My blood pressure started creeping up when I was around 27 weeks along. At first, my OB attributed it to her a-hole sonographer for scaring me s---less, by saying my kiddo had a huge head and I should address those concerns with my OB. But the next week it was still elevated. We did watchful waiting for that week. I went to work on my next scheduled shift (I'm a nurse) and I had an atrocious headache. I went to employee health and asked them to take my BP - it was 160/110. So I called my OB & set up an appointment for that afternoon. (My work wouldn't let me leave any sooner.)
As soon as I got there, my BP was still in the 160's, and I had 3+ protein in my urine, so I got admitted - I was 30 weeks at that point. My 24 hour urine ended up around 500. But I begged and pleaded after two days on bedrest in the hospital to go home. So they sent me home on bedrest. At my next appointment, though, my BP was back up in the 160s and I was spilling protein again, so I did another 24 hour urine collection at home, and had another BPP on the baby. Since my 24 hour urine wasn't any different (still around 500) and all my labs were the same, and baby looked good, I got to stay at home on strict bedrest. I had to monitor my BP at home.
Then my liver started acting goofy. I got all itchy and started vomiting and vomiting, and my BP spiked up AGAIN, so I got admitted again, this time with plans to do an emergency c-section (32 weeks at this point) if my liver didn't settle down and I progressed to HELLP. But my liver settled down and my bp settled down once I was able to quit puking constantly. (Phenergan was my friend)
But my ob finally said she had had enough worrying and wanted to give me an expiration date, so we scheduled an induction for 37 weeks and 5 days. And then I was on the strictest of bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy, and I still had a hell of a time keeping my bp under control.
After my delivery (ended up with a c-section, because dear kiddo wouldn't descend) my BP went through the roof - 190/120 and I got all twitchy, so I did not get to go to post-partum. I had to get put on magnesium for 24 hours (made me feel horrible, like I had the flu) and I had to go back to labor & delivery, which was awful. They do not know what to do for a post-partum person.
My BP came down out of stroke range, but stayed high enough to require labetalol - I took a huge dosethree times a day and it was still in the 150/95 range the whole time I was in the hospital. I still went home on day 3 though. But after 21 hours at home, I did not feel well and I thought it was from the labetalol, so I went back to my OB. They took my BP and foudn it was 220/150 - and they FREAKED. They thought I was going to stroke out right there.
I had swelled horribly after kiddo was born, and I kept saying as much to everyone, but everyone kept saying it was normal, normal, normal. I couldn't bend my ankles or wrists because I was so swollen. So I immediately got re-admitted to labor and delivery, which was werid, because I didn't have a baby inside anymore, where I got more magnesium, and a HUGE dose of lasix. Once I started peeing off some of that fluid, my BP started coming down. I got sent to post-partum and stayed there for 2 more days adn went home on an even bigger dose of labetalol and orders for strict bed rest.
So me moved kiddo's bed into my room and he & I camped out in there together. Luckily for me, he was absolutely the perfect baby and didn't cry too much.
At my 6 weeks check up, my OB said she didn't think I'm designed to have babies. Which is fine - I don't intend to have anymore. I'm so thankful, though, that my body held out to get kiddo to 37 5/7 and that he was healthy, in spite of everything. When they pulled the placenta out, it was all calcified and everything, from my high blood pressure - but amazingly, kiddo was big and vigorous. It's miraculous he wasn't compromised at all.
