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Original poster

Blood Pressure Help

40 replies

mewart · 27/01/2006 19:17

Can someone please give me a bit of reassurance or something. I have been reading mumsnet for well over a year now but i now need some help. I have been told by the doctor that my blood pressure is reallyhigh for some1 my age 160/100, i am 23 and that if i doesnt go down i will need to stop taking the pill. My blood pressure problems only started when 38 weeks pg with dd and had calmed down but now haver reoccured. Basically i would love to have another child but i am so scared that these blood pressure problems will stop everything! I am also on adp's so this is not helping, any advice or reassurance would be gratefully recieved thanks x

OP posts:
Tipex · 27/01/2006 21:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mummytosteven · 27/01/2006 21:11

Mewart - my bp went up to 165/105 when on Pill, so I got taken off it. I had absolutely no problems when PG with my BP - at one point it went down to 90/50!

Fauve · 27/01/2006 21:16

I'm a good deal older than you but I managed to bring my blood pressure down very quickly by adopting a 'healthy lifestyle' - ie, exercise, cutting down tea and coffee, eating lots of garlic and bananas (for the potassium, which counter-balances salt), fruit and veg generally. The doc wanted me on bp medication, but I solved the problem 'naturally'. Relaxation techniques are also supposed to work well. I bet you can do it - and you'll probably feel better in yourself too. HTH

Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:22

thank u for the helpi intend to loosesome weight through going on a healthy eating plan itjust worried me that i may not get a chance to have another if my blood pressure stayed up

OP posts:
Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:22

thank u for the helpi intend to loosesome weight through going on a healthy eating plan itjust worried me that i may not get a chance to have another if my blood pressure stayed up

OP posts:
Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:24

whoops sorry about that double post, tipex i do get nervous with going to the doctors as i just have a dislike to them and always have done, although having said that i havent stopped really for about the last two months and have been stressed which wont help i know

OP posts:
Fauve · 27/01/2006 21:25

Apparently, exercise is really important as well as a healthy diet - doesn't have to be strenuous, brisk walking will do

Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:27

Thank you fauve i do a lot of walking usually anywhere from half an hour each day to an hour as that is usually the only way i can get dd to sleep

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Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:27

Thank you fauve i do a lot of walking usually anywhere from half an hour each day to an hour as that is usually the only way i can get dd to sleep

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Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:28

i will get the hang of this!!!

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mummytosteven · 27/01/2006 21:28

oh and if you add salt to things, stop doing it, or get some lo-salt (low sodium salt) as that can be a factor in raising blood pressure

Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:28

dont add salt to most things but please keep the suggestions coming

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Eowyn · 27/01/2006 21:42

so wierd, I was looking for info on this yesterday as my bp was just checked as 146/99, it has been on high side since having dd 5.5 yrs ago & as i take marvelon they want me to go for regular checks... but I also think it's partly the stress of getting to Drs as much as anything...

anyway, the nurse mentioned I could check it myself & that the upper-arm monitors are pretty reliable so I have ordered one, purely because it was reduced from £90 to £30, tho I am scared it will fall apart, but couldn't afford expensive one.

at least should then get a relaxed reading so I will know whether to worry. waiting for dh to get snipped anyway.... (preferable to giving up salt).

Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:53

hi eowyn where did u order the monitor from i think i might invest in one just to put my mind at rest and see if it is just going to the doctors that puts it up more

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Eowyn · 27/01/2006 21:57

I'd googled it & discovered they cost a lot, but the Boots webside has the one on offer. I'm hesitant to recommend it tho as I don't know what it's going to be like, hate the idea of wasting money but so expensive otherwise.
my dad bought a wrist monitor a while ago that was cheap & one evening it exploded (something to do with the batteries i think) but that has made me wary. Assume Boots should be reputable tho.

Original poster
mewart · 27/01/2006 21:59

i would agree that boots would be reputable, its got to be worth a try i suppose

OP posts:
Eowyn · 27/01/2006 22:02

trouble is, not knowing how long it will be on offer for, otherwise I'd say I'll let you know what it's like.
there was also a reduced one on ebay but no idea what is good..
off to watch BB now.

bourneville · 28/01/2006 08:10

Hi mewart. I am so to have found your thread, I was going to post a similar one. I am a bit older than you (30).
My BP is slightly high too (doc didn't tell me numbers) and doc has prescribed only 2 months more of combined pill cos he's worried about it. This depresses me in itself, but mostly i'm worried about my health. I'm interested to read about possibility of BP going up when going to the doc's, I've always had a major major phobia of anything medical, and though since having dd that has abated somewhat I still always get nervous...i hate being asked personal questions (eg why does it matter when your last period was?) and i get quizzed every time about having a smear test which i haven't got round to doing yet

Did you get a monitor mewart? which one? I can't afford an expensive one either. My parents have a BP monitor because both of them having problems with high BP (something which worries me as it runs in the family) but I don't want to talk to them about it as again it's personal stuff and also i have a feeling my mum would judge me for going on the pill, she's made comments in the past not knowing i'm on it!

Anyway, i got out my Healing Foods book so have created these eating rules for myself, though they might help you:
No salt
No butter
No hard/full fat cheese
No eggs (book doesn't say this but doc told my dad that)
No full fat milk
No biscuits/cakes ()
No alcohol other than the odd glass of red wine()

Lots of:
oats - porridge/muesli - apparently they actually help reduce raised blood pressure
garlic, bananas, chilli
green leafy veg
dried apricots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, blackcurrants, celery, fennel, parsley, pulses
oily fish (mackerel, sardines, salmon)
sunflower products
onions, tea, red wine, apples are linked to lower risk of heart disease & stroke!

HTH

Elibean · 28/01/2006 08:32

I had high BP immediately after DD's birth two years ago, and was on meds for six weeks - but I'm much older than you
Its normal again now, but I keep an eye on it as GP has warned me that I'm likely to need meds later on in life. The most reliable machines are OMRON according to my GP, my OB, and my uncle (also a doctor, who is on BP meds himself). Boots ones aren't bad, but get the upper arm cuff not the wrist one - and if you can afford one, Omron is even better: they have a big range.
As for pregnancy, I've been told its ok to do it again but I would have careful monitoring, and be put on BP medication if it went up - which it probably would: pregnancy induced hypertension (as opposed to pre-eclampsia) is rarely a one-off thing. But it can be managed, I know several women with BP issues who have had perfect pregnancies - as long as their doctors take care of the bp issue.

bourneville · 28/01/2006 10:08

oh and eat wholegrain not white - brown rice, pasta, bread. Wheatgerm is good too, a not very inspiring sawdusty stuff but just sprinkle a spoonful on your cereal and you don't notice it.

Elibean · 28/01/2006 10:47

And porridge! Good for cholesterol, too - but use skimmed or semi skimmed or water (ugh).

Original poster
mewart · 28/01/2006 12:07

thank you everyone you have all putmy mind at ease a little, i was going to get one of the wrist blood pressure monitors as they are cheaper as notgot much money at the moment, r these no good or does no one have any experience of these?

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mears · 28/01/2006 12:49

mewart - I would not rush into getting a monitor at the moment, espacially as they are expensive. You might buy one, check your own BP and find that it is just as high and then you will become more worried!

When is your GP seeing you again? Coming off the pill could be the solution and you may not need further medication.

Seona1973 · 28/01/2006 13:44

I agree with the 'white coat hypertension' thing as that is what I get when I go to the doctors. At my booking in visit when I was pregnant with dd the reading was 190/90!! I have had to do 2 24hr blood pressure monitors tests in the last 10 years and the results always show a perfectly normal reading of around around 125/65 - not high at all. I am on the mini-pill 'just in case'

bourneville · 28/01/2006 13:50

my body didn't agree with the mini pill. i will be so depressed if i have to come off the pill as it's been the only contraceptive we're happy with so far (long story)
Incidentally is there any non invasive contraceptive i might not know about? condoms are a no no

went shopping today in boots, bp monitors too expensive, gonna look on line. I could afford 30 quid.