Apparently I am working myself into the ground.

I spent the day in the hospital listening to my baby. Not a bad way to spend the day, but I would rather not have gotten there the way I did.

I went into work, and before I even left the dressing room after changing out, I started feeling bad. And I mean really bad. Pale, weak, sweaty, with heart palpitations. I felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. I thought it would pass if I rested, but a co-worker caught me in the break room and told me I looked awful. She also said I really needed to be put on a monitor, she was really worried about me. Once she got me on a stretcher and the monitors on me, she went to find an anesthesia provider. There are some good places to get sick, and the OR is one of them. I had 2 anesthesiologists, 3 CRNAs, and several nurses working on me all at the same time. And then there were the co-workers who had to come in and give me a hard time. Oh yeah, and because they knew I was pregnant, they called down a labor and delivery nurse to monitor the baby. I was well taken care of.

The following is likely going to sound very clinical, but I am just trying to process everything. It actually is pretty classic textbook treatment for SVT. My anesthesia providers know what they are doing!

Once they got me on the monitors, they saw my heart rate was over 200. It was unresponsive to coughing, vagaling, or carotid massage. The cardiologist got there, and saw what was happening and said that I should get a dose of adenosine, but he did not want to do anything without an OB present, just to make sure that was all right. The OB who initially showed up was a high risk OB. I thought she was great. No panic, and she knew what she wanted to do. She agreed with the adenosine, and that is what I got. The CRNAs and MDs knew that was likely to happen, so they planned for that circumstance. They already had the IV in the right place, and the crash cart pulled around, so the medication was readily available. The adenosine made me feel awful right after the anesthesiologist gave it, but one dose did the trick, and put me back into sinus tach. I started feeling better soon after that. No problems with baby as they gave it.

They monitored me in the pre-op area for about an hour and then transferred me to the L and D observation area. My OB showed up not long after the cardioversion. She agreed that I needed to be admitted at least for the day, just to be sure that everything was all right. Our boy had a great heart rate, and the nurse had to chase after him all day just to keep him on the monitor. My vitals were also good all day. No increase in BP, and labs all looked fine, as well. I had no contractions at all, so he is not ready to meet us yet. Thank goodness! I do not think he is done cooking.

I liked the L and D nurse who cared for me all day. She was really great. I found it fascinating that she mentioned that her favorite deliveries are for IVF babies. It amazed me that she said that. Apparently they do not get a lot of married couples on their unit. She said she liked delivering IVF babies because everyone is happy about the birth, and everyone wants the baby. I just thought that was really interesting. Hopefully I will see her again.

The high risk OB came and talked to me before I was discharged. Apparently I am off all caffeine now. I have to find a substitute for my one morning cup of coffee. I think I may end up switching to decaf tea. Likely I will have a headache the next couple of mornings from lack of caffeine. The sacrifices I make for the little guy!