High Blood Pressure When Standing

[icesktr189]

Even since my dx of POTS my bp has ALWAYS been super low. But now since birth i stand and its around 139/90 but my pulse is at 70's. This is all turned around for me! is this dangerous? i have had it this high for the past week now but i still feel kind of dizzy at times so im not sure if its dropping low then going high. but every time i check it its at that number. However when i am laying down its around 110/60

[bizbiz]

I was told that it is actually quite common for a lot of women to get transient hypertension after giving birth, and for a very small percentage of these women it becomes permanent.

After giving birth there are so many changes in the body in terms of blood volume and blood flow, and I think it just takes a while for the body to adjust again.

I was still undiagnosed during my pregnancy and my body crashed immediatly after birth, and it was only then that I was eventually diagnosed. After labour my BP was very low and would drop even lower on standing (cant recall the exact numbers), but I do remember that there were a few times when they would check my BP and it would be 150/90. Now it is pretty consistantly low-ish (90/60).

I hope apart from that you and the baby are doing well!

[icesktr189]

oh so do you mean its not just POTS patients?

i actually feel better because during pregnancy especially last trimester my bp was crazy and my pulse was always over 100 even laying down. But i am worried im going to crash any day now.. and i have never dealt with high blood pressure for more than a day or two. Should i most likely not go back on midodrine?

[bizbiz]

Thats right, it was normal (otherwise) healthy women who were suddenly getting high BP after birth. It was actually a nurse / midwife who told me this, and my dad also found the same thing out while doing some research.

You would have to speak to your doctor about the midodrine, but I dont think given your high BP it would be such a good idea at the moment.

[Nikki]

My blood pressure goes all over the place..It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing. I think I just get days when it's low, and days when it's higher. Just last week my BP was low one day (like 85/53), I turned over to my other side and it shot up to 120/90. I don't really understand it to be honest. When I was taking Florinef, my spikes would be super high (like 140/120 - that's while I was just laying down) so I had to stop taking it. A normal blood pressure for me is usually 110/70-ish. There are times when the bottom number is 80 or 90, which is high for me..but my guess is if our autonomic nervous system is messed up, it can probably fluctuate either way. I'd definitely see what your doctor has to say about it though.

[abbriggs]

My BP has stayed high when standing after the birth of my daughter 3 years ago. The only plus side of having it high is you don't pass out anymore.

[MomtoGiuliana]

It may take awhile for your bp to normalize as others have said. Fluid readjustment will be occuring over the coming weeks as your hormones adjust. For me, high bp on standing can be a sign that I am dehydrated. I realize that sounds counter-intuitive. However, I find that drinking some extra fluid will bring both my hr and bp down.