Phenobarbital and high bp

[redrum29]

I'm a little unsure whether to take my dr's advice to take phenobarbital for high blood pressure. I am 34 weeks pregnant, and my bp is on the cusp of being hypertensive (140), and my dr said we should act aggressively, and so prescribed the above drug. I later looked it up, and it appears to be a very powerful sedative used to treat epileptics and can have side effects particularly for the baby, which can suffer withdrawal symptoms after birth. Has anyone ever been prescribed this for bp issues, or has anyone any other ways of bringing down bp a more natural way? Would love to hear of other's experiences. It just seems an extreme measure at this stage. Thanks in advance.

I take baby aspirin and garlic supplement. Both have helped keep my bp at bay - also being less stressed out has helped. Last time my bp was made into such an issue I worried about every appointment which made my readings so much worse. You could invest in a bp machine and take readings at home to see if they are actually that high. And please do not take the aspirin without checking with GP or midwife first.

I did exactly the same regarding bp readings! Everytime I went to hosp my bp was very high coz I don't like hospitals and get stressed. Anyway there was a major issue and everyone was prattling on about high bp, medication etc etc this stressed me out more and every appt my bp got higher! So eventually I bought a home monitor and I check it at various times and ironically it's actually quite low bp!

I would not take this. It is not used to treat hypertension but instead to treat seizures due to eclampsia. It seems a very odd choice to me. Are you in the Uk?

I took beta blockers (labetolol or atenolol, I think?)- fewer side effects and perfectly safe for baby. High BP in pregnancy can be very serious for both of you, and just because it isn't high now doesn't mean it won't go higher, and it can do so very quickly. If your BP is high due to pregnancy then "natural methods" won't help and you could be taking a big risk depending on them. By all means ask for a different medication, but you really should trust your doctor on this one.

Thank you all - i think i will go back to him and ask about the beta blocker route, although he seemed to be suggesting phenobarbital as precursor to more powerful anti-hypertensive drugs. And I also have a BP machine at home, and my BP does seem a bit lower than at the doc's surgery.

Labetalol is standard in uk I think, it is what I was prescribed in first pregnancy. Is doc a specialist?

Are you sure it is phenobarb? That is a heavy duty sedative/anticonvulsant. If you have been prescribed that I would change GP

I only know about phenobarbital as my cat has it to control fits. As the name suggests it's a barbiturate, does seem an odd choice for BP.

I used to take my folic acid at the same time as giving the cat her morning medication but stopped that after I became paranoid about getting confused and taking her phenobarbital instead. Didn't fancy even a single, accidental, cat-sized dose. This was only after I had given the cat a folic acid pill by mistake

OP I would definitely get a second opinion.

I have had high bp from week 15 I take 600mg of labetalol and baby aspirin, no probs bp normal at mo

Does your hospital have any specialist midwives? Mine does, and one deals with high bp specifically. Might be worth asking around (although I am not sure if this sort of thing is standard across hospitals). I was also told to insists bp should be taken manually - those machines are always a bit higher apparently. Good luck.

Im on a daily 75mg of aspirin due to a previous experience with pre eclampsia and I've made it to 33 weeks with no bp issues. ..definitely don't take anything you're unhappy with and get a different medical opinion.