Pre-e or something else?

stecjen · May 2014

At 36 weeks I experienced a scary situation - floaters in my vision and problems finding words to express myself. Not only that, but I was also extremely swollen in my ankles/feet that day. My BP was taken at work and shown to be 170/75. I had my regular appt the day before and my BP was 116/64. I called the doctor's office immediately and was told to go to L&D. They tested my urine (after I chugged a bottle of water to give them a sample) and found no protein. It took them about an hour to take my BP while I had laid down for quite a bit and at this point was really light headed (and BP was back to normal range). I didn't see a doctor once for the entire 3 hours there. Instead, they chalked up my experience to low blood sugar (but no figure prick or blood work was done). I still didn't feel right the next day and again they said my light headedness was a normal pregnancy symptom. Between then and now I've been doing a lot of research and I don't think what I experienced was due to low blood sugar at all. When all this occurred in may have been an hour since I had last snacked on something. I have my regular OB check tomorrow (36w6d) and I'm anxious as to what they will tell me. I haven't swelled up like I did that day since, but today back at work, I'm starting to feel light headedness even though I'm snacking every hour-hour and a half. Hopefully talking to an actual doc instead of a nurse will help calm my nerves, but I worry if it is preeclampsia what will be done at this point. I had a normal PG the first time and delivered right on my due date.

meritsamomma · May 2014

As difficult as it can be, try not to Google symptoms too much! IMO if the hospital staff seems confident you're okay I would try to take them at their word.
Definitely discuss with your Dr. at your appt. tomorrow, but do your best to relax meantime. Stress only makes your body do crazier stuff!
Make sure to take it easy when you're getting dizzy or lightheaded and drink plenty of water!
GL!

CJnKR2014 · May 2014

If you are truly concerned you need to go see the doctor, there isn't anything else really we can tell you.

FX it isn't pre-e and that it was just low blood sugar like they said.

shellbell813 · May 2014

Definitely go ahead and call your OB if you are worried. Also, my OB told me I was not allowed to have anyone else take my blood pressure because it sounds a little different for pregnant women. Not saying that's why you had a conflicting BP when they took it at your work, but that could be a part of it. Still, if you feel off - cannot hurt to call.

flerlgirl · May 2014

Pre-e is diagnosed by having high bp and protein in the urine (in almost all cases). If you don't have protein, it's likely not pre-e. That being said, this is not a question for a discussion board. Ask your doctor.

irenewslee · May 2014

It would probably give you some comfort to call your OB and see what she says. I had the same problem last week at my 36/37 check up. My OB sent me straight to the hospital to run blood test and monitored my blood pressure for 4 hours. Turned out I don't have protein in my urine and the blood work came out clean. My OB released me but put me on bed rest. She told me to checkmy BP every few hours and if it gets over 95/150 to call her right away.

jjva · May 2014

irenewslee said:

It would probably give you some comfort to call your OB and see what she says. I had the same problem last week at my 36/37 check up. My OB sent me straight to the hospital to run blood test and monitored my blood pressure for 4 hours. Turned out I don't have protein in my urine and the blood work came out clean. My OB released me but put me on bed rest. She told me to checkmy BP every few hours and if it gets over 95/150 to call her right away.

The same thing happened to me at my 34-week checkup, with the same results -- the BP reading at the OB was high, they sent me to L&D, I spent three hours at the hospital getting my BP monitored and my blood and urine checked, and everything seemed fine. They told me to take it easy and let me go on my merry way.

I've been getting lightheaded a lot lately when I try to do almost anything (moving laundry from washer to dryer, even), so I spend a lot of time resting though I'm not actually on bed rest. I have another checkup tomorrow morning so we'll see what they tell me. OP, I hope you're fine, but like everyone else said, call your doc! I did, on a Sunday, and felt bad for calling on her day off, but she was great about it and better safe than sorry.

stecjen · May 2014

Thanks @irenewslee and @jjva for sharing your experiences. I was more looking for other women's experiences with something similar than medical advice! When I call the doc office I'm sent to the nurse line and never get a chance to actually speak my concerns over with my OB. It's frustrating, so I'm glad to hear what others have gone through. Dr. Google is just getting the best of me right now!

I just wish they had done some sort of blood work when I was in the hospital last week so I would feel better about the whole experience instead of questioning the outcome and left wondering 'what-if'.

nunzchucks · May 2014

stecjen said:
Thanks @irenewslee and @jjva for sharing your experiences. I was more looking for other women's experiences with something similar than medical advice! When I call the doc office I'm sent to the nurse line and never get a chance to actually speak my concerns over with my OB. It's frustrating, so I'm glad to hear what others have gone through. Dr. Google is just getting the best of me right now! I just wish they had done some sort of blood work when I was in the hospital last week so I would feel better about the whole experience instead of questioning the outcome and left wondering 'what-if'.

Your OP didn't even ask a question. How would we know what you were actually looking for? Also, everyone's body is different. How could someone else's experience determine whether or not you should be concerned? The posters who advised you to talk to your doctor were spot on.

flerlgirl · May 2014

stecjen said:

Thanks @irenewslee and @jjva for sharing your experiences. I was more looking for other women's experiences with something similar than medical advice! When I call the doc office I'm sent to the nurse line and never get a chance to actually speak my concerns over with my OB. It's frustrating, so I'm glad to hear what others have gone through. Dr. Google is just getting the best of me right now! I just wish they had done some sort of blood work when I was in the hospital last week so I would feel better about the whole experience instead of questioning the outcome and left wondering 'what-if'.

Again, I am not a doctor. But bloodwork in this case sounds unnecessary. You don't meet the criteria for diagnosing pre-e, so bloodwork would just be a waste of time. I'm not saying that to be a jerk; it should comfort you to know they didn't feel the need to do any bloodwork since you weren't showing any danger signs.

ETA: Dr. Googe and my experience also won't do much for you. I had pre-e with my first, a pretty severe case. I had high BP a few times and a couple of head aches and not much else. The day before he was born my feet and hands suddenly ballooned up and I had a mild head ache again, but until then I felt fine. I didn't even realize I was swollen until my doctor pointed it out. Every pre-e case is different.

scrouch7 · May 2014

Talk to your doctor.

If your doctor isn't concerned already I wouldn't be because, believe me, if they were at all worried you would know it. I have had borderline/slightly high blood pressure my entire pregnancy and starting this week (36 weeks) they have me on two appointments a week, are running labs, making me take me own bp at home three times a day (to report back if over a certain level), and will induce if I don't go natural by 39 weeks. My doctor wants to know if I so much as have a headache and wants me home not working. This is what caution on the part of my doctor looks like. It is not just bloodwork...

Let the doctor know you have concerns but if they aren't worried, just try to relax and back away from Google. Your doctor knows what to look for and will look for it if they are at all concerned.

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