"Borderline" high BP

[MoonWillow]

At my midwife appointment yesterday my BP was 150/90 (maybe the bottom number was 80) and she told me that this is borderline high. But that's high! Maybe she was going by my past numbers? The numbers seems to have gone up kind of gradually.
I've been a mess all day worrying about Pre e. And reading all the horror stories around MDC doesn't help. I've been trying to educate myself though. I don't seem to have any other symptoms but I understand that it can come on very suddenly. My urine test showed a "trace" amount of protein and when they sent it for a spot test, my number was .01 which the nurse said was good and just to call if I had any symptoms.
I'm worried about this BP though. Any words of wisdom?
TIA.

[Moon Faerie]

I don't ahve any research or anything to share. I do have some anecfotal stories that hopefully will at least make you feel a smidge better.

With both of my pregnancies, around 35ish weeks, my bp started to really jump up. IME, the bottom number was the one they watched closely; mine got as high as 118. Anyway, I had NO other signs of pre-e, just the high bp. Both times I had to do 24 hour urine catches, full bloodwork, more frequent visits to monitor bp, etc. Both times it was just bp getting high at the end, and it went right down after birth. Both times I was able to wait until I went into labor naturally (39 weeks 5 days with ds, and 42 weeks 1 day with dd), and they were both fine and healthy too.

[MoonWillow]

Thanks I DO like hearing that.

[umami_mommy]

mine was 124/90 2 weeks ago.

if yours was 150/80 i wouldn't be concerned... since it's the lower number that really matters. the upper number bieng high means you were stressed out.

did she take it while you were laying down? or later in the appt. after you had time to relax?

since mine is so much higher than it was 5 years ago when i was pregnant with my son, i'm working to get it to come down a little.

i'm taking magnesium, hawthorn and skullcap. eating lots of kiwi and cucumber and doing meditation, visualization and energy tapping.

i'm expecting it to be lower next time i go.

PS... it's normal to be spilling a bit of protein this late in pregnancy, it really doesn't mean anything. if you are concerned about pre-e a liver panel is the way to go. everything else might or might not be pre-e symptoms.

[MotherWhimsey]

jumping over from dec. ddc...

I had high blood pressure the last month or so of my pregnancy. It was like 140 over 80 to 90. It never went higher, just stayed at that kinda high spot for the rest of the pregnancy. I was still able to have my homebirth, never had any signs of pre-e, and a week after giving birth, it was still a bit high. And I did everything I could to make that number go down while pregnant. What I'd reccomend is; drink tons of water, you can try the cream of tarter thing (2 tsps cream of tarter, 1/2 c. water, and the juice from half a lemon), and rest at least one hour on your left side twice a day. None of it really helped mine, but I came across a lot of success stories looking it up on here. Hopoe that helps and that your homebirth goes ahead as planned.

[MoonWillow]

Ok that gives me some perspective. Thanks guys. Yea Honey I think it was the bottom number that they were going by. It hadn't been that high before. I definitely drink a lot of water and I do try to rest during the day but maybe I'll try some of those remedies as well.
I have to read up more about energy tapping well, try to put it into practice. I looked at the sight you posted before and and the concept seemed familiar. I'm reading Anatomy of the Spirit (Carolyn Myss) right now. I've definitely read a lot about these things, it's just that I am a fumbling novice when it comes to putting them into practice, even just simple meditation. Oh well I guess I need to practice more!
Thanks again

[2cutiekitties]

I have high BP too, and I hear a lot of stories because of it. There are tons of people who have fine deliveries and healthy babies despite outrageous BP, so I am trying not to worry.

I just wanted to mention that the cream of tartar recipe did nothing for me.

[MoonWillow]

Thanks for that.
Yeah I think just being able to keep myself calm will go a long way. I seem to be really edgy and irritable, quick to anger. Not too fun

[mom2mimi]

My Bp crept up towards the end of my pg with my son and it never did go down. It didn't affect my homebirth or anything, though. I just went on meds later on down the road when I had exhausted all my other options. Now I am on a very low dose of bp meds and planning another successfull homebirth, so it doesn't have to mean you're doomed!

[MoonWillow]

Thanks. I'm not actually planning a homebirth though. My fears stem more from developing preeclampsia.

[p1gg1e]

Originally Posted by honeybeedreams

mine was 124/90 2 weeks ago.

i'm taking magnesium, hawthorn and skullcap. eating lots of kiwi and cucumber and doing meditation, visualization and energy tapping.

I took magnesium and upped my water intake with DD and it worked great.. also you have to allow 10 points for the white coat

[timneh_mom]

My last pg, I started meds at 31 weeks. It had been creeping up steadily up until that point. My son was 9 lb 8 oz and very healthy when he was born, the placenta held out and the meds did their job. When I started the meds, there was no question I needed to be on them, it would not come down with rest and I also had developed an abnormal heart rhythm that the medication also corrected.

This time, my blood pressure is normal at 34 weeks without meds. I may be eating slightly more protein, but I never really counted grams the last time so I'm not sure... I'm counting this time for our bradley class. My doc thinks this baby is going to be big like her brother, she is already estimating the baby is about 6 pounds. But so far my body is coping with it all very well - I don't know why exactly (I am a lot more stressed out chasing a toddler) but in any case, I'm very thankful!

[MoonWillow]

Originally Posted by p1gg1e

I took magnesium and upped my water intake with DD and it worked great.. also you have to allow 10 points for the white coat

Lol I hear you. I actually thought the midwife was kind of downplaying it though, by saying it was borderline and not showing concern. I didn't get nervous until I started reading on my own.

timneh_mom maybe all the running around has done you good

Thanks you guys!

[sarah_bella1050]

I had pre-e with my last pg, it was really a miserable experience, but I survived and so did dd. I've had big fears of getting it again, but I've tried really hard not to let that take over. I've done a lot this time I feel to prevent or reduce my chances of having it. I lost weight for one (I was about 40lbs lighter pre-pg then last time), I mainly eat healthy organic food (keeping low of preprepared sodium filled foods) and have tried to stay active. Drinking lots of water with lemon can help to clear out your system and I would really keep an eye out for your swelling. Last pg I was swollen over my entire body well before I was diagnosed with pre-e, painfully swollen. I also had trace amounts of protein in my urine up until the end when it only showed a slight increase on the stick (24hr collection revealed it was a LOT higher). I've done a lot of research and the advice I would give if you feel as though pre-e could be creeping up on you is 1. Drink lots of water with lemon in it 2. Cut down on sodium rich foods 3. Up your proteins 4. EGGS, lots of them, as many as you can handle.

I've done all these things and I have yet to have any swelling and not even trace proteins. I hope this helps and I hope you get to have your vbac.

[umami_mommy]

wren, before you start worrying about pre-e, get a liver panel.

i have borderline BP and NO symptoms of pre-e. NO swelling, no protein in my urine, no visual changes nothing. high BP doesn not equal pre-e in any way shape or form.

you don't need an extra thing to worry about if it's not real.

[mooliette]

High blood pressure is the story of my life while pregnant. It's really fluctuating this pregnancy. For the first 6 months it was steady 140's/80's these past few months it's been 120's/70's. With my first pregnancy it was always 150/90. Cut out carbs all together and took a few blood pressure tinctures, nothing helped. It went down to 120/70 for my home visit didn't raise after that.

[MoonWillow]

I really am taking all of this to heart.
Thank you so much guys! I don't know what I'd do w/out you all.