Back So Soon...

So I was truly hoping to avoid the hospital scene until delivery, but no such luck.

As I've mentioned previously, I've been having some pretty bad pains under my right rib cage and under my right scapula. Well yesterday something new popped up..very suddenly. It was a horrific pain below my sternum that radiated across my chest under my boobs and wrapped around through my middle back. It was the kind of pain very similar in intensity to when I passed kidney stones. It had me moaning and laying on our bathroom floor in the fetal position rocking myself. So seriously not good.

I woke up with this pain on Tuesday morning at 6am. At first it was just a new, noticeable pain, but by 10am it had progressed to 'oh my God' pain. At this point I refused to call the doc for fear of looking silly. In my defense I call my OB's nurse weekly, and I know she is so tired of fielding calls from me, so I was trying to avoid again being the hypochondriac/worry wort. It's so embarrassing. I don't mean to be over-the-top or annoying, but I can't help but think this is what they think about me---even though they try to act like this is not the case. This is when I don't like being a 'High Sensitive Person". ( Have you ever read about Highly Sensitive people? Very interesting.)

Kevin came home from lunch at 11:30 to find me in the bed on all fours with my head buried in the pillow rocking myself back and forth. He was way concerned and actually called my OB's nurse himself. She thought it was most likely trapped gas, despite having regular BM's and not having an issue with gas. But given my history in this pregnancy, she recommended that we head to L and Delivery to have the baby monitored--

This was a big 'No way' for me. I knew a trip to L&D would only result in sitting there for 8 hours, spending a lot of money, and I would probably leave with no answers.

Buuuuut, but by 3:00 I had changed my mind, but only because I needed some serious pain meds. And I was getting really worried about what was afflicting my body. I was totally nauseated, I couldn't eat or drink and could barely move.

So at 3 o'clock Kevin left work to take me to the hospital and my Mom stayed behind to man the fort and take care of the fur kids--there's five, including hers, ya know. It was so nice not to have the stress of worrying about the dogs with being locked down at the hospital so long.

Once we arrived I was hooked up to belly monitors and the baby's heart rate was normal and he/she was moving around, so they weren't concerned with the baby. Also, I wasn't spotting or leaking fluid and so forth.

My OB's differentials for a diagnosis at this point was GIRD with esophageal muscle spasms or my gallbladder. So I was started on Morphine and not allowed to eat or drink since I was going to be getting a GI sono study later that day to look at all that is GI.

The GI sono study looked at pretty much all GI organs in my abdomen other than my appendix. Everything was completely normal, including my gall bladder, except for my right kidney. My right kidney is extremely enlarged with urine backed up inside of the kidney and the ureter. This is called severe hydronephrosis. This is apparently a very common finding in pregnant women, 90% of all pregnant women, especially on the right side, but most stay asymptomatic and don't have pain or any issues.

Well our Bean is still sitting on the farthest right side of the uterus and refuses to move despite anything I try. This obviously isn't helping the pain situation. They said the cause of the hydronephrosis in the right kidney is due to the growing uterus siting on top of the ureter which is blocking the flow of urine from my kidney.

The entire time we were at the hospital I was having crazy, big contraction at 2 minutes apart. I just knew this was totally shortening my cervix. UHG. So my OB requested that I have a shot of terbutaline, which, by the way, is horrible! It offers crazy, awful sde effects. It made my heart race, I was shaking uncontrollably, I was anxious, and crawling out of my skin...BUT...it took away the contractions. It also made our Bean's HR increase dramatically, which I sure hated to see. I hate that in order to take care of myself so I can continue to take care of our Bean I have to give him/her all these drugs. Really hate it.

In between all of this, my OB gave me a " GI Concoction" to see if would eliminate the pain I had below my sternum. It did. It was a liquid mix of Mylanta, lidocaine, and something else.  So she feels that since being on bed rest I have developed GIRD and my esophagus is raw which is causing painful muscle spasms. Not what I wanted to hear, but at least she was able to get the pain to go away! So she has asked me to take Prilosec everyday from here on out.  I know it doesn't sound like this would be very painful, but it actually was excruciating.

About ten minutes after getting the terbutaline


Ten pm rolled around I was sick of sitting in the L&D triage curtained off room having to listen to expectant moms come and go in the room next to me preparing for the birth of their little one. Then, only later on, to here the screams of fresh newborns. I wish it was my turn.

I begged to go home and not to have to stay the night. My doc agreed and I was released shortly after. But before I could go, I was told I had to eat something since I had not eaten in over a day--literally. All I could choke down was a few Goldfish and some cranberry juice. By this point I was THIRSTY, as I wasn't allowed any food or drink as not to interfere with the GI study. I felt like I couldn't get enough fluids in me. But the goodness of that juice was short lived.

As Kevin dressed me and I signed my release forms I was sooo nauseated. Before I sat in the wheelchair to be wheeled to the hospital exit, I had to quickly ask for a bathroom. I was light headed, nauseated, and needed to throw up. I ran as fast as I could to the bathroom, or waddled, I should say, and sat on the cold floor ( I know, disgusting. Desperate times equals desperate measures.) I threw up and felt a little better, but still walking like a 90 year old woman who needs a hip replacement from the pain. I swear, I'm not a wuss when it comes to pain, I promise. Whatever is happening to my body right now my body and nerves are fully revolting against. My body's surely going through an adjustment period now that the baby has grown to a significant size and weight.

So I finished the vomiting and into the wheelchair I went for a ride down to the car. During the car ride I became further nauseated and knew I had a repeat case on my hands. I was reclined the entire trip and braced myself for all the normal jostling of a car ride. As soon as the car stopped, I literally bolted into the house bypassing my well wishing mother waiting in the entry for me, aggressively yelled for the dogs to move out of my way, and no sooner than I could raise the toilet lid, I was vomiting again. More cranberry juice. At least it wasn't horrible coming back up. Hahaha.

Kevin helped me change and get into pj's and I crawled into bed. I was praying to wake up the next morning and it all be over. Praying that it was all a one-time isolated event...No such luck. I don't know what it is about every ailment getting worse at night, but whatever was happening with my body was no exception. I was MISERABLE the entire night. Like verge of dying miserable, or so it felt.  I got absolutely no sleep and was even found on all fours in our pitch black bedroom rocking myself because it was the only thing that offered even a smidge of pain relief. My entire right side and back was on fire and I couldn't move a single muscle in this area without feeling like my skin was ripping from my bones and my uterus was going to herniate through my abdominal skin.

All that got me through was knowing that I had a prescheduled appt. with my OB that she wanted me to keep the next morning, on Wednesday. And it couldn't come quick enough.