**UPDATE** I Might Have Pre-Eclampsia, and I Am Scared

[Disneylvr]

I don't post on this board very often but I thought maybe others who have or had the same condition might share their experience.

I am 24 weeks pregnant (my first) and had my regular monthly OB appointment yesterday. My blood pressure was 150/90 and the doctor was concerned. As far as I know, no abnormal protein showed up in my urine nor am I suffering from any other pre-eclampsia symptoms like severe headache, swelling etc. The nurse took my vital: blood pressure/weight/urine and then I waited for another hour for the doctor to show up. The doctor took it again when she saw the 150/90 on my chart and this time it was 138/80. The baby's heartbeat was good and strong at 148 so for that I am thankful. My OB did send me to a lab for blood tests and I am to get my pressure checked again on Monday. I am trying to not be too concerned but I am.

**UPDATE**
I went to my OB's office Monday morning to have my bp checked by the nurse as the doctor asked me to do. I left work for what I thought was going to be just an hour or so to have this done. Well my blood pressure this time was 170/90. The nurse insisted that I wait in the office until the doctor arrived to see what she wanted me to do so I waited for 90 minutes! When she arrived she instrusted me to go right to the hospital so they could monitor me. I was TERRIFIED!!! Since my mom lives close to my doctor's I drove to her house and she took me to DePaul Hospital. I called my husband at work and he said he would meet us there and I also had to call work and let them know I wasn't coming back.
I was put in the prenatal triage unit for monitoring to determine if I had plain hypertension or preeclampsia and whether or not I needed to be admitted. They hooked up my tummy to a heartbeat monitor so we could make sure the baby was okay and me to a blood pressure machine that took my pressure every 15 minutes. They also took blood and urine for immediate tests.
The baby was doing fine and my first blood pressure reading was 146/77 and that was in a room surrounded by nurses and doctors. It kept going down from there 120/68....with a final reading after 4 hours of 104/55!!!!! My blood tests came back fine so it was determined by 3 doctors, including a specialist, that I DO NOT have hypertension and I DO NOT have preeclampsia. They wouldn't let me leave until my keytones (sp?) were more normal as I was severly dehydrated. I hadn't eaten since 7am. I was given lots of juice, water and a turkey sandwich. They released me at 5pm and I was there about 4 1/2 hours.
You might ask why my readings come out so high at the doctors. It is a combination of a couple of things most likely. One: white coat syndrome. Doctors of any kind make me nervous and stressed. Two: I am a large women and the office has been using a small cuff on me. Three: I always make early appointments for my OB (like 10:00am) but I almost always wait 90 minutes to 2 hours before I get in. The stress builds and builds as I wait and wait for her to arrive as my precious sick time from work ticks away. Before they took my pressure on Monday morning I overheard the nurses talking about me "Why did she wait for the doctor to arrive before coming!" and other critisms like that. By the time they took my pressure I was angry with the office staff. THe doctor told me I only needed to see the nurses on that day.
Anyway, I am upset with my OB and her staff but I am not going to pursue that anger. Stress is what makes my pressure rise. I probably won't believe their high readings anymore and might visit the paramedics up the street from my job and have them check my pressure on ocassion. The doctors and nurses were slightly critical of my doctor and her nurse. They never said anything negative but I could tell by their tone of voice.
On the positive side, I was very very happy with the hospital and the staff. I planned on giving birth at another hospital that is much closer to my home, but I was so pleased with everything that I have now chosen DePaul Hospital. The doctors and nurses were WONDERFUL!!!! They all said goodbye to me as I was leaving and said "See you in 16 weeks!"
I want to thank all of you for your support, hugs, prayers and excellent advice. I am having a Level 2 ultrasound at the hospital on Friday. I will let you know what I find out.

 

[Princess Michelle]

I don't have any advice or experience with this but I just wanted to offer you a {{{hug}}} and I will be praying that everything is alright.

 

[Dizzy-Disney4]

I don't have any advice either, but a hug and prayers for you and your little one.

 

[nativetxn]

I have no experience with this but I hope it isn't pre-eclampsia.

{{{HUGS}}} sweetie. Let us know what you find out.

 

[SonjaB]

Keep your feet up, drink a LOT of water, and cut WAY down on salt. Big {{{{HUGS}}}} that this is an isolated thing and will go away on its own.

 

[Kermit]

{{{Hugs}}} I'm 32 weeks pregnant, and I always heave a sigh of relief when my blood pressure is okay. I know you must be scared.

From what I've read, you do have to have at least 2 symptoms to be classified as having pre-eclampsia. Obviously, high blood pressure isn't ideal, but it's not the same thing if it's not accompanied by protein in the urine, rapid weight gain, or severe swelling in the hands, face, and/or feet. Plain high blood pressure won't lead to seizures and the other complications associated with eclampsia.

I've been taking Bradley childbirth classes, and we learn to eat a very high protein diet while pregnant to avoid pre-eclampsia. There aren't a lot of big studies proving that it works, but some smaller studies suggest that it might, and it's worth a shot. You should try to take 100 grams of protein per day if you want to try it, including 2 eggs each day (I hardly ever meet that part) and 1 quart of milk or the equivilent amount of calcium from other high protein sources. It's not that hard if you get your carbs from complex carbohydrates, since they have protein, too.

Good luck! I'll be praying that your tests go smoothly and that the rest of your pregnancy is normal and comfortable.

 

[browneyes]

Sonja has good advice. {{hugs}}

I had high blood pressure when I was pregnant with both of my kids, but they put me on blood pressure pills early on both times (around 15 weeks or so, I think). Luckily I never developed pre-eclampsia. Cutting down on salt and salty foods will help a lot, I believe.

Good luck with the baby. Does your little one have a name?

 

[Disneylvr]

Thank you so much!!! You guys are the best and I appreciate the prayers and hugs. I really believe that my hypertension is related to my diet (too much holiday food) so I have completely cut out salt, sugar, fatty foods etc... But when my OB mentioned pre-eclampsia it frightened me. But then she doesn't know how poorly I have been eating but that has changed! I do feel very good right now.

I had my first ultrasound at 16 weeks (didn't know I was pregnant until 12 weeks!) and I am having a Level 2 ultrasound in January and then I should know the sex of the baby. The names DH and I have picked out are Michael James and Madelynn Grace.

 

[browneyes]

Pretty names, Michelle. I hope everything turns out ok for you. I'm sure it's probably just the holiday food, too if they haven't said anything before now.

 

[lil mermaid]

Just a hug for you. I hope everything works out. It sounds as if you are taking the right steps by changing your diet.

On another note - DH and I are expecting a baby in July, and our girls name is Madeline Grace. Funny!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Just make sure you follow your doctor's orders. Been there, done that as they say. I can't tell you how many times I was at the hospital for a BP check. And a few times admitted. The last time was the longest stretch and the worst. Thought I would die of boredom. Good luck!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Passing on my best wishes, Michelle, along with my prayers, that all goes well. Sounds like good advice here. And, I like those names, very nice. Make sure we see some baby pictures after your baby is home.

 

[ByTheSea]

I had it, and certainly understand your fear...

Follow doctor's orders.... always lay on your left side (weird but it's true, when I was in the hospital on monitors if I lay on my back or right, the blood pressure went way up)

I was so stressed I too made many extra visits to have my BP checked... (Dr. said, if you're blood pressure get's too high, get the the hospital, so I think I started to imagine every symptom of it getting too high, esp. the headaches)

My child was induced 3 weeks early, which worked for me, he was 7 lb. 10 oz. then! and I try to look back and think, well, at least I never had those last few weeks of misery, or waiting and wondering when it would happen....

Good luck to you!

 

[chelsea&austinsmom]

I had it both my pregancies (sp?) and it was worst with my 2nd. I started out with high blood pressure around 15 weeks, then the swelling after that. I was put on medication, bed rest, and doctors appointsment every other day. Please listen to your doctor and do what they say. Everyone else on the board gave you the best advise already. I was induced at 32 1/2 weeks with my son. He was a healthy boy weighin in at 7lbs 4 oz. They said if I went full term I would of had a 10 or 12 lb baby. When I delivered my son my eyes where almost swollen shot and you couldn't tell I had knees, or ankles. If you have any question pm.

Best of luck.

 

[Serena]

I had it too.

Just know that the docs will take care of you, whatever happens. It is scary, but they know what to do and what to look for.
I wish they wouldn't scare you then tell you to go home and relax.

 

[grinningghost]

A big {{{{Hug}}}} for you and baby Madelyne or baby Michael.

 

[mskani]

I had high blood pressure with my first child 6 1/2 years ago. I was put on bed rest and ordered to lie on my left side. I was only allowed to get out of bed to use the bathroom/shower. All meals had to be in bed (which wasn't too bad.)

Once or twice a week, I had to be put on a monitor at the hospital where I delivered.

I watched a lot of TV and was able to get some much needed rest from a job that I really didn't like anyway.

Don't worry, you'll be fine. Little Michael or Madelynn will be okay!

 

[JulesMom]

As an L&D nurse, I see Pre-eclampsia almost everyday.

Drink a lot of water and stay off your feet as much as possible.

You don't have to lie on your left side only--you can lie on your right side, too. It does the same thing. When you lie on your back, your uterus lays on your aorta and increases your blood pressure--whether you have pre-eplampsia or not.

They will continue to monitor your blood pressure, urine protein, swelling, weight and blood tests.

Make sure you have your blood pressure taken in the doctor's office on your side and NOT after you just walked in the room.

I can't tell you how many times I've had patients come to the hospital for increased blood pressure--160/100. I lie them on their side for 10 minutes and then take their BP and it's 100/60. I asked if they were on their side in the dr's office and I get a "no" and sometimes "I sat in a traffic jam for 1 hour before I got there"

Follow the doctors orders and you should do fine.

 

[mtemm]

I ended up with PIH at about 33 weeks...ended up on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy. Never developed protein or anything else, so as long as I stayed on bedrest I was fine...although they did hospitalize me twice to monitor me. I was lucky in that my bp returned to normal as soon as I was laying down, but would spike as soon as I sat up. My baby was born just 5 days early, and that was because my dr. wanted to induce me.

If you are really worried, consider buying an electric cuff so you can monitor at home...but don't do it too often, once a day or so. I had to do this in order to be allowed to stay home and it was wonderful. I just kept a log. Sometimes when you are nervous, like in the dr.s office, your bp can spike, too...I think they call it white coat syndrom.

If you do want to buy a cuff, everyone we spoke to in the hospital and friends we have in healthcare recommended a cuff by Omron. You can get them at any drug store, I think even places like Walmart.

Good luck, and keep positive thoughts!

Marcia

 

[mtemm]

OMG! I just read your names...a friend of ours just had a baby they named Madelyn Grace...such a beautiful name!