All I Had to Do Was Pee in a Cup!

Yep, that's right! We had our 12 week appointment on October 13th. It was a pretty brief one. I had my weight and blood pressure taken. Then I peed in a cup. That's right -- no blood taken!! Yippee! After that, we saw the doctor for long enough to hear the baby's heartbeat with one of those tummy wand thingies and to chat. All my blood tests had come back normal from our last visit. The only disconcerting part of the discussion was that the doctor wanted me to see a cardiologist.

Yes -- my worst nightmare. Heart disease runs on both sides of my family, and I had kinda hoped to avoid this for my whole life. But, at the ripe old age of 29, I needed to see a cardiologist. The reason? Well, if you don't already know, here is a quick summary. On Thursday, October 9th, I woke up light-headed, my heart racing/pounding, and I blacked out a couple of times during the course of the morning. I wasn't even able to get dressed for work, so I called the doctor's office. The nurse STRONGLY urged me to go to the E.R. (even after I told her I was already feeling much better, and I simply didn't think it was necessary). The final straw was when she said "whatever is happening to you is happening to your baby, so you really need to get checked out." Guilt Trip City!!

So, once I made it to the E.R. (thanks to my sis-in-law, Amy, and mom-in-law, Barbara for expediting me to the hospital), they took my vitals and my heart rate was at 170 (apparently normal is 60 -100). The doctor was able to get it back down by massaging the artery in my neck. Voila! Back to normal. I was diagnosed with P.A.T. (Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia), which is a sudden onset of a fast heartbeat. Apparently it happens to a lot of people, and is usually not a big deal.

Anywho, due to this occurence, Dr. Nokleberg (my OB) wanted me to see a cardiologist to ensure this was a fluke thing, and that there was nothing wrong with my heart. After my appointment (which included an EKG, wearing a heart monitor for 24 hours, and an echocardiograph, as well as - you guessed it - having blood taken), I was given the all clear. I am normal (or at least, my heart is)! WOO HOO!!

So that was our excitement last week. Apparently the next appointment will be the same -- just pee in a cup and maybe hear the heartbeat! Piece of cake!! It is scheduled for November 13th. I'll keep you posted!