Non-stress test #2
I had my second NST today, this time at the hospital (which is where I will have them twice a week for the duration of my pregnancy). I got there early, about 15 minutes and asked the lady at check-in if they were going to need a urine sample because I needed to go, and she didn't think so. Since I was early and she said they were running late, I ran down and got myself a milk at the cafe and shh...don't tell anyone, but a cookie too. ;) When I got back upstairs, I only waited about another 5 minutes.
The nurse took me to my bed and asked me questions like if I had any symptoms of preeclampsia. I told her about the stars and the swelling but she wasn't too worried at this point...said most of what I was describing was fairly normal. She asked if I had been having headaches. I have had a couple headaches the past couple days so I said yes, but they haven't been horrible throbbing headaches so again she was OK with that. She asked if I were on bedrest and I told her No and that I was hoping not to be put on bedrest. She tried to hook up the fetal monitor but the baby was so not cooperating. She tried for about 15 minutes or more and then got really frustrated and asked another nurse to try. She got it in place in about 5 minutes. I was hooked up to the monitors for about 30 minutes with 3 blood pressure readings (all top numbers in the 140-142 range, bottom numbers ranged from 66-78).
When she came back to evaluate she said she was a little worried about low amniotic fluid levels. I told her that the perinatologist had mentioned the same thing on Thursday and asked why she thought that. Apparently the concern is when there are big swings in the heart rate, in this case I know that I saw a dip to in the 90s and back up to the 150s. She said that can sometimes indicate that there isn't enough fluid and that the baby moves and compresses the umbilical cord until they panic and move away...freaky. Hope she is OK in there...
In light of the slight concern, she wanted to find the on call OB before releasing me. Unfortunately, he was first visiting with a patient and then snuck out without her knowing..so it took about another 30 minutes (maybe more) to get him back. He released me after confirming that I have another ultrasound to check fluid levels in two weeks and reminded me to keep my twice weekly NST appointments.
OK, that was as long as I can rest...must get back to cleaning my bedroom and the extra bedroom...
The nurse took me to my bed and asked me questions like if I had any symptoms of preeclampsia. I told her about the stars and the swelling but she wasn't too worried at this point...said most of what I was describing was fairly normal. She asked if I had been having headaches. I have had a couple headaches the past couple days so I said yes, but they haven't been horrible throbbing headaches so again she was OK with that. She asked if I were on bedrest and I told her No and that I was hoping not to be put on bedrest. She tried to hook up the fetal monitor but the baby was so not cooperating. She tried for about 15 minutes or more and then got really frustrated and asked another nurse to try. She got it in place in about 5 minutes. I was hooked up to the monitors for about 30 minutes with 3 blood pressure readings (all top numbers in the 140-142 range, bottom numbers ranged from 66-78).
When she came back to evaluate she said she was a little worried about low amniotic fluid levels. I told her that the perinatologist had mentioned the same thing on Thursday and asked why she thought that. Apparently the concern is when there are big swings in the heart rate, in this case I know that I saw a dip to in the 90s and back up to the 150s. She said that can sometimes indicate that there isn't enough fluid and that the baby moves and compresses the umbilical cord until they panic and move away...freaky. Hope she is OK in there...
In light of the slight concern, she wanted to find the on call OB before releasing me. Unfortunately, he was first visiting with a patient and then snuck out without her knowing..so it took about another 30 minutes (maybe more) to get him back. He released me after confirming that I have another ultrasound to check fluid levels in two weeks and reminded me to keep my twice weekly NST appointments.
OK, that was as long as I can rest...must get back to cleaning my bedroom and the extra bedroom...
posted by Katrina | 1/31/2006 07:57:00 PM
1 Comments:
I'm glad your doctors and specialists are keeping a close eye on everything. Hopefully the amniotic fluid levels won't become an issue.
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