18w 6d

Pregnancy is just weird. Weird things happen to your body and you end up having weird medical treatment for weird symptoms.

On Monday, I went to the ER because I was thirsty and couldn't keep down liquids. Two IVs full of fluid, one blessed dose of IV Zofran (why do they not sell that stuff in IV form??), and five hours later, I was feeling much better. Except...a headache started the next day...and every day after that. It would hurt extremely bad right when I woke up, hurt even more when I stood up or sat up, and then felt better when I lied down. By Thursday, I was remembering that my blood pressure at the ER had spiked to 138/90 and now I was on day 3 1/2 of a brutal headache. I called my Ob Gyn's nurse and she consulted with my Ob Gyn and recommended that I come in immediately for admitting to check on the baby.

Here's the wrinkle. I go to a brand new, state-of-the art maternal fetal center with a hospital attached. A hospital that exclusively serves women and their babies. That's great if you are having a pregnancy problem or are ready to give birth. It's particularly awful if you are, instead, having a pregnancy - INDUCED problem that has nothing to do with a uterus.

KGII and I got the hospital around 6pm on Thursday and were whisked away into triage. There my blood pressure was taken and it was 116/60, no joke. They checked the baby's heart tones and they were beating away at a perfectly normal 150-160/beats per minute. I seemed to be perfectly healthy, except for the excruciating head ache.

I was asked if I got migraines (no), if I had changed any of my medication (no) or if I had been particularly stressed at work (always a little stressed, not really a lot of stress..so no). I was seen by a very soft-spoken Maternal and Fetal specialist and she ordered a MRI/MRA/MRB for my head and a Neurology consult. The problem was...I wasn't in a multi-speciality hospital that could do that at night. I had to wait until the morning, which is how I ended up spending the night at the hospital, even though I had reasonable blood pressure, good baby heart sounds, and no IV. They gave me Tylenol with caffeine every four hours, which was actually helping my headache.

The next day, my regular Ob Gyn came to visit me, which is why I love going to her practice that is connected to the hospital, and I had my MRI tests. They all came back normal. No problems, no blood clots in my brain, no enlarged retinas, nothing of any sort. Then around 2pm, the Neurology team came in and said rather than having a high spinal pressure headache (like I had with pseudo tumor cerebri) it sounded like I was having a LOW pressure headache. The only way to be sure was to do a lumbar punch, which could actually make the problem worse. The one catch? The team didn't know who or where would do the lumbar punch in the maternal hospital.

Finally, since they didn't know what to do with me, they sent me home with the Tylenol/Caffeine medication, told me to lie down as much as possible, drink fluids, and hope to god I didn't have a leak in my spinal cord. Maybe the problem would resolve itself they reasoned? (Caffeine actually increases spinal fluid pressure, which is why people who suddenly stop drinking caffeine will get headaches because of a drop in pressure). I was also sent home a large jug, a plastic cup that fits on the toilet, and a bucket. I was told to collect my urine for 24 hours and bring back the jug o' urine on Monday when I go in for my 20 week ultrasound and a second Maternal and Fetal Medicine consult.

So that's been my weekend. I lie down, I collect my urine, I try not to get sick to my stomach. It's loads of fun over here