thanks Anne and Caryn! all of this info is makin jenny and i feel much better about her situation. doesn't make us like it anymore, but easier to handle. based on what all the docs were tellin us we thought she should've been LONG over this by now, but that doesn't sound like the case from all of you who are experienced. the info here has been SO much more helpful than the doctors, but in their defense i guess they don't see this very often, thus not spending any time studying it. although i do know that her doc knew enough to not wait around for something bad to happen! given her situation and the fact that she hadn't seen any of the other docs in the practice yet, he even stayed on call just for her so that he could do her section. a very good man.

anyway, yeah, she had it real bad. in retrospect, she showed the rapid weight gain early (starting around 20wks), but the bp was almost an overnight thing. more like 2 weeks, but still, who knows how high it was for how long before she went in. we're all so lucky!

and so, the long road to recovery continues! she is playin some v-ball open gym twice a week, which has definately started showin. BTW, she is "brycesmom" on the forum. she's not on much cause we don't have the net at home.

josh & jenny
bryce 29wks 3.5.04

FWIW, I was also reading at 200+/100+ in the hospital, and went home on labetalol. About 6 months later they were able to wean me off of it. Honestly, I think time was the major factor in my recovery. I was breastfeeding, so I dropped weight fairly quickly, to 20+ pounds below my starting weight, but still had high bp readings for several months.

Nowadays it's usually in the 100+/70+ range.

Caryn
DS Oscar born 10/20/02 at 34 weeks, rapid-onset severe PE

There has been a twin study on preeclampsia, I think. I have to check. But yeah, it is weird. As for losing the weight and the hypertension--I had that problem--one thing you could have her do is start walking--even only 20 minutes every day will make a big difference. It is hard for the body to recover from this disease and it hasn't been that long and she had it pretty badly it sounds. It took me up to two years and my blood pressure has never been the same. Is she on antihypertensives? That will help and recent studies show it is good to control blood pressure problems early. What our doctors believe is that preeclampsia shows a personal tendency to develop high blood pressure later in life--so it is like a little window into the future. Armed with that information--you and Jenny can take steps now to ensure that she is healthy and heart-attack free in her forties and fifties by adjusting your diet (look at the American Heart Association website for ideas) and developing a regular regime of exercise. Naturally, not smoking or drinking is also important but I doubt that is something Jenny does anyway!

Take care and keep us in the loop!

Anne Garrett
Executive Director
Preeclampsia Foundation

thanks so much Aimee and Catherine! Bryce is 19wks tommarow from his birth date (03.05.04). so it's almost been 5mo that she's been battling this. i'm definately gathering that this "gift" isn't abnormal to have such a long time after birthing, possibly even perminantly. her current doc has her on a diuretic, and it seemed to have an imediate effect, but has since lost it's potensy. she lost about 10-15 lbs of water weight right after the preg, but seems to have come to a hault. when she's under a lot of stress (physically) she seems to retain a little water still too. she swells a little rather.

here's a twist in the story. jenny is an identical twin, and her sister gave birth in december, full term, no complications....? very bizarre! i know that even identical twins have different body chemistry, but still seems odd to me.

thanks everyone!! much love!

josh & jenny
bryce 29wks 3.5.04

Bryce,

It is hard to say if the weight is the cause. My guess would be, probably not. My bp went up higher when I lost weight... Docs still can't figure that out!!! Does she have much swelling? I held on to fluid, until at 6 months postpartum when I was put on a diuretic. Your wife may want to ask about changing meds. It made all the difference for me. I've been on mine for about a year now.

Sadly, like many of us, she may have to deal with chronic HTN from now on. Just a scar from the pregnancy that I carry with me everyday. It may be best for her to see a nephrologist (hypertension specialist), just to rule things out.
Take care,

Kim
Texas Chapter Coordinator

Ainsley 11/26/02-36 Weeks Preeclampsia
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/ainsleyk/

Hi Jeff and Jenny, I just wanted to welcome you to the PF site. The persistent hypertension is a "gift" that a bunch of folk get stuck with. Bryce is an absolute cutie but I couldn't figure out exactly how old he is. The reason that I ask is so we can get a better sense of where Jenny is in terms of how long she's been waiting to see if her BP will normalize.

Kim is well experienced with the aspects of chronic HTN as are a bunch of other posters. Hopefully you'll get people to chime in about their strategies to try and get things back to normal and how successful they've been.

Can I suggest that you maybe make a very direct question topic to post in the Ask the Experienced Section? That draws a the biggest number of readers and really covers everyone who reads and/or posts at the Forum.

Catherine
Mom to Finn, Lucy (preeclampsia and HELLP) and Chloe.
Moderator HELLP Syndrome Survivors

Hi Josh, Congrats on your son's birth! I thought I'd weigh in on the weight/bp issue. Many women have high BP after bouts with preeclampsia, regardless of their weight, but it's true that her weight may be a factor. It's said that reducing your weight by 10% can lower your blood pressure, so it stands to reason (and this is just a layperson's guess) that having it go up by over 10% could possibly keep the bp high.

I was overweight before my pregnancies, but I was blessed with great bp (105/72). After my first, it took about 2 months to return to that number, but my second son is now a year old, and my bps are reading 120's/80 while on meds. My doctors seem to think that, while my weight didn't have an adverse effect on my bp in previous years, getting it down now will probably help lower the bp.

Anyway, that's my long way of saying that anything's possible...it could be weight-related, but it might not be. I hope you are able to find a solution. If I were in her shoes, I would probably request a change in my meds as a starting point.

Aimee
Georgia State Coordinator

Ds Nicky - 3/24/00 (28 wks - eclampsia)
Ds Kalen - 7/10/03 (36 weeks - preeclampsia)

thanks sandy! i've been diligently studying the site for a few days now cause we don't have e-net at home. we really put our concerns about this disease behind us cause of our focus on our son, but now we're both starting to get a little obsesive about the fact that she still has high bp, and trouble losing the weight. just glad there's a place like this to raise awareness and learn more about this disease.

josh & jenny
bryce 29wks 3.5.04

Hello and welcome!! Sorry I don't have anything to add. Just wanted to say "hi" and welcome you here. Congratulations on the birth of your little one.

~Sandy/DD born via emergency C at 35 wks/1 day June '03 due to Severe PE/class III HELLP

Risk factors: HBP/asthma/high cholesterol

CAUGHT THE EGG!! Estimated hatch date: 3/20/05

hey Kim!

thanks for the info. Jenny is on 50mg of Toprol-XL. she thinks it has a beta blocker in it, but not sure. so is it possible that the weight gain could be causing her to still have the high bp? i guess i thought that was only reserved for people who were "severely" over weight, and she's only maybe 15-20lbs over.

josh & jenny
bryce 3.5.04