Friday, July 8, 2011

Joy and Pain

The glow of pregnancy. The joy of being with child. The blessings. The.... REALITY.

Nausea: check. Headaches: check. Heartburn: check. Feeling moderately whale-like already: check. I was ready for all of this. After all, didn't I go through all of this just recently? So no major complaints to that end. A little whining, yes, but I'll live. What I didn't expect was heart problems again.

Last pregnancy while in my third trimester, I ended up going to the emergency room and the cardiologist. The ER thought I was bat-shit because I was complaining of rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath in my third trimester. I was treated like a hypochondriac but it didn't stop them from performing some rather expensive tests on me. The funny thing is, not one doctor, nurse or intern raised a stethoscope to my chest. Then I was sent to a cardiologist the next week by my OB who was not happy with the ER results. The cardiologist, who also did an echo and an EKG immediately put a stethoscope to my chest and told me I had a Mitral Valve Prolapse. Wow, to think my 4 hour ER trip could have been nipped in the bud that quickly! Anywho, it's not a serious condition... Many people have it and not only live with it day to day with no issues but many, like me, had no idea they even had the condition. The cardiologist told me that if I could handle the symptoms for the last month and just take it easy that I would need no interventions. He also let me know that usually, these issues pop up in the first rather than the third trimester.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. I was working, doing my plate slinging and people pleasing routine. About an hour into a crazy busy shift, my heart was going crazy. It was a racing mess and I felt like I was trying to breathe through a cocktail straw. Aw crap. Time to go back to the cardiologist. Unfortunately I've moved since the last issue and have to start over from scratch. So now I'm in the middle of the guinea pig routine. Over the next week and a half, I've got an echo scheduled, bloodwork, and will wear a 24 hour heart monitor called a Holter. I'm truly not over worried, I just want to make sure that not only am I providing enough oxygen for my little peanut but will be okay during labor and delivery. So don't fret my friends, but sending me a little good juju wouldn't hurt.


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