Hello! Looking for info. I'm 9w3d in my first pregnancy with pre-existing Stage 1 hypertension for several years. It was normalized on olmesartan, which is not pregnancy safe. I switched to nifedipine 60mg ER and while it keeps my systolic pressure to 115-125, my diastolic before and during the first trimester has been 85-95, which is "call your doc" territory now that I’m pregnant. I did a 2nd visit to cardiology and they added labetalol 100mg 2x/day and I'm 12 days into a <2,300mg sodium diet now (from easily 5,000), which again puts my sys at 110-125 and keeps my diastolic around 85-90 - still too close.

The cardiologist put the fear of God into me - said my risk of preeclampsia is now a coin flip, "it's good I have a second embryo", prepare for a NICU baby, and I'm maxed out on the meds I can take right now. I've been hoping that the diet changes will let me get off one of these two drugs in the next 4 weeks so I have some room to grow into higher blood pressure, but I'm not sure it's going to be possible based on how it's working so far. My next cardiology follow-up is at 25 weeks, which is really long to wait.

One other thing - I'm 210lbs at 5'4, over 45, IVF, and this is a first pregnancy. Working to get to first OB appt in two weeks, and already in contact with MFM too (did a consult pre-FET).

One of my closest friends AND a cousin both had HELLP so I'm familiar with how risky this all can be.

A few questions:

- is this a reason for medical termination if I can't get this under control in the next 4-6 weeks, given all my risk factors? I'm not so willing to trade my life for a child or to be right at 90 for the next 6 months. I also have personal reasons why a very early NICU baby would be very difficult for me to manage (another family member I care for has significant challenges).

- if I do get my diastolic lower in the next couple weeks, say like to 80 generally, is the damage to the placenta etc already done so I'm still at the same risk?

- Is there a pre-eclampsia expert out there I could ask these things to? This may be my only shot, given my age.

Thanks so much for your thoughts.

Hello! I am 7w6d with a pre-existing hypertension diagnosis. I’ve been on 60 MG of nifedipine for about six months since starting IVF and I don’t think it does as good a job controlling my blood pressure as other meds do. The last few days my numbers have been in the 120s and low 130s, which seems fine from a gestational hypertension perspective, but my diastolic pressure has been in the high 80s and sometimes even over 90. I keep seeing to go in to labor and delivery with that diastolic, but I am still 3 weeks from a first appointment with my OB/GYN and the IVF clinic doesn’t seem to have a role in this (they never take my blood pressure). I did have consult with a cardiologist and MFM doctor at the outset months ago. Should I be calling someone about this?

My family member got a kidney transplant several years ago, but has always struggled to drink enough, maybe in part due to swallowing issues after her surgery. She’s probably at half to 1/3 of what she needs. Yelling at her to drink more does not seem to be working.

Has anyone’s doctor ever prescribed IV fluids on a weekly basis in this kind of scenario, or even a feeding tube that would let her at least get hydration?

More than half of biotech and pharma job seekers have been looking for their next opportunity for six months or longer, and more than a quarter have searched for over a year, according to a BioSpace LinkedIn poll. Job seekers share their frustrations.

Biopharma professionals hoping to get hired quickly probably need to be patient—and some of them very, very patient. A BioSpace LinkedIn poll this month found that 53% of respondents who are job hunting have been at it for at least six months and 27% for one year or longer.