Extra-Low Blood Pressure? « Back to Group Discussions

[Voondrop]

Well, I've always worried about pre-eclampsia (& that can still happen) but I had a near fainting incident in the shower today. I've fainted quite a bit in my life; it's not pretty & feminine like in the movies, lol. But every single time was due to dehydration & one scary vomiting/faint coming out of anesthesia. This has never happened to me before while pregnant & I was unnerved.

I am drinking a ton & had downed a quart of water before bed. I'm trying to implement more efficiency in my day & winding up the alarm clock to start off right. It scared me awake so I very nearly jumped out of bed.& our house is about 60 degrees in the morning so a hot shower is how I start. I had to sit down under the shower several times when the tell-tale fuzzy vision & roaring in my ears began. I also felt like simultaneously vomiting & loosening my bowels.

My fingers were still tingling while making breakfast & I had to sit several times during that as well so I asked husband to check my blood pressure & it was 85/50.

But I google said it was normal for week 20 & gave it the very proper name of hypotension. Is anyone else handling this? My blood pressure is always normal to low but not to this end of the spectrum.

[MommyThea]

Yikes, that sounds scary. Even if google says it's normal, I think this is one of those things that your dr would like to know about asap. 

[Sweet Huck]

Oh, Voondrop! Definitely get checked out. What if you had fallen in the shower? Im' so glad you were able to recognize your symptoms and sit down!  Take care of yourself!  It might be as simple as changing your routine a bit (for example, eating or drinking first thing in the morning, or something like that) but definitely talk to your provider!

Feel better and keep us posted!

[spotty4]

Oh wow, 85/50 sounds terribly low no matter what your physical condition.  My BP pre-pregs was always low.  I just had it checked today at my 16 wk appt and it was 113/69 - still pretty low.  But as a gauge, w/ my BP in that range I have felt dizzy and faint just one time during this pregnancy and fortunately I was seated when that sensation fell over me.  

[BabySmurf]

Something similar happened to me the other night...turned out I was just hungry.  I never checked my blood pressure though.  It happens to me occasionally, along with heart palpitations.  Every doctor I have asked has not worried about it, since it's not happening with exertion.  I haven't seen a specialist (although maybe I should?!) because it's too unpredictable.  For me it always seems to be related to food - even if I *think* I am eating enough, whenever I feel sick, lightheaded, or otherwise cranky, my first go-to is just to eat, and every time I feel better.  The dizziness could also be a sign of iron deficiency.  I would definitely talk to your provider though and make sure that your okay!! FWIW, my labs always come back normal, and it's just been chalked up to a strange coincidence.  The same thing happens to my dad, and he's got "nothing" wrong with him either. 

[SweetMama34]

I passed out at 1 am when I went to the bathroom. Actually, I felt it coming on so I yelled out to my husband and stumbled toward the bed (with my pants still down) - and crumpled into the floor next to the bed. I was only out for seconds - long enough for him to get there and try to scoop me up. It was horrible, awful, terrifying - but I know it was a combonation of being hungry and massive anxiety that I was experiencing throughout the evening. I wasn't taking good care of myself and my body let me know. :(

My blood pressure is really standard at 110/60. My fainting issues have more to do with nutrition...or a lackthereof.

[Voondrop]

I actually had an appointment w/ a midwife the next day & BP was normal. No one was worried though they snapped the cuff on as soon as I brought it up. I had had (what I thought it to be) a hearty salad for supper the night before but I'm thinking you all are right & it was just a blood sugar drop. SweetMama that IS scary, I was trying my hardest to not wake my husband up as he's been up taking night classes but I was ready to call out if things did go black. I've been putting a glass of juice by my bed to sip on when I wake up because I'm paranoid now.

[zjande]

I've always had low blood pressure and been a fainter as well. I've actually never been able to shower first thing in the morning, it is guaranteed to make me faint. I shower in the evenings only, or after eating a meal.

I am so, so faint in the mornings, pregnant or not. I don't do anything until I get a hearty bowl of something protein-y in me. My routine is to wander into the kitchen and eat some cheese immediately, followed up by 3-4 eggs. Yum. :) I don't even answer the phone before eating breakfast because excessive talking makes me faint!

The one thing that I've made good friends with is almonds. ;)  I eat a handful between meals and/or during the night- whenever I start feeling a little off. That or cheese. For me personally, juice would make me faint- anything sugary I don't handle well. I need protein to keep the black fuzzies at bay. 

If you just eat constantly all day and night and avoid sugar, you should be fine.  

[Tenk]

I tend to call this Hypoglicemia versus hypotension.  I get this way too, but have never actually fainted.  My BP is normally low as well 100/60 range and after birth it gets VERY low ... I've been as low as 75/40.  Anyway, it normally has to do with food.  And I've tried to eat protein rich foods (after reading here that it helps some) and that NEVER works for me at all.  I also can't do sweets (like juice) and must have carbs.  It's truly the only thing that helps me.  I also almost never get hungry and have to force myself to eat because it's near meal time.  So I could skip breakfast and never feel hungry but around 11:30 I would be (very suddenly) about to pass out, can't see well, get grumpy, and blah blah blah.   So I would suggest eating something carb rich upon waking ... maybe crackers like you did when you were feeling nauseous??

Good luck mama!!

[Erica13]

Yes, I've had similar - my blood pressure has dropped really low a few times, beginning in the 2nd trimester. I never fainted, but felt completely exhausted all of a sudden, and had a bad headache in the lower part of my head. Eating something really salty seems to do the trick and pick my energy level back up and lessen the headache. When we mentioned it to the dr. she recommended eating salty stuff when I felt my blood pressure lowering, so I guess we were doing the right thing.

[Erica13]

Also, for me, I noticed it wasn't related to lack of nutrition. In fact, sometimes shortly after I ate a normal meal my blood pressure would drop - eating just a little bit of something really salty picked it back up again.

[JNajla]

My b/p is lower while pregnant than it ever has been.  Last ob check it was 100/60 and I'm normally 120/70's.....  

[pokeyAC]

I have felt faint a couple times too.  I stopped at Starbucks to get a chai right before I went into my office.  I had to sit down and eat and/or drink something.  I always eat breakfast when I leave the house so it's about an hour later when I get to work, but I find that I need to drink and sometimes eat something as soon as I get to work. 

[nattery]

I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia as a teenager because I would feel faint if I let myself get too hungry or if I got up too fast sometimes. I was told to eat small protein rich meals to help prevent this (oh and also eat something salty here and there since I tend to eat a lot of raw / unprocessed foods with little to no salt present). It was never really a big issue for me to manage (except the odd time when I would feel really faint or develop a headache after not eating enough).

But with pregnancy it's become worse and I notice if I don't eat every 2-3 hours I have the potential for getting light headed / grumpy / headachey... every time I've gone to the midwife's she tells me my blood pressure is in the normal but low range of normal. I try to keep on top of it by carrying a banana or trail mix with me everywhere I go. If I do start to feel light headed a pick a meal that has sugar, carbs and protein in it as the sugar hits my blood stream right away, while waiting for the carbs and protein to be digest... and by sugar I don't mean processed sugar, I mean something with fruits or naturally occurirng 'healthy' sugars. A piece of fruit, organic fruit juice, etc.

a co worker warned me that because I have hypoglycemia, I was more prone to develop gestational diabetes ... as she also has hypoglycemia and that has been her experience with each of her (three?) pregnancies. I however don't know what her diet is like but I suspect that it is your standard american diet, which I suspect plays a role in MOST case where diabetes develops. I don't eat processed sugars or carbs for the most part and try to eat mostly home made vegetarian dishes so I am hoping to avoid GD. My midwife agreed that most cases of GD could be prevented by good nutrition.
 

[Voondrop]

Sugary, salty, protein-rich carb every 2 hours. Hmmm. I've been keeping a giant can of peanuts at the front of the pantry & have a couple of handfuls of them through out the day. I'm glad to know your co-workers experience, thanks for sharing, Nattery. While we certainly are not hitting the drive-thru every day & nothing instant comes into our house I would guesstimate that 1/4 of our diet is typical American, & cutting it all out is a slow process. I am planning on upping the standard (at least for myself) during the last trimester.