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Friday, May 27, 2011

what is pre-eclempsia?

I have not had time to update this blog site of what is happening to me at the moment.  There's been a lot of stuff happening and I have to backtrack for about a week to get everyone up to speed.

Anywho the other day I blogged how I have to go visit my OB at Blount hospital because I am super swollen.  They are afaid I am developing pre-eclempsia. Well it was 1AM at Monday morning (Sunday night) May 23 2011 when I started feeling this annoying pain on the left side of my neck.   So I called WCG at Blount and they asked me to go back to the family birthing center to get my blood pressure monitored again.  I was already afraid that my neck pain is connected to my high blood pressure because Ryan and I monitored my BP that Sunday morning and I am up at 150/95.  So off we went and my BP monitoring and fetal stress test started at 2AM.  Ryan stayed with me the whole time despite the fact that he was on call for work that time.  My BP went ballistic and it did not go down from 160/100 from 2AM to 6AM EST.  Apollo is doing good but my BP is a big concern.  they took another urine test and blood sample from me and once again they found +3 protein level in my urine, but my blood test is fine.  Dr. Metelka finally saw me at around 5AM and told me that he has to refer me to Dr. Hennessy at UT medical because he is afraid I am developing pre-eclempsia. 




He took time to explain that pre-eclempsia is a rare medical condition in which hypertension or high blood pressure arises in pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension) in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine.  I am showing all these significant symptoms coupled by the immediate swelling in my body.   I started to get scared when he said that its a dangerous condition and most of the time the only cure is to deliver the baby early.  PANIC MODE!!

He sent us over to UT Medical where Dr. Hennessy (who saw me 3 months prior for my thrombophilia) will look at my case.  So sleepless and tired, Ryan and I went over to UT Medical to meet with Dr. H and based on the initial consultation and looking at my labs, he said that I am a potential pre-eclempsia patient. 

I have been reading about Pre-eclempsia and found some really good information about it.  (see link below).  Basically what I have been learning from my OBs and from reading is that there is no cause why a pregnant women would develop this abnormal hypertension and protein in the urine.  At the same time there really is no cure except to deliver the baby to avoid any complication that the mother and baby can develop from that hypertension.  It's too much data to absorb so I cannot describe how Ryan and I have been today. 

Anywho I am tired and stressed out so I will just write more about my trip to UT medical in another blog.  Have alot of thinking to do..

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preeclampsia/DS00583

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-eclampsia

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