef · August 2016

Love the positive story!

KLawrence16 · August 2016

This is my exact situation! DS was born at 36 after induction because of Pre-E.
My doctor recommended doing the baby aspirin thing so I've been doing that, but beyond that he doesn't seem to be concerned at all (or if he is he's good at hiding it) he said he doesn't expect there will be any problems, and we're hoping for a vbac. My Mom also had Pre-E with her first but never again with her other 4 children, so thats interesting as well.

Hope it works out for all of us!

MyDG620 · August 2016

I had hypertension with DS and was induced at 36weeks. I am hoping to avoid it this time around. My first doctors appointment my blood pressure was high so the doctor is having me monitor it at home.
@kjd291 My doctor also recommended the Epsom salt baths. I am going to try it!

Bluebird2318 · August 2016

@kjd291 I did deliver my son with the practice I'm seeing now, but I was only with them for the last ten weeks of my pregnancy (had to leave my first practice because we moved for DH's job). This is the first time I'm with them for a full pregnancy. I'm not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. My original practice treated my second pregnancy as high risk (because my first resulted in pre-e/HELLP and delivery at 29 weeks) and had me seeing a perinatologist as well as my primary OB. My OB with this practice isn't even concerned enough to have me on aspirin again. Her reasoning is that my second pregnancy was so favorable that she can't attribute its success to the use of aspirin. That should sound great to me, but instead I feel helpless with the fact that I'm not physically DOING anything this time, just hoping for the best.

@KLawrence16 Good luck with your VBAC! I'm hoping for my second VBAC this time around. Re: your mother's experience -- I have heard from my doctors that there are less incidences of pre-eclampsia reoccurring in future pregnancies if the babies have the same father, which is interesting for sure.

kjd291 · August 2016

@Bluebird2318 I'm sorry you're feeling that way about your current OB. Do your best to stick up for yourself if you keep feeling this way to keep asking questions and push till you're both on the same page. The worst feeling is when you don't, and regret it down the line. I hate how sometimes at the doctors it feels like they are not OUR bodies and our babies - so we forget we have a say too!
I'm sure your ob is right, and you have nothing to worry about! But do what feels right with you and has you confident in the medical professional you've chosen for this pregnancy!

Lexxilou1986 · August 2016

My dr said he will start seeing me more frequently after 20 weeks and that I need to monitor my pressure daily at home starting around that same time.

kjd291 · September 2016

@ngcsugirl1112.

kjd291 · September 2016

Bump

anyone have updates? Or new ladies that want to share their stories?

My midwives have decided they aren't going to recommend baby aspirin and "not act like there is a problem till there IS a problem" which I'm on board with!! Taking weekly/bi-weekly Epsom salt baths cuz I figure it can't hurt!!

ngcsugirl1112 · September 2016

I just realized I never shared mine. I have had high blood pressure for awhile but have been on meds for over a year to help regulate it. My OB has known about it and was fine with me getting pregnant. Now I also see a perinatologist as well as my OB. I did a 24 hour urine collection last month and my numbers came back in the 300s...my OB wasn't concerned as the protein wasn't brought on by the pregnancy...it was a pre-existing condition and he wanted to get a baseline. My perinatal doctor wants me to do them once a month to monitor the numbers. It's a little scary but hopefully between the two doctors they'll keep me healthy and take me to full term.

**edited because TB app ate most of my post last night so I retyped it out on a computer this morning**

CanadianintheSouth · September 2016

@Lexxilou1986 how is the at home monitoring going for you? My doctor is really happy with my results from my at home readings, even though my in office numbers are still high.

DrillSergeantCat · September 2016

My BP was great through the entire pregnancy, but shot up during delivery and took a few weeks to come back down. Two days after I was discharged from the hospital, I ended up in the ER because my BP was so elevated. I didn't know this, but you can develop post-eclampsia also. They were monitoring me very closely for that.

kjd291 · October 2016

How's everyone's blood pressure doing? I've made it to 21 weeks with it staying super low! Currently just avoiding high sodium foods, and taking Epsom salt baths.

wintersong · October 2016

I'm still only 17 weeks, so it's a bit early for pre-e yet. I did have to do a 24 hour urine collection this week to get baseline numbers (bp is fine) and start taking a baby aspirin every day preventatively. I could not believe how much pee i had. My fmu at the end of my collection was RIDICULOUS. No joke, 32 ounces. How is that even possible? I filled up the entire collection bowl and had to dump it into the jug and finish.

kjd291 · October 2016

longliveregina said:

I'm still only 17 weeks, so it's a bit early for pre-e yet. I did have to do a 24 hour urine collection this week to get baseline numbers (bp is fine) and start taking a baby aspirin every day preventatively. I could not believe how much pee i had. My fmu at the end of my collection was RIDICULOUS. No joke, 32 ounces. How is that even possible? I filled up the entire collection bowl and had to dump it into the jug and finish.

Haha. I hate those things!! I learned my lesson--to always ask for two collection bottles! Last time around I had to fill up some of my personal water bottles to bring in on top of the giant collection bottle

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