In May I noticed a ridiculous amount of swelling in my feet and legs. Fairly common pregnancy symptom.. In June I was put on a medication for my high blood pressure and was tested several time for Pre-E..Also, fairly common in pregnancy. But I didn't have Pre-E. In July I complained several times to my OB office about shortness of breath..almost like I was having an asthma attack even though I have never had asthma in my life. I was told "maybe you are catching a little cold, maybe it's anxiety"... I've had severe anxiety in the past..I knew that was not it. In August I was told that I was dehydrated and that there was not enough fluid around the baby so I was put in the hospital to get fluids. (My legs were still really swollen..how the crap was I low on fluid? lol). In September they decided to induce me on 9/11. Bout time.
They started the meds in the morning and by 11 am I was having serious contractions. They gave me pain meds and shortly after I was having a real hard time breathing. I am a freak about being able to breathe. I panic when I can't breathe through my nose. They put me on oxygen and decided that I must be having an allergic reaction to the pain meds. They did an epidural. It did not work. I was in severe pain and I am a complete wimp. Within the hour our sweet prince William was finally here! Yay, I survived! He's perfect! Wait..I still can't breathe...
They ship me off to the after-childbirth rooms and I got a new set of nurses. My bp was still high, my heart rate was too high and I was still ridiculously swollen. I was told again that I was most likely having anxiety attacks, that my breathing was off just because my body was recovering from having a baby..I was checked in on but no one was really taking me seriously it seemed. Honestly, a few nurses seemed downright confused by my symptoms. 2 days later they send me home. I was glad to go home and begin my new life with my new little boy but realized that night that I was not going to get to do that just yet. I couldn't sleep, my breathing was very shallow. I kept thinking it would eventually just go away. Panic attacks right?
The next morning I got up and got the baby ready (with help) and headed to his first pediatrician appointment. At this point I was gasping for breath. My son's pediatrician noticed right away..and for the first time a medical professional said "Stacy, you may have a heart problem..go to the hospital"..I thought surely not..that's crazy..They wouldn't have allowed me to go home..right?! I had called my ob earlier that morning to tell her that I still couldn't breathe and her nurse said maybe they could call in an inhaler for me and she would have the ob call me back. By the time my ob called me back Tony had already decided I was going back to the hospital whether I liked it or not...The ob said she would meet us there.
In the ER at the same hospital where I had just been discharged the day before they hook me up to a bunch of monitors, do a chest x-ray, tell me I have a fluid on my lungs, maybe it's pneumonia, called in a cardiologist who did an echo and said I was having left ventricular heart failure. He said that my heart was only pumping 25% instead of the normal 55-65% and that's why my lungs were filling up with fluid. They admitted me. Well wait wait wait! I am a new mommy! I can't be in the hospital! Tony wasn't ready for a new baby all by himself! Hold it! I have them call up to see if they could admit the baby back in with me...I have good insurance..chop chop..Not so much..Apparently the hospital did not have a pediatric ward...What the crap? What kind of hospital doesn't have a ped's ward? Apparently its common nowadays.. So we were in the hospital..with a new baby. Tony didn't want to leave me..we still hadn't received a real answer as to why I was there. My mom came up and got my new baby and terrified that I may die I said goodbye and let him go..
Those first few days I cried...a lot.. My cardiologist explained that it was PPCM and it was rare. About 1 in 4000 or so women get it. Great...I just won the heart lottery...lucky me. I had congestive heart failure at 30 years old. I was the youngest person in the cardiac ward and the nurses said they had never seen a new mommy in there. (wow, good way to continue to scare the crap out me) I spent that week getting fluid drained out of me (30 lbs in one week..best diet..ever) I was put on a lot of different medications as they tried to stabilize me and get my blood pressure back down. No one had a lot of answers, one doctor was still calling it pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics..The few times I saw the cardiologist was the only time I got any answers. Not to mention I just HAD A BABY..nurses on the cardiac floor were not prepared for such a patient. They didn't have the right pads, they didn't know quite how to deal with my mood swings. They were used to old people who complained a lot and didn't want to eat the crappy foods. The last night I was there we didn't have anyone to keep the baby so he stayed the night in the room with us.. one of the nurses was sweet enough to help us out through out the night holding him, rocking him so we could get some sleep. I finally got to go home the next day with 8 prescriptions...
At home I was adjusting to my new medicine and the side effects such as blacking out and extreme exhaustion and hey in case you missed I had just had a baby...so tack on soreness and hormone roller coasters. I read everything I could find online about PPCM. I was shocked that so many other women had stories similar to mine. Misdiagnosed. Not listened to. Brushed off. Some had even died. It's 2012 people.. How are there women dying of something that can be caught early enough to offset? That if caught early enough can be treated back to full recovery? I started thinking about all the signs I showed..and I was getting angry. Why didn't they see it? If they had could it have been treated earlier? I'm stuck with this disease and I have two little boys that need me. Time to get better!
In 3 months my heart was getting much better. Instead of 25% I am now in the 40-45% range. My doctor lowered a lot of my dosages and took me off some pills. Thank goodness! He let me know that he expects a full recovery in time. He said that we will keep me on some pills long term as a preventative measure. He also told me it was not necessary to get my tubes tied like my ob had suggested..He said that was a bit drastic considering how quick my heart was healing. This was great news for me because while I have no plans for more children the thought that I was not allowed to frustrated and saddened me to no end.
Bottom line, PPCM is a rare condition, but it is not something that should be ignored. Women should be told about the risk of PPCM as soon as they show signs of high blood pressure and swelling. Ob's and nurses should be informed about these symptoms so that they do not misdiagnose someone or worse send them home to die. If I had not gone back to the emergency room that day I would have gone into complete heart failure and my outcome may not have been as great.
Having PPCM changed how I see things. I am more grateful for every breath I get and I no longer see doctors as these super heroes. I never realized how badly I wanted to be healthy until my health deteriorated so quickly. I am starting 2013 with a new outlook and a plan to get my body back into tip top shape so that my heart will be strong again .
