Pre-eclampsia Symptoms

[yari]

So I am wondering if I should contact my doctor. I have his cell phone number. He's told me that he could meet me at his clinic during the weekends if anything should happen. This is my fourth pregnancy and with each pregnancy I have developed Pre-eclampsia. I am 38 weeks pregnant and even though up till yesterday I had been feeling exceptionally well, today however is a different story. This morning my blood pressure was 152/98 then after resting it went down to 133/86. Now it says it is 160/104. My urine shows 3+ protein (this is the same that it was at my last doctor's visit, I have test strips at home). I am wondering if I should just take it easy and rest the rest of the day or if I should call him? Any advice from any of you who have experience with pre-eclampsia would be great. Thanks.

[kbbeale]

I dont have experience with having pre eclampsia, however if you have his cell number, call him. The BP being up is concerning and a phone call cant hurt.

Kristen

[BrattyMeg]

I would continue to monitor your BP but I would also call and ask just to make sure..that's really high! are your ankles pretty swollen? I had high BP every pregnancy and took meds but I would be kinda concerned about how high it is...sending some good luck vibes your way..at least you are at a safe delivery date!

[jomi]

Although I don't have experience with it myself, I would defenitely call him. Just to be sure. You're 38 weeks pregnant, you have a history with pre-eclampsia and you notice that you don't feel the same as you did. He has told you he could meet you if anything happens.
So yes I would make at least a phone call, even if it is just to be sure and hear his opinion.

Take care and I'll be thinking of you!

[amystoffel]

^^^ about the ankles, and your face gets real swollen too. I would take it easy AND call your doc. That's not something you want to be messing with!

[glumirk]

That kind of blood pressure made them induce me (10 days before my due date). It would have been immediate hospitalization, except for the fact that it went down when I rested. They put me on strict bed rest and told me to only get up to go to the bathroom. I'd call the doctor if I were you.

[Tracie Stroud]

Yari, I had it with my first. With those numbers, I would definitely call and see what he says. HUGS sweetie!

[Darcy Baldwin]

Yari - I had it with both of mine, and we even had to take my 2nd early because my bp was over 200 (top #).

Definitely call and give him a heads-up as to what you're experiencing, drink a TON of water, and put your feet up, and expect to pee ;)

Water helps move fluids through your body and get rid of waste, hydrating for upcoming birth, but also helping your body deal with the BP issue. with increased mass from fluids building up comes your body working harder to move blood through. Flushing your body with fluid that helps move out those built up fluids helps regulate your BP somewhat. With the protein count increasing, though, he'll definitely want to be kept aware to monitor you.

It's NOT something to mess with. Good luck - and happy baby vibes!!!!!!!!!

[ryliesmom]

I would definitely give him a call. Your BP going up all of a sudden like that with the protein levels is a strong indicator, especially with you feeling off. I had high BP with both of mine but with bedrest I never had other symptoms.

[lauren grier]

as someone who seized b/c of my bp.. I'd def call.. asap.. if not just go to L&D. really. I don't mess with that shizz. Your #'s are too high to just wait and see without being monitored imo.

[LenaGardner]

what was already said is right. I had all THREE of my children taken early because of blood pressure whose numbers were right around yours.

1st child, we didn't take him until 39 weeks (so not really early but we waited too late), but waiting that late caused me a lot of problems and I wound up having to stay EIGHT days postpartum to get those problems under control.

2nd child was delivered at 36 weeks, a preemie, for numbers a little higher than what you mentioned.

3rd child was delivered at 37 weeks for numbers similar to what you mentioned.

My preeclampsia with my 3rd child also caused me to develop HELLP syndrom (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelets) and I wound up needing 4 blood transfusions and a week in the hospital starting at 9 days postpartum, including 2 ambulance rides at 9 and 11 days postpartum. My hemoglobin count, which should have been around 10-12 at that time, was 6. I had literally lost half the blood out of my body through it being hemolyzed (destroyed) by my own body.

This is a very serious complication that's not often known to preeclampsia and it should be noted and not messed with.

I think you'll be fine, you've done this before, and you know the risks and the symptoms to look for, but I think you should call your doctor if he's given you the go ahead to use that number! :)

Good luck and keep us posted!

[yari]

Wow, thank you all SO MUCH for the great response! I haven't called him yet because I feel better but I definitely will make him aware of the situation. I did a little test to check the accuracy of my BP machine. I went to RiteAid and used their free BP machine and theirs read 145/92. When I got home I used my machine and it read 163/95 which is a BIG difference from the machine at RiteAid. So then I took it on my other arm like a minute later and it read 152/99. So I don't know what to think except that maybe my machine is no longer working properly? I don't know. But I'm thinking I need a new one. And for sure I am going to rest for the rest of the day, as much as I can anyway. And I've got his cell phone # handy just in case. Thanks all again! I really appreciate it! And Lena, wow, I can't believe you had to go through all of that! So glad that you survived it all and look at you now! Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps me to consider this more seriously. I guess I am the kind of person that always thinks, "oh, it's no big deal, I'll be fine!" So thank you! And thank you for all the well wishes! :)

[yari]

Oh and yes, definitely swollen ankles, hands, and face. Had a headache earlier today too and tingling in my fingertips.

[Emmy]

Yari - I would be very concerned about the headache. Be well and call your dr. :)

[MamaBee]

Yari - I would be very concerned about the headache. Be well and call your dr. :)

Yes! With J, I was on bed rest because they were monitoring my BP... when I developed a bad headache and couldn't shake it, the doctor had me in within 2 hours after calling. I was went through a non-stress test and the BP didn't come down after an hour of the test... and I was admitted into the hospital where they put monitors to make sure the baby was okay and to continue to watch. It did go down and I was given the all clear to go home... but kiddo had other ideas. My water broke when I was getting dressed to go home... and then 17 hours later J was born... he was 3 weeks early. The doctor told me that if the BP didn't come down, they would be inducing anyway.

It's not something to just wait and see... I'd call right away.

[rachaelsscraps]

I would definitely call! I had pre-eclampsia with my first baby (luckily I didn't with my 2nd) and it is very serious! You can have seizures and even a stroke from pre-eclampsia.

When I was pregnant with my son, I got extremely swollen, saw black floating dots, had very high BP, and my son ended up with IUGR (Inter-Uterine Grown Restriction/Retardation). I spent a week in the hospital before he was born 9 weeks early. He was only 13 inches and weighed less than 2 pounds.

Good luck and let us know how everything's going!!!

[tanya.72]

Keep us posted Yari! Well wishes for the safe arrival of this little one!

[nonnie]

CALL YOUR DOCTOR!!!!! NOW!!!!!!! seriously -

[jessica31876]

I would defenitely call your dr. I developed PE with my last child. I checked my BP and it was about 165/110 over the weekend (it was a Sunday I think). I called my dr the following Monday and he had me come in to his office. I came in and it was still they immediately sent me to the hospital. They had me hooked up to the monitor thing for like two hours then the dr (who was in a delivery all morning) came in and told me he believes I am developing pre-eclampsia and that hes going to deliver the baby that afternoon. As soon as they could prep me for surgery. Mine developed around the 32-34 week time period. So my son was a little early. Afterwards my BP would not really go down so I was in the hospital for like 4 days instead of the normal 2 or so.

[AmyM]

Headache and swelling in your face kinda worries me. That's what I remember being my last pre eclampsia symptoms....swollen nose and terrible headache along with the others. Got on the scale at the dr. office and I had gained 12 pnds in less than a week.
Call your dr. to be on the safe side. You might be just fine today but it's the sort of thing that can go pretty quickly. You might feel great tomorrow or you might feel worse. At this stage I'd call. Won't scare you with how bad mine was, but we made it through just fine and I have a healthy 9 year old girl. She was a month early but still 7 pounds. No need to freak, but you might want to call.

[kim21673]

I would definitely call!!!