I thought I would take advantage of tonight's insomnia and update my blog with a post, or maybe 2. It has been an eventful few days. While I realize that many of you check in primarily because of your interest in the babies, I think there are at least a few of you who wonder how I am as well. :) So this post is all about me!
This past week I have really begun to feel the stress and physical toll this pregnancy is taking on my body. At work, what was once a routine trip to the fax machine or water bubbler now feels like climbing Mt Everest. My heart begins to race and I am left winded for 5, 10, 15 minutes or more! I have been able to establish (though the technologies at work) that my resting pulse has increased from about 74 to about 115. After even the mildest of activity I am quickly in the 140 range. I mentioned this to Dr Acker last week and was told that I should contact my own non-OB doctor if I noticed it happening again.
At work on Monday while eating my lunch and checking my email I suddenly felt my heart racing - and I hadn't done a thing to set it off. I mean I was hungry but I didn't think I had eaten my chicken caeser salad THAT aggressively! So I called my doctors office and was soon on my way to the ER. Long story short (or at least less long) the tests confirmed that my heart rate was, in fact, abnormally fast though in a regular rhythm. The cause? Well, the fact that I am carrying triplets means that my blood volume has doubled in the past month or so. This is normal. As a result, my heart has become enlarged in an attempt to compensate. Not so normal, but does happen in some cases. The cardiologist and Dr Acker think that the increase in size has likely caused an increase in stress or irritation to the portion of the heart which stimulates the heart to beat.
Sounds a little freaky but really only means that my heart rate is high and therefore I need to "take it easy" as much as possible (no, it doesn't mean bed rest). Overall, not dangerous for me or the babies as long as I allow my body time to recover in between episodes.
But enough about me...
Deana, I'm glad you made it all about you!! Cause this whole year I made all about me..."the Year of Emily". And you only had a couple of paragraphs for 'the blogspot of Deana"!:) So happy things are falling into place and you, Bobby and the babes are doing well.
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