Hi There,

I've also had some crazy readings at appointments pre- 20 weeks. At 17 weeks I jumped to 17x/8x, down to 150s with rest and then again at 19 weeks a 15x/8x. I take my bp 2x at home per doctors orders and trend anywhere from 11x/5x (common)- 13x/7x (rarer). From that everyone has felt (myself included) relatively confident that it had more to do with nerves (though I didn't feel nervous)/random spikes (we travel by plane for MFM appts). And have put a plan in place that if I start trending in the 140s to start meds.

So like the previous poster, getting a bp cuff for home might give you a broader picture of what your BP is doing normally (outside those pesky visits) that can help inform your team of when meds time might be if at all. I'm crossing crossables that we're able to go med free... and will do the same for you.

Best,
Lauren

Usually if your blood pressure (BP) goes up before 20 weeks you are considered a chronic hypertensive. And since your placenta could be used to higher pressures upstream they probably don't want to medicate you unnecessarily. If you want a second opinion you could always ask for a referral to a MFM or Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist that focuses on high risk pregnancies.

I'm a chronic hypertensive *on* BP meds (started before pregnancy). My OB said she is fine with my diastolic pressures in the 80s, and wouldn't mind some readings in the 70s or lower 90s. Right now they don't want my pressures dipping too low and possibly reducing blood flow to the placenta and impairing fetal growth.

You could pick up a home BP monitor to log your pressures at home, to help identify any possible trends. I just brought mine into my OBs office this week to make sure my monitor's readings were consistent with what they were getting in the office.

Hope this helps!

Help! This is my 3rd pregnancy.... I had severe Pre-E with both my previous pregnancies delivering right around 34 weeks with each. In both of those pregnancies i never had high BP until my 3rd trimester. And it wasnt very high at all until 34 weeks when I developed pre-e. Well this third time around everything has been different! And here I am at 15w2d and my BP was 162/86 this morning at my appointment .It did go down to 148/86 at the end of my appointment after laying on my left side for a few minutes. Nervous as to what this could mean!?!?! The doc decided against meds at this point but is that smart?!?! Any advice would be appreciated! THANKS