A bit of a scare

I had one of my routine obstetrics appointments on Tuesday, well what I thought would be a routine appointment.

I went in and they did the normal things, ask me how I'm feeling, ask if I had any concerns or questions and than went to take my blood pressure. Well my blood pressure was pretty high and the midwife asked me if I had tested my urine for protein (apparently I'm supposed to test it every appointment, which no one had ever told/shown me) so I went and tested it and it came back with protein in it.

The midwives than went and got the doctor who asked me if I had noticed any swelling in my feet, hands.... I said I hadn't, so she checked my feet and yep, they were swollen (I haven't seen my feet in a few weeks so haven't noticed, lol) they also asked about the headache I had and how long I'd had it.

Well it seems that all these symptoms (fluid retention, protein in urine, high blood pressure and headache) are all signs of pre-eclampsia (PE).

Pre-eclampsia is a serious conditions that some pregnant women experience, it is when the blood flow to the placenta is reduced and the baby therefore doesn't get enough oxygen. 
It can also cause problems for the mum, including: kidney and liver failure, convulsions, clotting problems and can lead to death. 
It's a condition that doctors take very seriously. 


After being told that I have signs of pre eclampsia they asked if I was able to stay in for monitoring. I explained that at the moment there is no way I can stay as we had a family emergency happening and it just wasn't possible.
Being that bubs was still being active, the doctor decided to do some tests and if the test came back showing a problem, than I was to come back for monitoring than.
So I had a blood test and gave a urine sample to be sent off for further testing.

To say that I went home feeling scared and uneasy is an understatement.
One of  the most common treatment options for pre eclampsia is bed rest. But when you have a husband who is a shift worker and a child in school as well as work, best rest is pretty near impossible.

I spent the next day 48 hours wondering what was going on and feeling pretty scared that I might have PE and scared of how it was going to effect our baby and me.
So many things were going through my head, it's funny how when the doctor tells you to go home and rest and relax...it's the last thing you can actually do!

Thankfully I got a phone call today to say that the test results came back clear, however if I notice any more symptoms I'm to go in and get checked out straight away. The blood test also came back showing my hemoglobin is pretty low, so I am now back on iron tablets and hoping they will help so I can avoid iron injections.


While I'm feeling very relieved that the test came back clear, this was a scare that will not pass easily.

It's scary to think that a serious condition like pre eclampsia can be here with no obvious symptoms, no pain, no real visible signs......a very scary thought to know it can be lurking in the shadows without us knowing.