High blood pressure at 38 weeks?

I have three times had a high blood pressure reading over my pregnancy, which then went back to normal. I have no history of high blood pressure prior to pregnancy, but I am 38 and on my first pregnancy which puts me at a higher risk for preeclampsia. There was no more than trace amounts of protein in my urine and the extra blood tests ordered at 26 weeks also came back negative. I've been using a home monitor for my blood pressure and last night I felt wierd and tested and I am coming back high again. This time the lower number is staying consistently over 100. The upper number started over 160 and has now come down to the 140s. I have been vomiting about 3 to 4 times a week from heartburn and I am having circulation issues in my wrists and legs. I hate to be one of those people who goes to the hospital on a false alarm, but I am beginning to feel I should head over and be checked out. Anyone else had this expereince? What advice can you give me?

If your blood pressure is consistently above 140 systolic or 90 diastolic, you need to be evaluated ASAP. Call your doctor - even on weekends they have an answering service and will have the on-call doc call you at home. Or just go to your hospital L&D for evaluation. This is not something to take lightly and figure it can wait. Especially if you're having other symptoms like nausea, a heartburn-like pain in the upper right quadrant of the stomach / ribs, etc.

Better to have a false alarm (or two or even three) than to ignore a potentially life-threatening condition, which preeclampsia can quickly become if ignored.

Yeah, you need to go to the hospital or call the doctor. Even trace amounts of protein and one high blood pressure reading can be preeclampsia. Your doctor's an idiot if they are just ignoring all these signs. I'd definitely say to go to the hospital, and the ladies up on the L&D floor are SO used to seeing girls in & out of there, they won't make fun of you, I promise. :) It's very normal for women to go up there for every little thing, and this is serious, so you need to get checked out. They'd probably deliver the baby if your numbers are high when you get there. Good luck & congratulations!

I have a medical question for you.... are you eating anything that would cause you to have high blood pressure such as sausage, salt, etc.?

Just as a precaution I would go to your doc and ask to be checked out, but during my first pregnancy I had high blood pressure towards the end..... it was from eating so much sausage, lol..... I stopped eating it and it went down within 2-3 days.

Good Luck, and I agree with the others..... better safe than sorry.

38 weeks is very late in the pregnancy to be messing around. Nobody knows your body better than you and if you feel the need to go in you should go in! 38 weeks is not to early to have a baby either, so if they keep you there to monitor you for a while don't be surprised!

you can never go wrong by calling the doc.... this doesn't sound good... (like you said... preclampsia possibly?)

higher bp in pregnancy is normal... it's really really good that you are staying on top of it... but i really think you might want to call to be sure that they don't need to do something.

i wud say....better safe than sorry!!!
u now wats imp for u...!!
wat else r the docs for...??
bp is not a very good thing to ignore....let them chk u out!!!
n above all...it will make u feel better..!!!