Dr. Visit, Blood Pressure....

[OldFashionedGirl]

Went to the doctor today...fortunately, he didn't mention anything about induction, but I think it was b/c he was pre-occupied with my BP.

They took it about 5 times. The nurse took it w/ me sitting up, then had me lay on my left side. Both times, she frowned and said it was pretty high. Then the doc came in, took it twice with me sitting up, then w/ me on my back, then had me get dressed and lay down for a few minutes, before the nurse came in and took it again. Finally, she told me what it said, and this time she was okay with it: 130/60.

Doc. wasn't overly concerned b/c there's not a high level of proteins in my urine, but...he said this is probably the last week he's going to "let" me work.

I have mixed feelings about this....I really need the money. But, I've been dead the last couple weeks at work (not to mention the size of my ankles by time I was done with my shift), and I'm not crazy about my boss.

But, work or not, I do need to get my BP down. Any ideas?

[tiffany21074]

there is a great thread right now in the unassisted forum, i think it is titled "i may not get my uc" and in the thread lots of mamas have some great tips that have helped them. are you eating tons of protein? at least 80-100 grams a day? no junk food, no sugar, no refined white flour, lots of watery foods. how about taking your blood pressure yourself at home? that would help rule out white coat hypertension. how far along are you?

[OldFashionedGirl]

36 wks....and off to find that thread now!

PS-->I'm not super great about eating lots of protein. Honestly, my diet is pretty crappy. Though it's late in the game, it couldnt do any harm to clean up things diet wise.

PPS-->Also wanted to add that I haven't any other pre-ecclampsia type symptoms. No headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, etc... I generally feel fine. I do get out of breath pretty easily when I go up and down stairs, but I figured that was b/c I have a baby shoved up against my lungs and diaphram.

[miguelsmom]

I know what it feels like to want to work because of money issues but for I secretly couldn't wait to stop. I earn my money as a waitress and it's not easy work while preggers. I had elevated blood pressure my previous pregnancy and I've found what helps me most this time round (not bp issues at all) is keeping my water intake up. I try and drink half my body weight in ounces of water. Much easier earlier in my pregnancy but if you replace everything you normally drink with water it helps. I find I always feel better after a couple glasses of water. Not to mention we've all just gotten through the holiday weekend which brings on stress, poor eating habits and I'm sure many other things that can effect bp. Don't stress out about, keep relaxed and make sure that you don't do too much before you go to the doctor. I find when I'm running late to my appointment and get there flustered it can effect my bp. So give your self time to get there with out too much extra effort. I hope that doesn't come off as too much info, take what you need from it and Good luck. oh and sometimes I find it helps to remember to breath I forget to do that all the time

All the best

Kate

[mama.ky]

I had high BP with my last baby (not this one, yay!)- I got it down with acupuncture, eating lots of cucumbers, and taking Hawthorne tincture in my raspberry leaf tea. I was able to bring it down from 140/90 to well within the bounds of normal! Good luck!!!

[bleumoose]

Protein and water! Like the PP said, get as close to 80 to 100 gms of protein as you can, and drink as close to a gallon of water a day. I've been doing that this time and my swelling is minimal, whereas last time around by this point I had cankles like you wouldn't believe. And in the past few days with the holiday my diet has stunk and I've had zero water, and my swelling is way up. Seems protein and water really do make all the difference in the world.

I know how it is to be weighing the need for money from work against the need for rest.. can you cut your hours back, maybe meet in the middle?

Good luck, you can get that bp down!

[meggles]

130/60 sounds fine to me. The top number can really go up if you are stressed or nervous at the Dr.'s office. The bottom number is apparently more important and doesn't vary as much. From reading old threads, I've learned that bp tends to go up at the end because of increased blood volume and demands on the placenta. If you go to the "Birth and Beyond" forum and search for "hypertension" you'll find lots of advice on older threads. My bp has been as high as 140/90, which is really the highest I (and my mw) are comfortable with. I'm doing a lot of things that I've found by digging around on old threads: walking as much as possible, meditation, hawthorn tincture, chlorophyll, eating cucumbers and tons of protein, drinking a lot of water, and drinking a cream of tartar/lemon juice concotion. I bought some epsom salts to bathe in as well. So far, my bp has been okay. Not great, but in the 120s/80s, which I guess can be pretty normal for late pregnancy.

Rest is important. Is there any way you can get your Dr. to write you off of working, so that you can still get paid some (I think it is 55-60%) and not have to be on your feet?