by amberstrika » Mon Aug 20, 2012 04:45 am
Just wanted to chime in and say that I know preeclampsia is no joke, and should be taken VERY seriously (I've had it twice already myself). That being said, for the entirety of this pregnancy, my BP was typically through the roof from the sheer anxiety of being worried about it being high. At home, it generally always starts off too high, then creeps down as I try to curb my anxiety. And with every lower reading I have, the subsequent reading tends to be even lower! My appointments are a different matter. Every time, without exception, When I went in for my OB check ups, my BP would run around 150's/high 90's. My OB has had me put in hospital on two separate occasions, and both times my BP started out high, and gradually crept down to low levels. I have officially been diagnosed with white coat hypertension. You wife's patterns look alarmingly similar to mine. They start out higher, then she gets calmer with each reading and they start to creep down. When she has been laying down sleeping, not worrying about it at all, it's normal. Just something to think about. With a protein reading of 600, she should be ready and expecting to have an official diagnoses of PE, and should take it easy. But be aware that with her numbers coming in at a very healthy, lower reading at night many of her higher day time numbers might very well be simply anxiety and stress related. When her BP rises to the point that the pressure never lowers, even at night, it's game time and you need to seek immediate medical attention. What I have been doing this pregnancy is taking serial readings every 15 min for an hour four times a day. With the serial readings, I take the lowest number as my overall BP status. My doctor told me that the lower numbers are the best indicator as to how I am doing throughout the day, because they are more accurate as to what the base line truly is. For example:
you take a reading for her and she is most likely nervous, worried it may be high. It comes back around 140's/90's. 15 min later it's 130's/90's. yet another 15 min later and you're looking at 120's/80's. The 120/80's is more likely the accurate reading, because the anxiety starts to lessen. When you get to a point that it is in the 140's/90's and no amount of serial readings, or laying down makes it move even a bit, you have yourself a seriously problem.
Hope this helps.
Also, have you looked into buying the dipstick reagent tests for use at home? They can be a great way for you to check your own protein readings from home every day. That's how I found out about my last bout of preeclampsia. Woke up one morning with a reading of +2 in my sample. That's 100 mg in the little cup. I can only imagine how much protein would have been in a 24 hour catch! My OB delivered me the same day. You can buy them from Amazon for super cheap, Here's a link.
http://www.amazon.com/Response-Paramete ... is+reagentJust wanted to chime in and say that I know preeclampsia is no joke, and should be taken VERY seriously (I've had it twice already myself). That being said, for the entirety of this pregnancy, my BP was typically through the roof from the sheer anxiety of being worried about it being high. At home, it generally always starts off too high, then creeps down as I try to curb my anxiety. And with every lower reading I have, the subsequent reading tends to be even lower! My appointments are a different matter. Every time, without exception, When I went in for my OB check ups, my BP would run around 150's/high 90's. My OB has had me put in hospital on two separate occasions, and both times my BP started out high, and gradually crept down to low levels. I have officially been diagnosed with white coat hypertension. You wife's patterns look alarmingly similar to mine. They start out higher, then she gets calmer with each reading and they start to creep down. When she has been laying down sleeping, not worrying about it at all, it's normal. Just something to think about. With a protein reading of 600, she should be ready and expecting to have an official diagnoses of PE, and should take it easy. But be aware that with her numbers coming in at a very healthy, lower reading at night many of her higher day time numbers might very well be simply anxiety and stress related. When her BP rises to the point that the pressure never lowers, even at night, it's game time and you need to seek immediate medical attention. What I have been doing this pregnancy is taking serial readings every 15 min for an hour four times a day. With the serial readings, I take the lowest number as my overall BP status. My doctor told me that the lower numbers are the best indicator as to how I am doing throughout the day, because they are more accurate as to what the base line truly is. For example:
you take a reading for her and she is most likely nervous, worried it may be high. It comes back around 140's/90's. 15 min later it's 130's/90's. yet another 15 min later and you're looking at 120's/80's. The 120/80's is more likely the accurate reading, because the anxiety starts to lessen. When you get to a point that it is in the 140's/90's and no amount of serial readings, or laying down makes it move even a bit, you have yourself a seriously problem.
Hope this helps.
Also, have you looked into buying the dipstick reagent tests for use at home? They can be a great way for you to check your own protein readings from home every day. That's how I found out about my last bout of preeclampsia. Woke up one morning with a reading of +2 in my sample. That's 100 mg in the little cup. I can only imagine how much protein would have been in a 24 hour catch! My OB delivered me the same day. You can buy them from Amazon for super cheap, Here's a link.
http://www.amazon.com/Response-Parameter-Urinalysis-Reagent-Strips/dp/B001EUAXZM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345455937&sr=8-1&keywords=urinalysis+reagent
