Blood Pressure high & swelling after pregnancy

I had my twins last Thursday. I had bad swelling during the last few weeks of my pregnancy and also had high bp. I realized the swelling would stay for a while after I had the girls, but I did not realize my blood pressure would still be up. Can anyone tell me when it generally goes down? It is running 145/90 ish and before pregnancy it would be 105/65 ish.

 

My blood pressure was about the same as yours both before and during pregnancy, and mine took about a month to go back down. I was actually put on blood pressure medicine in the hospital after my girls were born and continued that for a few weeks. Are you on any medicines? If your BP stays high, you might want to check with your doctor...

Good luck!

 

I would definetly keep an eye on it. I did not know you could still get Pre-E up to six weeks PP until I swelled up like a hot air balloon and my Doc told me to keep an eye out....

If it continues to stay up, definetly have it checked out.

 

Mine took a week or two - it was better by my 6 weeks appt. and the swelling went down within a couple of weeks too.

:hug99:

 

My BP was soo high after delivery I had to have a bp cuff at home and I had to go to the OB's office once a day to have it checked professionally (lots of fun with two infants at home and not being able to drive because of the c-section). I was prescribed meds and referred to my primary for follow ups. My primary told me that it is quite common and generally it returns to normal and patients can be weaned from meds when their first menstrual cycle returns. This is exactly what happened for me.

In regards to the swelling, keep drinking water and if your legs/ankles/feet are swollen put a pillow under the bottom of your mattress where your feet are at night. It should help you start the day off a little less swollen.

 

QUOTE(tickled_pink @ Nov 20 2007, 09:09 PM) [snapback]504187[/snapback]
I would definetly keep an eye on it. I did not know you could still get Pre-E up to six weeks PP until I swelled up like a hot air balloon and my Doc told me to keep an eye out....

If it continues to stay up, definetly have it checked out.

Yes, definitely keep an eye on it. Mine stayed high for just a few days after I delivered. Call your doc if you are concerned, no need to take any risks. :hug99: Congrats on your babies!

 

QUOTE(Jentwinmom @ Nov 21 2007, 12:02 PM) [snapback]504084[/snapback]
I had my twins last Thursday. I had bad swelling during the last few weeks of my pregnancy and also had high bp. I realized the swelling would stay for a while after I had the girls, but I did not realize my blood pressure would still be up. Can anyone tell me when it generally goes down? It is running 145/90 ish and before pregnancy it would be 105/65 ish.


Hi, mine took two months to go back to normal.

 

PLEASE PLEASE keep an eye on it- I delivered on a EARLY Saturday morning, they discharged me the following Wednesday w/ BP at 145/90 ish, and by the next day it had gone up to 160/110!!! :icon_eek: (thankfully, I'm a paranoid sort and have a BP cuff at home) And I was pretty darn swollen as well. But anyways, when I called L&D w/ that reading, they told me to go straight to the ER- Once I got there, I was immediately put in a bed w/ meds in an IV drip as well as padded bed rails they thought I would seize w/ it being so high. I got to stay in the hospital (a different one than where my boys were ) for 3 days for it to even out on meds. So long story short, you CAN develop Pre-E post-partum, and it can come on QUICKLY. PLEASE keep an eye on it and don't wait to call the dr. if you need to! :hug99:

Oh- and congrats on your new babies!!!

 

I had no swelling or high BP during pregnancy, but after delivery my BP went up and I swelled up like a balloon. It went away after a week. although my docs had me going up to L&D and getting my BP checked when I went in to visit my girls in the NICU, just to be safe.

 

Mine shot up after delivery (even though it was totally normal during pregnancy) -- and I was incredibly swollen, too. It didn't go away, so the doc had to prescribe a diuretic, as well as blood pressure meds (Labetalol).

The diuretic worked for the swelling, but unfortunately I'm still on the Labetalol at 5 months PP. I've weaned down to a lower dose, and hope to wean off it completely soon -- but my regular doc thinks I still need it, because my blood pressure is never below 125/85, even on the meds.

 

I was the same way. My dr put me on bp meds for a couple of weeks. The swelling went down and so did the blood pressure, but now my bp is back up. Probably something I need to get checked. Good luck and get it checked out. And congrats on your babies.

Missy

 

I came down with pre-e right at about 30 weeks of preg which landed me on hospital bedrest and then with an emer c-section at 32 weeks. Mine came down with meds about 5 days after delivery and then without meds by about 8 weeks post c-section. The swelling took a couple of weeks to work out of my system. Congrats on your babies!!

 

I never had the swelling, but my BP was a bit elevated the last month of pregnancy and I was put on meds. A week after I delivered and went in for my staples to be removed. They took my blood pressure and readmitted me right then and there. They told me I was borderline of having a stroke. They did a bunch of blood tests and I had a CT scan done since I had a headache. They told me it wasnt Pre-E, but it was just my hormones trying to level out.

 

I had pregnancy induced hypertension (high blood pressure from being pregnant) that did not subside after delivering. I also developed pulmonary edema because my heart just couldn't pump hard enough. I was on Lasex and Labetalol for a month post delivery. I was referred to a cardiologist instead of seeing the OB who delivered me.

I will say this: if you do get on bp meds, you MUST get a cuff for home and monitor regularly. Once my bp lowered naturally, when I would take the meds it was DANGEROUSLY low. I was sluggish and felt really weird. I was dropping into the 60/80 range. I was taken off the meds immediately.

 

I presented with HBP a few days before my babies were born. After delivery, my blood pressure stayed up & I became WAY more swollen. I stayed in the hospital for 5 days after delivery, so they watched it close. The swelling came down, very slowly over about 3 weeks. You could see it come off my face first, then through my chest & shoulders & the feet were the last to go down. The BP was still a little high at my 2 week check up, but was back to my normal at 6 weeks.

 

I delivered a few weeks ago due to pre-e and PIH at 34w. My bp did not come down so they put me on meds. I have not been closely monitored and my rx was only for four weeks. With that being so arbitrary I called my primary physician this week and I'm seeing her tomorrow. We're going to discuss how to handle coming off the meds or not with monitoring and such. I don't know that my Obs have handled things consistently and I wanted my primary to advise me for my own health.

The swelling in my ankles and feet went down immediately. My hands and face have taken more time. Overall, now all of my appendages are smaller... if only my belly was as well.

Be your own advocate for good care regarding this. Once the Obs deliver they have a protocol and you may not fit in that and need to look out for yourself. Take good care.

 

I am calling our family doc on Monday as mine is still running in the 140/90s while relaxed and in the 150/100s at work. Mine was in the 110/70s pre-preggo. So it can definately take a bit for it to come back down.