Pregnancy #3 Part I .... What is your diagnosis??

Over the next few days I will be blogging about my third pregnancy. I just want to say that again if you are not into blood and details you may want to skip the reading of this. I do have all of my hospital records from my second and third pregnancies and that is how I have been able to document all of this with dates and detail… as well as some of the memories.
2004-2005
March 2nd 2004: Today I had a follow up appointment with the periantologists at Akron General Medical Center. I met with the Doctors who I was under their care when I was pregnant with Samantha and Sydney. After this appointment I was released to go back to my original obstetrician. He gave my OB a list of guidelines should I decide to try to conceive again. His recommendations were as follows; to wait at least six months before trying to conceive again, treatment for the PAI-1, intensified prenatal care with every-two-week visits up to 28 weeks gestation followed by weekly visits starting at 28 weeks with non stress tests.
Jeff and I did wait a little over 6 months before trying to conceive again. I was mentally still grieving the loss and trying to figure things out as well as spending time with Joey. It was decided after the loss that I would be a stay at home mom and that I would not be returning to the hospital as a nurse. I think Jeff and I found out what our priorities were. I also really wanted to stay home. I did not want to miss any of Joey’s firsts.
November 11th 2004: I returned to my OB and my appointment was for a positive pregnancy test. It was confirmed at this appointment that I was pregnant. The EDD was 7-14-05 and I was approximately 5 weeks pregnant.
December 3rd 2004: Jeff and I went to this appointment together and we had an ultrasound. We saw our little bean and heard the sound of the bean’s heart beating. This was a joyful time as well as a very painful time. I was now 8 weeks pregnant. I started becoming very anxious with the reality that I was pregnant again and the fact of the unknown.
After this appointment the nausea and vomiting began. It got very bad to the point that I was no good for anything, but throwing up. I was unable to keep anything down. I had some morning sickness with Joey, but nothing like this. This was all day sickness to the point that Jeff was working from home. I was in bed ALL THE TIME with the trash can at my side. My OB gave me a prescription for Zofran. It was not helpful. I sipped ginger ale and even tried ginger snaps. I also had wrist bands to help with the nausea. Again no relief. It got so bad that I had to be hospitalized for hyperemesis. At the hospital I was basically hooked up to an IV to help with the dehydration and to keep me hydrated. I was also given Phenergan which I LOVE! I would then be sent home after I could go 24 hours with no vomiting. I then would return home to feel so hydrated and hungry to go and eat and then return to the trash cans. This continued. I also was now becoming VERY constipated from the Zofran. It was a horrible cycle.
My family (Jeff, Joey, and myself) were suppose to go to Disney World with my mom and dad, sister, brother in law, niece, nephew, brother, and sister in law. I was unable to go. I felt bad for Joey. I know that he did not really understand and would never know that he missed out on a vacation because his mom was sick from pregnancy, but I still could not feel awful that he did not go.
As we got closer to Christmas I started to finally begin feeling better. Jeff’s brother (David) is in the Marines. He is married (Holly) and has two daughters (Ashley and Alex). They came to Ohio for Christmas and New Years before their big move. They currently live in Japan. David is stationed there right now. He also just got back from fighting for our freedom in this war. Anyways they were here in Ohio and we spent a lot of time with them. They came over for New Year’s and so did my aunt and uncle. One of the girls was not feeling good and was complaining of a sore throat. I did my best to wash my hands, but after they left the day after New Year’s day I began feeling chills and the onset of an illness.
1-4-2005 I went to see my family doctor with complaints of a productive cough, and a raw sore throat for the past three days. I was started on Amoxicillin for 10 days.
1-6-2005 I went back to the hospital with complaints of fever, cramping, and productive cough. The reason we went to the hospital was because of the high fever. It was found that I was dehydrated and I also had yeast in my urine. I was rehydrated again and given medication for the yeast. I was also to continue the antibiotic which was probably the cause of yeast in the first place.
1-10-2005 I called my OB because of the productive cough. The cough was so strong that it made me start vomiting again and I was so worried about the baby. I also still had high fevers. She called me back and told me to go back to the hospital. So back I went to the antipartum unit for rehydration therapy.
1-12-2005 I was now home from the hospital, but back to see my family doctor. Please lets make a note at how screwed up the hospital is at times. I was wheezing and I could hear the stuff in my chest, but because I was pregnant the hospital staff (doctors on call) basically would not touch me. I knew that I probably had pneumonia because of the way I sounded as well as the fact that I have been basically lying in bed now for weeks. So finally a chest x-ray was done. I DID have pneumonia. After I was started on the antibiotic for the pneumonia the cough started to dissipate and I was able to start keeping food down much easier.
** Let me just note again that this is the pregnancy following the loss of the twins. This was a very scary time for us already and one that was filled with a great deal of anxiety. All of this extra stuff going on was not helping. It got to the point that I was so anxious and terrified that Jeff went online to find a place that rented Doppler’s. He ended up renting a Doppler for me and I would check for a heart beat ALL THE TIME.
1-21-2005 The pneumonia was now cleared and gone, but Joey and Jeff were sick and I now had swollen glands in my neck and a sore throat. I was back at the family doctor. I was now on another antibiotic and 15 weeks pregnant. I was also negative for strep. (I have been tested for strep so many times. I have never once had strep.)
Now this story starts to get interesting!
1-24-2005 I went back to the family doctor. I started having feelings like I had a bladder infection. We had gone to some sort of show in Cleveland at the Gund Arena. (No longer the Gund) and I was really uncomfortable while we there. I kept feeling like I needed to go potty and nothing would happen. So they tested my urine and it was negative. CLEAN. NOTHING GOING ON. Sent on my way. Told myself to forget about it. This was now a time to turn the corner. Start feeling better. I had basically been sick for two months now with something or other.
1-25-2005 Jeff is out of town. He was gone the previous day also. My sister had watched Joey while I was at the family doctor. The morning was usual for us. We got up a little before 8:00 am, I got Joey’s bottle, changed his diaper, fed the dogs, let the dogs outside. Then while Joey was watching Elmo and eating Cheerios that feeling that I had the day before returned. I was uncomfortable. I got up walked around. I got the phone and called Jeff. I told him I was not feeling good. This was different something I could not explain. He was getting aggravated with me. I felt bad. He is out of town. He can’t help me in any way. I feel like a failure. I gave him stillborn daughters and now I am a mess with this pregnancy. In the time span of about 45 minutes things started changing and fast. I was growing more and more uncomfortable. I felt like I needed to push. I felt like I needed to have a bowel movement. I felt like I needed to throw up. I called my mom at work and there was no answer. Maybe I am hungry? I ate a pop tart. I tried to have a bowel movement. No this was not gas. Nothing. Then the pain started in my lower back and in my abdomen. I lost it. I am losing this baby. This is all I can think. This is the cramping before a miscarriage right? So I call my sister’s house. Guess who answers. My mom. What is she doing there? Crap I need her. She must be watching the kids. Pain is getting bad. REALLY BAD! I am crying. I got Joey and got in the car. I DO NOT KNOW how I made the drive to my sister’s house. I really do NOT know how I was able to drive there. (she lives about 10 miles from me) My mom calls my dad at work and he is to go to my sister’s house too. We all basically arrive at the same time. I am crying, my dad does not understand what is going on, and my mom is jumping in the car. We are off to the hospital. I want to floor it there, kind of like ambulance style. My mom on the other hand is driving SO S L O W! It is winter time. It is COLD we have some sort of freeze going on outside. I HAVE the windows down, blowing cold air at me. It felt so good. Every bump in the car hurt. BAD. VERY BAD. I am a mess. We F I N A L L Y arrive at the hospital and I just avoid the ER all together and have them wheel me to the triage OB unit. (there is a separate unit for people who are pregnant and come into the hospital) I am sitting in the wheelchair without the cool air and now I am sweating and the pain is getting worse. The next thing I know I begin throwing up. There went the pop tart. They get me to a room and I am thinking bring on the Morphine. Please and lots of it. Make this pain stop. I am also thinking just make the pain end. I can handle anything. Tell me the baby is gone. I get it. I am not supposed to do this again. I am supposed to be happy with Joey. I get it. We will adopt Lord please just make this pain GO AWAY. The nurse comes in after I am quickly given a room. I continue to throw up and I cannot get comfortable. I am moving all over the place. This is pain that I have never felt before. I just need it to go away. I try different positions, staring at something on the wall, closing my eyes and going to the beach. There is no relief. The nurse takes my vital signs and gets a bit of a history about what has happened the past month and a half. Then she says I will be right back with the Doppler. I think steam may have come out of my ears. I started swearing. How dare that Bitch get the Doppler. She knows I am losing this baby. Why do I have to go through this again. She comes in and puts the transducer on my belly and there is the sweetest noise ever. A heartbeat. MOM. help me mom. Now we have to watch this baby lose its heart beat?
This is how the hospital has it written on my chart. (this is for time clarification. I can’t tell you how much PAIN I was in. So if I go back to nursing the first thing I will do and I vow this now to all my patients. I will rush like a mad woman to get you pain medicine. FAST)
1030 got to ER
1100 urine sent to lab
1150 patient throwing up again
1210 MORPHINE AND PHENERGAN given. IT’S ABOUT TIME!!
1250 Morphine has not helped the pain at all patient states. Patient rates pain a 30 on a scale of 1-10.
1425 AN IV WAS STARTED! This was 4 HOURS later!!!!
1445 WAS GIVEN MORE PAIN MEDICATION
1505 They have no clue what is wrong and they send me to the good old antepartum floor. I am becoming a regular on this floor.
To be continued…. Any ideas… Want to take a stab at it? What is your diagnosis?