Bed Rest

So, I have been having edema in my feet/ankles ever since it got pretty hot a few weeks ago. My hands have been a tiny bit swollen for months now, just enough so that I can't wear my 6.5 wedding band but I could still wear my size 7 engagement ring. I had showed it to the nurse and everything at doc appts; the swelling went down 90-95% overnight, every night, so it wasn't anything to worry about. 

This week on Monday and Tuesday, the swelling was a little worse than usual. Then Wednesday morning I woke up and the swelling in my feet hadn't gone down nearly as much as usual, plus all of a sudden my hands were super swollen. I had trouble getting my ring off, it was a little scary - didn't want to have to get it cut off! But some effort and soap did the trick. My eyes have been feeling puffy too but I had just assumed that was from lack of sleep. Anyway, I called the doc's office and reported all this to the nurse, Jody, as soon as their office opened, 8:05am. She said she would call me back. I was at work by then. She called me back around 9:30 and said the doc wanted me to come in that day, that morning if possible, for a blood pressure check and to get some labs done. I think I got to their office before 10am. My blood pressure was a little high: 130/80. Not really that bad, but higher than normal. Usually it ranges from 115/75 to 120/80. (At last week's appt it was super low for some reason, 105/58 or something - the lady who took it expressed she didn't usually do "this part" so I had to wonder if she just didn't take an accurate measurement.) So the nurse told the doc the blood pressure reading, the doc came and took a brief look at me and said I looked "pretty puffy," which was true. She asked a couple other questions about headaches etc, I wasn't experiencing any other symptoms she asked about. At that point she ordered PIH labs (PIH = pregnancy induced hypertension), and also told me she had to ask me to take the next week off work, be on bed rest, on my left side as much as possible, at least until my next doc appt on 6/11. She wrote me a little note for work and sent me next door to the lab.

Needless to say I was upset... the whole pregnancy has been going fine, the week before all had been healthy and normal, I'm young and don't fit into any of the risk categories for something like pre-ecplamsia (because I knew that was the concern even though they didn't say it out loud), so an order for bed rest was unexpected to say the least. I cried a tiny bit, pulled myself together, waited my turn to get my blood drawn, and was back at my office around 11:00. I had text messaged the bad news to my boss already and she was in a meeting by then, so I figured stuff out at work as best I could, gathered my work laptop etc, and left around noon or 12:30 to go home.

The next morning (yesterday), Jody the nurse called around 8:30 with good news: the PIH lab results were normal. However the doc still wants me on bed rest at least until my appt on 6/11. She told me to drink plenty of fluids, rest as much as possible especially on my left side, and that I could still go swimming, thank goodness (although it strikes me as somewhat odd since that's far from what I'd consider bed rest). 

So I've been doing my best to follow orders. It ain't easy though - it's surprisingly difficult to lay around all day when you don't actually have the flu or something. The swelling in my feet has gone down most of the way, but it starts to come back when I am up for very long (i.e. long enough to shower and make something easy/fast to eat). My hands and face/eyes are still pretty swollen. I think sometime soon I will defy the orders long enough to head over to Bashas and test my blood pressure at the machine in their pharmacy, just to see if there is any difference. Otherwise I have another 5.5 days to try to be still, read, watch too much day time TV, and go for a daily swim. I know it doesn't sound like a bad deal but it's actually pretty lame! I am trying to make the best of it though. I will get some work documentation done and I have most of my baby-shower thank you cards done already. I also made a couple of scrapbook pages to add to the baby book/scrapbook my sister in law made for me (although technically I can't do this lying down, but I still kept my feet up!). I wish I could help my husband out and clean the house or something, but that definitely doesn't count as bed rest. I think that's part of what is bugging me - I feel pretty useless right now!

Anyway, enough of this novel / bitch session. I'm hoping to get my 31 week photo disc in the mail soon and I will post some when I do! Because I won't be too busy doing anything else! ;p