Hi caryn! I'm doing good. My doctor increased my blood pressure meds again this week. Now i taking 1000 mg of aldomet twice a day. He is really concerned about my Diastolic number which has been between 95 to 110. I started my nonstress tests this week. The first one on Tuesday came back good and I have the second one tomorrow along which an ultrasound to check on baby. My doctor also told me that his goal right now is to at least get me to 36 weeks now. I'm currently 32.5 weeks.

Just checking on you...?

Thanks for the advice aaja twins!! I completely agree with you. I Take my blood pressure 3 to 4 times a day and I think that is healthy. Now, I'm not going to lie, when I do have high spikes like the one I did the other day I will take it every 15 or so minutes until It goes down. I think with our histories of PE it is great for us all to educate ourselves on this disease, take our Bp at home and be aware of all the symptoms! I know it's not going to prevent us from getting PE but it could help,with early intervention if possible!! I wish I was more educated and aware of the symptoms during my last pregnancy. Grant it I delivered a healthy baby girl at 34 weeks. I was experiencing PE symptoms for a week or so and thought they were normal pregnancy symptoms, lucky I had appointment the day that I did!!!

Yuck - those numbers don't sound good at all! I, personally, would never stop taking my BP at home knowing that it's spiking that high. How often do you take it? I know some people can go overboard and docs don't want you taking it every 5 mins because it will fluctuate, obviously. But 3 times a day is a good healthy thing to do when you are concerned about the numbers. I would not be satisfied with that being the doctor's answer to your questions about the numbers, either. A person with little or no protein can be just as "in trouble" as a person with high protein... everyone's body acts differently, of this we are certain! so everyone will not have the same set of symptoms or the same course of experiences.

We tend to say, 'when in doubt, call in'. So if you are uncomfortable with your numbers, then call in or go in. Make sure your doctor understands you don't feel good about your BP and that it's stressing you out. Because, if nothing else, I'm sure your doctor does not want you stressing out!!

Just an update as to what has been going on. I had a doctors appt. yesterday and my blood pressure was still elevated, 140s to 150s/90s so my doctor told me to double my dose of my Bp meds. Now I'm taking 500 mg twice a day aldomet. Starting next week he wants me to have nst twice a week. Next Monday I will be 32 weeks. He also said that if all goes well for the remainder of my pregnancy then I will be induced at 37 weeks which will be the week of mothers day. I am praying that I make it to 37 weeks.

Today when I woke up my blood pressure was super high, 149/112. It took hours for it to finally go down to 139/100. I called my doctor and he basically told me to stop taking my Bp pressure at home which made me mad because I only take it a few times a day. And with my history of preeclampsia I am absolutely not going to stop taking it. I feel that I need to be aware of what's going on with my body for myself and my baby. He also told me that I am definitely not where I need to be with my blood pressure meds but he wants gradually increase it because he fears that it would drop my blood pressure to much. Tonight I took my blood pressure and it was 171/94. I laid on my left side for a bit and it finally dropped to 140/94. I am so concerned about these spikes I have been having today. The baby is moving around all day and is very active so that is a positive thing. Also, I did the results from my 24 hour protein test and blood work and everything came back normal. My protein level was 171.

I am so nervous. I don't know if I should just bypass my doctor and head down to l&d when I have a spike in my blood pressure next time.

Thank you so much for all the feedback! It means a lot to know there are others that have been through the same thing.

After being on labetalol for a day and half I started experiencing dizziness, more swelling of my face and hands,I was sweating an abnormal amount and I couldn't focus on anything. I called my doctor immediately and they switched my Bp medication to aldomet 250 mg twice a day. I starting taking aldomet last night and haven't had any side effects. I've been monitoring my Bp today and it has been in the high 130s/90s with a spike an hour ago of 158/94. I had bloodwork today and handed in my 24 hour urine collection so hopefully I will have those results tomorrow. The weird thing is starting this morning my urine was a dark tea color. That was one symptom I had with my last pregnancy when I developed PE. I don't know if I didn't drink enough yesterday and was slightly dehydrated. So I am definitely going to report that to my doctor.

I was SO upset when I was prescribed Labetatol while pregnant! I wish I had known that it was really not something to freak out over. If your doctor is putting you on it, it's because you being on the med is healthier for your baby than you not being on it. That's how I had to think of it. As bp spikes and stays higher, it can cause decreased blood flow to the placenta, which is more dangerous than the medication. Just know that you are doing what you have to do to keep that baby cookin' as long as possible. MANY women take Labetalol during pregnancy. Personally, I had zero side effects, but I did still develop preeclampsia. Good luck. Hopefully this remains PIH, and is controlled well on the Labetalol.

I was on labetalol my entire pregnancy - it's very common & considered very pregnancy safe. But, you can still develop PE on BP meds so still keep an eye on any other symptoms besides BP. Hang in there!

Thank you for your comments!

I had my doctors appointment today and they decided to put me on labetalol twice a day. I also have to repeat bloodwork and 24 hour urine collection. They also want to continue to see me once a week.

I definitely need to be on Bp medication, it just makes me nervous to take medication while pregnant. I am going to start taking it tonight. Itook labetalol for 6 months postpartum with my first pregnancy. I would love to hear any feedback from anyone that has been prescribed Bp medication while pregnant! Did you have any side effects? Did you still develope preeclampsia while on Bp medication?

Does your doc know how high your pressures are spiking? If not I would call, even after hours.

During my second pregnancy my pressures also jumped around a lot but I was told to call if my pressures stayed above 140/90 for a half hour (ie didn't go down with rest).