Swollen crab claws, balloon feet, and hypertension

Last week, my OB changed my hypertension meds to kinder, gentler pregnancy safe meds. I questioned her at the time, making sure to point out that I have gnarly hypertension, and the normal happy-fun-time pregnancy drugs might not be enough to control it. She was confident that the new meds would be enough.

Three days later, on Saturday night, I began to have aching pains in both my arms, from shoulders to fingertips. It started out like the pain you get when you’ve helped a friend paint, that “I’ve really worked out and now I’m sore” kind of pain. By 3am, I was crawling out of my sleepless bed to go get some pregnancy-safe acetaminophen (the only drug I DIDN’T have on hand), hoping it would possibly ease the pain.

The pain came and went in waves, and I had to live on the couch. My arms hurt so bad that I had to keep them in curved positions, resting on a pillow across my belly. My fingers were curled up like little crab claws, and extending them or my arms sent fire racing through my arms. My fingernails hurt. I could barely eat because it hurt too much to use my hands and arms. The muscles hurt, the joints hurt, everything hurt.

Sunday morning I peeled myself off the couch to go pee, and realized that my feet were so swollen that my toes didn’t touch the ground as I walked. Now I realized that this was a blood pressure issue, and not just an over-exerted muscle group: I was retaining gonzo amounts of fluid. I broke down and took a percocet so I could try to sleep that night. I slept for about 3 hours before the pain woke me up again.

I called my OB’s office first thing Monday morning at 9am, talked to a nurse and explained the problem. Silly me, I actually thought I might get a swift response from the doctor. I called again at 1pm, reiterating the horrible pain and concerns about my blood pressure. Finally, at about 6pm, my OB called me back and told me to come in first thing in the morning. I ended up taking another percocet that night. Again, it worked for 3-4 hours before I was up again.

Long story short (yeah, I know, too late) my hypertension just can’t be controlled by the pussy meds they usually give pregnant women. My doc prescribed Lasix for 5 days to get rid of the excess fluid. Apparently, I do not tolerate one of the meds, and it was a main cause of the muscular and joint pain. It was deleted, and a Big Girl med was added to my regimen.

It’s been about 24 hours since the change in my meds, and it is amazing. I have about 85% of my mobility back (versus the 20% I had), and almost no pain at all. I’ve eaten a full meal, and actually have real clothes on today, even though it took a while. Something I really resent is that I barely had any feelings of sickness during this pregnancy, and now I’ve felt horrible nausea and the threat of vomiting during all this hoopla, and it hasn’t completely gone away.

My OB didn’t truly listen to my concerns about the medicine change. She did not contact my cardiologist to consult with him, even though I stressed and double-stressed the severity of my hypertension and that I even HAVE a cardiologist. I’m probably going to get a new doctor.

Anyway, that’s what’s been up with me. My hands hurt now. It’s taken me a couple of hours, including breaks, to get this typed up. Except for a brief foray last night to check on a friend, this is my first time online in almost 4 days. Enough.