Results

I was one of the mom-to-bes who couldn’t understand why I was being put on modified bed rest and banned from working.

I was just swollen and had to watch my blood pressure, I figured. The doctor put me in the hospital for a night’s worth of observation, just to prove to me how out-of-control my body was getting. I finally listened.

My entire body was so swollen that I no longer had ankles. Even though I’ve always been on the heavier side, I have always had a figure. Even though I lost weight throughout the pregnancy (no, we aren’t certain why), I no longer had a figure. My legs were logs, my feet were so swollen that I had no shoes or slippers that I could wear. My Hubby had to take me to the store, so I could buy the extra-wide, slip-on shoes that were two and a half sizes bigger than my normal size! And I could only get slip-ons - anything were there was a back on the shoe, and goodness knows what size I would have needed. (It was the middle of winter, so I couldn’t go barefoot.)

My blood pressure was incredibly out of control, and I was doing the 24-hour urine tests at least once a week at the end. Just what you want in the house - a nice chilled jug of urine sitting in the bathroom or refrigerator. The poor Hubby ended up running it to the lab for me.

Pre-eclampsia is not fun and the severity of it isn’t well publicized. When I would mention I had it to coworkers/friends, I would frequently hear, “I had the same issues and it all turned out fine - your doctors are just being too cautious.”

I am glad you shared the info on this show, as it truly was a dangerous situation for my son and I, per my doctor. I wish more of my friends, relatives and coworkers hadn’t felt I was just “over-reacting” to normal pregnancy issues, as it made me feel incredibly guilty, when I would try to excuse myself from an activity or needed to keep things low-key.

Luckily, we are both healthy and happy, although I have heard afterwards, that, “See, everything was fine. You worried too much.”