Yesterday, I woke up still swollen. My feet actually hurt from it after getting a full night's sleep (for once - it was awesome!). That was with cramming myself into support stockings before my feet hit the ground. Not good. Since my face and hands looked a little puffy, I figured it would be a good idea to check my blood pressure, just in case. Walmart's (questionable) bp stand registered it at 145/89. Since I've been sitting at 120/78 lately, this was not a good number. Checked it periodically over the next hour or so, then when it declined a little, the Jeremelon and I decided it would be best to go home and rest. I was feeling sorta woozy and shocky, like I had a fever, but I put it down to the sinus infection and maybe the antibiotics I just started taking for it. (Quick aside: Eight months of pregnancy and no sinus infection until the end. May seem like crappy luck, but I gotta say, *no sinus infection for eight months!!* This is a record in the last couple of years, so I'm excited!) Got another full night's sleep, and felt much better when I woke up.
I went to my 36-week OB appointment at 1, where I got to be hooked up to a fetal monitor for a basic non-stress test, which I've been having to do since they determined the Berrykin might not be growing appropriately. Berrykin decided it would be fun to be a total and complete pill. They have to see a certain number of readings in order to call the test "good," and Berrykin moved through every single necessary space. Enough to vanish off the monitor. Every. Time. Over a good half an hour. Annoying! So, since the baby wouldn't cooperate, I had a quick biophysical profile ultrasound to ensure Berrykin was doing what was necessary. Heart was fine, movement was fine, and Berrykin was breathing regularly (apparently that was a big thing - the doc said it's the last thing they do as they develop, and my wee Berrykin is already doing it regularly at 36 weeks, which she seemed to think impressive). The doc also checked my amniotic fluid, and thought it was a tad low. So I had to move up my next growth ultrasound to Tuesday, and we left with instructions that I need to rest and drink lots of fluids over the weekend. Check. We headed to Sonic for a cool-off drink, then went home.
Where there was a message from the doc's assistant to ask me to please come back so they could recheck my blood pressure. I was sure, given the problem yesterday, that they were going to tell me I had pre-eclampsia. But, knowing I might be diagnosed made me more relieved than scared. If I had it, I wouldn't have to worry about getting it anymore. They rechecked me, I was sitting at about 140/82. Borderline hypertension, which can be an indicator for pre-eclampsia (PE, by the way, is pretty much random, sudden elevation of blood pressure that can cause premature labor, stroke, seizure, and death for mommy and baby). So they admitted me to L&D.
We were there just under three hours. They took my blood, checked my urine for spilled protein, and hooked me up to another fetal monitor and an automated bp machine. Jeremelon and I sat there for two hours and watched NCIS with the baby's galloping heartbeat for background noise. It was a weird experience for me, as I've never been in a hospital before for me. I've visited a couple of times, but that's it. Being the patient was...yeah, weird. Disconcerting. All of my labs came back just fine, my blood pressure gradually decreased, and they discharged me. (The nurse said cheerfully, "I just want you to know, you're about to leave L&D without taking off your pants. That's a rare thing!") Again with the instructions to relax, take it easy, and drink lots of fluids.
Now if only I didn't have three papers and a powerpoint presentation to put together...
No comments:
Post a Comment