High blood pressure question?

[Emilie]

I got high bp with ds and had to be induced-
I am planning a homebirth for this baby due Nov 16- but at my last 3 appts to see midwife- and then one to see a doc on unrelated issue- it has been high. Bottom number approaching 80. Like 140/79- etc.
I am very concerned-
She told me to take dandelion, calcium magnesium- rescue remedy and Vitamin B. I am.
I still "feel" that it is high- but have not had it checked since my appt- a few weeks ago.
Is it possible for me to rent a bp cup and take it at home?
Thanks
Emilie

[oetien]

What's your 'normal' BP?
Mine was also high at my appt/ today the bottom was close to 90 :(

[Boobiemama]

you can buy a bp monitor at walmart for about $40. I find mine is most always lower at home.

[Emilie]

Great! Thank you so much!
Dh and I both used to take bps for our jobs- so we know how to do that- but oh how great! Thanks so much!
Emilie

[fragglzmom]

I also had PIH with my first and was scheduled to be induced. Luckily, Aidan came on his own the night before, but I still had to deal with an extra 20 lbs. of water weight, a mag sulfate drip (yuck!) and other interventions.

This time, I've been under midwifery care. B/c of my history, the midwives have really stressed drinking a lot of water (half my body weight in ounces plus an extra qt. for the baby) every day, and eating no less than 80g of protein. Have you been eating enough protein? It's never too late to start! Oh, and salt your foods liberally with natural, iodized sea salt. There's a midwife's remedy online somewhere for high bp...I think it's a mixture of salt, cream of tartar, and lemon juice. I think I had found it at the gentlebirth.org archives?

"White coat" hypertension is very common. Definitely get a cuff and take it at home. See if it goes down when you are lying down on your side. Best of luck to you!!!

[phatchristy]

I am one of those with a little white coat issues at my prenatal appointments...since this is my third baby at this center they aren't too worried about it. Over at the center I am averaging probably 130/80....my normal bp here at home is about 116/75 (I have had it all the way down to 108 /68 as well at times). I have a blood pressure monitor here at home (I bought one with a special larger cuff as well as I have larger upper arms...a little larger than the limit for the regular cuff).

There has just been A LOT of stress at my prenatals (long story, read some of my previous posts) and that chaos makes my pulse and bp much higher than at home.

The MWs now say that I can just use my home readings from now on, as it really is stressing me out more to see the numbers be that much higher.

Here are some things you can do....drink at least 4 quarts of water a day (that is one gallon, btw) increase protein substantially (I read somewhere >100 grams), 1200 mg calcium a day, one cucumber a day. Watermelon also works as well. One of the PP mentioned the 2 t of cream of tartar mixed with the juice of a half a lemon and half a cup of water. That is from Susan Weed's book...you can do that once a day for three days and then take a couple of days off. I have tried that and it definitely works for me. There are other herbal things you can do, listed in the midwifery archives at gentlebirth.org.

I really found that the bp monitoring at home (also I took mine at walmart and other stores which had them) showed that my bp is indeed VERY normal, and that it is just the crazy birth center stress that is causing my issues...sigh. It was reassuring...but I am still pissy about the mistakes they made taking mine at the center. They have a new birth assistant and she has done several suspect things when it comes to bp.

Long story, search my last posts if you want to see the crap that happened....sigh.

[Emilie]

well I got one at Wal- Mart for 16.97!! Which was nice.
And my bp is around 140-150- over 80's.
Which is high for me. Big time. I am normally 120 over 60.
So- we are trying to resolve this. My midwife is not too concerned- that we CAN and WILL get this under control.
Thank you!
Any suggestions much appreciated!
Emilie

[oetien]

Can you feel it if you have higher bp? like dizzy or something..
Just curious, because I can't believe my bp is so high. I don't feel anything, and I don't feel any swelling or anything.

[phatchristy]

I really like the PIH section in the midwifery archives at gentlebirth.org. Definitely check that one out if you haven't already!

Glad you got a home monitor. That is what I did, and I found it VERY reassuring (for me it is just a white coat issue...my bp being 130/80 at the birth center and 115/75 or so at home).

I know you will get something figured out....there are all sorts of things you can do. You may want to check out all of the Brewer Diet stuff if you haven't already been doing it!

HUGS

Christy

[Emilie]

I do- I feel more tired- my heart is pumping faster- etc.
Last time- I just KNEW something was wrong- did not know what tho.
Emilie