So after the holiday weekend, I had to head back to Columbia for the final verdict on whether the doctors wanted to start Digoxin. So I packed up a bag, and headed back down. The plan? Two nights in the high risk rooms at L&D. There is nothing worse than getting stuck in the hospital when you're not confirmed "sick." I went in thinking positive. I'd have TV, my iPad, a downloaded movie...I kept thinking of it as a REALLY long flight. Too bad it didn't contain a few drinks like my long flights usually do.
The first night was the worst. I think it always is in hospitals. I got a huge dose of the meds to "load" me. The plan was to get a gram of meds into me in 24 hours. So I'd get a dose every 8 hours, and the docs would see how me and baby Z did as we went along. The first dose made me a little tired, and my chest a little tight. Worse though, it made Baby Z's heart rate drop. And movement. I got very little sleep that night. I had a late-night ultrasound to check on Baby Z that seemed to last for an hour. I had to be woken up every hour or so to roll over to get the baby moving. They woke me up to put me on more fluids and oxygen. The oxygen mask was not easy to get used to. It was physically uncomfortable, and almost gave me a full-blown panic attack. I sat there wondering if I should call Mark in the middle of the night. I was really afraid they were going to do an emergency c-section since things weren't looking wonderfully.
The next day, the baby started looking better on the monitors. HUGE relief! Now it was just a matter of getting through another day and night. Things got more interesting for my roomie, less for me. I think she had a c-section and wasn't doing great. I won't go into detail, but it was a strange situation. There was a lot of wailing in spanish, a potential escape attempt when they wouldn't let her 4 year old in, and a general communications breakdown. It was sad, and the nurses were trying really hard. They were really apologetic, but I didn't mind. I don't think a hospital stay - under any circumstances - is easy.
By the last day of my hospital stay, I was beyond ready to leave. I was on a constant EKG and monitoring, so I couldn't even get out of bed without calling a nurse. Even going for a walk around the floor was not an option. My cabin fever was all-time high. But I got to go home after an ECHO on me came back ok.
I've been feeling good on the Digoxin, but it totally knocks the stamina out of me. I struggle with the basics. For some reason, that's always a surprise for me. I'll run into the little grocery store for milk, and need an hour nap after. It's a strange pace to get used to. Because of it, I had to start my maternity leave early. I just couldn't do a full day of work PLUS working in my hours and hours of appointments every week. It was hard not to work up 'till the end, but I know it was the right thing to do.
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