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Gratituesday – new blood pressure meds
By bella | March 11, 2008
If you’ve read this blog for very long, you know that I’ve had a difficult few months…year… couple of years in the health department.
I experienced PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) that very nearly went to full-blown pre eclampsia when I was pregnant with lil Allan. I was on bedrest during a portion of his pregnancy, and he still came prematurely, because my body just wasn’t handling it well. And I went through it all over again with Martha. We managed the hypertension much better with Martha’s pregnancy since we were ready for it when it appeared, so she didn’t come prematurely and that whole experience was a lot more fun (and memorable in a positive way).
But, after she was born, my hypertension never went away.
Only, I didn’t know it for like six months. (Yes, I know.. I should have checked my pressure a time or two, but honestly.. I had a newborn and two other kids and I was kind of busy. Plus, PIH tends to go away after the baby is born, so I just assumed my numbers went back to normal, like they did after lil Allan was born). (And yes, I felt awful during those months, but I kept attributing it to having gone through a tough pregnancy and a c-section and all the lack of sleep and busy-ness, and all…)
Anyway, I went in for my 6 month post-partum heart check, and my blood pressure was something crazy like 180/120. The echo tech was a little freaked out, to put it mildly. And soon after, the doc put me on BP meds.
That was almost 6 months ago. And things still haven’t been right. My numbers have been weird – fluctuating a lot. Lots of dizzy days. Lots of “just not right, but I can’t explain why” days. Lots of headaches and frustration. And lots of blood pressure readings that are still too high. And this was after two med changes.
I ended up in the ER almost two weeks ago, and while that was an experience I’d rather not relive any time soon, it turned out to be a good thing. The doctor there changed my medicine, and WOW. My dizzyness is gone (for the most part), my headaches are gone (almost completely), and I have had energy and pep like I haven’t had in a nice long while. The doctor also spent a lot of time explaining blood pressure and alleviating a lot of my fears (due to incomplete or missing info on my part), and that peace of mind has helped probably just as much as the new medication.
So today, I’m thankful for almost two weeks of feeling good. I’m thankful that there are medications to fix what ail me. I’m SO glad to be better informed about my own health, and to have peace of mind.
What are YOU thankful for today? Link us up to your post, or leave a comment. And be sure to check out Laura’s blog today for her gratituesday post.
Topics: Gratituesday | 2 Comments »
March 11th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Oh, I’m SO glad you’re feeling so much better!!!!
March 11th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I’m thankful for having people who are close to me and who care about me.