So, I am not Pre-e yet, but I have a feeling I'm headed that way. I've been in triage twice this week, but released because my BP went down, still doing 24 hour urines and blood work, etc. The only symptom I've had is headaches, but they always go away with tylenol.
Yesterday and today I have had boughts of nausea, but no real headaches.
Basically, I am so anxious and nervous about missing a symptom (i.e. this could just be third tri morning sickness again), it's no wonder my BP is up.
What are you doing to get through this? Are you as nervous as me? What do your docs say about induction--when and how? Thanks!
Re: Hypertension/Pre-E girls come in
I have high BP and have throughout this pregnancy. Just thinking about it makes my heart rate increase. I'm going to have having twice weekly scans to check on baby. Plus, I'm supposed to keep track of my BP at home.
It's ironic, though, b'c I also have GD. GD generally leads to big babies while PIH leads to small babies. I'm hoping the two balance out to give me a normal sized baby, lol!
I was diagnosed with PIH at 29 weeks. It still has not turned into pre-e, but my bps continued to rise as I got farther along, so I will be induced tomorrow night.
Do you have a bp cuff to use at home? You should try to lay down (preferably on your left side) as much as possible and monitor your bps at home. Try not to overanalyze your symptoms as worrying about it will raise your bp. I found that resting as much as possible and monitoring my own bp kept me relaxed.
ETA: Supposedly a common side effect of high bp is a smaller baby because high bp restricts oxygen and other nutrients to the baby. My bp has been really high for the past ten weeks (it doesn't go below 140/90 and frequently goes into the 160s/110s) and my baby has always measured really big. Apparently mothers on bed rest are known to have big babies because they are not using as many nutrients, etc for themselves and they go to the baby.
Take this with a grain of salt (because I'm not a doc, nor do I have Pre-E), but you might want to read up on the "Brewer Diet". Basically it advocates getting 80-100 mg of protein a day, and most of the people who are successful at it either never get Pre-E, or are able to get rid of it/tone it down.
I've learned about it in my Bradley Classes and the success rates are great.
Again, not a doc, but just a suggestion on something to look in to.
I have not been officially diagnosed...but have had severe swelling since 16 weeks and blood pressure continues to slowly climb. I am monitoring my BP at home and with the school nurse (I'm a teacher).
What is your blood pressure....on average? I'm about 130/85.
You sound like me.. I have GD and high BP...
good to hear I"m not alone!
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."
At 28 weeks I was diagnosed with PIH (although it had been raised since 24 wks), they've been monitoring me every week EXCEPT for this week because my BP was back in the normal range (hurrah!). Of course now that I'm in my last month, I'll be going every week regardless from here on out
At 32 weeks I had severe swelling/water weight gain (10 lbs over the course of 2 wks) and borderline BP but no protein found in urine. OB didn't put me on bedrest, but did tell me to get 10 hrs sleep each night & to try and take a nap during the day (basically sleep half the day!).
Also, I've had trace amounts of protein found @ wks 33 & 34 but my BP dropped back down to "normal" so they just told me to watch my weight & continue lots of rest.
The #1 sign the OB told me to look for was >5 lb weight gain in a day & then sustained for 2 days. BP is such a finicky way of measuring anyway. From what I've heard/read/researched, another big symptom is the protein in the urine and then they'll take blood to check for liver enzymes... and that's when PreE is diagnosed.
If your BP is the only thing raised (no traces of protein; no severe swelling as in >5 lbs in a day; no dizziness/seeing spots) then, you could just have PIH that won't ever go "toxic". Evidently that's not uncommon, but Pre-E is. And of course worrying about Pre-E won't help with your PIH, but click HERE for more info on Pre-E.
HTH & GL
The Baby Blog.
I was diagnosed with Pre-E at 28 weeks. I have been on bed rest ever since.
I have elevated BP, protein in my urine, headaches, swelling, and the whole bit! Soudnds like I will be induced here within the next 1-2 weeks or so. We will see how it goes!
Good luck with everything!