Hypertension Emergency

A four day headache drove me to the doctor Friday before Memorial Day.  It was an appointment I made at the lat minute, realizing a long holiday weekend couple make it difficult to deal with.   I had also been vomiting, a first with a migraine for me.   I was tempted to self treat with old medicine in the cupboard from before I even moved in here, but read online it wasn't wise if you had blood pressure issues.  And then it got me thinking that's what this was about.  I knew it wasn't great, something I had half been ignoring as I wasn't happy that my third pregnancy altered my health like my first two.  Not having a thyroid still bothers me a lot.   I went off the  pill a few weeks before and got back on the bike, assuming being fat was a part of the issue.  I took my blood pressure several times and it was high.  Here's the problem : it escaped me the significance of how high it was and had been.

NO school that Friday and Todd has taken the two older two to work with him  earlier so I could rest so I took Ellie over at 2:15.   After describing the last four days, including how I had vomited my lunch on the way out the door and my blood pressure readings at home the last six weeks, she wasn't pleased.  My blood pressure was the cause.   Before she prescribed, she had me pee in a cup.   Turns out there was protein and blood in my urine which means kidney damage.   WHAT?  She wanted to call an ambulance and have me rushed to Oswego Hospital so they could give me IV medications immediately to lower it.  I was holding a sad Ellie, which she said could go with me.  I knew that scenario would not help my blood pressure.

I picked up the meds, took them and went to sleep.  In the middle of the night, I awoke and it was going down and I thought all would be fine.

But throughout the next day, it fluctuated, more up than down.   I woke up in the middle of that Saturday night with my chest tight and I knew it wasn't good.  I tested and it was nearly 200.   I put my toothbrush in my purse and told Todd I was driving to the ER.  

I Wasn't thrilled with it there.  No one seemed to be in a hurry to get it down and a nurse confirmed that a heart attack "was a very reasonable fear".  What?   It kept rising.   They gave me three doses of nitroglycerin which is the common emergency treatment.  It worked... For a half hour.   Then it climbed to 220/110.   I learned later, stroke level.  I had to keep ringing them and demanded the doctor to get something done... Meanwhile, there was a woman calling out plantiffly down the hall over and over 'Can't please someone help me?' And a man who retched non stop, which was their excuse for lagging with me.   Those three hours was the first time in my life I truly thought I could die.   I squeezed my eyes shut, praying not to see Dad.... Because people often say they see their gone loved ones before.

They gave me different medication finally and my GP's husband came into admit me.  I was hit with my migraine again and they wheeled me upstairs.  I don't remember much more of that morning.

This is my longest lapse between entries and the funny thing is, I wrote the first paragraph the day I ended up going to the ER.