ER visit - need your opinions

[alviarin]

I'm glad you went in to be checked. I'm sorry you are still experiencing episodes of the "jitters" though.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

[breannalyn]

I talked to my OB this morning and they had me come in for an NST and an AFI. The baby had a few decels during the NST, but overall they felt like she looked good and my amniotic fluid was great!! They are testing my thyroid to see if that is causing problems so I should find out on Thursday when I go in to see my OB what the results of that are!

I'm still having the episodes and the weird thing is that they happen while I'm calm. Last night I had an episode that lasted for 20 minutes - prior to the jitteriness (is that a word) starting I had been laying on the couch. It's weird - my OB's nurse this morning said it might just be the way my body is reacting to this pregnancy! My blood pressure does seem to be slowly rising, but it's not diagnostic.

Thanks again!

[hannahsmom]

I also have factor V and had to have a CAT scan at 14 weeks because they thought I had a pulmonary embolism. Turns out I was allergic to the antibiotic I was on for a UTI. I did have other episodes of shortness of breath and numb fingers, which I attributed to panic attacks. I don't know if that is what was causing them, but that's what I figured. I also wondered if it had anything to do with all the bp meds I was on. I had pulmonary edema in my first pregnancy so I was terrified of getting it in my second pregnancy but I didn't. I also had decels in both pregnancies, and I had to deliver shortly after that in both pregnancies because they could not get the baby to be reactive in either case.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[alviarin]

How are you feeling today? What did the OB have to say about your symptoms?

[breannalyn]

Thank you so much for your responses - I really appreciate your thoughts!

My baseline bp is 100-105/60-65 and my bp while at the ER was 132/85. I've been checking my pulse rate at home and most of the day today it has hovered between 100 and 120. I'm planning on calling my OB on Monday morning, but if I feel worse tomorrow I think I'll head into L&D!

Thanks again!

[amaara]

I used to have a lot of panic attacks. I was told that if you get numbness and tingling in your entire hand (i.e. like a glove), that is anxiety and not something else. However, I am not a medical professional, so I do hope others jump in here, too.

~~Amaara

[love_the_daschies]

I agree that it might be nice to get some reassurance from your on-call dr.

Your episodes sound like my panic attacks - but since anxiety can be a sign of Pre-E - it never hurts to check with your dr.

If you feel really short of breath and jittery - don't hesitate to head in to L & D - it won't be fun, but getting some reassurance can feel so great.

[alviarin]

Difficult to say... does your doc know about the new symptoms? Do they have a number you can call after-hours? If you are concerned it can't hurt and might help to get an expert opinion from your doc.

Shortness of breath and even feelings of anxiety can be symptoms of preeclampsia. And edema or swelling can put pressure on nerves causing numbness, but I don't know about numbness that comes in goes in tandem with the fast pulse.

One of my relatives had "panic attacks" where he felt short of breath with rapid pulse and it turned out to be due to hyperthyroidism.

Are you checking your blood pressures and pulse rate at home? How are your pressures compared to your normal (non-pregnant) baseline?

[breannalyn]

I am 31 weeks today and for the most part am feeling good! On Tuesday of last week I started having a hard time catching my breath and then my heart rate would shoot up between 130 and 150. It only happened once that day so I didn't think much about it. On Thursday it happened 3 times so I called my OB and was told to go to the ER immediately. I am heterozygous Factor V Leiden so they were worried about a pulmonary embolism. At the ER they did an EKG and a CT scan, but didn't find any clots (yay!). However, while I was there they had the baby hooked up to the monitors and told that she was having variable decels. She did that the entire time I was in the ER (5 hours) so they sent us up to L&D and they monitored me for 1 hour. The first 20 minutes of the NST the baby wasn't reactive, but then she started having accelerations so they sent me home. We were told they were also going to check her amniotic fluid, but they didn't.

I'm still having "episodes" of fast heart rate and shortness of breath, but now when I have these episodes I also feel really jittery and my fingers hurt and then go numb! I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, but I'm just worried about my baby girl's decels and wondering what might be causing these episodes?! I'm trying not to overreact, but I'm worried about how she's doing and what these episodes might be doing to her. Can this be the start of preeclampsia? I had pe in my last pregnancy, but I never had anything like this!

Thanks!