I'm back blogging!

It's been awhile and a lot has happened since I last blogged.  I last announced that I was pregnant.  This was my sixth child.  My fifth pregnancy.  My third pregnancy was twins.  This pregnancy took a turn for the worst.  I was sick at the beginning as I always am, but by my 33rd week, I began to feel sick and slow down.  I had hoped to have a vbac delivery, a non cesarian delivery.  I found a hospital that would support this decision.  The doctor required a stress test to begin at 32 weeks.  This is probably what saved my life.  

They discovered that my blood pressure was too high.  I had never had high blood pressure.  I noticed that my ankled were swelling.  My ankles had never swelled before.  My doctor decided that it was pre eclampsia.  I needed to take it easy and be monitored twice a week.  But I had a headache and that worried the doctor.  They asked me to come in again and be checked.  When I was there my blood pressure was too high.  They found ketones in my urine.  This is a diabetes term that we watch for with our children.  But this meant something was wrong and my kidneys were having trouble.  I was taken by wheel chair to the hospital from the doctor's office.

They began to discuss immediate c section that night, but I began to respond to fluids and rest.  They waited a few days and actually suggested that I could go back home.  I refused.  A c section was performed 4 weeks prior to my due date.  I had to be put on magnesium for 24 hours during and after to prevent seizure.  I was heavily medicated and sick.  The baby was born.  He was good weight and only suffered from jaundice, some low blood sugar and later a heart murmur was discovered that has since been resolved.  I, however, got worse instead of better.

They thought the birth would alleviate my symptoms.  However, I couldn't breathe.  The doctor prescribed anti anxiety medicine.  Then they decided it was pneumonia.  They wanted me to take a shower and take care of my baby.  I couldn't.  I couldn't get out of bed.  I couldn't lay down.  I couldn't breathe.  A doctor finally agreed to look at my heart.  And there it was.

My heart was too large.  It was leaking.  It was beating erratically.  I was in heart failure.

They started medicines and decided I could go home in a few days.  I went home.  and barely made it through the night.  My ankle was very swollen again and I couldn't breathe.  I found the doctor's phone number after sitting up all night and they advised me to come back to the hospital.  There I was admitted to the cardiac floor and my baby was left at home with my mom.

For two weeks, I was given medicine, stopped breastfeeding, given lots of lasix to drain fluid and experienced an angiogram.  I was finally deemed okay to go back home.

That was a year ago.  I am still on medicines but doing better and my baby just turned one and is doing well.

so far now, we are adding cardiomyopathy to the list of the medical knowledge I now carry in my unofficial proverbial medical bag.