The Countdown Has Begun!

10, 9, 8, 7, ....

As I posted a while back, my twin sister is pregnant with her 3rd son!! She only has about 3-4 weeks to go and I will FINALLY get top hold him and kiss his sweet little face off!! LOL

She has been having a lot of swelling her feet and legs. She barely recognizes her feet anymore! Wednesday she wasn't feeling too hot... nothing in particular, just the end of the pregnancy yuckiness!! So, I went over to her house to see her and I brought her my digital blood pressure cuff... and yep, her blood pressure was higher that it should be. It got a bit higher as the day went on. Thankfully, she had an appointment with her OB/GYN Thursday morning and she has been put on BED REST until the baby gets here. They will now be seeing her weekly and will be keeping a close watch on her and the baby. He also said it is quite possible that the baby will be born earlier than the originally scheduled c-section.

We will be doing anything and everything to help them right now. Her hubby works long hours and she has two other kids to take care of. At least they are a bit older and not so high-maintenance. So I will be busy, busy, busy for the next several weeks, but I wouldn't have it any other way. She is my bestest friend and I love her so much! Plus, I love her boys just like they are my own!

I have to give it to my sister though. She works... I mean WORKED... in a extremely busy doctor's office in Baton Rouge. It is a really hectic and stressful job. She stuck it out through all the morning sickness, tiredness, aches, and blahs that go along with pregnancy! She planned on working right until the end, but the baby, her body and her doctor had other plans! I told her that I hoped this isn't an indication of things to come with this little one... not going with the flow and giving her a hard time...LOL!!!!!!

She should try to enjoy laying around and doing nothing while she can ... cause those days are quickly coming to an end!! They are about to begin one wild and crazy ride. One the little one gets here, lounging and relaxing will be distant memories :-)

Anyway, please pray that her blood pressure can be controlled by bed rest and that they don't have to admit her to the hospital and do the c-section any earlier than planned. Also, pray that she doesn't go completely nuts-o laying in bed and that the baby (and Lauren) continue to be safe and sound!!!

Diagnosis: High Blood Pressure

154/96

Ok, it's taken me a week or so to decide to blog about this. For some reason, I just kept putting it off. Denial? Maybe. Fear? Probably.

Apparently, I have high blood pressure... which really, really stinks. I'm only 37 years old. Ever since I delivered our youngest son, my blood pressure has been on a very slow, gradual rise. I'm not one to go to the doctor often, but the few times I have been in the last 3 years, my blood pressure has been getting a little higher each time. There was an unbelieveable amount of stress and anxiety going on in my life at the time, so they just said the higher than normal pressure was just because of the evil STRESS.

So, a couple of weeks ago I was at WalMart and decided to take my blood pressure on that little machine thingie in the pharmacy area. I put my arm in, pressed the button, and waited. Finally, the dreaded numbers appeared on the screen ... 154/96. I wondered what that meant. Thankfully, there was a little chart on the machine. According to that chart, my reading fell into the "stage 2" category. Not good.

My sister is a nurse so I called her. She agreed, not good. Thankfully she works in the same office building as my doctor, so she helped me to get an appointment set up quickly. Thank you Lauren!!!

So, off to the doctor I go... fun, fun. My doctor is wonderful and incredibly thorough. She of course checked my blood pressure and asked a bunch of questions: 1. Do you get headaches? "Yes, lots and lots of headaches." 2. Do you ever feel flushed? "Yes ... most every day, especially in the evenings." 3. Is there a history of high blood pressure in your family? "Not on my mom's side. I'll have to find out about my dad's." (Come to find out, my dad has had high blood pressure for a long time now. Crazy that I didn't know that, but my dad and I have a "strange" relationship, at best.) There I go rambling ... sorry!

Anyway... she perscribed me a medication to take for my blood pressure. I'm to take this "for now" until we complete a whole battery of tests... uggghhhh!! That day at the doctor, they took some blood - I'm thinking the lady was part vampire - to do a bunch of blood work. They also did an EKG. Praise God, all of those came back fine. My cholesterol is good at 152 and everything else they checked was good!

My doctor has also ordered 2 other tests that will check my kidney function and my renal artery function. Sometimes, your renal arteries can become constricted and that can cause high blood pressure. Who knew??

Soooooooooooo as we speak, I'm doing the prep stuff for one of them right now. One of the restrictions for 48 hours before the test and for the duration of the 24 hour test is .... NO CAFFIENE!!! Are you kidding me?? I've now been without caffiene for about 30 hours and besides being pretty cranky and having a killer headache ... I'm ok! LOL Then on Friday morning, I have to go get a sonogram of my kidneys and my renal arteries done. The fun just keeps on!!

Based on the results of all of these tests, she will probably change my medicine around because so far, on the current medicine, my blood pressure has come down, but not enough. And of course, a low sodium diet, regular exercise, and weight loss can't hurt. Uggghhhhh!!!

My wonderful hubby and I have been talking about this alot. We BOTH think that this is an attack of the enemy and we recognize it and will not let him win. The devil can't stand to see healthy, happy people and families who are raising their children in the way of our Lord. So, like the coward he is, he attacks us. Apparently, the devil didn't realize how head-strong and how full of faith I am!!

We have been praying and worshiping God every day. The healing of my body is in His hands, and I know it will happen. Not on my time clock, but on His. I am standing in faith for that. I claim, in the name of our Father, that my body will be healed!!!!!!

If you wouldn't mind, could you please take a minute and send up a prayer for me? Thank you so much...much love to you!