Pre Eclampsia - I Has It

Hi All! Sorry to have been MIA - just have kind of been on a whirlwind of emotions that has to do with the title of this post.

At my 27.5 week appointment, I thought it was going to be a normal run of the mill appointment. Go to Dr. appointment, get told my blood pressure was a little high, hear Dude's heartbeat get sent home. Guess what? It didn't go that way.

Apparently the first blood pressure taken was so high they wouldn't even tell me the numbers. After the doctor came in and listened to the heart beat, he took it again and said it was still on the high side and sent me to triage (kind of like the ER for pregnant ladies) for a few hours to do rolling blood pressures. He told me he didn't think anything was wrong, but he wanted to be sure.

When I got to triage they hooked me up on all kinds of monitors and had my blood pressures taken. I was pulling high numbers - I was stressed out. They took blood to make sure my liver and kidneys were still functioning properly and took a pee sample to look at the protein levels.

The blood tests turned out fine, but the pee test showed my proteins were up to about 280. The cut off for pre eclampsia is 300. Due to the high blood pressure numbers I was pulling in triage (160s and 180s/80s) I won the prize of a night stay in the hospital. I had never stayed in the hospital overnight before so I freaked out a little bit more.

I did a 24 hour urine sample in the hospital and had my blood pressures taken every 4 hours. The BP came down significantly - in the 120/130 and a few in the 140 range, but the pee test came back at 320, so the diagnosis of pre eclampsia was given.

I was scared to be diagnosed so early. All I kept thinking was that I was going to have a premature baby at 28 weeks, which is terrifying. However, they said my condition was mild, but it could turn around at anytime.

Things I have to be mindful of:

1. Spots in front of my eyes (Can I tell you how many "spots" I think I see now? I'm almost positive I see them when I turn my head and come to find it is just a bug. I talked to my doctor about it and he said that those spots are normal - I'm sure he thinks I'm psycho)
2. Pain in my upper right quadrant (I have this all of the time on my right and left sides - especially when Dude is in my rib cage)
3. Headaches that are severe or don't go away (Want to know how many phantom headaches I have a day? Don't ask)
4. Nausea or vomiting (another symptom I've been having when Dude is doing back flips in my belly)

So ya, give a hypochondriac (me) a list of symptoms and I swear I have them all and that I'm going to die. My only saving grace is my blood pressure machine at home. I take it about 3 times a day (sometimes more because I'm a little obsessed with it) and record my pressures. They are almost never high when I'm at home which is a relief.

I guess I'm kind of on a modified bed rest. I don't really go anywhere except places where I know I can sit and much walking isn't involved and I work from home 4 out of 5 days a week now. Seems to be working.

I've went from 2 appointments a week back down to one since my BP on Tuesday was 122/60 and my proteins came back negative on the dip test (I had another 24 urine same the week before and levels were only up 30 points), so I'm feeling a little better. Although the terms "seizure" "stroke" and "premature baby" still tend to haunt me.

But for now, I guess I'm holding steady. I've had this for almost 4 weeks now and in 1 day, I will be 31 weeks pregnant. No blood pressure meds and no full bed rest. If Dude can hold out for at least 3 more weeks, I will be ecstatic - although I know he needs to cook longer than that.

Oh, and I have a new "due" date too. Since they won't let me go past 37 weeks, looks like I'm having the baby no later than May 19th. Yes, I'm having a baby next month. Four days after my 30th birthday to be exact.

Sounds like the best birthday present ever to me. Let's just keep praying for 37 weeks.