Hello Gestational Hypertension!!

I don't have amazing legs. I'm short and I don't have long vo.luptuous legs. I'm fine with it. To the left is a pic of what my legs normally look like. If you are feeling brave, to the right is a pic of what my legs have turned into. Yikes. It may be an understatement to say edema has gotten out of control in this pregnancy. It is painful and makes walking difficult. I'm a waddling machine. Why am I discussing my legs? No, this hasn't turned into some kind of leg fetish blog. It will all make sense in a few minutes.

I went in this morning for what was supposed to be a routine appointment. I provided my urine sample, got weighed and got my BP taken. My BP typically runs low (usually about 110/70), but today it was 148/88. I moved on to the ultrasound phase of the appointment and both babies look perfect. They have shifted even lower-I didn't know that was possible?

Next I met with the OB. We have everything scheduled for the induction. I'm 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The dilation check was uncomfortable, but didn't cause extreme pain like the last one I had done. Whew! We started to discuss my edema next...my edema has gotten out of control. She classified it as "horrible." I'm not sure if that's a medical term pertaining to a classification of edema or if it was just her opinion. Nonetheless, I've tried to minimize it via elevating, wearing compression socks, drinking obscene amounts of water etc. Nothing seems to help. It is what it is. Believe it or not, my legs are even more swollen today than they are in the above picture. After speaking with the OB, she wanted a follow up BP and stat labs run because she was concerned about preeclampsia.

My follow up BP went up to 155/90. Uh oh. I was then taken to another room to lie down on my left side and have serial BP's taken. After about 45 minutes of repeated BP's, the numbers continued to be elevated. I was sent home and told to wait on labs. The labs they were checking were for hemolysis, elavated liver enzymes and low platelet count-all to confirm if I had preeclampsia. My liver enzyme count was slightly elevated, but still within the normal range. I was diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension.

What does this mean? After a discussion with the MFM office, neither my OB nor the MFM MD could come up with a clear concise line of action. We were given two choices- head into the hospital STAT to undergo an amniocentesis to check lung maturity and induce now or collect a 24 hour urine, bring it in and recheck vitals tomorrow. The 24 hour urine will give more insight into possible preeclampsia developing.

Ugh...what to do?! Yes, I am swollen so much it's painful and I am miserable. The only solution to the edema is to give birth, so do I want to give birth asap? YES! However, do I want to have an amniocentesis done? Hell no. The thought of an amnio and the possible risks it poses did not make this an option C nor I wanted to pursue. We opted for the urine collection and waiting. What happens if my BP is still elevated tomorrow or if my urine has protein in it? I guess we'll be inducing a bit early... I have several questions regarding the urine collection and where we go from here, but I'm waiting on the OB to call me back regarding those.

We are just over 3 days away from induction...I hope my body can behave itself in the meantime and avoid developing preeclampsia. Everything has gone so smoothly throughout this pregnancy, why the issues popping up now? I'm still holding on to hope that the babies will just decide to come on their own (tonight preferably) so we can avoid all of these issues that could come up. When the OB checked my cervix she could feel baby girl's head and said she had to move it in order to feel. Maybe they are coming? Although I'm holding out hope, I doubt it...

In the meantime, I'm a urine collecting machine. The orange container in the fridge is not orange juice so don't drink it!!