This whole pregnancy my doctor has had me on close watch, seeing as I developed preeclampsia w/Jovi and was diagnosed w/hypertension after delivery.
Because I had high blood pressure w/Jovi, this pregnancy has been a high risk pregnancy, and my doctor has had me on careful watch. Sometimes my blood pressure is higher than others, but bottom line whenever it jumps (even in the slightest), I've been on careful watch.
I'm grateful to have such a great team of doctors & nurses behind me, but man is it nerve wracking!
We've been playing this game of "Oh you have high blood pressure," and "Oh you don't have high blood pressure now." It's been a matter of ups and downs, highs and lows.
I've been high risk this entire time, and unlike others, I go quite often to the doctor's office. Thank goodness I love my OBGYN and all his staff! Seriously :)
Normally one's doctor's visits are 6 weeks apart (in the beginning). Mine were days apart (in the beginning) and then I eventually got to 3-4 weeks apart. Which was nice. Mine were getting further & further spaced out, while other's were getting closer & closer together.
And then my blood pressure kinda spiked again.
And I've been seeing my doctor at least every two weeks since.
I saw my doctor last Monday (03/23) NOT for a normal OB visit. It was to check my blood pressure. It ended up being recorded as 163/91, by the nurse…. Except when my visit w/Dr. Allen was all said & done, my doctor re-took my blood pressure TWICE, and it was a lot lower... Happens all the time.
After last week's visit, my doctor recommended we do the ever so dreaded 24 hour urine analysis. I had to do this before w/Jovi (twice actually), and it's just not fun. It's the most annoying 24 hours of your life, and you really can't leave your house while doing this, because you have to urinate in a huge jug every time you use the restroom. You also have to keep said jug on cold ice, or in a refrigerated area at all times. Soooo it makes things impossible for leaving the house. Nuff said about that.
Yesterday, (Monday, March 30th, 2015) my doctor wanted to visit w/me again, and have me drop off 24 hour urine analysis and have blood work done. My blood pressure was only recorded as 142/80, so that was better! And after visiting w/my doctor, he felt things were looking up... So did I. Except I always knew of the major possibility of preeclampsia sneaking back up on me. It has it's way of doing that, as we have seen before w/my previous pregnancy w/Jovi.
Side note: When I was pregnant w/Jovi, they thought I had preeclampsia in my 2nd trimester, so they had me do a 24 hour urine analysis at like 20-22 weeks. They didn't find anything. My blood pressure kept increasing though, little by little, and they had me do another 24 hour urine analysis right at 37 weeks, and that's when I received the phone call that I had preeclampsia and that we'd be induced that night.
At the close of my doctor's visit yesterday, Dr. Allen said that if things kept going the way they were (meaning my blood pressure staying in the range that it was recorded, as of late), then I'd be okay to carry baby #2 through 39 weeks and NOT be diagnosed w/preeclampsia. I was hopeful that'd be the case, and that nothing would show up in my urine analysis. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
BTW any doctor won't let you carry past 39 weeks, having have had a C-Section prior. They want to avoid uterine rupture, so that's why I say carry through 39 weeks :)
I received a very upsetting phone call this afternoon. Anything above 300 is considered to be preeclampsia. My levels were only at 315, but still- Over 300. I was told at last week's appointment, that a severe case of preeclampsia, would mean your levels are at 5,000 (so it's a bit extreme). Mine have yet to be that high, but I was reminded again today, over the phone, that a severe case of preeclampsia, can put you at having your baby as early as 33 weeks. If that were to happen, they would give steroid injection shots to help make baby's lungs stronger, to avoid less NICU time. Yeah- scary. And not fun.
When my doctor told me that last week, I mildly freaked out (one) because Jake wasn't w/me to hear that news. My mom and sister were w/me instead. And (two) we are no where near ready. Now, there isn't AS much to do for this baby, as there was w/Jovi. She already has plenty of baby soaps, lotions, towels, clothes, etc. We just need to get Jovi's toddler converter car seat, and that's a bit of an expense that we're just not financially ready for right now. Once we purchase that, we'll be able to wash and get Jovi's infant car seat ready for Miss P to use, once she's finally here. We still need to purchase baby detergent & wash all the newborn clothes, blankets, etc. So there's a bit of a to-do list, and all can definitely be done in the next couple of weeks IF needed, but I still was not ready to hear that news alone w/o my spouse by my side. It was a lot to swallow, knowing I was just 2-3 weeks away from that, if I was diagnosed w/severe preeclampsia.
Now, my doctor doesn't think my levels will ever reach that high (5,000) BUT he also didn't think anything would show up in my 24 hour urine analysis over the weekend, either, so this has me a little worried & thinking that this pregnancy can throw us for a loop at any time. Hello- read previous post about my ups & downs during the first trimester.
Back to today's phone call: I was asked to be on bed rest until further instruction from my doctor. (He was off today, so I had another doctor reading my results.) I will meet w/my doctor again on Monday, and every week after that, as well as have an ultrasound done weekly, and NSTs twice a week. (Which is sucky, because during yesterday's appointment, my doctor was thinking I'd be okay to only see him every OTHER week, and have NSTs done every OTHER week, as well).
Welcome to high risk pregnancy- I will see Dr. Allen every Monday (until delivery), have NSTs done every Tuesday & Wednesday, as well as an ultrasound. I'm excited to see our baby girl on TV every week, and to see/hear her sweet little movements on the NST charts, but I know all these expenses add up. It's so important to have all these tests done though. And I know it. After being on the phone w/the nurse for so long today (asking question after question), I realize my health and Miss P's health is at risk, if this is not done & monitored properly. When one has high blood pressure, it effects your kidneys. If my kidneys aren't functioning properly (or at all), then that effects me going to the bathroom and the amniotic fluid. It can also effect baby's kidneys and she can end up w/kidney failure upon birth. I also can end up w/kidney failure and that just aint good. If I don't get this whole blood pressure thing under control, it can have long term effects on my body later, and it'll all go back to previous pregnancies. Not that I (or anyone else) has any control of BP but it definitely has me worried and being on bed rest doesn't help. It just makes me sit here and think. A lot.
The NSTs help Dr. Allen see baby's heart rate (a wide range), and it also helps track her movement. Because I'm 31.5 weeks, they realize there won't be a ton of movement from baby, but there should be a certain amount at this point in time, and that's what they're trying to track, as well as her heart rate. Her heart rate has always been in a good range (140s), and my doctor has never once been worried, but he just wants to monitor it closely, especially if/when my blood pressure rises. My BP has a lot of effect on baby. It makes me so nervous.
I'm also measuring about a week ahead, due to the amount of amniotic fluid I have. Doctor said it's normal to be about a week off schedule. If I start to measure closer to 3 weeks ahead, he'll look at a few different things, but for now, he doesn't count my measurement- He's still going off calendar date and basically ignoring the fact that I'm measuring about a week ahead. (Fun fact: At my 20 week ultrasound, I was measuring about 18 oz. of amniotic fluid, when normally you should be measuring about 11 oz. of amniotic fluid. I have almost double, so that makes me look and feel even further along than I actually am. Fun, right?!?!)
For now, I remain on bed rest until I meet w/my doctor on Monday. He will then decide to what extend I can/can't do things. I'm anxious this pregnancy and have now come to terms that it is preeclampsia (something I always thought would come back, regardless what I did to try to prevent it from returning). We now know for sure Miss P will be here as early as 37 weeks (mid May), and possibly sooner, depending on the severity of my preeclampsia. We'll be doing 24 hour urine analysis every week, to help determine my range of preeclampsia.
Let's hope & pray it stays in the 315 range it's in :)
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