Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Ah yes, I remember that time well....
    
    My blood pressure shot up about the same time, I also had my first
    experience with *noticable* swelling in the ankles.  The timing was
    poor, we had gone from work, had dinner out, and done Christmas
    shopping and I had an appointment early the next morning.  I blamed it
    on being on my feet so much the day before, with no time to elevate my
    feet.
    
    The doctor gave me medication, classed as a "Beta blocker" to lower my
    blood pressure, can't remeber which one exactly but I think it was
    Inderal.  I do remember him telling me I had to come off the drug
    gradually.
    
    The dizziness and light headedness are real, true symptoms of high
    blood pressure, but could also be other things.  If you can and want to
    try and lower your pressure without drugs litterally find 4 to 5 days
    to do nothing but take it easy and keep your feet elevated.  Do you have 
    some vacation time you might want to use?  I found laying on the love
    seat (couch) with my feet on the other arm rest was comfortable and
    accomplished the goal of elevating my feet, I could read and watch TV
    and had a phone at hand too.  The doctor said it was also important to
    lay on my left side to sleep, I seem to always end up on my right side!
    
    Keep your chin up, you've only got a few more weeks.
    Lyn

    Call your Dr. and get the reading and the variation.  There are a few
    things that can cause elevated blood pressure in late pregnancy.  The
    most common and benign is simply from the increased volume of blood,
    that occurs in pregnancy, however there are other possible causes that
    aren't as innocent.  I would ask him why he is concerned about the
    elevation as well.  Chances are that he or she will set your mind at
    ease.
    
    Meg  

    Whenever my doctor's appt was in the afternoon my blood pressure would
    be s tad high due to working all day, but it was fine if my appt was in
    the am. 
    
    But if you feel dizzy during the day it may be more than the appt
    timing. One thing I did to make sure that my blood pressure was normal
    was to cut down on the salt intake. The salt in my food was minimal
    enough to taste good but markedly less than usual. Increase in intake
    of water (not soda - may be too much sodium) also helped. I kept away
    from foods high in sodium.
    
    Shaila

    
    Please do find out and let the dr know about the dizziness.  Not to 
    alarm you, but a friend of mine just went into the hospital at 35 weeks
    due to high blood pressure, swelling and some protein in the urine.
    All three of these together can mean toxemia which is very serious and
    needs to be kept in check.  
    
    If you are just experiencing the high blood pressure and none of the
    others then it is probably not toxemia.  But do let the doctor know
    everything and take care of yourself.
    
    I know I had lots of swelling late in pregnancy but the blood pressure
    and urine was fine, so the doctor wasn't concerned.
    
    Sue
    

I don't remember at what point I had it but my blood pressure also got on the
high side and towards the end of my pregnancy I started retaining too much
water.  My weight gain was a bit too fast, even though I only gained about 20
lbs throughout the pregnancy.  The doctor said that it could be the onset of 
pre-eclampsia.

I did not need any medication and did not even need more rest (which is GREAT
if you can manage it).  I did have to cut out virtually ALL salt in my diet
which was difficult because I love cheese and sausages, our normal evening
meal.  I love salt.  I tried a substitute but it was disgusting.  What I did
was usually use a lot of other spices like pepper, parsley, sage, etc. to add
flavor.

In the last two weeks I had enormous water retention.  The doctor said that had
it occurred earlier he would have given me something to reduce it but it wasn't
necessary since I was so close to term.  I had to really watch the salt then
though.

In the second pregnancy I had little or none of these problems.  I did kind of
watch my salt intake from the beginning then though.

Cheryl

    Thanks for the replies.
    
    My Dr. checked me for water retention but neither my ankles or hands
    etc. were swollen at all.  I am a faithful water drinker and consume at
    least 8 16oz. glasses a day sometimes more.  I also don't use salt very
    much at all.  I did have a large weight gain for the month tho
    considering what I have been eating.  I have been averaging 4 pds/month
    in the last two months and this month I gained 8.  But I was eating
    much less as I get full so easily now.
    
    I watch my weight very closely and usually get nervous when I have to
    go get weighed so that could have even caused it to be high.  Altho I
    have had the dizziness.  I will be calling him on Monday with another
    reading so we'll see what happens then.
    
    I did read that a womans blood pressure is somewhat low during the
    middle of pregnancy and then rises toward the 7th or 8th month.
    
    Thanks again...

    
    ....8  16 oz. glasses of water a day.....??  Really?  How do
    you get any work done ?? 8*)  I really admire you....
    
    I have a hard time getting 2   8 oz glasses down a day...drinking water 
    has not been one of my strong points in my pregnancy....I just forget
    because I'm not thirsty....sometimes it seems like I haven't had
    anything to drink all day....(pretty bad, huh?)
   
    Sorry to get off the subject...just had to comment
    
    Kristen

    Thanks for the commendation.
    
    Actually I got hooked on water about 2 1/2 years ago when I started
    attending Weight Watchers and have been doing it ever since so it's
    become a habit.  I'm constantly filling my large cup with ice and then
    with water thruout the day.
    
    Sometimes I do get sick of it tho....
    
    I got the numbers from my Dr. yesterday.  My pressure on Tuesday was
    140/78.  I average 120/75 or somthing like that.  I had it taken at
    work yesterday as I was feeling dizzy and it was 126/84 - which is
    fine.  I called my Dr's office and they said it could be from not
    eating enough or being overly tired.  The amount of work I've been
    doing lately/running around has probably contributed to it.  The
    farther along I get the busier the office gets.  They suggested taking
    about 4 hours to sit with my feet up and do nothing.
    
    So, I guess it was a false alarm.  I will still keep an eye on it tho.
    
    Thanks for all the advice....!

    Although you may class a diastolic figure of 84 as "fine", when it is a
    fairly sudden increase from 78, especially when combined with a number
    of 140 systolic, that IS NOT "fine".  140 and above is High for Blood
    pressure, and 90 diastolic is HIGH, you are NOT that far from a true
    High blood pressure reading, and you are likely feeling the effects of
    the increase, which you body is unfamiliar with.  
    
    I presume you doctor is monitoring you for toxemia through urine tests
    and blood work along with monitoring your BP?
    
    Even with a normal, healthy person a BP in your current range is
    considered "borderline" and is generally monitored closely.
    
    To try and put this in perspective, if your BP dropped 10 or more
    points suddenly you would also feel dizzy and light headed, simply
    because it IS a sudden change.  
    
    What ever your doctor recommends, follow it religiously!
    
    Lyn

    I too ended up with high BP towards the end of my pregnancy (35 weeks)
    going from 120/70 during most of the pregancy to a high of 145/94 (at
    around 37 weeks).  My doctor put me at home on complete bedrest, laying
    on my left side for nearly one month.  And in the hospital for 2 days.
    I didn't look swollen much either, but believe me, take your BP 
    issue seriously.  If your feet and or legs at all are holding water, tell
    your Dr. immediately.
    
    Good luck.
    Kathy (who delivered a healthy 7.5 lbs baby girl early Aug.)
    

I was also in bed rest for 5 weeks, due to high blood pressure.  It gradually
climbed over the last 7 weeks.

The problem was explained to me as, first of all, a threat to the mother because
high blood pressure can cause strokes. (In addition to its role as one of the
first symptoms of pre-eclampsia).  And it is a threat to the baby, because the
pressure stresses the placenta and can prematurely age it.  This can interfere
with the baby's growth.

While neither of these is very threatening when being tracked and treated
by your medical care provider, they are very serious if you don't take it 
seriously.  All it took for me was bed rest - and in truth, I was tired and 
stressed from working, so I really didn't mind being pulled out of work.

Staying in bed for 5 weeks is hard, but there is one pay-back.  The midwife told
me that the only cure for Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (the official
diagnosis) is to have the baby.  She described it as one day my body would say
enough is enough and eject that baby across the room.  It wasn't quite like
that, but total labor and delivery was only 3 hours.  I'll trade 5 weeks in bed
for 3 hours of labor anyday.

    I have a girlfriend who is two months pregnant.  During her	routine
    checkup her doctor said her blood pressure was too high and then
    set up appointments with specialists to look into the problem.
    
    I've heard a lot about high blood pressure late in pregnancy but
    not at this early stage.  What should be her concerns and what
    should she do to alleviate the problem?
    
    She's very worried.
    
    P.

    from experience here, it is possible that she may have had undetected
    high, or borderline high BP prior to pregnancy.
    
    Lyn

    Tell her not to worry.  A good friend of mine had
    the same thing with her first pregnancy and everything
    was fine.  They put her on medication to control it.
    She just got pregnant with number 2 and the high blood
    pressure is back.  It is considered a high risk pregnancy
    but with the medication and being under a doctor's care
    your friend should not worry.  
    
    Jeanne