Anyone taken labetalol for high bp and got side effects?

[anchovies]

I am 13 weeks tomorrow and have been feeling sick since about 6 weeks but have only actaully been sick about once or twice a day. I started labetalol (100mg twice a day) last week after having my first 2 days without feeling too sick but have now gone back to feeling and being very sick. I have a constant headache that paracetamol doesn't shift and am sick every time I eat (before was sick when I didn't eat.)

Can't get hold of my midwife and the bp consultants clinic is this afternoon so need to decide quickly if it's related?

[wheelybug]

I took it in the very late stages of pregnancy - at about 37 weeks when my bp shot up but I also had to deliver my dd as she had stopped growing so wasn't on it for very long whilst pregnant IYSWIM. I did stay on it for a few weeks after giving birth though.

I had no side effects that I was aware of (obviously wasn't feeling my best anyway !) and no sickness or headaches (and i'm pretty prone to headaches).

[Seabright]

I've been taking it for a week, and felt awful - shakey & sicky but without being sick.

I had a rotten cold last week too, so it wasn't until yesterday that it dawned on me that it might be the Labetalol, not the cold or the pregnancy.

Anyway, I have stopped taking today to see if I feel better, which I do - not 100%, but better. Now I've got decide whether to keep taking it or not.

[EyeballsintheSky]

I'm on it and have been since dd's birth 9 weeks ago. I sometimes feel very sick but the worst thing is that I can sometimes feel the blood running round my arms and legs, have felt like my arms were going to explode some nights.

I'm not allowed to stop taking it as my bp is still really high - never had high bp when I was pg so not too happy now as it looks like being a long term problem

[anchovies]

Thanks for the replies. Have left a message on my midwife's mobile, hopefully she will confirm what is going on. Is it ok to stop taking it for a day then? I was a bit worried as it said on the box to not stop taking it unless the doctor says it's ok or whatever. Am very tempted to stop to see whether it is whats making me feel so shocking.

Poor you eyeballs that sounds awful but just to let you know it took 3 months at the end of pg1 for my bp to go back to normal and although it's not been great since I've not needed any medication since or for pg2 and it's only now it's gone back up again and they've put me back on medication.

[madmumNika]

anchovies- I did get some headaches while on labetalol but this was after DS was delivered due to severe pre-eclampsia so I wasn't pregnant at the time. The headaches were apparently not a side-effect and were actually due to my BP still being too high, so they had to increase the dose. I did however get strange tingling sensations in my extremities and especially scalp, which weren't pleasant but are a common side-effect.

Eyeballs- after each of my pregnancies (which both ended with pre-eclampsia causing early delivery of my babies) I was on BP meds due to high BP and after pregnancy #1 it took 3.5 months to return to 'normal' range and even then it was still high for me, but could come off BP meds (well, weaned off gradually). After pregnancy #2 it took just under 5 months for my BP to come down but now it is fine (although more 'labile' than before, i.e. it can go high easily, but is usually fine). So please don't worry too much- PE does really nasty things to your body and it will take quite a time before things return to normal (some ladies say up to a year). I hope your BP does come down soon. Have you been on the APEC (Action on Pre-eclampsia) forum? It's very good for all aspects of PE/after-effects etc.- see: www.apec.org.uk/forum/ Huge hugs.

Good luck anchovies with the rest of your pregnancy xx