BP has come down!!

[michaela]

Thanks for your responses. I talked to my midwife and obgyn and they agreed as long as the BP stayed under 90 diastolic I could forgo the meds. I am thrilled to say it has stayed under 88 and is amost always around 75. I am taking my prenatals and a Calcium/Mag suppliment plus watching my salt and resting when I am tired. My kids have been great also. I told them Mommy's heart is sick and I can't get real upset so I have yelled less at them than ever!! It's amazing how well they understand.
I do have another question though...

I had no trouble with my first 3 births, so this was quite a surprise. Has anyone else experienced a PE birth on their 4th try? My husband and I are kind of wondering what the risk of it happening again would be. I am planning on losing some weight in the interim. I lost all the baby weight but I could stand to lose 25 more. Does anyone have any statistics on this sort of thing? It seems that other than my weight my risk was very low to begin with so I am at a loss as to why this happened. MY BP has always been very low also . Any ideas or comments are very much appreciated.

Michaela 34
DH Ken 37
DS Joshua 7 yrs
DD Kennedy 4 yrs
DD Kathryn 3yrs
Our little angel Jared 34 wks stillborn 10/31/03 due to PE

[akemt]

Michaela,

Just wanted to let you know that those of us who have read your questions aren't answering because we don't know, not because no one cares. In fact, many probably have the same question!

So, to anyone who DOES know an answer, please post it!

And Michaela, I am so sorry for your loss and wish you health and happiness.

Catherine (22)
DH Britton (27)
Emma Margaret (03/02/03) 37 weeks from PIH & oligo

[michaela]

Catherine,
I figured it was a long shot but I thought I'd try to get as much info as possible. I can't believe so little is known about this condition. It definitely makes you feel scared to try again. I know time will heal though and I know my baby is praying for his family and that what is meant to happen will happen. I just pray every night for the strength to accept our loss. I have 3 beautiful children, but I will always be open to life. Thank you for your caring response. This message board has been a life saver. I never thought I would need something like this but it is a God send.

Michaela 34
DH Ken 37
DS Joshua 7 yrs
DD Kennedy 4 yrs
DD Kathryn 3yrs
Our little angel Jared 34 wks stillborn 10/31/03 due to PE

[sweetiesuzy]

Michaela,
Welcome to the board. I am so very sorry for the loss of your precious baby Jared.

I do not have any answers for you. There may be someone here who may be able to help. I am glad to see that you are being so active about your care and it seems to be working! Your family sounds wonderful and supportive of your health and that is so important.

You may want to check out the grief and loss portion of the board here. There are so many amazing women who may be of support to you right now if you feel the need.

Blessings & big hugs,
Suzanna

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." - Thoreau

DS 3/25/95
DD Stillbirth 10/26/01
DS 12/30/02

[laura]

Yup, I've been reading and re-reading my Chesley's since reading your post... I seem to remember reading that if you have not had preeclampsia in a prior pregnancy, and get it in a later one, it's a sign that you have an underlying issue- like essential hypertension- that may have triggered your preeclampsia.

Have they done any testing to see if autoimmune problems or clotting disorders might have triggered this for you? Is hypertension a problem in your family?

As to the weight- there are a couple of different ways of looking at it- my peri said if your BMI is not great that any weight loss even five pounds would be good. The way I understand it, some people think that PE isn't necessarily caused by one thing, but a multitude of factors that all together trip the scales and trigger PE- genetic predisposition (ie. runs in your family) excess weight, age-- whatever. The weight may not be causing the PE, but perhaps losing some may help to some degree.

But if you have no obvious reasons why this happened (as opposed to me- a walking billboard for preeclampsia risk factors) that's a good indication that a trip to a perinatologist for testing may be a good idea. We have a list of some of the tests run for this purpose floating around somewhere, we can dig it up if you're interested.

My goodness. Welcome- I'm so glad you found us- I hope you find the answers you're looking for!

Laura-28
DH Jack-30
Allie 5-13-98 (35 weeks-pre-e)
Baby Camille 4-17-03 (36 weeks- htn and oligo)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/c/camilleandallie/

[akemt]

See, I knew we'd get a response! I just know how it feels to wait and wait for one. So here is atleast one list I found on here of the tests for predispositions:

Lieden Factor V mutation R560Q (DNA test by PCR)
Hyperhomocysteinemia MTHFR Mutation (DNA test by PCR)
Prothrombin Gene Mutation 20210 (GA) (DNA test by PCR)
Protein C levels
Protein S levels
Activated Protein C activity
Antibodies to 6 phospholipids of the IgM, IgG and IgA classes
Lupus anticoagulant antibody
Russell Viper Venom time
Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)
Prothrombin time (PT)and Partial prothrombin time (PPT)


Catherine (22)
DH Britton (27)
Emma Margaret (03/02/03) 37 weeks from PIH & oligo

[michaela]

Thanks for the tests that can be done. My midwife is going to refer me as soon as I am 6 weeks postpartum. They don't want to run anything until then. I am going to make a copy of your list and go over it with the high risk obgyn. I don't think there are any peri's here. I went on that web site for addresses and I didn't see any in Florida at all. At least not Northern. I am in Middleburg 15 miles from Jacksonville. I know there is a very good high risk guy here, but that is all I know. I trust my midwife implicitly. I know she will find the best care for me. Again thank you very much for your kind words and info. By the way what is Chelsey's??

Michaela 34
DH Ken 37
DS Joshua 7 yrs
DD Kennedy 4 yrs
DD Kathryn 3yrs
Our little angel Jared 34 wks stillborn 10/31/03 due to PE

[laura]

I'm glad your midwife is farsighted enough to know to send you to a good peri!

We have a bit of an advantage here, when we talk about preeclampsia's big picture- who gets it, and why, because when the Foundation was started, a Preeclampsia Researcher (and expert in the field) was a co-founder. The medical board, from where we often get direction, is comprised of some the US's foremost preeclampsia researchers and experts. They know things about PE that have yet to filter down to all obs and midwives. And we yap about stuff here on the boards and take for granted stuff that may be in perinatologist territory. Sometimes, I think, we have a bit of a communication issue when we expect our doctors to know everything our peris here say- which isn't necessarily fair, because peris, (especially expert ones) are the docs our docs refer patients to when they need a little help!

Hang in there- it sounds like you're in good hands and will get the answers you seek! Take care!



Laura-28
DH Jack-30
Allie 5-13-98 (35 weeks-pre-e)
Baby Camille 4-17-03 (36 weeks- htn and oligo)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/c/camilleandallie/

[laura]

Oh yes, Chesley's Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy is a medical textbook that covers all pregnancy hypertensive disorders, and is considered the standard text on the subject. It's a reaaaallly good book!

Laura-28
DH Jack-30
Allie 5-13-98 (35 weeks-pre-e)
Baby Camille 4-17-03 (36 weeks- htn and oligo)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/c/camilleandallie/