Introducing Myself

[char_]

My name is Charlene, and i'm 28 weeks pregnabt with my first child. Last week I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia so now i'm really scared about what the future holds. My dr's keep telling me that this started way to early and it's unlikely that i'll be able to keep him in as long as I want to. Here is my story.

Last thursday (May 8) I went to one of my regular prenatal appointments and watched my doctors eyes get wider and wider each time she took my blood pressure. I soon found out that along with my BP issue (165/110) I had +3 proteins in my urine and my reflexes were very “hyper.” She would lightly tap my knee with her finger and my leg would almost fully extend!!! They rushed me over to fetal monitoring to get checked out (all the time I was sobbing because I had no clue what was going on). They hooked me up to a fetal monitoring machine and found the babies nice strong HB right away. He was fine….me not so much. It was so weird because I felt fine, no headache, no swelling, no pain, nothing. I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.



They stuck me on magnesium sulfate because my reflexes were so bad. The medication was horrible it made me feel so sick and gross (seriously I had no clue that knee caps could sweat lol). They also gave me some steroid shots to help mature his lungs just in case and a fetal ultrasound that showed blood flow to the placenta is normal and his growth is right on track!!!. The hospital staff was being very proactive and not taking any chances which I really appreciated. Luckily, my BP dropped within a few hours of getting the medication as did the amount of protein in my urine.



So far everything has stayed stable since that night and they let me go home through the antepartum care program 4 days later. A nurse comes and sees me twice a week for non-stress tests and to draw blood. I monitor my BP and proteins myself. I’m now on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. I’ll also be getting weekly ultrasounds to make sure the babies growth is not being affected by the disease.


I'm really worried about the baby now and could use some stories from woman who have went through a similar situation and delivered happy healthy babies. I look forward to getting to know everyone a little better.

Char

[fiona]

Charlene, welcome.

I'm so sorry to hear you have developed pe. The good news is you are being monitored closely, you've had the shots and the baby is growing well - all those things are positives. My 9-year-old was born at 30 weeks and was in NICU for a while, but was basically a feeder and grower. I hope you get a few more weeks.

Please keep a close eye on your symptoms and don't hesitate to go into l&D if anything worsens - you start having visual disturbances, URQ pain, vomiting, less baby movement - or you just feel really awful. Do not second guess your symptoms - you have preeclampsia and it's not going away until your baby is delivered.

Whereabouts in BC are you? I'm in Vancouver and we have members in Kelowna and Coquitlam. Please let me know if I can be of any practical help.

[keegan]

Hello Char!

Good luck to you! Take care of yourself and your baby. Like you, I felt great for my pregnancy. I had very high protein and BP, was monitored by an OB/GYN and a nephrologist. My only concern was that I was always "small". I kept waiting to "pop". At 27 weeks, I was put on bedrest. My little guy was also diagnosed IUGR. I delivered at 30 weeks, and he spent 8 weeks in NICU. He had typical preemie problems, but mainly needed to just feed and grow. He's almost four now and doing great.

Be sure to listen to your doctors and your instincts. I look forward to hearing from you!

[char_]

I'm in vancouver as well.

Tommorrow I hit 30 weeks yeah!!! For the last three weeks my bp and proteins have stayed stable. All my labs are coming back normal and baby is still growing well, the doppler studies all show good flow!! So hopefully I can keep this little guy in a few weeks longer