High Risk/Gestational Diabetes/PreE/Etc.

oaklandava

Hey guys...I searched high risk through January 19 and didn't find anything. I found one for March and February 19 but not for us. I was wondering if anybody had any interest in having something to discuss issues that may be going on with us that are high risk for one reason or another?

pttomato

I would be up for that. The high risk check-ins didn’t get a lot of traction earlier on so I stopped posting them, but there may be more interest now that we are further along.

ladystout08

I’m not high risk per say but had pre-e and PIH last time so I’m in. 

molosmiles

@ladystout08 how has your blood pressure been?

@pttomato how are you? Doing well at home?

ladystout08

@molosmiles I’ve had to cut all caffeine because it makes my BP spike. It seems be slowly going up (it’s around 120 now, I’m normally like 105) but not high enough my ON is concerned. She has threatened bed rest though. 

wkuandrea

hey there -- I'm in as well. FTM, but because I have preexisting high blood pressure (my regular med-controlled rate is 135/85) and because my kidneys might give up and be a reason for induction/c-section, oh and being 39, I'm "high risk"

oaklandava

Sounds like a plan guys! I guess we can just post on here any questions, updates, etc. unless someone wants to weekly/biweekly post? @pttomato if you want to do them that is totally fine with me? If not, we can just update on this as we want to? I dunno, I am fine with whatever!

wkuandrea my mom had me at 39! FX for the kidneys to hang on!
@ladystout08 I am sorry about the caffeine I love mine. It's the only thing that gets me through most days sadly. Thankfully I haven't had swelling so far, but if I do, that's what had to go last time for me  


 I am high risk this time around for GD primarily. Last time, I had the GD and high BP (not preE thankfully) but I was ultimately induced for low fluid levels. This time around, they're watching me for the low fluid because we have no idea where it went (no leaks or anything!). I have not had any high BP so far this time! But, my GD is out of control this time. I've been on 3000mg of metformin for 2 weeks now and it's not doing anything except making me vomit and keeping me in the bathroom for longer than I want to admit. I think my high risk OB is going to put me on insulin this week. We've been keeping that on the back burner as long as possible because I am not working, and the diabetic medications are insanely expensive even on our insurance. His office is in the hospital too, so the ultrasounds and things are crazy expensive! But, we're on the home stretch! 

I cannot "like/love" anything on here still, but I can tag people if I type their names out right now. So, bear with me because I've had bump issues since the summer that nobody can fix. 

pttomato

@molosmiles I'm doing good! I feel like I'm having fewer contractions at home than I did in the hospital. Hopefully that's because I'm more comfortable and relaxed not just because I'm less aware of them since I'm not hooked up to a monitor 3 times a day.

In the last week I've hit the third trimester increase in insulin resistance, so I'm in the process of adjusting my insulin doses. Although my last A1C actually went down from my previous one and is lower than I would have predicted based on my blood sugar readings, so I'm wondering if I'm having lows that I'm missing.

pttomato

@oaklandava No worries, updating this post is fine with me. Thanks for posting it! I tried to stay off insulin for as long as possible last time and when I went on it, it made it so much easier to keep my numbers in control and eat a reasonable diet. The costs can be ridiculous though. Sometimes you can get coupons from the manufacturer that help or if you need NPH or R, you can get those in a vial for $25 at Walmart.

DLpanda08

I’m definitely up for a check in for this. The GD has been mostly just annoying to this point, but I’m more nervous about the potential pre-e. I’m borderline right now and really hoping to avoid a diagnosis. My anxiety over life in general right now isn’t helping things either. 

MrsDho11

I’ll probably hang around and stalk a bit. I had high BP with DD and had to be induced early. I‘m being treated as high risk for hypertension and/or pre-e this time, but so far everything seems good. *knock on wood*

oaklandava

@pttomato I have no idea what kind it would be, I didn't need it last time so I'm super new to insulin. I will definitely have questions though if that's what direction they go in. I am looking forward to being able to feel somewhat normal and less beat myself up over my numbers that are stupid and refuse to be controlled. I'm nervous that it's going to affect his ability to regulate his sugars and I don't want him in the NICU when it's something that could be avoided. I know it's not my fault, but it definitely feels that way!

@DLpanda08 you're right about the annoying part. I just want to eat something that tastes good. I want chocolate milk but I found out that is a HARD NO for me this go around.

@MrsDho11 glad everything seems good so far for you! FX it stays that way!

jgil85

I'm in for a check-in! 

I developed pre-e with ds and ended up delivering at 34 weeks.  There were warning signs that I missed and wasn't really aware of last time that I started developing around 32-ish weeks. I will be 32 weeks this coming Monday and I'm just kind of holding my breath and hoping everything will be okay. In my head, I have December 6th as my most-pregnant day, as I will be 34 weeks 3 days, and I'm focusing on that. 

This time around, I have been on baby aspirin since 12 weeks and I hope its helping. I've had a few instances of my bp spiking but it hasn't remained high. I'm starting to swell but I think it's just normal pregnany swelling because my feet and ankles are fine. 

ladystout08

For the ladies who previously had pre-e; are your OBs doing repeated pre-e labs? We drew mine at the very beginning in first tri and again a few weeks ago. I plan to ask next week at my appointment but I'm curious what others have seen. 

jgil85

@ladystout08 My ob is going to have me do the 24 hour urine collection after next weeks appt, but that's all she has mentioned so far. I also have to take my blood pressure daily and email them my readings. 

DLpanda08

@ladystout08 I’m a FTM, but I have a family history of pre-e and my midwife is doing all the labs. I did baseline labs in first tri and they have been monitoring me weekly since 28 weeks. I’ve done two 24 hour urine collections and they take blood about every other week. I’m also supposed to check my blood pressure twice daily and turn in the numbers with my blood sugar logs once per week. If it’s over 150/90 I’m supposed to go to L&D for monitoring. That place is like my home away from home these days. 

ladystout08

Thanks y'all. I sort of expect a conversation about it next week since I'm a couple of weeks behind you guys. I'm pretty sure she mentioned another draw. I wonder about the pee catch, that'll be fun at work. lol I monitor my BP and send that in also, it's creeping up but not high enough she's concerned yet. 

MrsDho11

@ladystout08 I’ve done baseline labs either 2 or 3 times so far. I also suspect that every appointment will involve urine from now on.

DLpanda08

@ladystout08 the pee catch isn’t too bad. And that’s from someone who had to carry a cooler to and from the bathroom on the other side of the school. 

oaklandava

Update....high risk OB replied and insulin it will be I know it's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of life. I really do. But, I have an anxiety disorder too and this just throws me into a full on panic. So, we're looking at upping my anxiety meds too. I just. I dunno. I'm super defeated today.

DLpanda08

@oaklandava I’m sorry you’ve got to do insulin now. And especially if it’s exacerbating your anxiety. Be kind to yourself today.

wkuandrea

dont' beat yourself up about having to take insulin! I know that an extra "thing" can feel overwhelming but just remember, it's only for a short period of time, and is an "easy" way to help you and your baby through this growing journey.

MrsDho11

Hugs @oaklandava

pttomato

@oaklandava I’m sorry. When I was told I needed to start insulin during my previous pregnancy I had a meltdown even though I knew it was coming. I felt like I failed, even though it wasn’t something I could have controlled. Diabetes + an anxiety disorder is a really hard combination. I’m glad they are addressing your anxiety at least and I hope the insulin can help you feel better and help take some of the stress over your blood sugar numbers off.

UnbreakableKimmySchmidt

@ladystout08 I had pre-E with DD and so far my Dr. has not mentioned any additional monitoring or urine samples...I will have my 32 week appointment on Friday, so maybe I will ask. We don't do urine analysis at every appointment, like some ppl.  Last time I had high BP the whole pregnancy and a urine collection at 36 weeks showed high levels of protein so I did the collection.  This time around I've been on baby aspirin the whole time like @jgil85 and have had "normal" people BP readings.  I'm hoping I won't develop PE at all! 

kerryann124

Hi all I'm joining in on the pre-e discussion. I had an appointment yesterday, I'm 33.3 and my blood pressure has been creeping up steadily at 139/79. My older sister had pre-e badly with both pregnancies so i'm kind of worried. My midwife said they don't do any additional tests until its over 140/90, but I might ask for extra testing just to give me piece of mind. 

What were the symptoms @jgil85? My midwife mentioned, swelling, vision changes, abdominal pain, but I don't think I have any of those.

jgil85

@kerryann124 I had really bad headaches that were debilitating and that started to kick off my pre-e. Then I had a few episodes of not blurry vision like you would think, it was like when you rub your eyes and start seeing little spots or diamonds. And then the swelling came on last, but when I swelled, it was really bad. I remember trying to put on skinny pants for work and my calves and ankles were so swollen, I couldn't get my pants over them. 

MrsDho11

Oh I forgot to say that I’ve been on preventative baby aspirin too and assume that might well be part of why I’m having a better go if it this time.

ladystout08

I also have been on baby aspirin. She checks my pee at every appointment so idk if she’ll want to do a 24 hour catch or not. 

oaklandava

Thanks guys. I guess it's making the anxiety worse because yes, it's just another "thing" but like also I'm not working and only DH is, and my high risk OB is 1.5 hours away. That's a whole different story in itself for another day haha. So, the appointment days are super long and I have DS1 with me at them so he causes stress obviously with biophysical profiles and ultrasounds. His tablet is great but like, it's just, a lot. And DH can't take off every time I have an appointment because he is the only one pulling money right now. So, I feel a lot of pressure on me right now and I'm just glad there's only 7 weeks until my c section. 

oaklandava

@kerryann124 the extra testing may help you relax a little or address concerns that you're worried about. I would probably ask for it too. My good friend had pre-e and she said her headaches were monumental...like the worst of her life and she couldn't do anything. So, I would say that would be a pretty strong indicator. I had high BP last pregnancy, but it never escalated to pre-e thankfully.

kerryann124

Thanks for the suggestions and the input. I'm going to go ahead and do the extra testing tomorrow (24 hour urine collection) to hopefully get a baseline if its not an issue yet and just be cautious. My midwife also emphasized headache being the main symptom to watch out for so that sounds pretty consistent with everyone else's experience. 

pttomato

@oaklandava That sounds stressful. Are they going to have you do the Biweekly NSTs?

oaklandava

@pttomato yeahhhh it is. I'm not sure what that is? They are going to hook me up to these monitor scanner things each week and chart his movements and heart rate and what not. He called it something but I can't remember for the life of me what it was.

MrsDho11

oaklandava said:

@pttomato yeahhhh it is. I'm not sure what that is? They are going to hook me up to these monitor scanner things each week and chart his movements and heart rate and what not. He called it something but I can't remember for the life of me what it was.

Yes. That’s an NST - non stress test

oaklandava

@MrsDho11 thank you! So much happens at these appointments, and after we've driven 1.5 hours to them my 4 year old is sometimes hard to contain while I try and listen and soak it all in. I get in the car and I am like wait, what did he say?!

MrsDho11

oaklandava said:

@MrsDho11 thank you! So much happens at these appointments, and after we've driven 1.5 hours to them my 4 year old is sometimes hard to contain while I try and listen and soak it all in. I get in the car and I am like wait, what did he say?!

I feel that way sometimes too and the drive is only like 10 minutes!

molosmiles

@oaklandava my doctor called them neonatal testing, but I'm sure he is referencing the same test. He said due to my age I should get them biweekly but he's going to try for weekly since I don't have any issues beyond AMA; however, I'm still waiting on the GD results 😬

MrsDho11

@molosmiles you’re still waiting? Hasn’t it been a couple days? Is there a patient portal you can check for results? Perhaps they just didn’t call because you passed?

molosmiles

@MrsDho11 Yes! I took it Tuesday. I'm going with no news is good news. I really should call though. I had dessert and a soda yesterday but started feeling guilty. My appt is on Wednesday and I think that's too long to just wait it out. Unfortunately my OB doesn't have a patient portal but all my other doctors do!

MrsDho11

molosmiles said:

@MrsDho11 Yes! I took it Tuesday. I'm going with no news is good news. I really should call though. I had dessert and a soda yesterday but started feeling guilty. My appt is on Wednesday and I think that's too long to just wait it out. Unfortunately my OB doesn't have a patient portal but all my other doctors do!

I’d call! I’m guessing it is good news too, and wouldn’t you love to spend the weekend not wondering either way?