High Risk Mamas

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Thought I'd go ahead and start this thread. 
Whatever your reason for being high risk,  share your questions, concerns, advice here. 

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I just got done with my MFM appointment. Im literally sitting in one of the waiting areas of the hospital because the registration people gave me wrong information so I parked on the far far side of where I'm actually supposed to be at and I need to take a break.  
Anyhow,  I received a nice long U/S. Baby was so playful and healthy! The bleeds seem to be resolving slowly.  The doctor said he's not too worried about that.  
He went over my asthma action plan and based on that I should have gone to the ER every single day since I was 5 weeks pregnant.  Lol. 
One thing im super happy about is that he ordered an echo for me. I'd been telling my pulm and OB that i think it could be my heart because most of the time,  it feels like it starts with my heart racing.  Also, the peak flow meters are not accurate for me.  I will be severely short of breath (to the point that i can't talk) but still be able to blow a 450 which is good.  
So,  he mentioned the heart thing on his own. THANK YOU! 
He didn't want to go into too much detail about what could happen if asthma continues to be this bad. But he said the same stuff as what OB said and he wanted to see the echo results,  first.  Im still praying all of this will get better on its own in 2nd tri! 

Oh and i almost forgot! The U/S tech thinks I'm having a boy and i agree because i think i see the little wee wee too! I really wanted my daughter to have a sister but I'm happy either way.  At least people can stop telling me hope they hope i have a boy because i already have a girl. I should find out for sure soon enough as i had NIPT drawn on Tuesday.  
Thank you for listening! I will continue my journey to my car, now.  Over and out!

wishiwaspreggo

I'm not under the care of a MFM yet but I expect I will be in the future. I am pregnant with twins and have a history of pre-term labor, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes. It's not a guarantee I'll have issues this pregnancy but the odds are certainly stacked against me so I'm bracing myself for what may come. I already asked my OB if they handle high risk cases and they have a specialist who goes to their office twice a week from Indianapolis. She's one of the best in the state so I feel much better knowing I'd see her if I have problems!

sleepy33

@expandcontract just being nosy, but have you ever had your thyroid levels drawn? My mom's HR gets wild when her thyroid meds are off. 

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@sleepy33 Good question! I actually always have it checked cuz it's on the border all the time.  Plus,  hypothyroidism runs in my family.  But so far, it's normal.  Thank you for asking!

lovelybabybumpz

I'm not technically high-risk, although I did have a consult with an MFM about my future delivery options. But...this may be the right place to post this. I JUST found out today that I need to have surgery next week, and I'm freaking out. I'm so mentally exhausted from dealing with a chronic condition. I can't even remember the number of procedures I've had in the last two years. If I think about it, it's overwhelming. Luckily, I'm in the second trimester and this is the best time to have surgery, if necessary.

babynurse1114

I'm not being seen by a MFM doc yet, but I was throughout my last pregnancy. My water broke spontaneously at 36 weeks with each of my other pregnancies. The first time there was no extra monitoring so we don't know the reason but I assume it's the same reason it happened the second time. Second pregnancy was short cervix, bedrest for 15 weeks, which I'm hoping to avoid this time. I'll start giving myself progesterone injections and having ultrasounds every two weeks to measure my cervix starting at 16 weeks. I'm really hoping to make it to at least 37 weeks this time. I know 36 weeks isn't super scary preterm but it still caused issues for us so a full term baby would be ideal 

thebobloblaw

I’ll be joining you ladies. Hx of gestational diabetes and losses. My weight and diabetes have been starting to become more stressful and realistic as I near second tri. I’ve been eating like crap, and although I’ve made plans to meet with the nutritionist early and try to be on my best behavior, I have really bad self control when it comes to food. I do really well when told what I have to do, I was actually probably a little too obsessive with my diet and blood sugar tracking last time. I wish my doctor would just tell me I have to go on a diet right now so that I can get it under control. 

And now that I wrote that all out I feel crazy...

siouxieq87

@thebobloblaw don’t feel crazy! I totally can relate to what you’re saying about needing to be told what you have to do. I’m the same way about certain things in my life, so don’t feel bad.

troystory17

@lovelybabybumpz That's so stressful thinking of you hopefully its a quick surgery.

I'm high risk for having type 2 diabetes and history of a second trimester loss.  I have a consult with MFM next week, and it cant come soon enough I'm feeling like my ob office just doesn't have the time or coordination to oversee my care.

wishiwaspreggo

@thebobloblaw - I'm right there with ya. I'm overweight but my blood sugar is perfectly normal when I'm not pregnant. Never had a problem with it before, not even borderline. However, when I'm KU my blood sugar goes wonky. I will have to be tested for GD early this time and I'll probably be forced into the diet before I want to do it :P I hated it so much last time, it's so much harder avoiding sugar and carbs than it is avoiding alcohol and caffeine. I missed fruit desperately especially.

I used to think GD wasn't *that* big of a deal. Like, your kid will be larger than average when born, big f'ing deal. But I listened because the doctors were adamant that I keep my sugars in check and I'm a cooperative patient so I did what I was told and my son was born without any issues. But I had the fear of God instilled in me after my friend's experience...

Cautionary tale ahead

She is not very well educated on health and nutrition and mostly blew off her nutritionist when she was pregnant and figured taking insulin was a fine solution to her GD. She was so blase about it that she asked my wife and I to bring her brown sugar w/maple oatmeal when we went to visit her while she waited to labor in the hospital. Her husband brought her chicken fried steak and potatoes for dinner while we were there. These are ALL things I'd avoid like the plague with GD.

Well, her daughter was born with a host of problems including a poorly functioning kidney, a hole in her colon, heart problems, and high blood sugar. She was initially airlifted to the hospital in Indianapolis because her doctor found a problem with her heart. All these problems are linked to gestational diabetes I had no idea (I don't think she did either, obviously). Now her daughter is failing to gain weight and has to have open heart surgery this month or next to correct a murmer.

I don't know why doctors don't explain these complications. All I ever heard was "high birth weight" and "risk of diabetes in the baby." That second one is what made me force myself to comply. I'd never forgive myself if I gave my son diabetes because I couldn't say no to donuts. Anyway, wanted to share her story because I honestly had no idea. She didn't either. She's a great mom otherwise, I swear, but they really need to be clear what the dangers are with vital organs and GD.

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@wishiwaspreggo omg that sounds awful!! I feel so bad for the child! 
I know you said that your friend doesn't know much about health stuff and I understand. But I still have zero tolerance for people who don't follow doctor's orders.  Sure,  doctors don't always give you ALL the details but they are in a tough position because people are so sensitive when it comes to weight and food.  Who knows exactly what the doctor or nutritionist told her and how thorough it was? I really hope that she at least now realizes the connection between her actions and her child's health.  

wishiwaspreggo

@expandcontract - A nurse told her the baby's issues were essentially her fault and she completely lost it. She's definitely experiencing tremendous guilt over it and I won't add to it by reminding her that she could've tried harder. And I agree, it drives me nuts when people don't listen to their doctors... she already has a chip on her shoulder and a "do what I want" attitude so I don't think that helped at all. But her doctor was a quack. I have no control over who she sees but based on the stories she's told me I judge his ability. Overall the whole situation is just very unfortunate. I'm scared to death on her behalf... I couldn't imagine my boy having open heart surgery when he was just 3 months old

kvh22

I'm technically higher risk due to the SCH but we have a separate thread for that not sure I belong her but just wanted to say...
@wishiwaspreggo ugh that makes me so mad/sad for your friend's daughter. Idk what you mean by "her doctor was a quack" so this might not be the case but I feel like sometimes people who have strong opinions about how they are going to act find doctors who will go along with it or be more "okay with it." In California, we got rid of the personal exemption option to opt out of vaccines since so many were using it that we dropped below herd immunity levels and had measles outbreaks (serious WTF) but now people can just find a pediatrician to write a note saying their child is "too weak" to get them and still essentially use personal exemption, you just need a doctor's note. SIL (the one who refused all ultrasounds but the anatomy scan and lied to her doc about her LMP by 6 days to not risk getting induced) didn't want to do the GD test (they're crazy about health/yoga/juices but not well informed). She said she was going to just track her numbers like you would if you actually got diagnosed then NEVER ended up doing that either. They were telling their plan to my mom and my mom couldn't help herself and shared a story about my brother's (SIL's husband) first daycare provider *TW* whose first child was stillborn due to complications of completely ignoring GD (unclear if she knew she had it or or it was undiagnosed until it was too late, that was 35-40 years ago). I hope that's okay to say as with monitoring and following doctors advice nowadays that is not a risk. I just can't believe my brother and SIL found medical providers to go along with so much of their crazy and it makes me upset that they were getting such poor care/advice.

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kvh22 said:

I'm technically higher risk due to the SCH but we have a separate thread for that not sure I belong her but just wanted to say...
@wishiwaspreggo ugh that makes me so mad/sad for your friend's daughter. Idk what you mean by "her doctor was a quack" so this might not be the case but I feel like sometimes people who have strong opinions about how they are going to act find doctors who will go along with it or be more "okay with it." In California, we got rid of the personal exemption option to opt out of vaccines since so many were using it that we dropped below herd immunity levels and had measles outbreaks (serious WTF) but now people can just find a pediatrician to write a note saying their child is "too weak" to get them and still essentially use personal exemption, you just need a doctor's note. SIL (the one who refused all ultrasounds but the anatomy scan and lied to her doc about her LMP by 6 days to not risk getting induced) didn't want to do the GD test (they're crazy about health/yoga/juices but not well informed). She said she was going to just track her numbers like you would if you actually got diagnosed then NEVER ended up doing that either. They were telling their plan to my mom and my mom couldn't help herself and shared a story about my brother's (SIL's husband) first daycare provider *TW* whose first child was stillborn due to complications of completely ignoring GD (unclear if she knew she had it or or it was undiagnosed until it was too late, that was 35-40 years ago). I hope that's okay to say as with monitoring and following doctors advice nowadays that is not a risk. I just can't believe my brother and SIL found medical providers to go along with so much of their crazy and it makes me upset that they were getting such poor care/advice.

@wishiwaspreggo I was going to say the same EXACT thing @kvh22 did.  I've found in my personal and professional experience that patients who have this type of attitude that your friend has,  usually find doctors who will do what the patient wants OR they will simply not listen to a good doctor but then tell everyone else that the doctor is no good.  Im sorry to have to say this to you but this is what it sounds like is going on with your friend.  I seriously seriously hope that if she decides to have another baby she takes better care of herself.  

@kvh22 you totally belong here,  girl! It's any reason for high risk!

kvh22

@expandcontract Thanks! I wish none of us were here but appreciate the inclusiveness.

wishiwaspreggo

@expandcontract and @kvh22 - I don't know what was going on with her and her doctor but it sounded to me like he wasn't stringent enough to keep her in line. Kind of a take-it-or-leave-it kind of dude. You're right, maybe she sought him out so she wouldn't have to hear bad news, I have no idea. She got her tubes tied during her c-section so she's not going to have any more kids after this. My wife and I are grateful for that. She's roped us into a lot of her drama and it's been rough. Even more infuriating that she doesn't listen to us or take our advice when we suggest things. All we can do is pray the surgery goes well and they get her all fixed up.

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@wishiwaspreggo Im surprised you're still friends with her especially since she's bringing you into her drama.  I have no tolerance for that.  

troystory17

@wishiwaspreggo That's so sad was she just not checking it?  

babynurse1114

@wishiwaspreggo your friend's story is so sad. I agree with everyone though, people with the "I'll do what I want" attitude, usually find a way around things, and sadly the end result is not always what they expect, as in your friends case. 

thebobloblaw

@wishiwaspreggo thank you for sharing that. I agree it is strange they don’t discuss the actual
risks beyond big birth weight and passing it on. The main reason I was so obsessive over tracking and dieting was because my doctor kept threatening to put me on insulin and I didn’t want to poke myself more than I already was. I was hanging on by a thread being managed with meds. I later found out all the the incredibly scary risks by a friend that has seen a lot of bad outcomes as a high risk ultrasound tech. 

lovelybabybumpz

@troystory17 thank you. I’m kind of annoyed because my OB has not returned my call yet, but I was at an all day conference so I couldn’t hound them to get back to me. I did learn from the surgeon that a L&D team would be there to monitor me before and after the procedure, so that makes me feel better that I’ll know immediately after that Beta is doing ok. 

melbee81

High risk due to 20wk loss from Pprom Jan 2017. Currently 10wks6d. I met with MFM last week and everything is looking good. I had SCH but it seems to have resolved. I'll be going back @ 16wks and start weekly progesterone shots. I did IVF and was doing daily progesterone shots till 9wks so a weekly shot won't be bad. 

troystory17

@lovelybabybumpz oh good that's reassuring.

@melbee81 I also had pprom at 20 weeks do you know what caused yours?  I've never really gotten an answer myself.

melbee81

@troystory17; same, they never were able to tell me what caused it. Everything was going smoothly and felt fine, until it wasn't. I've been surprisingly chill with this pregnancy but I guess we'll see how I am around 20 wks. Have you met with MFM yet?

troystory17

@melbee81 Same thing here I had my anatomy scan on a Tuesday and my water broke on a Friday.  I meet with MfM This Thursday it can’t come soon enough. I think I’m also starting progesterone at 16 weeks.

ashleaf2018

High-ish risk due to SO’s skin condition (epidermolytic hyperkeratosis) as well as DS’s birth (polyhydramnios, wasn’t practicing breathing at all in utero). Haven’t seen an MFM yet but my OB has brought it up. I didn’t see one last pregnancy but will if it makes sense for us to do so. 

merrylea

Hiya! Guess I’m in the high risk category. I am pregnant with mo-di twins (they share a placenta.) Am meeting with the MFM Dr on Monday to come up with a plan. For now I guess am starting ultrasounds every other week at week 16, and bi-weekly NSTs starting week 30 along with a special fetal echocardiogram at week 22. I am daunted by the number of appointments that are looming! Add that to the more than normal appts with the midwife! Phew!!!!

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Welcome,  ladies! Hope we all have boring safe pregnancies and deliveries!

truth_trust

I go to my OB every 3 weeks because I have a history of pre-eclampsia. So far my pressure is doing okay but my last pregnancy it didn't spike until about 20 weeks. Im currently 13 weeks.

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@truth_trust that's what I've read,  that pre-eclampsia doesn't usually surface until late 2nd or 3 tri. I really hope you don't get it again!

truth_trust

@expandcontract thanks!! I hope not either but I will keep you all posted. I wonder if anyone else has a history of pre-eclampsia which causes them to be watched carefully this pregnancy.

Stormiewinter

@truth_trust I had pre e in my first pregnancy starting at 32 weeks. My last pregnancy I did not, but i have to start daily blood pressure monitoring at 19 weeks. I don’t need to be seen more frequently unless my BP starts to creep up. 

truth_trust

@stormiewinter thanks for those kind words. Gives me some hope because Lord knows it wasn't fun last time around.

kvh22

@truth_trust I think there are a few who have had pre-e in previous pregnancies but not sure they consider themselves "high risk" yet as it's apparently not a guarantee to get it with subsequent pregnancies. I believe they have been taking baby aspirin under the recommendation/observation of their doctors.

brie_and_almonds

@truth_trust I am not "high risk," nor have I had pre-e, but my sister did, and for my first pregnancy my OB had me take baby aspirin for a good portion of my pregnancy.

IceAngl106

Im high risk because im over weight and have thyroid issues. My daughter was also born with an incredibly rare genetic syndrome, which they say shouldn’t happen again but you never know so MFM and my high risk ob both want to see me for this pregnancy too, to make sure everything is going ok. Personally I love these appts because you get to see the baby more!

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Bumping this. 

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I couldn't decide where I should be posting this, appointment thread or here. 
I mentioned over there how I had my monthly appointment this Monday.  ICYMI, baby's heart beat was good.  Doctor is officially concerned about my high blood pressure,  she asked me to keep a log for s few days.  I haven't picked up the BP machine,  yet,  though. In addition to all the other crap, preeclampsia is also on the table now.  😑😑
Also,  i've been having SEVERE restless legs which is unusual for me because I don't normally get it at all when not pregnant.  It's to the point that Im not getting much sleep.  I mentioned this to her and she ordered a serum ferritin. I got the results back today and it's really low which explains that. Im taking iron supplements now but I read that it takes about 3 months to start feeling the difference.  😢😢

MelissaMay82

@expandcontract I'm sorry that you are going through all of this. Hopefully you will get good BPs over the next couple of days. Did she say that the plan is if your at home BPs remain elevated?

megsb615

@expandcontract So sorry you’re having to deal with high bp and restless legs on top of everything else. Have they started you on medication for bp yet? I found out I had high bp (hereditary) before I got pregnant with DS, and Labetalol has worked really well with controlling it for me. I’ve also been taking baby aspirin. I hope you won’t have to deal with pre-e!