Can you tell me what you would do? Re: Doctor/Pregnancy

So let's recap. Here is the list of symptoms of PRE-E

Hypertension
Proteinuria
Edema (Swelling)
Sudden Weight Gain
Nausea or Vomiting
Abdominal (stomach area) and/or Shoulder Pain
Lower back pain
Headache
Changes in Vision
Hyperreflexia

You have 6 of the 10 symptoms. I don't think it is up for discussion at this point. Get to the ER.
 
I don't post here much, but I wanted to join the choir.

I am one of those no meds, no induction, crazy homebirther types. I tend to believe most things are a variation of normal and lots of things are overdiagnosed.
My butt would be in the ER so fast people's heads would spin.

I understand that you feel like you're between a rock and a hard place, and we're hearing a lot of "But, but, but..." BUT - this is your baby's health at risk. If your doctor won't listen, it is your job to yell until he hears you. This will be the beginning of a lifetime of advocating for your children.

I also think/hope the ER would be more helpful than you think. Worst case scenario, if something went wrong? Their butts are on the line for a lawsuit too. They're going to check you out pretty throughly, I'd say. At the very least your doc is going to have to take you a lot more seriously if you've gone to the ER for your symptoms.

And if that doesn't work, what is a copay? Mine are all $30-45 dollars, with I think $90 for fancy specialists. I know that can be a lot depending on finances, but even though we don't carry debt as practically a moral value :p we would not even BLINK to pull out a CC in a situation like that.

Good luck. I hope you're in the ER right now, being attended to properly!
 
Susan Bartolini said:
One more question, are you swelling at all? Do you have pitting edema?
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My swelling is VERRRRRY minor. My ring got a little bit tight, and I took it off, but otherwise, I haven't had any swelling in my hands, wrists, ankles, face, etc. No pitting edema, either.

As for the pre-e symptoms, I have the following:

-High blood pressure (sometimes. For example, today it was 136/95. Last time, it was I think 160/???)
-I *had* protein in my urine in the small samples they take in the office, but when I did the 24 hour test, I had 190 something, and they said it's not high unless it's 300 something.
-Headaches
-Changes in Vision
-Upper abdominal/rib pain
-nausea (some vomiting, but it's been about a week since I had any)
-Dizziness

I haven't had sudden weight gain, swelling, or decreased urine output.
I based the symptoms I listed/didn't list on this list: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/preeclampsia/DS00583/DSECTION=symptoms



My best friend's mom is a nurse, specializing in pregnancy and lactation. She says that unless I'm having the blackout vision tonight (where the edges start to get dark on the edges and all spotty and blurred), or unless my head starts pounding tonight, then I should call tomorrow and demand to see the other doctor in the practice, as soon as possible (as in, don't wait until my appointment in 2 weeks). She said maybe seeing the other doctor in the practice will help, because, like I said, going to the ER means I'll just see my Dr. again, and she's not sure he'll take me seriously, but instead that he'll be mad that he had to come in in the middle of the night, and take me even LESS seriously. She said maybe seeing the other dr., during normal office hours, might mean I get listened to for sure.
 
You don't have to have ALL the symptoms to have PRE-E. Some don't have ANY. You have 6 of 10 dude! What are you waiting for?

Go to the ER and have the staff run the tests. If they are normal, fine. If not, good thing huh?

I seriously cannot understand why you give a crap about what the doctor is feeling or whether or not he will take you seriously. You can't possible know what his reaction will be if you go to the ER tonight and your tests are abnormal. Don't even consider that as a reason for going or not going. They are not going to even call him if the tests don't indicate a call is necessary.

You seriously want to wait until you have another blackout? WHAT????

I hope you take our advice and head to the ER and I hope you have a healthy remainder of your pregnancy.
 
Susan Bartolini said:
I hope you take our advice and head to the ER and I hope you have a healthy remainder of your pregnancy.
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In the process of reading this thread, while I've been saying my "but but buts" the past hour, I was first waiting to hear back from the on-call nurse (the ER pitches a fit if I go in without calling first), and now I'm trying to find a ride to the ER.

I hope you guys don't think I'm blowing off your advice. I'm not. I'm just trying to a) get ahold of the nurse, and b) get a ride there. That takes a bit of time, so in the meantime, I'm talking to you guys and trying to get as much info as possible.

I really appreciate the advice, and I'm hoping to have a ride soon so I can get up there.
 
I had NO swelling with Pre-e this last time. NONE. I still had to induce a preemie baby b/c I was on the verge of stroking out. The chest/shoulder pain and headaches are definite warning signs.
 
Those are symptoms of pre-eclampsia, seeing spots (or other vision changes), numbness, headaches... that along with your high blood pressure. You should definitely insist they check into it.. Those are the same exact symptoms I had when I had pre-eclampsia..
 
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newfiemountiewife said:
Every single one of us that has been pregnant or had babies will tell you to go to the ER if you are concerned. And that is what you should do. And if your doctor blows you off, find a new one. You don't need to have a doctor that doesn't pay attention.
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EXACTLY! They work for YOU! Get a new doctor if your's isn't taking you seriously. You are the only one who knows your symptoms..
You know what, my doctors didn't take me seriously until a measurement was off (when they measured my belly and it was wayyy to small for how far along I was). So they sent me to a specialist who did a special sonogram. They realized then that my son was 1/2 the size he should have been for how far along I was (all because of my pre-eclampsia)... if they had taken me seriously he would've been born at the right time and right size, not 9 1/2 weeks early and weighing less than 2 pounds!

I'm very glad you are going though, make sure they listen to you and don't take no for an answer (but don't stress out too much because that's not a good thing either!
 
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Jengerbread88 said:
In the process of reading this thread, while I've been saying my "but but buts" the past hour, I was first waiting to hear back from the on-call nurse (the ER pitches a fit if I go in without calling first), and now I'm trying to find a ride to the ER.

I hope you guys don't think I'm blowing off your advice. I'm not. I'm just trying to a) get ahold of the nurse, and b) get a ride there. That takes a bit of time, so in the meantime, I'm talking to you guys and trying to get as much info as possible.

I really appreciate the advice, and I'm hoping to have a ride soon so I can get up there.
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I am so glad you're going. I hope you are taken care of really well, and I hope you can sleep well tonight. *hug*
 
I would go to the Olathe ER. They won't triage you up to OB. Just a suggestion. I still see you on. You haven't gotten a ride yet? It's been an hour. Is your mom not home?
 
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I am another advocate if your doctor ain't working get a different one...go talk to the patient contact rep and you would be AMAZED what they can do :) Trust me I worked in a hospital for 20 years :) I had the same OB dr my whole pregnancy and when I went into labor with Peyton {#4} my doc wasn't "on call" and the doc that checked me said "oh you really aren't in labor and you probably have a another week or so"...BS...and as a patient I told the ward nurse "I have the right to change docs, call so and so "...and guess what "so and so doc" delivered Peyton at 4:36 pm that same day and she was FANTASTIC and is now our family doctor...so defientely don't let them bully you and make you think you HAVE to keep the same doctor...there is a thing called "PATIENT RIGHTS"....so I hope everything works out and you get somebody to listen to you!
 
kscwgirl said:
I would go to the Olathe ER. They won't triage you up to OB. Just a suggestion. I still see you on. You haven't gotten a ride yet? It's been an hour. Is your mom not home?
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My insurance gives me problems when I go to Olathe. I wasn't on-- I left my computer open, so I don't know if it was still showing me as on when I wasn't.

My mom was home, but she was home alone, and my brother is sick and she didn't want to leave HIM home alone either if I could get a ride. Anyway, when my dad got home she was able to take me.

They did some more blood work, took urine samples, and took my blood pressure (145/90?) They want me to make an appointment with the other OB in my office for tomorrow. From there, we'll see what happens. They told me to lay on my left side, drink lots of water, and take it easy... try to keep activity to a minimum until I can get into the doctor.

For now, though, bed.
 
I spoke with the other doctor today. She was NOT happy that I had documented high blood pressure twice in my routine visits, and yet did not raise alarm bells.

She came up with a plan of action that I think works well for both of us. For now, she is having me come in twice per week. One visit will just be in-and-out: she will have a nurse check my blood pressure, and if it's normal or close to normal, I'll leave. If it's high, she'll see me. The other visit each week will be an actual visit with her, where she can track my pregnancy like at a standard visit, but also keep a better eye on the blood pressure and other issues.
My pre-e screens came back negative, and she thinks maybe the vision is related to neurological problems (I have some nerve damage in my neck and spine from an abusive marriage, and she thinks maybe my existing nerve damage is being strained by the pregnancy). Because it's neurological, in her opinion, she's having me see a neurologist.

She said that my blood pressure hasn't been documented to be high enough to cause those vision issues, but that until they monitor my issues a little more closely, they won't rule it out... she just wants to have me see a neurologist in the meantime to take care of it if it's NOT blood pressure.

She is putting me on modified bedrest. She said I can still attend my classes, provided that going to school doesn't put a lot of added stress on me. When I'm not at school, she would like me to be in bed, but I can still shower, have family meals, etc. She says I cannot lift things, or do a lot of setting up with the nursery or whatever... that I can do whatever I can do delegating from bed.

She has not even ruled out me going on vacation at this point (we're not going by air). She hasn't ruled it in or given me a for sure yes, but she said that if we monitor it and my blood pressure looks good, I'll be all set to go still (mostly when I'm there, I sit and read or sit and put together puzzles. The most activity I have on vacation is going to the pool to dip my feet and legs in).

Once she starts tracking my blood pressure more, she'll be able to tell me that I need either more restrictions, or less. If she tracks it over the next week and sees that the modified bedrest is keeping it at normal levels, then she will drop the extra BP screening and see me once per week in a normal visit, just asking me to stay at modified bedrest like we discussed. If she monitors my blood pressure and it stays high, she's going to have me put on regular bed rest OR explore the medication route and see what happens there. If it gets REALLY high, she'll consider more tests and more screening (maybe even having me borrow a cuff from them to check it daily).

Right now, we're just playing it by ear and seeing what will happen over the coming weeks.

I'm happy that she is taking the time to monitor things more closely and really watch the blood pressure. I am also happy that she is considering what is causing the vision, but also recognizing that it exists instead of looking at it as though it's allergies or something else. She's right- I hadn't considered that it could just be the baby laying in a way that puts strain on existing conditions. My condition may not have caused this trouble before, but there wasn't this much strain or weight on it before, either.

I like that she's listening to me, and that she's considering all the options, instead of zeroing in on one thing (like saying "Oh, it's an ear infection.") I'm happy with how she's handling it, and so we'll take it from there.
 
I feel relieved just reading about your new dr. Sounds so much better.

and you're right about pg sometimes makes other issues/injuries come out more. I'm so glad she's referring you to a neurologist.

Keep us posted!
 
I can hear from your post how less stressed you are now. I am SOOOO glad you've changed doctors, and that this one is taking good care of you, and really listening to what your concerns are.
 
that is awesome that this doctor is taking your concerns seriously! Please keep us updated how you are doing during the rest of the pregnancy!
 
When I went in to get my BP checked the other day, it was 136/80-something, and she said that it was still elevated for me, but that it wasn't SO high that we should panic yet. She said to stay resting, and to not do anything strenuous or exciting over the weekend.

Easier said than done- our exchange student is leaving tomorrow. That's going to be very upsetting and difficult.

Anyway, I go back next week (Wednesday morning) and she'll check my BP again and see me for a normal visit. After that, we'll figure out where to go from there.

She says my BP is staying around the same for now, so even though it's elevated, it's at least stable. If I spike next week, then she'll be concerned that something else is going on.
 
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