Hypertension that’s NOT pre-e

[kimotaku]

Does anyone have experience with this? I had an appointment this morning at 23+2 (twins) and my bp was 150/80, with no protein found in my urine at all. I am having feet and ankle swelling, but no other symptoms, and both babies are growing on track and doing great. My OB didn’t seem extremely concerned about it today, but did give me a prescription for labetalol 100mg twice a day and told me to take it if I felt like I needed it (I’m a pharmacist so he trusts me to look into it and take it if I want to/feel like I need to). I really kind of talked him into sending the prescription in, just because I would feel better having it available. I didn’t have high blood pressure before pregnancy, but my whole family is on bp meds and so it’s not surprising, especially with the weight gain I’ve experienced so far. Any advice or thoughts? Thank you!!

 

[fireheartis1]

@kimotaku I had hypertension before pregnancy so I'm using regular medication. 50mg nicardipine morning and 50mg nicardipine in the evening. I have an appointment tomorrow and he asked me to take my readings 3 days prior to the appointment. I had some high readings and some normal. I can update what he says tomorrow. But so far non pre-e hypertension has been pretty managable.

 

[urban_legend]

@kimotaku I’ve had hypertension my whole pregnancy, I am starting to think I had it before maybe. I’m on nifedipine 90mg (started at 30mg around 14 weeks) and am now 28+2. I’m also taking baby aspirin. Don’t really have a lot of advice just wanting to let you know I understand! It can be scary sometimes.

 

[jpm4christ]

@kimotaku I developed gestational hypertension during labor with my first pregnancy. It went down a bit after but I did end up back in labor and delivery with my blood pressure being 150/100. I didn’t have any protein in my urine or any other issues with my blood work. I got put on labetalol for a few months postpartum and then was off. BP has been fine since. Currently pregnant with number 2. I’m 15 weeks pregnant so far so good and just in baby aspirin.

 

[karmel]

@kimotaku My OB said if high blood pressure is diagnosed in the first trimester, it’s usually considered pre-existing (which is when I was diagnosed) and if it starts in second or third trimester it’s taken a bit more seriously as a pre-eclampsia risk bc it’s a new symptom. But you have to have both high blood pressure AND organ damage for the diagnosis. High blood pressure alone isn’t enough. A lot of the other symptoms like swelling and headaches can also be normal pregnancy symptoms, so it’s hard to say.

My OB always asked about flashing lights in my eyes or a headache that doesn’t improve with medication, bc I guess those are good indicators things are escalating. I was told to take my blood pressures consistently two times a day at home. Anytime my numbers got to consistently above 150 or 90, they would up my labetalol by frequency (1x/day to 2 then 3) or amount. This mostly happened once I hit 3rd trimester and eventually when I was about 36 weeks they stopped, even though I was hovering in the 150/90 range consistently, to make sure they didn’t miss a spike that suggested preeclampsia. Blood pressure is also expected to slowly go up in pregnancy. If my blood pressure was above 150/90 I was supposed to call the office and if above 160/100 just go to the ER.

Also, make sure you still check your blood pressure occasionally for a week or two after giving birth. You can end up with postpartum preeclampsia as well. I had lots of risk factors and made it through the whole pregnancy and birth just fine, but ended up with signs of preeclampsia 2-3 days after I came home for the hospital and had to go back.

 

[wandwaving]

@kimotaku Yep! I had high BP and not pre-eclampsia. I have had high BP in the past that resolved with dietary changes and then came back when I was in my second trimester.

 

[goodward]

@kimotaku It sounds like this is likely due to twins.

I was plus sized, with twins with mildly high BP until the twins got so big my body was having trouble filtering their systems and mine. I delivered at 36 weeks with a mild pre-r diagnosis.

Just know that it’s on your and your doctor’s radar so if you do go pre-e they can catch it very early on.

 

[hmd]

@kimotaku Yep- this is me. I think I had pre-existing high blood pressure, that was caught once I was pregnant. I’m taking labetalol twice per day and my blood pressure is now reading normal or close to normal most days. I’m only 15 weeks so I’m definitely keeping an eye on it as I go through the second and third trimester, but fingers crossed it stays controlled!