Lowering blood pressure?

I had my MW appointment today. Overall it went well, fundal is 27 wks,
weight gain fine, baby HR 140s but it seems that my BP is creeping up
130/80 today and she took it three times to make sure since that is
*unusually* high for me. I've dealt with low BP all my life and it has
never gone up this high that I can ever remember. And no, no protein in my
urine, no headaches, no sudden swelling etc.

So other than getting over a month long cold, finding out that my father has
a serious disease, and fighting the financial issues of DH, DS and DD's
Bdays before being able to recover from a slow work period and Xmas and
can't see any other reason for it :-\

She 'prescribed' me : upping my protein, eating cukes, garlic, & watermelon,
bathing in Epsom salts, continuing my yoga and resting once a day (which I
usually do anyways, I seem to *need* a nap everyday)

Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should remove from
my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!

On a side note....While we chatted I was surprised to hear that you can
suffer from pre-eclampsia in later pregnancies if the male genetics are
different (and my MW was pleased to teach me something new as she kids that
our appointments are just for chatting since I read so much on the subject).


--?

Jenn - 25 weeks today!!
-WAHM
-DS Feb'92
-DD Feb'97
-Jellyfish due June 25/04

"Fer" wrote in message
news:1ue4c.782904$X%5.759867@pd7tw2no...
I had my MW appointment today. Overall it went well, fundal is 27 wks,
weight gain fine, baby HR 140s but it seems that my BP is creeping up
130/80 today and she took it three times to make sure since that is
*unusually* high for me. I've dealt with low BP all my life and it has
never gone up this high that I can ever remember. And no, no protein in
my
urine, no headaches, no sudden swelling etc.

So other than getting over a month long cold, finding out that my father
has
a serious disease, and fighting the financial issues of DH, DS and DD's
Bdays before being able to recover from a slow work period and Xmas and
can't see any other reason for it :-\

She 'prescribed' me : upping my protein, eating cukes, garlic, &
watermelon,
bathing in Epsom salts, continuing my yoga and resting once a day (which I
usually do anyways, I seem to *need* a nap everyday)

Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should remove
from
my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!

On a side note....While we chatted I was surprised to hear that you can
suffer from pre-eclampsia in later pregnancies if the male genetics are
different (and my MW was pleased to teach me something new as she kids
that
our appointments are just for chatting since I read so much on the
subject).


You should also lower the salt in your diet...avoid any salty foods
(especially when eating out, they use a TON of salt in Chinese, Japanese and
Mexican - for example).

Good luck.

130/80 is really not high at all, just so ya know. Mine's always higher
than that when I first get to the dr's office, then comes down after I relax
some.

HTH,

Jen

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 08:25:33 +0000, Fer wrote:

Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should remove from
my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!

Yep: cut out salt as much as you can. Good luck in beating this!

--
-- I
mommy to DS (19m)
mommy to two tiny angels (28 Oct 2003 & 17 Feb 2004)
guardian of DH (33)

Ilse Witch wrote:

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 08:25:33 +0000, Fer wrote:


Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should
remove from
my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!


Yep: cut out salt as much as you can. Good luck in beating this!

Salt in moderation is necessary for fluid and electrolyte balance.
Sodium needs actually increase during pregnancy, so resricting your
intake might cause problems. Women who were sodium sensitive prior to
pregnancy might have to continue with the plan during pregnancy.

Foods should be salted to taste, not restricted. Excessive salty
foods (processed, canned, boxed, drive-thru) can be limited to one a
day to make sure there isn't sodium overload.

Kris

Jenn,

My wife had bouts of PIH during the last three weeks with both pregnancies.

Not surprisingly, our mw offered some of the same recommendations your did.
In addiition, there a a book call "The wise woman herbal for the childbearing
year" by Susan Weed. This also contains some recommendations.

In addition to the things you mention, we also used the following:
A quart of Red Raspberry Leaf tea per day. When she drank this it
would usually bring her diastolic pressure down 10 points within
thirty minutes.

Also, a mixture of cream of tarter and lemon juice. It tastes vile,
but it brings the BP down quickly. The problem is that you are not
supposed to use it on a regular bases, but just to bring a big spike
down. The RRL and be used regularly.

For more information on what we did go to
http://home.comcast.net/~l.mcmahan/.

Read "Clara's Birth Story," at least the first 4 or 5 paragraphs,
and read "PIH in the last 3 weeks" under "Niel's Birth"

Good luck,
Larry

Fer writes:
: I had my MW appointment today. Overall it went well, fundal is 27 wks,
: weight gain fine, baby HR 140s but it seems that my BP is creeping up
: 130/80 today and she took it three times to make sure since that is
: *unusually* high for me. I've dealt with low BP all my life and it has
: never gone up this high that I can ever remember. And no, no protein in my
: urine, no headaches, no sudden swelling etc.

: So other than getting over a month long cold, finding out that my father has
: a serious disease, and fighting the financial issues of DH, DS and DD's
: Bdays before being able to recover from a slow work period and Xmas and
: can't see any other reason for it :-\

: She 'prescribed' me : upping my protein, eating cukes, garlic, & watermelon,
: bathing in Epsom salts, continuing my yoga and resting once a day (which I
: usually do anyways, I seem to *need* a nap everyday)

: Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should remove from
: my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!

: On a side note....While we chatted I was surprised to hear that you can
: suffer from pre-eclampsia in later pregnancies if the male genetics are
: different (and my MW was pleased to teach me something new as she kids that
: our appointments are just for chatting since I read so much on the subject).


: --?

: Jenn - 25 weeks today!!
: -WAHM
: -DS Feb'92
: -DD Feb'97
: -Jellyfish due June 25/04

New York Jen wrote:
|| "Fer" wrote in message
|| news:1ue4c.782904$X%5.759867@pd7tw2no...
||| I had my MW appointment today. Overall it went well, fundal is 27
||| wks, weight gain fine, baby HR 140s but it seems that my BP is
||| creeping up 130/80 today and she took it three times to make
||| sure since that is *unusually* high for me. I've dealt with low BP
||| all my life and it has never gone up this high that I can ever
||| remember. And no, no protein in my urine, no headaches, no sudden
||| swelling etc.
|||
||| So other than getting over a month long cold, finding out that my
||| father has a serious disease, and fighting the financial issues of
||| DH, DS and DD's Bdays before being able to recover from a slow work
||| period and Xmas and can't see any other reason for it :-\
|||
||| She 'prescribed' me : upping my protein, eating cukes, garlic, &
||| watermelon, bathing in Epsom salts, continuing my yoga and resting
||| once a day (which I usually do anyways, I seem to *need* a nap
||| everyday)
|||
||| Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should
||| remove from my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!
|||
||| On a side note....While we chatted I was surprised to hear that you
||| can suffer from pre-eclampsia in later pregnancies if the male
||| genetics are different (and my MW was pleased to teach me something
||| new as she kids that our appointments are just for chatting since I
||| read so much on the subject).
||
||
|| You should also lower the salt in your diet...avoid any salty foods
|| (especially when eating out, they use a TON of salt in Chinese,
|| Japanese and Mexican - for example).
||
|| Good luck.
||
|| 130/80 is really not high at all, just so ya know. Mine's always
|| higher than that when I first get to the dr's office, then comes
|| down after I relax some.
||
|| HTH,
||
|| Jen

Thanks Jen, it'll be difficult cutting out salt due to the fact that I don't
normally eat salty food now but I will keep an eye on it from now on.

I know that 130/80 is not a normal high figure but for me preg or non preg
it is. I just would like to keep it from going higher.

Thanks again


Jenn
-WAHM
-DS Feb'92
-DD Feb'97
-Jellyfish due June 25/04

Ilse Witch wrote:
|| On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 08:25:33 +0000, Fer wrote:
||
||| Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should
||| remove from my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!
||
|| Yep: cut out salt as much as you can. Good luck in beating this!
||
|| --
|| -- I
|| mommy to DS (19m)
|| mommy to two tiny angels (28 Oct 2003 & 17 Feb 2004)
|| guardian of DH (33)

Thanks Ilse!

--?

Jenn
-WAHM
-DS Feb'92
-DD Feb'97
-Jellyfish due June 25/04

Larry McMahan wrote:
|| Jenn,
||
|| My wife had bouts of PIH during the last three weeks with both
|| pregnancies.
||
|| Not surprisingly, our mw offered some of the same recommendations
|| your did. In addiition, there a a book call "The wise woman herbal
|| for the childbearing year" by Susan Weed. This also contains some
|| recommendations.
||
|| In addition to the things you mention, we also used the following:
|| A quart of Red Raspberry Leaf tea per day. When she drank this it
|| would usually bring her diastolic pressure down 10 points within
|| thirty minutes.
||
|| Also, a mixture of cream of tarter and lemon juice. It tastes vile,
|| but it brings the BP down quickly. The problem is that you are not
|| supposed to use it on a regular bases, but just to bring a big spike
|| down. The RRL and be used regularly.
||
|| For more information on what we did go to
|| http://home.comcast.net/~l.mcmahan/.
||
|| Read "Clara's Birth Story," at least the first 4 or 5 paragraphs,
|| and read "PIH in the last 3 weeks" under "Niel's Birth"
||
|| Good luck,
|| Larry

Thank you very much Larry! I just reread the link you posted and I think I
will adopt the RRLT as well into my diet and keep the tartart and lemon on
stand by for higher readings. I did forget to mention she also suggested
calcium as well.

Keeping this under control is very important to me for health reasons and to
continue my journey to ,my first and probably last, homebirth.

Thank you again

Jenn






||
|| Fer writes:
||| I had my MW appointment today. Overall it went well, fundal is 27
||| wks, weight gain fine, baby HR 140s but it seems that my BP is
||| creeping up 130/80 today and she took it three times to make
||| sure since that is *unusually* high for me. I've dealt with low BP
||| all my life and it has never gone up this high that I can ever
||| remember. And no, no protein in my urine, no headaches, no sudden
||| swelling etc.
||
||| So other than getting over a month long cold, finding out that my
||| father has a serious disease, and fighting the financial issues of
||| DH, DS and DD's Bdays before being able to recover from a slow work
||| period and Xmas and can't see any other reason for it :-\
||
||| She 'prescribed' me : upping my protein, eating cukes, garlic, &
||| watermelon, bathing in Epsom salts, continuing my yoga and resting
||| once a day (which I usually do anyways, I seem to *need* a nap
||| everyday)
||
||| Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should
||| remove from my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!
||
||| On a side note....While we chatted I was surprised to hear that you
||| can suffer from pre-eclampsia in later pregnancies if the male
||| genetics are different (and my MW was pleased to teach me something
||| new as she kids that our appointments are just for chatting since I
||| read so much on the subject).
||
||
||| --?
||
||| Jenn - 25 weeks today!!
||| -WAHM
||| -DS Feb'92
||| -DD Feb'97
||| -Jellyfish due June 25/04

--?

Jenn
-WAHM
-DS Feb'92
-DD Feb'97
-Jellyfish due June 25/04

hierophant wrote:
|| Ilse Witch wrote:
||
||| On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 08:25:33 +0000, Fer wrote:
|||
|||
|||| Is there anything else you guys can think of? Anything I should
|||| remove from my diet? I would really like to get a handle on this!
|||
|||
||| Yep: cut out salt as much as you can. Good luck in beating this!
||
|| Salt in moderation is necessary for fluid and electrolyte balance.
|| Sodium needs actually increase during pregnancy, so resricting your
|| intake might cause problems. Women who were sodium sensitive prior
|| to pregnancy might have to continue with the plan during pregnancy.
||
|| Foods should be salted to taste, not restricted. Excessive salty
|| foods (processed, canned, boxed, drive-thru) can be limited to one a
|| day to make sure there isn't sodium overload.
||
|| Kris

While I always salt while cooking and not beyond all the mentions of salty
foods has got me thinking. While I normally avoid any fast food due to
company I have been indulging a little. That is easy to remove from my
life, now I'll have to work on the stress factors!

Thanks Kris!

--?

Jenn
-WAHM
-DS Feb'92
-DD Feb'97
-Jellyfish due June 25/04

Larry McMahan wrote:
Not surprisingly, our mw offered some of the same recommendations
your did. In addiition, there a a book call "The wise woman herbal
for the childbearing year" by Susan Weed. This also contains some
recommendations.

In addition to the things you mention, we also used the following:
A quart of Red Raspberry Leaf tea per day. When she drank this it
would usually bring her diastolic pressure down 10 points within
thirty minutes.

Also, a mixture of cream of tarter and lemon juice. It tastes vile,
but it brings the BP down quickly. The problem is that you are not
supposed to use it on a regular bases, but just to bring a big spike
down. The RRL and be used regularly.

Alas, none of these things worked for me when I had transient gestational
hypertension (the new "term of art" for pregnancy hypertension not
complicated by pre-eclampsia; PIH is often used interchangeably with
pre-eclampsia, so TGH is a more specific term) in my third pregnancy. My BP
in the last five weeks was just high regardless of what I did. But the high
BP was also completely benign--the midwife examined the placenta and said it
shown no signs of damage due to the hypertension or anything else, and my
son was completely healthy. (BTW, my BP in the final weeks was regularly in
the 150s/90s. 130s/80s would have been completely unconcerning. It's really
normal for BP to creep up in the third trimester. And I normally have BPs in
the 110s/60s.)
--
Be well, Barbara
(Julian [6], Aurora [4], and Vernon's [2] mom)

All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful.
Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its
other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a
fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman