Talk to me about Magnesium Sulfate

[Samjm]

Or more specifically, talk to me about the risks of refusing it.

Due to prior medical conditions as well as PIH / borderline Pre-E, I was induced at 37.5 weeks with DD. My blood pressure had been running at around 155/110, which is pretty bad.

I was given Mag Sulfate. It is truly the worst stuff on the planet. It was a million times worse than the Pitocin. I had to stay on it for 24 hrs after delivery, and towards the end I could barely see, could hardly speak and was having trouble remembering my name let alone my new baby’s name.

I would very much like to NOT deal with this evil stuff again.

Right now, my blood pressure is doing great, and I am being very proactive about keeping it down.

But of course, given my medical conditions, I still have a higher risk of developing PIH / Pre-E. If that were to happen, I know my Docs will recommend Mag Sulfate again.

So, I need to be informed about what the risks are if I decide to decline it. I know it is supposed to reduce the risks of seizures in the mother, but really, how likely are seizures in the first place? What other risks are there if I don’t take the stuff?

Thanks for any advice!

[steffanie3]

I would really work on avoiding it. I have also had it and it was evil like you said, I also had a c/section and it made it sooo much worse than it needed to be. Anyway. My second pregnancy I really didn't get high blood pressure until the end, which from what I read is actually pretty normal. My midwife did recommend that I drink a quart of water with a 1/4 tsp sea salt in it, half my weight in ounces everyday. I didn't do that much, I am fat, but I did keep my salt up and it really helped. I also took a lot of baths and just did deep breathing when I thought about it. I am not sure exactly what helped, but I was willing to try anything I could find that was natural and easy to do. I hope you get more responses, but I think if they would have recommended it I would have refused or really asked for what benefits and risks came with it and for alternatives.

[momof4peppers]

Ask your doc if there's another medicine you can take that has far fewer side effects than mag sulfate. I have a friend who was on mag sulfate for babies 1 & 2, but on something else to help control her blood pressure before it got out of control for baby 3. She carried Baby 3 longer than the other 2 by WEEKS. She also cut back her activity level at about week 30 and started a self-imposed 'modified light duty' with lots of left-side lying. Not sure what she started or when she started, but I do believe there can be alternatives if you can keep the bp under control earlier rather than resort to the 'last ditch effort' so to speak of mag sulfate.

[JJsMomma]

Well, there really isn't much you can do to help your BP. If it's PIH, you're screwed basically. I used MS as well and it is awful stuff. I was never warned about it and didn't know what it was and when I lost my hearing and couldn't talk I was freaking out. Nevermind the constant barfing. Ugh.

I'd take it again though and deal with it all in order to save myself and my baby from being hurt by the reprecussions. I'll be interested to see if there is anything else that can be given though.

[clavicula]

i had high bp and pre-e too. i refused the Mag. everything went well.

[user_name]

Maybe you could ask your Docs about soaking in epsom salt baths instead? I've heard this often works in place of using magnesium sulfate as a tocolytic to help ward of preterm labor, perhaps it might work for your blood pressure concerns too?

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