I had a pretty scary weekend. I've been in Houston since 4/1 (planning to return to Seattle on 5/12) for my work. Last Friday I started seeing stars, had blackouts in my vision, and lost my peripheral vision on the right side for about 20 minutes, and had a sharp headache. I called my doctor since I have high BP and seeing stars is one of the signs for pre-e. They told me to go home, drink water, lay down, and see if I improved. I was fine in about 1 hour.
The same thing happened again on Sunday night, except I was in the orchestra pit playing an opera. I couldn't see my music or the conductor and basically played my part from memory. It was absolutely terrifying, and it lasted for 25 minutes. My parents were in Houston visiting me, and thankfully they were close by to pick me up after the concert and drive me to the hospital.
I was admitted to triage and the doctors were really worried. They determined that it was not pre-e (no protein loss or swelling, etc) but they wanted me to have an MRI and be tested by a neurologist. My high risk doctor even came in to the hospital on his day off to check on me (so nice of him). They decided to keep me overnight and have me hooked up to the fetal monitor all night, and then ran more tests in the morning. Everything came back normal, thankfully, and as far as they can tell, the pregnancy hormones are causing me to have migraines with aura (the vision loss). I've never had anything like that before. This is much less serious than everything else they were testing me for, which is good. But they think that they are triggered by a specific light situation which was present both times that the aura happened.
They think it may happen again because of the lighting in the pit where we play, so I got put on medical leave from work and flew back to Seattle last night. I'm happy to be home and that our baby will be born here! I'm on modified bed rest and will have NST's 2 times per week. I'm so glad there's less than 7 weeks until the due date!
Anyways, I'm so happy that it's not as serious as it could be, and for the excellent care I got in Houston. Thanks to all of you that read this much....sorry it's so long, but it was a horrible weekend and I wanted to update you all.
Re: Night at the hospital....not such a great weekend. Long.
Oh, you poor thing. Migraines with auras were a part of my life pre pregnancy and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. When we found out we were pregnant, one of my biggest concerns was getting one and not being able to take my medication, which is the only thing that saves me 12-24 hours of debilitating pain, nausea and vomiting. Knock on wood, though I haven't had one.
Glad they figured out your trigger and that you're feeling better and are home!
I'm not new. I just hate The Bump.
BFP 5/21/10, Missed m/c 7/5/10 at 11w3d (baby measured 7wks), D&C 7/7/10
Aug/Sept 2010 - CD3&10 b/w & u/s, genetic testing, SA, HSG, & Lap/Hyst to remove septum
12/09/10 BFP -- 7/05/11 DS born at 33w5d. Came home after 23d in NICU at 37w0d
June 2012 - TTC #2! -- 10/05/12 BFP -- 5/23/13 DS2 born at 37w1d! Yay full term!
Surprise BFP 6/25/14 LO#3 due Feb2015!
I'm sorry you had to have such a scary experience. But good thing your parents were visiting and you got great care in Houston.
I had a similar experience 2 days before my BFP with my ectopic. While I didn't lose vision, I lost all sensation in my right side and thought I was having a stroke. DH had to leave work, MIL came to watch the kids, and I ended up in the MRI at the hospital checking for MS. They determined it was a migraine.
TTC #3: BFP 4/27/12, Ectopic 5/16/12 Expectant Management, 8/15/12 Cleared to TTC
BFP 9/25/12 EDD 6/6/13, Shooting 3-for-3 from the line: It's a Girl
PgAL/PAL Welcome
BFP #1 12/28/09 D&C 2/15/10
BFP #2 DS
BFP #3 5/13/12 M/C 6/10/12
BFP #4 8/12/12 M/C 8/18/12
September 2012 - 2.5mg Femara + Ovidrel + TI = BFP #5 Beta #1 - 61 @ 12 dpo, Beta #2 - 183 @ 14 dpo, Beta #3 - 1466 @ 19 dpo
M/C 7/8/12
Perfect baby boy born 7/8/13
BFP 8/20/14 EDD 4/27/15 It's a GIRL!!
this!