UP, 38 wks, pitting edema, slightly elevated BP

[gabbyraja]

I had some swelling in my first pgcy, but only for a few days before birth and no pitting. I've had low BP in every one of my pgcies. I never get above about 116/72.

About 2 weeks ago my feet swelled up like balloons. No pitting, however. I assumed I'd had too much salt recently and not enough water (plus heat). I pumped the water, including some hot lemon water (natural diuretic), and elevated the feet and the next day the feet were pretty back to normal (but it had also gone from 85 degrees to 75). Few days later my balloon feet were back, and I just accepted it. They've been swollen every day. A few days ago I headed up to the grocery store and checked my BP. first time it was 141/79. I sat and rested for a few minutes (it's all the way at the back of the store) and it went down to 131/81. I considered that acceptable.

Today my feet are VERY swollen again, but it's the first time I've had pitting. I pressed and it took over a minute to come back. I have no other symptoms of pre-e (though I have not checked my BP today). No headache, dizziness, sudden weight gain, vomiting or nausea, etc. I;ve never had a SINGLE complication in my pregnancies, ever.

Would you worry? Would you try to get into an OB, this late in the game, in order to check if you're spilling protein? I'm not sure what I'd even consent to doing if I were, anyway...

I just read B6 can help you prevent retaining water. I'm going to go take some extra of that, and I've limited salt today...

[dayiscoming2006]

That sounds somewhat concerning. Maybe you should attempt inducing your labor naturally at home if that is something you're comfortable with. I'm glad to see this is happening far into pregnancy and not at 32 weeks like what happened to my sister. I wouldn't want to go to an OB either. I'm not sure if natural induction at home would be right for you but if you go to an OB, I'd pretty much guarantee they'd push to induce you right away.

[dayiscoming2006]

That sounds somewhat concerning. Maybe you should attempt inducing your labor naturally at home if that is something you're comfortable with. I'm glad to see this is happening far into pregnancy and not at 32 weeks like what happened to my sister. I wouldn't want to go to an OB either. I'm not sure if natural induction at home would be right for you but if you go to an OB, I'd pretty much guarantee they'd push to induce you right away, if not a c/s.

[Sijae]

I would not worry if I were you. Swelling in the feet and a slightly high BP in the absence of other symptoms and feeling normal sounds like the end of pregnancy to me. I certainly wouldn't try any kind of "natural" induction, that's a really bad idea. It all comes down to how you feel. Don't let a couple of isolated symptoms that are often totally normal at the end of pregnancy throw you off. On the other hand if your intuition is tell you that something is wrong you should listen to it.

[rhiandmoi]

Pitting edema should be checked out. Do you have a GP? You don't need an OB to get your urine checked. A friend of mine bought strips at the pharmacy but I think she had an order from her GP. Swelling is normal, but pitting is something to be careful with.

Also, do you know what your baseline is? Especially your bottom number? Like if it was me 79 would be high. But that might be normal for you.

[dayiscoming2006]

I'm not trying to give bad info but I was thinking, if you feel your health is declining, that it might be something to consider with natural induction. I personally wouldn't want to do that if it can be avoided at all. I was just concerned when you mentioned the pitted edema thing. My sister got super sick. She looked like she was going to die. You might look pretty OK but you seemed really concerned and the swelling you described sounded worse than what is typical.

Maybe you can try to find something in the health and healing section on what to do about it??? I don't know.

[gabbyraja]

I took the B6 last night and my feet look much better again today. I checked the BP today and it was 118/80. I'm comfortable with that. I also got sleep last night. Real, blissful sleep. THREE hours at a time, for 11 hours! I was sick yesterday. First time my whole pgcy. Runny/stuffy nose, almost felt like I had a fever, so I went to bed early. I took 2000 mg of Vit C first, though. I feel almost all better today, though I'm taking C, zinc and ecinachea (sp?).

Anyway, I don't feel it's as much of a problem now, as long as I continue to take it easy. It's just hard. It feels like freaking bed rest, and I don't think I'd do well on bed rest. I consider natural induction methods, but other than the black/blue cohoshes I don't think anything would really work. I've done CO before and will NEVER do it again. I do try to have sex often and nurse every time cx start, but it never keeps anything going. I know an OB would have me in the hospital, which is why I've put off trying to go. I do have a GP, who doesn't do OB anymore but has agreed to sort of under-the-table monitor me through the pgcy, but his schedule's been really weird the past few weeks. I had to wait 3 weeks for an appt on Fri, then on Thur they called to reschedule because he'd had an emergency and couldn't be in on Fri. I just said never mind and figured I'd UP all the way from here on out, hoping my usual trend continues and I'll be delivering this week (I'm an avg of 6-8 days early every time, plus there's the full moon on Thur...).

Thanks for the advice, and feel free to chime in with more advice now with the new info. Thanks!

[rajahkat]

So, because you are able to pretty easily get your blood pressure to come back down and your swelling to ease with rest/water/sleep etc. I wouldn't worry at this point. If you go to a provider, what are they going to do? See if they can get your BP to come down and the swelling to go away, or suggest induction because you're 38 weeks.

I would continue to rest, (some suggest on the left side specifically), and watch for other concerning symptoms ~ headaches, blurry vision, swelling in your face, upper right side belly or shoulder pain. If you start experiencing any of these symptoms, and your BP continues to rise, I would seek help. You can order strips for checking protein online.

I wouldn't recommend inducing at home. If I thought I was dealing with pre-eclampsia to the point I was considering inducing, I would probably be seeking professional assistance.

[dayiscoming2006]

I'm glad to hear you're doing better. Keep doing what you are doing. It sounds good.

I despise doctors so I avoid them if at all possible, but that's me. Do what feels right to you.

I don't know much about the black and blue cohosh stuff. I wouldn't go to the doctor for help with an induction like the PP said but that's me. I don't want to take pitocin or worse cytotec or something. I also wouldn't want to be convinced that a c/s is the only way to go. These are all very important for me to avoid. I don't know what you have as your most important things to avoid though. Like I said, do what you feel is best.

From the sound of it though, I don't think you'll be needing to worry about any induction stuff. You sound like you managed to get things under control and hopefully your body continues the slightly before the due date trend.

[kittywitty]

How bad are you talking the pitting is? I had pitting edema just slightly and not continuously-days when I'm in the heat too long overworked and dehydrated. But without other symptoms of Pre-E, I would not worry about it. Your bp really doesn't sound bad. One high reading that isn't even that high doesn't sound worrisome. Drink tons and tons and then more tons of water, get some nettle tea (dandelion will help, too), relax and put your feet up and stay out of the heat. If you're still worried or it gets worse, I would consider finding a HCP to check you out or run some labs. Have you tested urine for protein?