Introducing: Emersyn Kate Part 2

Okay, part 2.  

Things were going pretty well until Thursday, May 5.  That evening, my heart was fluttering and acting weird and my feet and hands were a little swollen.  I didn't feel bad, but I also didn't feel good.  I texted Carol, the nurse from my office, and she had me check my BP and it was 160/110.  She texted my OB doctor and said I should probably go to the hospital to get checked out.  Well, it was 10 pm and we didn't want to take the boys with us and didn't want to wake any friends, so I texted back and said I'd go to hospital in am unless I got worse.  The next day, our dear friends, Nat and Laura, took the boys and we took Emersyn Kate with us to the hospital.  When I got there, my BP was 140something/90something, I had a terrible headache, and my pulse was 40.   I felt crummy.  (I was praying that I didn't have cardiomyopathy - there's a 50% chance of mortality)  They did a bunch of blood work, an EKG, an Echo, and the most thorough physical I've ever had.  Most of the tests were close to normal except my BNP (B type naturetic peptide -basically tells you if you have swelling around your heart and/or in heart failure).  My BNP was elevated, so they gave me Lasix to help and 6 hours later sent me home with a 4 day prescription of lasix.  The doctor was afraid I had postpartum pre-eclampsia or postpartum cardiomyopathy, but since my tests were mostly normal, he was  puzzled.  The EKG and Echo both picked up the flutter, but they didn't have a name for it and they were confused why my heart rate was so low.  They still sent me home, but said I needed to follow up with a cardiologist.   The lasix kicked in and helped with the swelling and the next day I was 7 pounds lighter.  A couple of weeks later, I saw the cardiologist and she ordered a bunch of tests again.  My stress test was normal and my Echo was normal.  So they think it was probably postpartum pre-eclampsia caused by sudden hormone changes.  My heart rate is back to normal, but my BP is still 130's/80's (which is high for me), but they don't want to do anything about it, and my hands are still slightly swollen (my wedding rings feel tight, so I'm not wearing them, yet).  My headache lasted about  6 weeks, thankfully it's better- excedrin was the only thing that kind of helped, it was pretty painful for a long time, I think getting more sleep also helped.  

I think that's just about everything.  I'm hoping my BP returns to normal in the next couple of months.  It was a scary few days, so I'm thankful to be feeling better.  

Emersyn Kate's 1st picture

1st Family Picture

Grandpa and Gigi and the kids

My wonderful mom - she stayed with us for 16 days and was amazing!!!

Grandpa and Nana

I wanted to get all of this written down before I forgot anything.