Your experience with preeclampsia? Over worrier!

[Sarahoxox]

Hey all long post please bare with me so I'm 25 weeks pregnant and also have a 7 month old!! Very unplanned but hey ho here we are lol. In my first pregnancy I was considered high risk but only ever had high blood pressure the day I went into hospital to be induced, it then went down a bit enough I went home the day after birth but three days later I was admitted to hospital and put on labetalol which I stayed on til about 8 weeks pp. After that I become very paranoid about high blood pressure and did it nearly everyday at home, I then got less worried and started just checking it once or twice a week. At Christmas I had a couple of readings of 145ish/80 instantly panicked as it normally was anywhere between 126-135 over 65-75ish. Called triage told it's absolutely fine. Had my appointment with my midwife yesterday she checked it more or less straight away no chance to sit and breath and it was 140/80 again apprently absolutely fine but at home two days before it was 125/65! My urine was also clear....I am absolutely terrified of developing either high BP or worse preeclampsia.... For about a month now I'd been having the odd headache and my eyes just hurt alot most the time and now sometimes I feel like I see dots but I got new glasses about four days ago as my eyes had gotten worse so I'm hoping it's my eyes adjusting....also not sure if I'm just making myself paranoid I have no swelling anywhere, no major headaches bp ok, obviously my urine was clear literally just yesterday, so do I call triage about my eyes or just see how I go?

I've not been in your position but didn't want to read and run so hopefully this will bump your post and you'll get some advice from people who've been through similar. My gut would say if you're worried ask for advice but I think it's very reassuring that the midwife wasn't concerned. Hope it works out to be nothing 🤞

I had a similar experience to you with my first, although my BP was higher from about 28 weeks and I was on medication towards the end to control it. I ended up readmitted after the baby was born, tests done to rule out HELLP syndrome, and then on beta blockers for a couple of months. While my BP did come down it was still at the higher end of normal.

With my second pregnancy I had some higher BP readings especially towards the end but never had medication and everything was fine. It is possible to have high BP without developing pre-eclampsia- the two are not the same although a high BP can be a symptom of PE. Pressures of 140/80 in pregnancy are higher end of normal but not something to panic over. Yours may be bobbing about because you are worried about having it taken (white coat syndrome).

Personally I wouldn't be overly concerned about the dots you are seeing given that your urine is clear, but of course speak to your MW. Perhaps they could give you some sticks to test your own urine if that would help with the worry?

I was pretty ill with it, they kept an eye on me, hospitalised at 32 weeks and delivered by CS a week later.

Baby small but pretty normal for an early baby.

My care was pretty useless bordering on negligent but I think it's luck of the draw, helpful if you can have someone (DH, mum) to advocate for you.

Pre eclampsia is pretty common and most people are fine. Good to be aware but trust they're monitoring you and try not to stress over it.

We have pre-eclampsia in our family which has meant several babies have been delivered early. The advice now is to take a baby aspirin daily from 12 weeks. This prevents most symptoms. Ask your midwife if this is recommended for you.

Apart from this, keep on doing what you’re doing now, taking your BP and checking for fluid build up. It’s very important to relax - I know how difficult this is but try breathing exercises and some yoga.

Aim to get to 32 weeks or so when, if necessary, your baby can be delivered without needing too much neo-natal care. Every day after that is a bonus.

We’ve had 8 very early deliveries in our family from 25 to 32 weeks and all the children are fine, healthy and meeting development targets. They got excellent care here in Edinburgh where there are world-class facilities. Parents are still traumatised by it though! Most recent baby was my daughter’s and she got to full term after taking aspirin and being closely monitored.

Thank you everyone I rang triage today and they didn't want to see me and said see gp which I did ..urine was clear BP okish so is sending me to an eye specialist...god knows what's going on!

Are u taking aspirin?

Yes I am