24 Hour Pee Bucket & High BP

So Dr. S had told me because the BP has been high the past 2 appointments (even though it lowers after laying on my side for 10 minutes) that if I get another headache that Tylenol can't cure, to call the office immediately.

So on the way home yesterday, I started getting one. I took 2 Tylenol when I got home and took a nap. When I woke up at 6, the headache was still there. Dean had 2 teeth extracted yesterday also (a piece of a lower filled molar broke off on Saturday exposing the nerves) so he wasn't feeling up to par either. We laid around on the couch waiting for our pain to go away. Ate a late dinner and by 8:00, the headache was still there.

I didn't want to be a nervous patient, so I wanted to check my BP before calling the after hours line. Nobody in my neighborhood had a BP cuff available, so we drove to to CVS to use theirs. It was 139/83 both times we took it. So I called the office and the on-call doc said to go to L&D at the hospital for some monitoring and bloodwork...

The experience was totally NOT what I was expecting. I was expecting to lay on a bed with my clothes on with a BP cuff and have them take it every 10 minutes or so for a couple of hours. I was NOT expecting to have to completely undress and put on a hospital gown. I also had to pee like nobody's business, but the doctor wanted a urine sample via catheter. EEK - WHAT? So she used a catheter to get the sample and drain the rest of my bladder.

Next up was the fetal heart rate monitors strapped to my belly to monitor Peanut's HR. Then the BP cuff for me which read my BP every 10 minutes. After a couple of hours, the print outs were taken to the doctor and all is well - both Peanut and my BP. Of course it was high when I got there, but since I was laying down the rest of time, it was low.

So here I sit, at home on the couch with the laptop and Maddie, watching Deliver Me and Bringing Home Baby (yes, at the same time) so I can do a 24 hour urine collection in the comfort of my own home. I am sure my co-workers appreciate me not lugging a pee jug between my cube and the ladies' room. The pee jug is chilling in an ice bucket. That is so weird to me that it has to be cold when it comes out hot? Anyone? Mrs. Martha RN I know you know why I have to "chill" my pee bucket...