Bedrest at 32 weeks?

[PotreroHill]

I've been having lots of swelling in my feet and hands for the past few weeks. I went to the doctor on Friday, and my bp was 135/85. This was 20 points higher than my last visit two weeks before. My doctor ordered some blood tests to find out if my kidneys and liver are affected and a 24 hour urine test. My kidneys and liver are fine, but I barely failed the urine test with a score of 308.

My doctor called me with the results today and I'm going to see her tomorrow. When we spoke today, she mentioned that I need to think about going on bedrest very soon. I know preeclampsia is very serious. I in no way want to hurt my baby or myself by being negligent. I just have to question if I should go on bedrest now. I'm a single parent and things will be very difficult financially if I have to stop working now. Is there anyway to deal with preeclampsia while I'm still working? Can I monitor my blood pressure every few hours, take medication, put my feet up, rest as much as possible, drink gallons of water, anything to avoid bedrest this early?

[Bokonon]

The thing about bedrest with preeclampsia is that in some women, it does help keep BP stable, but the biggest impact is on how much protein is spilled. In some cases, being horizontal seems to keep the kidneys from filtrating too much protein (in my understanding, based on what I have read on the Preeclampsia Foundation's website).

I was on bedrest from 28 to 34 weeks with my last pregnancy, and my protein hovered around 300 mg the whole time, despite my BP going through the roof even on meds. With my first pregnancy, I was spilling 6 grams of protein at 32 weeks, but I don't know how quickly that progressed.

IMO, bedrest is a good thing. If you end up having to deliver early, you will always wonder if bedrest could have helped get you further. Trust me - you'd rather be on bedrest than have a preemie in the NICU. I strongly believe that I would not have gotten past 30 weeks in my last pregnancy without it, and felt like a ticking time bomb nonetheless. I feared I would have a seizure every time I got up to pee.

I'm not a doctor, but if you are able to control your stress and rest as much as possible, you probably don't NEED to be on bedrest yet. Your blood pressure is elevated but not excessive. That said, I'm glad your doc is keeping an eye on you, because things can change really quickly. You may get to 40 weeks with your BP and protein exactly like it is now, and I really hope you do! But you are wise to be thinking about the possible issues too.

[Spiralshell]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having these problems -- I had pregnancy-induced hypertension which turned into preeclampsia during labor. It sounds like you have it worse than I did -- your 24 hour urine results don't sound good. I never failed a urine test until I was actually in labor, though my bp was quite high the two weeks before Nate was born (140/90 up to 150/100). I was put on bedrest at 32 weeks as well.
You really need to be on your back, legs above your heart as many hours of the day as possible. I was permitted to get up to get food, use the bathroom, shower, and go for midwife appointments, and other than that I needed to be resting. I managed a little bit of work past 32 weeks, but I did it on my computer from home. I don't think that you can manage to keep working unless you have a job where you can work from home while reclining.
As I understand it, there is no medication you can take. Drinking water and eating a higher-protein diet can help, but nothing cures preeclampsia other than the birth of your child. I found good info on pre-e on these boards and also at http://www.preeclampsia.org/
I know that it is REALLY hard to be told that you need to be on bedrest, but for your own health and the health of your baby please heed your doc/midwife's advice on this. Preeclampsia is very serious, and it can be life threatening. Maybe you would qualify for disability payments since you cannot work due to a serious medical condition?
I wish you well. It was very scary for me, and I imagine it may be the same for you. Relax and rest as much as you can

[freistms]

I just want to reiterate more simply what has already been said:

You have preeclampsia.

The only cure for preeclampsia is delivery.

Bedrest is just a way to mitigate the symptoms of preeclampsia to prolong your pregnancy so that your baby has more opportunity to develop. Between bedrest and prematurity, bedrest has to be the easier one to deal with.

At this point, you need to educate yourself as much as possible about the facts about preeclampsia. Head on over to www.preeclampsia.org and become as educated as possible on the subject. Ask tons of questions there. The ladies are very knowledgeable and happy to help. Have intelligent conversations about it with your doctor. Make educated decisions with your doctor.

Best wishes to you and your baby. Take care!

[PotreroHill]

Thanks everyone for your input

I am going on bedrest starting next week. I want to do what's best for the baby and myself and it looks like bedrest is best. I'll check out preeclampsia.org

[djsnjones]

I hope that things are going better for you now.

You might also find some helpful information on this web page....

http://www.naturalchildbirth.org/mam...id=44&Itemid=3

Best wishes,
Joy

[WaitingForKiddos]

I wanted to add that you can get temp disability for bedrest. Talk to your ob about it. All she'll need to do is fill out a form for you.