Blood pressure- worried

[satsumagirl]

Hi Everyone

Just been for my second atenatal appt (am 14 weeks PG with first DC) at which my blood pressure was found to be a bit high. it was normal at the first antenatal appt a few weeks ago.

I was very nervous and hot when i had the first reading done today, so the midwife took it again and it went down quite a lot but was still on the high side. my blood pressure has always been on the low side (before PG).

then i went in to see the consultant who worried me quite a lot- she kept stressing the risk side of things and even said 'and you could have a stroke.' by this time i was so worried i was almost in tears and it was only when I asked some probing questions that she explained that as long as they knew about it, were monitoring it,treating it etc (if I am found to have regularly high BP) then there is no reason why I can't have safe pregnancy/ delivery and for baby to be safe.as you can gather her bedside manner could have been a bit better.

I've just got back from the hospital and am really, really worried. if anyone has any experiences to share and wise words about BP that would be lovely.

thank you ladies.

SG xxxx

I have high BP and I'm 10 weeks pregnant. I am seeing a fantastic consultant whose speciality is hypertension in pregnancy.

I saw him yesterday and he was very reassuring. He did say that baby was at risk but that I would be very closely monitored and he would make sure baby was safe. Since I found out I was pregnant I have been taking aspirin as he advised as it can reduce chances of pre-eclampsia. He has now asked me to increase my dose.

There are drugs that can control your BP which that are safe to use in pregnancy (particularly after 16 weeks)

Have you tried monitoring your BP at home when you are more likely to be relaxed? My consultant has advised me to check my BP twice in the morning and twice at night three times a week. If it is regularly above 140/90 then I need to restart my BP meds that I stopped taking when PG.

Hope this reassures you. My consulant said that he wasn't concerned although there are risks and that he thought I should try for number three as soon as this one arrives

Hi Marrow

Your consultant sounds lovely- I'm so glad that he's giving you lots of advice and reassurance.

i might wait and see if this is a recurrent problem with BP before I start monitoring it at home.

to be honest, if there's a problem with my BP I would of course rather know about it than not for the baby and my sake. but the way the consultant told me about it really scared me (she wasn't that sympathetic and didn't attempt to reassure me until I practically dragged the info out of her about how delivery etc could be safe as long as I was monitored).I still feel very upset by her manner now and have been crying since I got home.

Ironically none of this is good for my BP

My DD saw MW today her blood pressure was a bit high. MW said nearly all of her ladies were higher than normal due to hot weather not underlying problems. Keep cool and rest with your feet up.

thanks lynli- that's v comforting.

i am someone who gets v hot in the summer anyway (whether PG or not!) and also have been rushing around at work quite a bit! Plus I tend to get v nervous in hospoitals, so I'm really hoping it was the old white coat hypertension!

will stick my feet up x