High Blood Pressure

[Dea]

Today at my appointment I found out that I have high blood pressure. All pregnancy it's been perfect, and today it's 130/100!!! So my doctor (whom I'm still seeing even though I'm planning a home birth) sent me for blood work and another urine analysis and there are some abnormal results, although I don't know if it's 'cause I'm pregnant or not. So I'm a little worried.
I don't want to give up my home birth, I don't don't don't. I understand that the birth is a small part of this whole baby's life, but it's so important to me.

SO I don't know what I should be doing. The doctor is talking about pre eclampsia, but I have no protein in my urine according to her test, however on the other test I did today there was a trace. I don't have any swelling in my face, but my hands are often swollen, but my feet are not. Sigh. I'm just upset at the whole thing.

On the other hand my inlaws were just here and they always make me super anxious. My MIL and I are either very identical or so different that it's hard to be around her. We are both stubborn and set in our ways. She makes snide little comments that just set me off. Like with her second birth she chose the pain drugs because she wasn't "stupid enough to go without". Anyhow that upset me. And I also went all out and made sure that there was a feast planned for Christmas and Christmas Eve, so I did over do it. I know my body doesn't handle stress well, and it's always been fine, I deal with it in my own way, but now there is a little person counting on me, and ahhhh!

So, what to do??? Besides hope and wish that it's stress induced and some meditation and relaxation will help me out.

[birthmommom]

I don't have any answers but wanted to offer a

Hope it gets better,

[FoxintheSnow]

Was it only one high bp reading? One reading doesnt mean much of anything. 3 high readings several hours apart are necesarry to diagnosis high bp as far as I know. Sometimes my BP is high when I first get to my mw's office. She usually takes it again before I leave when Im relaxed and it drops dramatically. I dont think train protein means much of anything either.

[nausicaamom]

Go over to Pregnancy Resources and read the Pre-E Watchdog thread - lots of fantastic information there. The protien in your urine today could be any number of things so I wouldn't worry too much about that, just do the 24-hour collection and get the big picture. I don't know what your pressure normally runs, but when both numbers are at least 20 points higher than normal there is some cause for concern. It sounds like your doc isn't jumping the gun but is doing the labs to see what is actually up.

Rest, hydrate, read and relax.

[smokeylo]

What's your usual bp? A diagnosis of "high" bp should have to do more with your baseline (so if your bp is usually 120/80, 130/100 might not be such a big deal). Talk to your *midwife* about this. Up your protein and fluids and rest. As one person already said, one high reading doesn't mean much, esp. with no other symptoms of pre-e. If the doc gets antsy, ask for a cuff so you can monitor yourself at home nightly instead of dealing with the stress of constant visits (which will not help your bp, right??). This is not a total crisis! I'm sure you're fine!

[LoveChild421]

My last pregnancy I had high readings off and on at the Dr.s (I always get nervous at Dr.s offices anyway and I also had a lot of stress at times) so I went to the local drug store and bought a blood pressure cuff. I still use it during this pregnancy just for peace of mind. Occassionally I'll get a high reading (like 130/95) due to stress or running around all day being on my feet doing too much getting my blood pumping but its consistently in the normal range.

Don't give up on your homebirth- my bp was a bit on the high side during the last couple of weeks with ds1 and I never showed any other signs of pre-e. I gave birth to him at home with no problems.

If there isn't any protein in your urine and you don't have swelling and you aren't seeing any "floaties" I'd say just watch it carefully at home and try to relax as much as possible.

Epsom salts baths (just not too hot) help ease high blood pressure and so do magnesium supplemements.

[Dea]

Have I ever told you all how much I love and appreciate everyone? 'Cause I do, so much. I can't call anyone at home about issues like this because they don't know much regarding pregnancy and I just don't have that kind of relationship with them.

Anyhow I do have a bp cuff at home and I took my bp again and it was a little lower, but not a lot. I normally run 120/80, and sometimes a little lower but the average is 120/80.

I emailed my midwife and forwarded my test results to her. All of the blood work came back normal, and she thinks I have a UTI, I had high white blood count in my urine. But wouldn't I know if I had one? Can that have caused high blood pressure?

I've sent my DH out for epsom salts and cranberry juice. I've told myself that I have 4 weeks to 37 weeks which is the earliest I can have a home birth, so I have 4 weeks to fix this.

[Teenytoona]

I agree with the PPs that one reading is not enough to worry over. I mean you might have had white coat syndrome too. I know I get higher readings when I'm worried about something. I think the suggestions here are quite good. I also would like to chime in about taking garlic supplements (deodorized pills, more garlic consumption, etc) as garlic is good for bringing BP down.


Don't let it worry you really, one reading isn't enough to base a major scare on, but it seems many docs function that way.

[True Blue]

It is very, very possible to have a UTI during pregnancy and not know it. The pain one often feels from a UTI is from spasms of the urethra or ureters....and all the relaxin in your body lessens these spasms. Asymptomatic UTI's in pregnancy are very common, and dangerous bc they can cause ptl if left unnoticed. Get yourself some Cranactin by Solaray, that stuff is the best ever!!! I had a bacterial strain for which I couldn't take antibiotics last pregnancy (I was allergic to the antibiotic that was safe during pregnancy for the strain I had) and the stuff knocked it out super fast, at least as fast as antibiotics and without side effects.

[lovetobemama]

Yea, i agree. You can DEFINITELY have a UTI without any awareness. I went into preterm labor with DS at 33 weeks out of the blue, and the only thing we ever firgured out was that I did have a totally symptom-free UTI.

Hang in there! High blood pressure does not mean pre-e. Your home birth will be amazing and things will go just fine! I know it!!

[smokeylo]

Originally Posted by Dea

Have I ever told you all how much I love and appreciate everyone? 'Cause I do, so much. I can't call anyone at home about issues like this because they don't know much regarding pregnancy and I just don't have that kind of relationship with them.

Anyhow I do have a bp cuff at home and I took my bp again and it was a little lower, but not a lot. I normally run 120/80, and sometimes a little lower but the average is 120/80.

OK. According to my midwife (ymmv), she wouldn't worry about my bp until it was 15-20 points higher than my "baseline" (which is 100/68 <-- yes, I know, barely alive!). So you being 10 points over doesn't seem that bad. And I think it's the top # that matters more than the bottom? This is where my knowledge about BP ends. What I'm saying is, though, from everything I can see, you're not in that much danger with only having ONE higher reading that was only 10 points higher (systolic) and you're not dumping protein or seeing spots and your swelling is minimal (sounds like normal end of preg swelling to me anyway). I think this is going to be totally manageable and that you will have your homebirth!

[flapjack]

My alleged UTI's only symptoms were a rise in blood pressure (that is, the higher number. Lower one stayed the same), the oedema and traces of what the doctor called "pus" on a dipstick. Now, I reckon that was either leukocytes or ketones, and either of which is a sign that your body's working hard to deal with something.
The decision I made was to ask for a full mid-stream urine analysis and to take prophylactic antibiotics whilst awaiting the results of the urinalysis, because having a preemie is something I want even less than I want antibiotics. I don't know if it's related or not, but baby's movements dropped significantly those first couple of days on the antibiotics. I just mention that in case you find the same thing. I'm also getting through obscene quantities of vitamin C and zinc.

[mishaj]

Hi Dea,

Just wanted to offer some support. You have plenty of time and love to get this sorted out. I think the stress of MIL and overdoing it for the holidays would be enough to give anyone a higher BP than normal!

When my friend started showing signs of pre-e, protein in her urine, high BP, she started eating celery and carrots and practiced deep breathing for 10 minutes a day. It worked and she home birthed without any problems.

Sending lots of love and chilled out vibes...

Mj

[the elyse]

[BJSkolnik]

oh yeah, MILs totally cause high BP, I know! lol from my understanding of pre-e, you need consistent high blood pressure and more than trace amounts of protein in the urine. rest and water are the things to get your bp down, oh and ignoring your MIL. lol harder to do than it sounds tho! I'm currently on bedrest due to my bp. it is the bottom number that is the scarier one, so try to get that one down if you can, but if you just had one high reading, I wouldn't worry too much.

good luck!!

[Dea]

Thanks everyone. I've forwarded all of my tests to my midwife and they were all normal. She's amazing and gave me so many tips, so I'm off to get teh stuff i need and then lots of R and R.
Today my BP was 132/ 84 so it's better I guess. I'll do all I can to get it lower, but my midwife seems confident, which really helps me.

Thank you so much everyone! It helps to read everything and helps to stop me from freaking out, because I do that really easily!

[esmlranch]

Hi. Just dropping in from the March DDC to offer some support. I have experience with high bp during month 9 of my last pg.
My numbers were really high and I was getting some protein in the urine as well as lots of swelling. I was sent by my mw to her back up dr to make sure I was still safe for an out of hospital birth.
Nothing was ever found to be wrong. Just high bp probably due to all the end of pg swelling and dragging my huge body around! The dr gave me a good to go.
I was monitoring the bp by stopping in at the fire station at least once a day. If you go there a very nice usually cute fire fighter will take your bp for you!
I made it full term and ds was born at home.
Hope that your bp drops, but if not you can still be considered healthy for home birth.
Best wishes!

[Gunter]

mine spiked last time but just once and then it steadily went down. hoping the same for you, dea!