Blood Pressure Issues
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| Wed, 02-13-2008 - 6:04pm |
Aside from the blood sugar stuff (I'll know my a1c in a day or two) now I have blood pressure problems.
I have had high bp and was in meds before getting preggo. I had to go off them, but Friday at my OB apt. it was high again. So OB put me on Labetolol (sp?) and said it was a cousin of the atenolol I was taking for rapid heart rate before. I was put on a low dose, 100 mg to start.
I took one 100 mg. pill and within about 1 and 1/2 hours I had passed out for a few seconds. It took me a while to get back to normal and I had a headache and was very tired the rest of the day. Good thing I was sitting down. But they also think I was dehydrated, so I'm on a manditory 80 to 100 oz. of water. Omg, like I don't have to go enough as it is!! :-P
I talked to my OB and he said to take 1/2 a pill and monitor my bp. I got my dad's machine and took it twice now. Both times it was 148/80 and my pulse was 100. My pulse is almost always high, but not quite that high. I'm going to take it again in another hour or so.
I'm just confused. I took a whole pill, too low. Take 1/2 pill and still too high. Blah!






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Misty I have no ideas at all for you!!
{{HUGS}} That's gotta be hard with everything else to manage. I know there are some foods (darned if I can remember them off the top of my head) that are helpful for blood pressure management. The key to it (DH is hypertensive so we're there on that regard but he's neither diabetic nor pregnant lol) is the potassium/sodium balance. You might want to check out the DASH plan (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension - our family doctor suggested it for DH and it works great, but the genetic component to DH's hypertension kept causing his bp to creep up on him). Because it's food based, there's going to be some stuff that will require adjusting to handle the blood sugar end of things but because it's not medication, it should be totally safe for the little one growing. Maybe a combination of DASH and the lower amount of medication together can get you through.
--Deb
One thing to be careful with.
Yeah grapefruit used to be the 'wonder food' but it interacts with so many medications nowadays that it's really not as popular anymore as far as I can tell. And, yup, depends on what class of bp meds one takes as to how it handles potassium. Getting potassium from food sources is probably the safest bet - according to the DASH info, it's something like 3:1 potassium to sodium ratio that is beneficial. We use that as a rule of thumb when shopping - often you'll find yogurts and such with a ratio that is 2:1 or 3:1, so if we're buying pasta sauce, for instance, we'll look at whether there's even a listing for potassium content and what it is, particularly if the sodium level is a little higher. That's one thing the DASH book goes into detail on - which foods are the higher in potassium choices. Generally, fruits, veggies and low fat dairy are the good choices for potassium content. Unfortunately, some of the 'good' things as far as that goes are not-so-great as far as controlling blood sugar. Makes for a fun time at our house with DH's hypertension and my diabetes, plus we both watch cholesterol (speaking of which, high LDL levels which can clog blood vessels can also contribute to hypertension because it takes more force to get the blood through. DH's cholesterol and triglycerides came down so much over 6 months last year that the dr thought it was a typo - nope, just eating oatmeal or Cheerios every morning for 6 months plus cutting out all red meat and most other animal products except for fish and low fat cheese/yogurt).
--Deb
I know I was surprised when the pharmacist cautioned me right away when I started taking lisinopril NOT to use the salt substitutes because of so much higher potassium. He did say bananas should not be a problem, but I am guessing drinking pomegranite juice(which is really high in potasium ) might be questionable!!
I have read about the potassium, and was careful before while taking my birth control pills.
~Misty~
When I was pg way back when, my blood pressure was always good BUT I absolutely had to get enough water (I just carried a water bottle everywhere with me) because if I didn't drink enough, I'd get short of breath really easily in situations that otherwise (with enough water) wouldn't bother me at all. I've also noticed that my blood sugar numbers are better when I've been drinking my full quantity of water per day, particularly noticeable once I cut out iced tea (unsweetened iced tea was my "gotta have flavor" choice since juices are out for me, no amount is small enough to avoid a spike, and we don't drink animal milk much) - caffeinated beverages along with certain fruits/juices are diuretics and will further dehydrate the system. What is really counter intuitive is that drinking more water results in less water retention but it really works that way.
The total cholesterol, and particularly the LDL, are great but the general rule for women is an HDL over 60. Not sure what the guidelines are when pg though since there's other stuff going on (fats are essential for baby brains to grow properly for instance plus you've got this whole other person's metabolism to deal with).
--Deb
I know when my carpal tunnel was acting up the doctor and pharmacist both said that water retention could really make that worse.
I always knew that water was good for you, but I'm really starting to realize just how good.
~Misty~
Misty,
Your HDL is the one that is so hard to get up and your's is right where you want it to be. Congratulations. I exercise 4-5 times per week and can't get it up to the 45 level. So frustrating. All my other numbers are wonderful because I am on both Zetia and Lipitor. I used to love to eat grapefruit, especially pink ones from Florida but because of the Lipitor I can't have them anymore.
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