by Jacqueline » Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:27 am
Hi ladies!
Sorry I've been AWOL for ages, I've had a lot of dramas going on (most of them with the girls). 3 Hospitalisations later, I'm home but on a very short leash. I've had the steroid shots given to mature expected-premmies' lungs and am having visits with the high risk team every few days now with borderline preeclampsia. I've got stories to tell about the various hospital admissions that might be of interest to some of you, but don't read them if you're prone to freaking out. ;) The next time something happens, my girls are likely to be delivered and go straight to NICU. I've been told, I've been prepared for it, but gosh knowing it's so close now is a little unsettling (a few weeks earlier than anticipated - I was told all along I'd be lucky to make it to 35 weeks, but I'm not even 32 weeks until this Friday). I don't feel prepared at home, but everyone keeps reassuring me that it will all work out fine and they'll help sort anything that's not ready.
The first admission was for a faint. BGL was 7.9 so not D related. I was waiting in line at a cafe on a hot day and passed out. I took ages to come right again, and had an ambulance ride to the hospital and a stay in there while they monitored everything. It was too soon for the girls to really be viable at the time, so I was pretty worried about them. A few family/friends thought it was all nothing and that it was all a storm in a teacup. My mum however, saw it as a sign that things might not stay straightforward as things progress - Ten points to mum (read on to see why...)!
The second was rather eventful and embarrassing. I was having a one on one session with a lecturer at uni in her office (about an assignment where I was covering different material to the class for disability reasons)... I was having horrible asthma. I fainted, came to, threw up, was really dizzy and wheezy for ages and barfed a few more times. BGL was perfect throughout, by some fantastic miracle! I got taken to the hospital and was in there for 8 days - Given a lot of steroids for my asthma which after years of great control suddenly got severe. I controlled BGLs throughout the admission myself, despite many threats that if I didn't do it well enough I'd be put on insulin and glucose drips - No need! I was the control poster-child, testing and adjusting doses competently before the D team would suggest the same things ("Great! Just keep doing what you're doing!"). They were rather proud of me, as one of theirs, though I was really using skills I learned through years of practice and knowing good people on RC since diagnosis nearly 10 years ago! ;) Anyway, I got home still on tapering steroids, with great control (for those that haven't experienced them - steroids generally tend to raise BGLs horrendously, and I was on really high doses). The girls were viable by this point and I was monitored very carefully, but there was no immediate threat of delivery as long as I could keep breathing well enough, so that was the priority and my D just had to be juggled to fit the asthma treatment. Well, actually it was a little more involved, since the breathing problems were 3-fold: Asthma. Twins seriously cramping the space for my lungs to expand. Iron deficiency. I'd been fighting anaemia all throughout the pregnancy, on iron tablets from around 5 or 7 weeks pregnant (I can't remember which) - In hospital they gave me an iron transfusion... What a massive difference! Really helped! My iron improved lots and I was told it'd stay that way until after I delivered, though it's actually just started trending downward again a little now. We'll keep an eye on that with everything else!
The third was over the weekend - I was hospitalised with pitting oedema, high BP, headaches and general icky feeling etc - Questionable preeclampsia. Some tests said yes, others said not yet. Monitored very carefully, given steroid shots to mature the twins lungs in case a prem delivery was needed. I was told I'd need a drip to maintain BGL control with the steroids, but they were a piece of cake to manage myself (on MDI) compared to the hard work I put in at the previous admission with the asthma steroids (different ones were needed and different doses, for different purposes, ofc). I never had a BGL over 6.9 the whole time, which was pretty good all things considered. The girls are still on board, and I'm home now. I'm on a very, very, VERY short leash - Nearly got stuck back in today after the obstetrician saw my swollen legs and fluctuating BP at my regular appt so I had to stay for the day but BP settled by evening so I was allowed home. So I'm now on hospital visits every few days and strict instructions to head straight to hospital if ANYTHING is not right.
So yeah, expect my girls to arrive fairly soon! I'm hoping they'll hang in there somehow for a little longer (I was originally hoping to make it to the predicted 34-35 weeks pg) but it doesn't look likely now. I'm doing my best to keep them cooking though! I'm also a guaranteed c-section, as a placenta is low. Things are going to be very complicated when it happens, so I'll write up the birth story for the curious (or horror fans, haha) when everything is over. ;) I'm hoping there is less drama than is anticipated, but I seem to do drama like a pro at the moment.
If anyone has any questions about my experiences, I'll be happy to share anything you might find useful or interesting - Just ask. :) Otherwise, I hope everyone is doing better than I have been! :)
Congrats to all those with good news, sympathy to those struggling, and encouragement to all! :) I've read all the posts, but haven't had time to go through and make my personal reply list - So rest assured I'm thinking of you all, and haven't forgotten you, I am just struggling to keep up with real life let alone online stuff. I'm thinking of you all and cheering each and every one of you on though! <3
