Help with Planning Pregnancy with High Blood Pressure!!!!

Hi B.,
I too had high blood pressure (pregnancy induced hypertension) with 2 of my 4 pregnancies. And after the last one, my blood pressure stayed elevated. I was on Aldomet during this last pregnancy (Toprol after it) and it was fine, I was fine and my son was fine. I was also put on bed rest for the last 3-4 months and had to be monitored four times a day (there was a blood pressure machine and scale at my home that sent the info to a nurse) by a nurse service called Matria Healthcare, it was excellent. Anyway,to add my two cents, I would probably wait a little while to have another, maybe a year to a year and a half until you can save up a little just in case you have to be off during your next pregnancy. With high blood pressure, it seems like once you have it, it's always there unless you can drop excess weight, if you have it and closely watch your sodium intake. It's a pain, I know. Hope this helps. Take care and be blessed.
D

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First, talk to your doctor or OBYGN. Better yet, get a doctor who specializes in high risk pregnancy. You sound too young to have high blood pressure.

Your blood pressure must be under control if you plan to be pregnant again. I don't know if they approve of having a mother being pregnant and while she is on blood pressure medication at the same time.

I know of one indirect case where the mom's blood pressure was out of control and she was passing out around the fourth month. The doctors were not of much help. The baby came early, let's say around six months, weighed less than a pound and died. The mother went into Intensive Care. She is okay now, but there were no attempted pregnancies after that. I hate to scare you, but this could be the situation that you would be facing.

FIRST, get a medical SPECIALIST, then add on to your family. Keep us posted.

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There definitely ARE safe meds to take during pregnancy for HBP. (I had to take them for all three pregnancies, all 3 healthy babies!!) My HBP is pregnancy induced though. Going into it with HBP is a different story all together. I would encourage you to look into a high risk OB doc so they can better evaluate your health situation. Even though I was on the meds for blood pressure, I had to be induced at 34 weeks with my first baby due to my bp continuing to increase. My daughter only weighed 3 lbs. but was extremely healthy(didn't need oxygen at all, which is unusual for babies this early). We were very blessed that she didn't have any other complications. It is something to take super serious, which it is evident that you are!! With my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies, the meds seemed to work well and I had no problems. Good luck in your search and your decision!

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About 4 years ago I was diagnosed with high blood pressure (its heredity). I was placed on medication (Toprol XL) and it is now under control. Eight months ago I had a beautiful and very healthy (9lbs and 5 oz) baby girl. When I was placed on medication the doctor placed me on a med that would be safe to take while I was pregnant. I had no problems during my pregnancy and I worked right up to her birth. My advice to you is make sure your blood pressure is under control before becoming pregnant and I would stay on your medication during the pregnancy. Because of your high blood pressure you will be deemed a "high risk" pregnancy and they will watch you and the baby very closely. This definitely helped my nerves and my blood pressure. Good Luck and I hope it helps to know that there are other people out there just like you :)!!!

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some advise from an MAII that worked for an ob-gyn for 5 yrs and personally had high bp toward the end of my preg and got induced b/c of it.... anyway. i know our dr's really recommend having your bp completely controlled BEFORE getting pregnant. yes i agree w/ you to talk to your dr first. your health is so important and so would your soon to be babys. with high bp it causes many risks to you and a fetus. i know they'll definitely keep you on your bp meds, keep a closer eye on you, and do many many non-stress tests. you will most likely be back on bedrest toward the end but you never know, the bp could taper off and be fine. bp is quite complicated and common, but also serious. i wish you lots of luck. i'm glad you are putting lots of thought into this before getting preg.

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You can't take blood pressure medication during pregnancy. They told me that is why my babies were still born. Dr. gave me the medication and OB knew about it and never said a word.

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Hi B.!
My blood pressure shot up while I was pregnant too. Although, it wasn't pre-eclampsia. Im already a big girl & the baby weight just put it over... Anyhow,
There is a blood pressure medication I took while I was pregnant. It's Aldomet. It worked well to keep everything in check. It is an older medication but still very effective. And you can take quite a bit of it without ever harming your baby.
As far as you having to take off work & stuff, no one can know that. Not even your doctor. It depends on how stressful your job is (physically & mentally). And who knows what your body is going to do.
Remember: If you wait until you can afford kids you'll never have them. Of course there are situations more ideal than others but all we can do is our best. Good luck & let us know if you decide to work on baby #2! :)
A.

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#1 - Cut out caffeine. No colas (including diet), coffees, teas, etc. Get rid of them completely.

#2 - Try to include foods high in potassium: bananas, apricots, kiwi, oranges/orange juice, avocado, potatoes, yams (you can go to www.nutritiondata.com and find out more on what foods have the highest amounts of potassium).

#3 - Start shopping and eating better if you aren't already. This means all natural foods (i.e. fruits, vegetables and not things that are 'processed' and in a box or chock full of refined sugar). Try to have 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily - do a fruit at each meal and a vegetable at lunch and dinner. Add in more fruits/vegetables for snacks if you want to boost your intake even more. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (fruits, veggies, low fat meats, low fat dairy). Start checking nutrition labels - anything with more than 10% DV of sodium should be limited or off-limits. If you eat canned soup - forget it! It's one of the worst culprits out there!

#4 - If you're not exercising, begin now even before you're pregnant. It can be as simple as a daily 30 minute walk. Don't have 30 minutes? Take a ten minute walk during your lunch break then a 20 minute walk with your baby when you get home.

Feel free to PM me with questions. While I am no medical expert on the subject, I too had issues with my blood pressure after my pregnancy. Mine was about 140/105 and I got it under control simply by changing my diet and exercise routine. I'm now down to 120s/75-80s - no drugs, weird funky treatments, or wacky therapy.

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B.,

Sounds like there are several factors that are involved in deciding whether or not to try for #2 - money (being off work) and the high blood pressure issue (serious health issue to both you and the baby). Only you guys can decide what's right for you, but obviously the decision is not to be taken lightly.

If you guys do "go for 2", I would say to expect that HBP is going to be an issue, and to find a GOOD doctor to try to work with you in keeping it in line throughout the pregnancy.

During my second pregnancy, I ended up taking a prescription omega/fish-oil thing (I've forgotten what it's called - Lovacor?) - it's supposed to help lower blood pressure.

I later discovered that when I take decongestants (like Sudafed), it raises my blood pressure a LOT. SO, I'm working with an allergist to find other ways to help me breath when my allergies act up, and now my BP is fine. You might check with a pharmacist with any meds you're taking to see if anything might be affecting your blood pressure that way.

If you're interested, I can tell you who my OB/GYN is (he deals with high-risk pregnancies), and I have an endocrinologist who can help too. They're both on the northeast side of Indy.

As a neonatal nurse, my advise: you need to be followed by a high risk OB due to your high blood pressure. There are a few things on here that do not have any basis and should AlWAYS be discussed with a doc. For one thing, it is totally not true about NOT being able to take blood pressure medications....to the poster that was told that, I'm sorry you were told that, but there are medications that are approved for hypertension during pregnancy. Also the comment about the potassium is true, esp if you do take meds as many of them deplete this electroltye.

Please, talk to your OB and ask for a referral to speak to a high risk OB, there are several very good ones at MetroHealth and University if you are in the Cleveland area or suburbs. Akron also has high risk.

Good luck! And there are many women with hypertension that have healthy babies!

Hi! We could be twins with the exception that I've had blood pressure issues for about 5 years. I take methyldopa to control mine because it's about the only baby-safe one on the market and I've had great success with it. My doctor switched me to that one when we began TTC our first (he's 19 months now) and I continued on it because I knew we wanted more kids and it's such a pain to readjust to new meds. I would suggest getting yourself a cheap monitor that you can use at home to check your bp every few days. There is absolutly no reason you can't have a healthy pregnancy though. Your ob will likely keep a closer eye on you based on your first pregnancy and will most likely do an ultrasound every month after 20 weeks, that's what mine did, to make sure baby is growing well. Mommies with high bp tend to have lower birth weight babes but they are perfectly healthy so don't panic! Your ob will regulate your meds and make adjustments when you go in for your appointment and unless you have a serious problem won't automatically put you on bedrest. Now, again, your situation could be completely different the second time around as no two pregnancies are alike. I just wanted to give you my 2cents because I'm living with it also and have already gone through a healthy and successful pregnancy dealing with high bp! If you have ANY questions please feel free to email me, I would love to be able to help you in any way I can.

Oh and don't stress too much about it, that will certainly cause your blood pressure to rise! :)

One more thing, I just read the post below saying it's to early to get pregnant again and that is definitely false. They recommend waiting 12 months before conceiving a second time to give your body time to heal so if your child is 14 months and you are just starting to work on #2 you should be just fine! Also, I agree with other posters about finding a high risk doctor that understands this issue. And YES YES YES you can take bp meds while pregnant as long as they are of the baby safe variety. Ok, stepping off my soapbox now :)

I have had 2 babies since my hypertension. the best part is they will probably send you to a neonatologist- so you get lots of pics of the kiddo! with Mags- my 6 yr old, i was put on bedrest for a while at the end and was induced at 37 weeks. with El- my 3 yr old, it was a little less bedrest- just take it easy- but we induced at 35 weeks- both were due to low amniotic fluid. i also had little teeny babies- 4lbs 15oz for mags and 4lbs 2oz for el. they were both very healthy aside from weight. i think the key was meds during pregnancy. my pressure was slightly elevated but still controlled. your doc would be able to better tell you what they foresee- but i think if your pressures are controlled with meds- you will be ok. good luck!

Hello,
I developed high blood pressure after my second child was 2 yrs. old. When she was 4 yrs. old I became pregnant w/ my 3rd child. My medication was switched. The baby & me were fine. The medication was Aldemet(spelling may be wrong). I would strongly advise any mom to never use Aldemet!! It caused great depression that started during pregnancy & lasted.

I had a 4th pregnancy that was normal. I do not remember the medication I was on that time, but no depression occured! I was monitored very well during both pregnancies by my OB/GYN & regular Dr. Both babies were induced about 1 week early.

For my first pregnancy with high blood pressure I worked until the day before I delivered. I had a 45 minute drive to work also. For my second pregnancy w/ high blood pressure I was at home with my 3 other children.

Both of my children I had (w/ high blood pressure) were over 8 lbs!( But so were the other 2). I am 5'0" & 110 lbs.(not pregnant). I was 35 yrs. when I had the one baby & 39 yrs. with my last baby. Their health & my health are great now.

I would also warn you to avoid medication for breathing like Predisone(steroid). It rapidly raised my blood pressure way too high, when I was not pregnant. I had to be treated in the E.R.

Make sure you have really good doctors. I hope all goes great for you.

B.,
I would talk to your ob. I think with the proper medical care you should be able to have a healthy pregnancy and child. I will warn you though about what happened to me so you know.

I had pre-eclampsia with my first in 97 and was subsequently induced. My blood pressure went down almost as soon as I delivered and everything was fine. Fast forward eight years later to my pregnancy with my daughter. Throughout the pregnancy, delivery, and post pardom stay of 3 days I was fine. However one day after being released I woke up with the most excruciating headache ever. I also had a weird red rash on my chest and face and was very anxious. I called my dr. and they assured me it was normal after having a baby and that I was fine. Finally at 11pm they agreed to me going to the ER and it turned out that not only was I experiencing preeclampsia but that I got there just in time because I was hyper reflexive and was about to start seizing. My liver and kidneys were also shutting down You can develop preeclampsia up to 6 weeks after childbirth. My dr knew I was high risk for this issue but did not warn me or consider it when I called with my symptoms.

I cannot have anymore children d/t the above reason and risk but my daughter Elaina was worth it. Also my blood pressure went back to normal and I was discharged after a week of mag sulfate. I still have normal to low blood pressure now so you just never know.

Good Luck,
J.

Dear B.,

You need to stop and figure out how to get healthy enough to not need the meds. Given that you are young you need to get off the meds as they have long term side effects. The only way to fix a problem like this is a total tune up. I can suggest Dr. Merkle as one of the few people who do this as a matter of course. His system works and it is being taught to other doctors.

First of all if you live in the Dayton area start listening on the radio (Sat, 11:00 WHIO (1290AM / 95.7 FM) or get it on the web. Previous programs can be downloaded and listened to on an MP-3 player - www.3000health.com. Office is ###-###-####.

They don't know S. at the office so if you call just tell them you got the link from the net.

God Bless,

S.

I suggest talking to your OB about options for regulating your blood pressure while pregnant. I know for me... I was sent to have my blood pressure taken quite often. Mine tends to be extremely low. I would go to the fire department and pharmacy to have it taken (Wal-Mart and Meijers both have machines there... I think...? that CVS and Walgreens does).

You may want to look into filing for disability for problems with pregnancy. The unemployment office may be able to direct you how to do that. Often you fill out an application, set an appointment to submit paperwork and answer questions, and then see their doctor.

You may want to consider Aflac insurance or another type of insurance that pays you for doctors visits, medications, missed work, etc. I looked into it a while ago. It has pretty high payouts for missed time, doctors visits, and tests. It is rather expensive to begin with, but it might be a wise investment if the high blood pressure would cause problems... which sounds like a high possibility.

Hi B.!

I agree with a lot of what was already said & just want to chime in with my experience. All my life I have had very low BP, even through most of my first pregnancy. Then around week 37 of the 1st one, my BP went super high & I was on bed rest for 3 weeks, then was induced & have a healthy baby boy who is 14 months old. My BP didn't go down after the birth until I finally started taking meds, Labetalol (sp?) which is safe to take during pregnancy & breast feeding. Now I'm 3 months pregnant with baby #2 & I'm still using the meds. MY BP is actually toward to low end again so we lowered my dosage & are hoping that's a good sign for the rest of the pregnancy. And baby #2 looks great, already big for only 3 months along. :-) Good luck!

Hi B.
First, I want to let you know that I did not experience this. I was blessed with my blood pressure being fine. But I need to share a story with you. Please, please understand I don't mean to scare you but you need to know some facts. A neighbor, friend's sister had a similar situation with her second pregnancy. She suffers from cardiac myopathy and is on 5 different medications. If the medications do not work she may recieve a pace maker. I am just wanting you to know what can happen. Please visit the website amothersheart.org. Good luck and again, please understand that I am not trying to scare you just inform you. Take care and best of luck.

If your daughter is just 14 months old then it is too soon to get pregnant again. Your body hasn't recooped from the last time. I had a baby in 1989 and had those problems while pregnant but I was 19 years old. Then I had a baby in 1993 and 1994 and it was too close togeather with high blood pressure. I HAD to get my tubes tied after that because I was told that I could die if I had anymore kids. I cried for 6 months but finally had it done. I wanted to be around for the kids I do have. My kids are now 19, 15, and 13 and I am getting to enjoy grandkids. Ask your Doctor but be careful. I only had high blood pressure while pregnant and now I have it all the time. Good luck!!!