“Hey, I noticed my urine sample is still in the bathroom. Do you need to get that to the lab?”
“Oh, no. I don’t think they’re going to run it.”
I’d been in the L&D unit at the hospital for about 2 hours at that point with monitors strapped to me to check baby’s heart, contractions, and my blood pressure.
I wound up there because earlier in the afternoon the pharmacist at the CVS Minute Clinic kindly took my blood pressure for me, and it read 144/82.
“That’s slightly elevated,” he said to me with concern on his face. “I would call.”
And I did. I talked to the nurse at my midwife’s office for the 2nd time that hour. Earlier, I called to ask if I should be concerned about the nearly non-stop nausea I’ve been feeling for over a week, and the headaches that seem to come and go.
I don’t have any other signs of pre-eclampsia. My feet don’t look an ounce pregnant. They haven’t started swelling at all. The headaches aren’t consistent, but they are there. It’s mostly just the general feeling like crap that gave me a little cause for concern. My appetite is non-existent.
I was particularly feeling miserable as I stood in CVS.
After telling her my BP reading, they requested I head to the hospital to be monitored. I took an overnight bag just in case, and alerted my mom and sister that maybe I might need them on call. Maybe.
I checked in around 6:30 in the evening while Scott stayed home and handled homework and dinner, story time and bedtime.
My first BP reading on the machine was in the 130s, then the 2nd was at 119. No need to run my urine sample because, well, obviously nothing is really wrong with me.
Oh.
And so, after 2 hours in a quiet, dark room, they sent me home. Just in time to miss all the family chaos for the night. Ummm…
I KNOW HOW THIS LOOKS! I swear, I didn’t go up there just to get away from my 3 other kids and dogs and helping my son study for his spelling test and trying to figure out what to make for dinner.
PROMISE.
But, you know, it was nice.
Available now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
- 308Shares
6 comments
I feel you! I had Pre-e with my first, and as miserable as it made me, I loved the non stress tests. I luckily didn’t have it with my second but I really could have used the hour of dark and quiet a week :).
Gad your BP went down, but keep paying attention to how you FEEL! My doc disregarded my ‘slightly elevated’ BP and sent me on a road trip to Houston and you know the rest. Next think I know I had PreE a Placental Abruption, a 2lb Baby and I was stuck in Houston for 7 weeks :/ I KNEW I didn’t feel good, but the doc said I was fine, so….
The non stress tests are sooooo tranquil. I loved watching HGTV in peace. I mean I don’t *want* to have to have to have them, but if it all turns out okay, they are a nice break. ?
This just happened to me except I was at a ob appointment. First one was 143 and the second was 150. OB sent me straight to the hospital. I’m currently pregnant with twins and I’m at 32 weeks and I was still working(retail store manager). I’m now off work trying to relax? And keep these babies in till at least 36 weeks. Hope your feeling better soon!
This was me! I was a teacher and when I finally got off for my last month of pregnancy with my twins, my blood pressure started to rise. They never saw signs of pre-e, but I had lots of blood pressure readings in every Drs visit to see if it would go down. Finally at about 3-4 weeks of high be readings they sent me in for an emergency c at 36+5. Good luck mama! Keep that BP down!!
[…] sure you can understand, then, why I wound up in L&D 2x and the ER once the last few weeks. Not being able to sit up PLUS trouble breathing is a touch […]