Staying calm - high blood pressure

What have your readings been? Please no, that it's normal and ok for blood pressure to fluctuate throughout the day, especially when nervous, anxious, being active etc. As long as it shows that it comes down when you're more relaxed. Try and practice relaxation techniques throughout the day when you can which can help lower it

@Iona thanks for your reply. At its highest it was 150/83, but has come down to 138/85 which is obviously much better. Checking it on the nhs website it says it’s still classed as ‘high’, but hasn’t been consistently high throughout the day.

Do you know what your normal is before pregnancy? Sounds like you've got a lot going on so your blood pressure is likely to change but where you can rest and relax and it should come down. I found a massive difference in mine lying down vs sitting up.

@Ruth I actually have no clue what it was before pregnancy. Maybe I can find reading from my booking appointment in my notes to compare!

It’s difficult, I’m on labetalol for my blood pressure and I still get some high readings even at home because I stress about it. They are always much higher in the hospital. The instructions I’ve been given by my GP before is to sit down for 10 minutes with a glass of water and then take 3 readings a couple of minutes apart. Otherwise deep breathing can help

@Stephanie thanks for sharing your experience. At what point did they worry about your readings?

Hi! I’m also being monitored for my blood pressure. I light some candles and have my comfort show on in the background. I do breathing exercises for a few minutes and then just close my eyes and listen to my comfort show. This has worked for me.

They don’t want it sustained over 140/90 but ideally 135/85 or below when I’m resting at home. I’ve been on medication in both my pregnancies since 16 weeks as my blood pressure is already slightly elevated and just goes up in pregnancy.

I've been told as long as it's under 130/90 then theyre not concerned r.e bp. I only required labetalol when I was consistently getting readings over this.

Thanks all for your advice! I was admitted to hospital on Thursday evening as BP was 165/91 and wouldn’t come down. Have now been prescribed labetalol until C-section. So far it’s managing it well 🤞🏽