I had my 28 week doctor's appointment on Monday and I mentioned to the doctor that for the last 3 weeks my ankles have looked alot like softballs. My blood pressure was SLIGHTLY elevated at 135/84. I don't consider that really high but maybe for pregnancy it is?

Based on this info she ordered a full pre-eclampsia workup including bloodwork to look for "indicators" of pre-e and giving a 24 hour urine sample which I stayed home from work to do yesterday. She didn't mention whether or not I had any protein on my urine sample from yesterday, but I think I must have if she thought it necessary to order all these tests.

Anyone have any experience with this? I am terrified of being put on bedrest (I don't do we'll sitting still for too long). And the thought of a possible c-section is enough to drive me nutty.

Just curious about other first timers experience with pre-eclampsia and what the outcome was?

Hey, I had PE in all of my pregnancies and in my first, I had a BP rise and then protein followed a week or so later. To be honest, bed rest does little to help if it's PE. My advice is to wash up you baby bedding and be ready for a pre term delivery but also that with meds and monitoring you can often get quite far long. While your bp doesn't seem all that high, it depends what your baseline is and how extreme your swelling is.

I agree with PP hun, as scary as it sounds delivery is THE only cure for PE if detected early like yourself medication and monetering can delay this for a while longer my BP was the very last thing to rise in both my pregnancies, liver and kidney functioning were away to pot i had ++++4 urine and so swollen I couldn't get shoes on, last time it was severe but they managed to hold me off for 4 days before delivery and every day extra in your tummy does make a difference.

Take each day as it comes your in good hands xx

I got the results of my blood and urine tests...all normal! My swelling is quite severe. My legs, ankles, and feet are the worst. Hands and fingers are swollen too. I intend on spending the weekend getting some things done for the baby to start getting ready for her arrival. I want to be prepared, just in case!

Here is what Judy Ballinger & Anne Fry have to say about edema and elevated BP:For relief of standard edema with no other symptoms, potassium supplementation, either in capsule form or food form (bananas and apricots are excellent sources) will substantially alleviate excess fluid. Lemon tea (10 oz of water with 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon and 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup) can be consumed, hot or cold, every morning to flush the kidneys. Of course it is always important to maintain appropriate water intake as well. Judy Ballinger, RN, CMT,

When edema is coupled with elevated blood pressure, I first thoroughly inform the woman about the course of preeclampsia. I first suggest deep relaxation, mild exercise, increasing protein to 125 grams per day, calcium to 2000 grams per day and water to three quarts per day. I then suggest one cup of uva ursi tea per day. In severe cases, drink one cup every 12 hours. Recheck blood pressure and edema in three days. Since pathological swelling's ultimate cause is dietary inadequacy, it is reasonable to assume that a woman is already suffering from an inadequately expanded blood volume before swelling becomes apparent. This protein/sodium imbalance represents insufficient dietary intake, which can be corrected by reviewing the diet and adding more salt, protein and nutrient rich calories as necessary Anne Frye,
Holistic Midwifery, vol. 1, Labrys Press, 1995 Midwifery Today

I'm super nervous about that. I have high blood pressure anyway that I take medication for. With me, they did a 24 hour urine and full lab work up right off the bat to get a baseline to compare on down the road, told me to cut salt, exercise, drink water, etc. I'm trying to do all of those things, but it's scary! They also told me that I would be induced at 39 weeks or before depending on how my blood pressure and other things are going. I already swell somewhat prior to becoming pregnant; I used to take Lasix everyday, but since I became pregnant they took that away. I'm just a big ball of nerves about it all. Hopefully all will work out well for you!

I also had pe. In my case the indicators other than extreme swelling didn't how up until I was induced at 38 weeks and things went downhill from there. I retained so much water from the pe that I ended up re hospitalized after delivery due to having fluid on my lungs. I never had high blood pressure just higher than my baseline....please keep a very lose eye on the swelling.

My swelling has been pretty bad the past few days. In fact, I woke up on Friday morning to an extremely swollen face and hands. I went and saw my doc who has now put me on bedrest. She said even though my blood and urine labs were normal, she's been doing this long enough to know that I am likely on my way to developing pre-e. She said I won't be making it to 40 weeks, and her goal right now is to get me to 34 and go from there. I am nervous, but happy in a way to be able to stay home and concentrate on keeping myself and my baby healthy.

thinking of you, best to be prepared, pop overto prem section, there's lot of success stories in the VIP thread at the top! Have they talked about the steroid shots to develop babies lungs? Xx

Nope, haven't mentioned anything about that. All she said was her main goal was to get to 34 weeks. If I am still doing okay that point then we will try and get to 37 weeks. I have an appointment on Friday and I plan on asking her some of these questions. I really have my heart set on a caginal delivery, or at least trying it before jumping right into a c-section.