Family Forum / Pregnancy / Pregnancy / October 2004

Leslie - call your Dr I think.  If you have a headache and are puffy and
have BPs that are a wee bit high, I'd certainly call and see what your Dr
says (probably bedrest and come in Monday, but its better to get it from the
horse's mouth).
Amanda

--
DD 15th August 2002
1 tiny angel Nov 2003
DS 20th August 2004

First...*legal dance* if you have any questions it's always a good
idea to call your care provider.

Now..
You are not my client, and I wouldn't pretend that you are.
However..there are some things to keep in mind..

Re: blood pressure
you're taking it sitting up - it's almost always going to be lower
when you lay down and relax.  Even if you're 'relaxing' at the
Kroger..you know that there's going to be a certain amount of anxiety
about taking it.  See if someone has a BP cuff you can borrow and take
it laying down and see what it says.

Re: swelling
There are many things you can do for swelling...
  *  water submersion - get in as deep of a bath as you can for at
least 45 minutes (and as gross as some might find this, be prepared to
pee in the bath - because it will really push fluids out of you).
Epsom salt helps a lot to push fluids out, too.
 *  Adding lemon to your water or tea...it's a natural diuretic.  So
is watermelon...cucumber...eating lots of that can help.
 *  salting your food to taste - NOT reducing your salt intake.
reducing your salt can make the swelling worse.
 *  keeping up on your fluids...drink drink drink...
 *  laying down with legs slightly elevated...helps drain some of
that fluid out and work it out.
 *  Not sitting/standing for long lengths of time
 *  exercise...keeps the body workign well, including the kidneys to
work that fluid out.
 *  massage of the legs...not deep leg massage, but massage that
starts at the toes and works the fluid up and out of your legs
(massage from the toes up to the knees).

these things will usually drastically reduce the amount of discomfort
and swelling from the edema...

but..*tap dances again* of course if you have any questions or
concerns you should talk to your care provider.  =}

Stephanie Soderblom CLD CCCE CD(DONA) ICD
Mesa, AZ
Mommy to Mikael 5/9/95 - Kerstyn 8/6/99 - and Kevin 8/30/02
New baby due end of May 2005
Student Midwife
Birth Doula / Childbirth Educator / Pregnancy and Birth Photography
elfanieNOSPAM@soderblom.net
http://www.birthdiaries.com - Birth Story Diaries=REAL BIRTHS = REAL PHOTOS

Personally, I wouldn't let the one high reading outweigh the three lower
ones, especially if those readings match what you've been seeing typically
in the doctor's office. Also, from everything I know, it's the diastolic
number that makes practitioners the most jumpy, and your diastolic number
isn't yet in the "hypertensive" range (90 or over), even if your systolic
number was quite high once.

I'd probably lean towards this approach myself. I had a migraine during my 5
weeks of high BP during my last pregnancy, but I *knew* it was a migraine
and nothing to do with the BP, so I didn't say anything (because I knew
saying anything would lead to instant induction talk and I wasn't ready to
go there yet). OTOH, I never had any swelling or blurry vision (aside from
the typical aura issues that come with migraines), so I could also see an
argument for going in and being checked today.
--
Be well, Barbara
Mom to Sin (Vernon, 2), Misery (Aurora, 5), and the Rising Son (Julian, 7)

This week's suggested Bush-Cheney Campaign Slogan:
"a.ses of Evil"

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