Pre eclampsia Watch - share your stories

[Wnt2beAMom]

Hello,
I'm currently in hospital for the second night in a row, to watch if I'm going to develop preeclampsia.
My results have been so all over the place.
It began with a higher than my normal blood pressure reading, back at 29 weeks. I'm now 33 weeks and I've noticed my bp ranges still in that 120/80 or 70 range. Where it was usually 110/60 the earlier parts of my pregnancy. If I'm having a stressful day, or on my feet a lot, ive seen it go to 144/80 Max.
In the hospital I've noticed my nighttime pressures from when they wake me up go from 105/60, to 90/50.
I also had a sudden drop to 70/30 when I was laying on my back having an nst done.

I guess my blood and urine results have been weird too. One result says I have some protein the next doesn't. I'll be getting another reading done in the morning.

Does this sound like it could become preeclampsia? Based on any of your own personal stories?

Thanks in advance

 

[nilllabean26]

I would like to see some answers. I've been worried because my bp has been 160/83 .... today at the doc, it was 168/97... then is went down an hour later to 130/ something and she said I still wasn't too high. Wat does she mean? Does the think I'm not stressed at home and it spider get high? I'm still not on meds and I'm tired of waiting for answers. I just transferred hospitals and the last hospital said I needed to be on meds but were horrible. New hospital is nice, but they said they need to monitor me and baby might be used to high bp. I'm scared of things like miscarriage /stillbirth and pre eclampsia....

I pray all goes well for u and I look forward to reading some responses.

Thanks for asking the question

 

[Betheney]

I had preeclampsia and none of your blood pressure readings seem overly high to me. But im not a medical professional and everyone is different.

Lots of hospitals also don't worry providing your BP.van come down on it's own. I know it's worrying to us mummas who don't want a high BP reading to be disregarded just because we had a lower one a few hours later. But most hospitals have protocols on how to diagnose BP and most are a diastolic reading of 95 or above a minimum of 3 times over the space of 4 hours (or something similar) and a certain quantity of protein. It's pretty true aswell when i developed pregnancy induced hypertension at 29 weeks there wasn't a single moment my BP dropped, it stayed elevated until the medication could kick in. My doctor tried everything before my.diagnosis, having me sit in a dark quiet room, lay down in a dark quiet room, rest. But nothing brought it down. If resting and relaxing and time can bring it down then that is a great sign!!!

You really don't want to be medicated for high BP if your BP is low anf safe during certain times of the day, the medication can bring it even lower and then you'd get dizzy and feint.

I've seen lots of women on here have a sudden high BP followed by a low BP and be panicked but luckily they've continued on without any further problems.

It's also true about baby getting used to the high BP. When i had preclampsia with my son they want to slowly bring my BP down so increased my meds in small increments because having a big drop can cause problems to the baby and placenta who have grown accustomed to my BP functioning high. My BP was ranging from 130-160/100-112 and if they could get my diastolic under 100 they were happy to keep me pregnant (they were pretty unphased about my systolic - upper digit)

You also have to have a significant amount of protein in your urine not just some protein.

Also testing your BP while lying down is a terrible indicator. I have a home BP monitor and tested my BP lying down twice and it appearz dramatically low. When i sit up and test my BP as per appropriate guidelines then it's a normal reading. I recall the hospital testing it while i was lying down too which is silly.

 

[Rhio92]

Following! My BP is normally about 110-120/60, the other day it was 145/80. The midwife said it was fine, but it's not normal for me to be that high. Plus I've had a headache for 5 days, but not sure if that's due to a cold/sinusitis. My mum had pre eclampsia with me and I had to be born at 33 weeks. Worrying!

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

Thank you for your knowledge Betheney!

I hope you are okay Nillabean and Rhio! And we end up with healthy full term babies

Today I got out of hospital, but will be having home visits. I think being off work will help A LOT!
I don't think there was any significant amount of protein in my labs and bp was in the 120's/70's today.
Dr just wants to keep a close eye on things because preeclampsia can progress fast!

I'm finding that eating well and drinking lots of water, and not being at work have been major factors. So take care girls thanks for your responses.

 

[Betheney]

Yes I've been taking my BP daily for months because of my history. Recently i noticed it's taken a slight dip and stayed there. The only thing i can think is that I'm consuming tonnes of water now. I think it really is making a difference being well hydrated and looking after myself.

Keep in mind ladies blood pressure rises again in third tri naturally anyway. But I'm unsure what is a safe normal rise and what is dangerous, i only know what a dangerous reading looks like. But if you google Blood Pressure During Pregnancy you might find more info about the natural rise. But mine on a good day is say 110/70 and on a bad day 135/90 and my doctor still isn't worried and i have a history of PE.

 

[glitterfly]

I got it with my first pregnancy and I'm being monitored now as my Bp is already starting to creep up. At booking in first time my bp was something like 110/60 and at 35 weeks I hadn't really heard much about pre-eclampsia but was urged by the ladies on here to speak to my midwife. I remember my vision blurring and I was getting weird flashes in my eyes. I also woke up that day and couldn't get my chin to my chest or clench my fists as my hands had swollen significantly. I'd been having headaches for a while to. When I went ini was monitored for 4 hrs and my Bp was something / 90-104 . I remember them saying that they aren't concerned over the top No, just the bottom one and if it is 30 points over your booking in apt it's usually an indication that something is up if it remains over a period of time... I was admitted for 2.5 weeks and booked for induction at 38weeks... Unfortunately it went even higher after that so they induced me early. I do remember the medication making me feel very very sick and the headaches were almost blinding.

I really hope you and your bubs are okay, hospital is probably the best place for you as they can monitor you closely.

Xxxx

 

[northern_me]

My first sign of pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy wasn't overly high blood pressure at all, but swelling in my face and hands. I went to the hospital to get checked out and they sent me home because my blood pressure was fine, only for me to go to my GP two days later and he demanded my OB see me because my blood pressure was through the roof. I was admitted to maternity that day and had a c-section. The flashing in front of my eyes used to make me nauseous so I was vomiting a lot during it.

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

My first sign of pre-eclampsia in my first pregnancy wasn't overly high blood pressure at all, but swelling in my face and hands. I went to the hospital to get checked out and they sent me home because my blood pressure was fine, only for me to go to my GP two days later and he demanded my OB see me because my blood pressure was through the roof. I was admitted to maternity that day and had a c-section. The flashing in front of my eyes used to make me nauseous so I was vomiting a lot during it.

Oh my that's awful that they sent you home....Thank you for the info...I hope this pregnancy goes smoothly for you.