Going in the right direction finally!

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for your support and advice, especially from those of you who have been here before. It is immeasurable!

Great news. I got the call from my OBs office, and my protein has actually gone down to 180 from 265ish! 300 ml is the cutoff for a preeclampsia diagnosis, so this is fantastic news. I've been monitoring my BP at home, and it has stayed in the mid 130s over upper 70s/lower 80s for the past 24 hours. Excellent, excellent so far. I am "under control" for now. Just at least another 3 more weeks!

The meds are still wiping me out some. I seem to fall asleep about an hour or two after each dose for at least 90 minutes to 2 hours. But it is better than that second day I took them when I ended up sleeping most of the day away -- 2 hour nap, 4 hour nap, and then going to bed early still! I guess this is what it is like "getting used to them."

My OB says that the meds "won't work like this forever," because at some point my body will adjust to them and my BP is going to go up. But if it can last for at least 3 weeks that will bring us to the 34-week mark (as we hit the 31-week mark yesterday). That is our goal!

So until that time, I'm still on strict bedrest, and I go back to the OBs office on Wednesday with another 24-hour collection.

Better but wiped out.

Yesterday, I went to my primary care doctor for an EKG and to get my BP checked. It was actually 138/82! The lowest it has been this whole time. My EKG came back normal, yay, and my doc doesn't think it is underlying chronic hypertension. That's not to say that I may not develop chronic hypertension after this pregnancy.

Went back to my OBGYN today, and my BP was 144/84. He was pleased that it is somewhat down again, even if it is still a bit high. He talked to his colleague at the Baylor High Risk unit, and unless my BP jumps up quickly again, he agrees that we are on the right course of action.

I dropped off my 24-hour urine again this morning, and I"m keeping my fingers crossed that my protein is stable or creeps JUST a bit, nothing drastic. It was in the upper-mid 200s last week, and 300 ml is the cutoff for toxemia. I'm VERY anxious to see what those results are.

However, for now, this meds increase is kicking my butt hard. I'm exhausted all the time, and I even took a 3 hour nap yesterday AND went to bed early. I talked to both docs, and sedation is a side effect, but man, it really is wiping me out. I'm barely holding my head up as I type this, and it is only 9:35 AM. I'm off to take a nap after this.

Unfortunately, according to my doc, the meds will only work for so long until they have to go to the next step which is either additional meds, change in meds, or worst case IV medication with hospital bedrest. I just hope we can keep them going for a while.

We are at 31 weeks tomorrow - yay! Bought another week at least. We'll see what the protein shows tomorrow. At least that will give me a gauge as to how the toxemia is developing. If nothing dramatic happens in the meantime, my next appointment is one week from today.

Off to sleep...again...

Tired of this...

Got to the doctor's office this afternoon. BP was 178/110. Obviously way too high. My doc tripled my medication - 500 mg 3 times a day instead of 250 mg 2 times a day. Also, I have an appointment scheduled with my primary doctor (internal medicine) for an EKG and cardiac workup. My OBGYN wants to rule out any chronic heart problem developing before he sends me downtown to the high-risk clinic. I'm just so tired of this already...

Going down the hill...

I swear this past week has been like a roller coaster. I've been on pretty strict bedrest since Friday morning with the only exceptions being to go to the bathroom, shower, and to have meals with the family.

Even with that, I've been watching my blood pressures creep up every day since I've been home monitoring them. Friday, they were in the upper 140s/mid 80s range like the day before. Saturday, they were in the low to mid 150s/mid 80s range. Yesterday, they were in the upper 150s/low 90s range. Last night, after laying on my left side for 3 hours, it was 161/92. This morning when I woke up, it was 167/96. Needless to say, I called my doctor's office first thing in the morning, as I know that they consider 140/80 to be "severe."

Also, I had a very weird episode last night that concerns me because I'm not sure what it was. I woke up around 1:30 AM with my heart racing and having trouble breathing. I felt like I was breathing so heavily and so loud and didn't stop until I finally sat up on the side of my bed. It was only then that I was able to catch my breath finally. I've never had a panic attack before, but I can only assume that is what it was like. Can you have panic attacks while you sleep (I don't remember having a dream at that time.).

Anyway, I have to go back to the doctor's office in about 90 minutes to see what is going on since he was hoping that we would be able to be stable for at least a week (Thursday). Guess not.

Flying high with smiles right now!

I'm smiling so huge right now.

First we did the ultrasound. She is looking great and measuring actually a week ahead (31 weeks) in terms of size. She is already 3 lb 12 oz big! Our worry that having PIH would cause the growth restriction hasn't happened, at least not yet. Her heart is nice and strong.

Then, my doctor came in. My BP actually dropped to 148/86 (which is still high for pregnancy, but a HUGE drop for me since yesterday). He thinks the medication has finally kicked in. My protein urine test came back on the high-end of normal, but normal nonetheless. The fact that the meds finally kicked in means I don't have to be sent downtown to the High Risk Clinic.

So, he still thinks I will most likely develop preeclampsia, but for now we are safe and sound. If I don't develop any other symptoms of preeclampsia or preterm labor in between visits, I have to do the 24-hour urine collection every Wednesday and see him every Thursday morning to drop it off and get checked out. If my protein gets too high, then I will likely be admitted that Friday for delivery.

I'm flying so high right now. We are week-to-week right now, but at least I got another week! I'm still on bedrest but he gave me "approval" to pick the kids up from camp every day so that DH doesn't have to do it. This news is better than I could have expected, much better!!!

She's not ready yet!

I just got back from my OBGYN appt. My BP was still 170/100, which is considered "severe" hypertension even on the medication and bedrest for the past two days. I did the 24-hour urine collection thing, and the results should be coming back tomorrow. Also, I have an ultrasound tomorrow because they want to see how big the baby is because PIH is known to cause IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction).

I asked my doctor for best and worst case scenarios just so I know what I'm dealing with, and he has three scenarios which we may be dealing with.
1. Worst case is that my 24-hour urine comes back showing more than 1 g of protein, which means I have preeclampsia. If that is the case, then it is immediately delivery of the baby. TOMORROW! I'm only going to be 30 weeks tomorrow! She's not ready yet.
2. Middle scenario is that I have the early stages of pre-clampsia, which means I will be visiting with him every 2 to 3 days to be checked and be on "strict" bedrest (as opposed to moderate) because he thinks toxemia is a very strong possibility in the near future. As soon as that develops, then delivery.
3. Best case scenario. That I may have underlying chronic hypertension (even though I never had signs of it before, my dad and brother do have high blood pressure) that is now coming out due to the pregnancy. If that is the case, I will still visit with him every 2 to 3 days and be on strict bedrest, and the latest he will let this pregnancy go at this rate is 34 weeks. That's it. 34 weeks!

I just got off the phone with DH, and I was so hard not to break down telling him all of this. I did anyways. He is so strong, he is my rock. I know that he has got to be freaking out about this too. Argh... sucks! sucks! sucks!!!

30 weeks is so early... I'm so upset. Even 34 weeks is not enough, and that is the best case scenario!

Packing for "the future"...

I'm very anxious about tomorrow morning. Sure, it is just a blood pressure check to see if the medication (methyldopa) and rest has helped, but what if it is still high? Then what? DH bought me a blood pressure cuff yesterday, and I have been taking my BP every 4 or 5 hours. When I'm just hanging out around the house (not resting), it is ranged between 160 to 179 over 89 to 96. Not good. If I rest on my left side for more than an hour, it comes down to between 138 to 148 over 82 to 86. Yuck.

So, at my husband's insistence (and I agree), we decided it is better to pack my hospital bag now rather than later and have it ready. Just in case. Hopefully having it ready, we won't need to use it. But if I don't do it, will I need it?

I have NO idea what is going to happen tomorrow.