PDA

View Full Version : UPDATE: PIH (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension)



denna
03-15-2006, 12:47 PM
((UPDATE))

First off I wanted to say thanks so much for all of your encouragement and your stories. They REALLY helped me, all the reading was freaking me out! Your stories really helped me feel relieved.
I went to the OB today and my b/p was good, it went up to 138/97 for one of the checks but all the labs were normal and it was the only high reading in an hour and a half. So they let me return to work, but I have to go back to the OB every week now, and next Friday is my next visit. Lets hope the bp stays down...
I'm not sure if they are still considering induction I didnt really get to talk to my OB very much today (mostly w/ the nurses) so I will have to talk to him next Friday! But Im thinking as long as the BP stays Low and they find no protein in my urine then I think they will not induce (fingers crossed).
Well i will definitely keep you ladies up to date. Thanks again so much.

Denna


Hello Again-

So I just went to the doctor today and they got what they said was a 'really high' blood pressure. They didn't tell me what it was, but when they rechecked it (after some rest in the waiting room) it was 124/92. Im guessing that is still high because I had to give another urine sample, a blood sample, and go to the labor/delivery ward for fetal/bp monitoring. The baby (thankfully) is doing fine, but my blood pressure didnt go down until about 45 mins laying on my left side. It actually climbed to 138/113 at one point.
So the doctor released me saying that half of my blood work came back and was great but that I would have to be on bed rest until Friday when I have to go back for more tests. If my blood pressure is high again they will take further action but induction before 40 weeks is GIVEN. So I am a little nervous, I have been doing research online on this topic and also reading my basic pregnancy books. However none of this seems to help ease the stress. I was hoping maybe someone on here has experience w/ this issue and could offer some experiences and insight. I would really appreciate any sort of feedback at all. Thanks so much in advance.

~~Denna~~

juliekost
03-15-2006, 01:18 PM
I am currently dealing with this...my 1st advice is stop reading stuff on the internet or you get scared. Most of the info on the internet is dated or incorrect. PIH is very common the further along you go in your pg and it sounds like your Doctor is monitoring you very well and being cautious.

My experience...

My HP started at 16 weeks 140/90 and I was given Labetol 100mg a low dose. At that time I had to do a baseline 24 hour urine collection as well as some bloodwork before the collection started and after. This baseline was to help detect pre eclampsia later on in my Pregnancy. My base line was good as well as my bloodwork. I was told to watch out for swelling, headaches as well as vision changes. I was also told to buy or rent a BP monitor and to take it 2 times a day. I also started seeing the dr. every 2 weeks instead of once a month.

I am now 25 weeks and my blood pressure is great and under control 117/69-- so far no signs of pre-eclampsia. I am seeing the Dr once a month but that will change at my next appointment because of being in the last trimester. Also after 27 weeks many pg women get high bp do to the size of the baby and the added weight.

The only drawback has been the Labetol makes me extremely tired as a side effect but it has worked in keeping my PIH undercontrol and is safe for pg.

I don't know if any of this helps...keep us posted in how it goes.

Julie
Jake 11/9/98
Jordyn 12/31/02
Baby J June 2006

elliput
03-15-2006, 01:18 PM
I delivered 3 weeks early due to pre-e (with PIH), and had put off many things until the last month since "there was plenty of time."

The best thing for you to do is just rest & take advantage of any offers of help. Pack your hospital bag now, if you haven't already done so. Rest, rest, rest. Stop researching and reading. Rest, rest, rest.

If someone says "can I" finish their sentence with "pick up a package of diapers", "wash and dry the baby clothes", "finish x for the nursery", etc (but pack your hospital bag yourself!). Rest, rest, rest.

During L&D be prepared to be hooked up to an automatic blood pressure monitor all the time. Your OB is acting in you and your baby's best interest - so even though your birth experience will most likely not be what you were hoping for, the end result will be that you go home with a beautiful healthy baby.

Rest, rest, rest!

jhaud
03-15-2006, 02:22 PM
i also had pih and delivered a VERY HEALTHY baby girl at 36 weeks 1 day after being induced due to pre-e. i want to say that when i look back on my pregnancy... it is still with joy, i felt pretty good the whole time... even when diagnosed with pih and pre-e. the swelling was annoying but overall i felt good and not like i needed to be on bedrest - though i was. but i hadother emotional issues (lost my grandmother 2 months prior to delivery and my grandfather/her husband just over a week before i ended up delivering - so my stress level could have been a factor)

as pp said... rest, rest, rest

it can be hard to not do, and i wasn't a very good patient... so be better than me and let others do for you. i found after i was bored with tv, i would do fill-ins (crosswords are not my thing) or now i would do soduko puzzles, read a good book - not a pregnancy book, catch up with someone you haven't spoken to in a while.

just do your best to relax, and rest, rest, rest

let me reiterate - dd was VERY healthy. she weighed in at 6lb,15oz and was 21 inches. she did not even need oxygen and at 19 months she is at the high end for all of her measurements!

now, go put your feet up and rest!

rlu
03-15-2006, 03:20 PM
Just adding to what the others have said and add another happy-ending experience.:D

At 37.5 weeks I went in for a checkup and blood pressure was elevated. The doctor had been concerned about my swelling so I was elevating my feet at work but it wasn't enough. Doctor sent me to the hospital to have the baby checked (got to see him upclose!) and lay on my side until the bp went down. Sent me home at mid-day and went back to doctor two days later. Doctor wants to induce but after we explain family coming in over next two days (Sat & Sun) agrees to send me to the hospital to reduce bp and go home. I went back on Monday (38 weeks) and was admitted for induction at 10am. They started inducing at noon and DS was born at 3:57p. I had planned to have meds, so I didn't have to deal with any disappointment on that front.

I took blood pressure medicine for a week after the birth. My medical excuse note (needed for work for disability) stated PIH although the doctor had told me I had pre-e.

DS was perfectly healthy other than a little jaundice (sp?) that we were able to treat by doing 10 minute sun-baths each day.

Rebecca

DS 3/29/04

sarahsthreads
03-15-2006, 03:59 PM
I also had PIH, and it started right around 34 weeks. I second (third? fourth?) the idea of packing your bag now. I didn't, and when my water broke at 39 weeks (two days before I was supposed to go to an appointment where they were surely going to tell me it was time to be induced) I was running around like a crazy woman trying to find everything I needed!

Get yourself a subscription to Netflix, have DH buy you some good books (although, I must warn you, the higher blood pressure made it hard for me to read for too long at a time - my vision would get blurry after a while) and rest.

If you're a very good girl and your blood pressure comes down a bit with bed rest, your doctor may even give you permission to go to your baby shower if you promise to sit with your feet up the whole time - mine did.

In the meantime, rest! Chances are that will lower your blood pressure enough to make the doctor happy and keep you and your baby healthy.

Sarah :)

JTsMom
03-15-2006, 04:14 PM
Sometime around 36 weeks my blood pressure really shot up. I was SO swollen, and retaining TONS of water too. I was on bed rest for the last 3.5 weeks, and had to lay on my left side, and my midwife put me on a really strict diet. I had to get several BPP's and...... drawing a blank on the other test. Anyway, it was annoying b/c there were so many more things I wanted to get done, but everything turned out fine. I delivered (no induction) 5 days before my due date.

Please ignore my signature- DS's condition has NOTHING to do with the blood pressure thing!

khalloc
03-15-2006, 04:24 PM
I have ALWAYS had white-coat hypertension. Which just means I get anxious and my BP goes up when I go to the doctor's. I just have never liked going, it makes me nervous. Sometimes though my BP is OK there, but usually its on the high side.

Anyways, my DD is 4 months old and I was induced at 38.5 weeks. The reason was because they said I had mild pre-eclampsia. I had a tiny bit of protein in my urine (just over the allowed amount), and slightly elevated BP. I went for a TON of NSTs and they all came back fine, so baby was JUST FINE. Anyways, they wanted to induce anyways so I let them. The induction went fine and the baby was just fine. No problems whatsoever.

I think the main scare here is if you get pre-eclampsia and have a serious case of it it can be pretty bad for mom & baby. But that doesn't always happen and in my case it didn't and IMO my doc was being overly precautious.

Don't worry, be happy!

tarynsmum
03-15-2006, 06:20 PM
I have pretty much the same story. DD was born 2 weeks early after a 2 day "observation" at the hospital. I was on pretty much bed rest for a couple weeks before then.

Another thing during L&D: since I had pre-e they also gave be magnesium during delivery and 24 hours afterwards. It made me totally groggy and out-of-it. I also couldn't eat anything but liquids (i.e.: jello) for 24 hours afterwards, and the magnesium made me so nausious I couldn't even keep that down. The worst part for me, though, was being on strict bedrest while I was recovering: I couldn't get up to get her out of the little bassinet and someone had to be *right there* while I was nursing her all the time. It wasn't what I was hoping for either, or what I expected.

The best thing I can tell you is echoing the PP: don't do ANYTHING unless it's necessary. That was really hard for me, especially since the nesting as hitting pretty hard.

Good Luck to you and we'll be thinking about you!

SummerBaby
03-16-2006, 05:12 PM
When I was 31 weeks my BP went up to 190/110 (and I am usually 100/60). At that point I had no other syptoms of Pre-e, but I was taken out of work and put on "modified" bed rest (which basically meant I could take a shower and go out once a day to get the mail). When I was resting, my BP would get down to about 130/90, which my dr found acceptable. However, as soon as I tried to do anything (like go out for lunch, a dr's appt, etc) it would go way up again and my heart would pound. By 36 weeks I had a small amount of protein in the urine and I really felt awful- like I had the flu- also , my BP wouldn't come down. I was already 2 cm dilated, so I was induced at 37 weeks. My baby was competely healthy and was 7 lbs, 14 oz!

I read things online about pre-e as well and frankly, it just made my BP higher. Just relax and think good thoughts about your baby. Although bed rest is very, very boring, there are many times now when I wish I could sleep until 10 and spend the day doing nothing but watch bad Lifetime movies and read People magazine! :)

Good luck!

Val
Mom to Madeline
7/28/04