Does anyone here have high blood pressure?

[drloretta]

DH does. He saw his family doctor for it. Can't remember what he's taking, maybe Diovan. It has gotten his BP back into the normal range, and pretty quickly.

I'm pretty sure they typically start with diuretics and move from there.

[luvmagoldn]

I started meds for HBP when pg with #3. We assumed it was pregnancy induced but it did not go down after delivery. Almost four years later is still hasn't come down.

My OB then assumed I'd had high BP for a while but it was undetected. I saw a cardiologist who ran some tests to make sure I didn't have any undetected damage to worry about (I didn't). I've been on meds ever since.

I am currently taking Spironolactone and it seems to work fine. But I am hoping once I get these extra pounds off I will be able to drop the meds altogether. Fingers crossed!

[orangeblossom]

I do. I've had it since I was 27. They initially thought it was due to the tremendous amount of stress I was under, but alas it was just me. It is likely I will never be off meds.

I've been on several meds, as it's been hard to control mine. Lotrel worked well for awhile, but it's not baby friendly I switched to methyldopa (aldomet). Since I haven't been successful in making a baby, I switched to one I didn't have to take three times a day. I'm on nifedipine right now, but will have to switch to a pregnancy-friendly drug if I were to get pregnant.

Good luck with getting your BP under control.

[luvmagoldn]

I was on methyldopa when pg and bf.

[krystee]

I do, and it didn't budge when I lost a lot of weight, so I guess it's here to stay. I take triamterene, but am transitioning to methyldopa because it's pregnancy safe and we plan to have kids soon.

[Deleted]

My BP went up during delivery w/ DD1. They almost didn't let me leave the hospital, but it came down enough and they monitored it to like 6 weeks. W/ DD2/3 it went up the end of pregnancy and even more during delivery. My heart rate also went up really high, like high enough they would have my heart rate on the monitor instead of one of the girls. We even did an EKG at one point I was in the hospital and everything was fine, my heart rate was just high. Anyway, post delivery again it stayed up, they wanted to keep me, I told them it woudl be fine, they let me leave w/ it even higher than before since I had done it before and it came back down. It took a good 3 or 4 months for it to come back down, and it's been down ever since (they are 3 now). So definitely go see a PCP and get some meds for now if you need to, but hopefully you are just slower to recover and it will still come down for you.

[Redpoppy]

Labetalol is safe for breastfeeding. I've since switched back to Toprol.

[Pom]

In my 30's, I was put on atenolol and lisinopril.

[mcsangel2]

I was on Diovan 80mg for 5 years, following a really bad cough that did no go away, causing my bp to skyrocket over a period of one month. I finally asked my current pcp last year if I could go off it, and I did. After 3 months (once it was out of my system), my bp started creeping up again. But then I started a diet at that point, and then after a couple more months, it dropped back to a healthy range and it has stayed there ever since. I dropped 40 pounds.

[kimibrighteyes]

The high blood pressure from pregnancy can last for 12 weeks postpartum, so it could still be from the pregnancy. I don't label someone with chronic hypertension until at least 3 months have passed.

[emilythorne]

I had the extact same thing happen. No problems pre-pregnancy, preg. induced hypertension and it continued post partum. I was turned over to my primary care physician and she continued me on Labetalol.

I am now pregnant with my second and so far the Labetalol is keeping things in check.

Go see your primary doctor and they will give you the best course of treatment. My doctor did say that it may go away with weight loss, but she also has 105 lb. patients that get it and it never goes away.

[Susie]

My mom has had hypertension for years; she just sees a PCP to monitor it and get her Rx's. I don't know what she takes for it now.

Mine is still like 90/60. I so hope it stays there.

[FloFTW]

I had HELLP with both my pregnancies. It took a good while for my blood pressure to come down after my first. I wouldn't lose hope that it will come down yet. And the good news is, it can be treated fairly well with medication now. Start seeing your PCP about it if you are concerned- it couldn't hurt! Good luck!

[StJess80]

Yes, but only because of my adhd meds. I take bystolic.

[everam01]

I had PIH and had to take labetelol for 10 weeks postpartum but was able to wean off.

[dcrunnergirl]

My BP was fine my whole pregnancy until I hit 36w, and then it spiked, and I started spilling proteins at 36w2d. I delivered at 36w4d due to my rising BP and increasing proteins. Immediately after birth, the dr. prescribed labetol, and it took 8-10w before it got to a level where he was comfortable taking me off the meds. And even then, my BP was still high for me.

It didn't get down to my normal lowish levels until about 9 months post-partum, when I was really running a lot and had lost some weight. I'm not sure if it was the running/weight loss that made it come down or passing of time, but all my dr's said that this was fairly normal after having high BP at the end of pregnancy.

[scorpio72]

I have it and it's similar to what you went through.

Mine was low until I got pg. I got PIH with my DDs but it went down after each was born and I wasn't on medication at that point. I got pre-e with my son and my bp has stayed high since then.

I am now on a low dose of Norvasc which seems to be controlling it well. I have no other risk factors (normal weight, exercise 5x week, fairly good diet) for high bp.

It runs in my family so for me it's genetics and I'll most likely have to be on meds for the foreseable future.