Pre Eclampsia....blah!

Well today I found out that I have preeclampsia. For those of you who don't know what it is~the definition is a unique and often dangerous condition that only occurs during pregnancy. Most experts define PRE ECLAMPSIA as an elevation in blood pressure in a pregnant woman, with protein in the urine, or swelling (edema) of the feet, hands, and/or face. . I wont bore you with my last few doctors appointments that include stress testing, blood pressure check, 24 hour urine analysis, blood work....you get the picture. My doc informed me today that I will be on "modified" bed rest until I deliver. When I asked what "modified" meant, her response was this...."you can't do anything but take a shower!"

REALLY??

"But, I have a 1 year old," I responded.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't pick her up."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I'm literally supposed to lay in bed 23 hours a day while I have a household to run, a toddler to chase after, community volunteer hours I'm supposed to complete by May, a brand new front and backyard garden that needs tending to, a nursery to finish.....just to name a few. Yup!! I'm trying to put on a brave face here, but there is nothing cool about being on bed rest. It sounds all terrific & relaxing but after the 2nd day, you want to pull your hair out, not to mention it's just depressing. This is going to be the longest 5 weeks of my life!!! Anyone feel free to come entertain me!!

::Medical researchers have been diligently trying to discover what causes pre eclampsia. Much of the frustration doctors have treating this condition is that we do not know what causes it. Regardless, we do know that pre eclampsia causes changes within the blood vessels that cause them to “leak” into tissue. The leaking causes swelling of the tissues, which we see as edema. It also causes leaky kidney tissues, so that protein spills into the urine, which we can see when we test the urine. If the pre eclampsia becomes more severe, swelling can occur in the liver, leading to severe pain under the right rib cage, and, in rare cases, rupture of the liver with hemorrhage. Sometimes swelling can occur in the brain, leading to seizures.::

This is all very comforting!!!!