Be advised: this post contains Downton Abbey spoilers.
The internets are abuzz about Sunday's episode of Downton Abbey. Opinion seems divided between "spoilers suck," and "preeclampsia-what the hell is that? and who knew it could kill you!" For me and B, the episode was an upsetting (I think traumatic would be to strong here) walk down memory lane.
On the first issue, I think a world without spoilers is a lost dream. On the second, I'm really glad to see so many people talking about preeclampsia.
The Preeclampsia Foundation Facebook page has some good links and comments from women who have had preeclampsia. Unfortunately a good number of women still find that their health care provider does not take their initial symptoms seriously. The swelling, headaches, rib or shoulder pain, vomiting, visual disturbances, blurred vision, tiredness, and feeling off associated with preeclampsia can also be normal pregnancy symptoms. However, as I've said before on this blog "when in doubt, get checked out!" If you are having any symptoms of preeclampsia, your provider should take your blood pressure and screen your urine. A 24 hour urine collection and a preeclampsia blood panel are also important diagnostic tools.
This article provides an interesting (but brief) overview of the history of preeclampsia treatment.
Some of my other posts about pre-e are linked below
My attempts to answer search engine questions about pre-e that brought people to this site are here.
My personal experience of having a baby on magnesium sulfate is here.
A basic overview of preeclampsia is here.
And my defense of scary birth stories is here.
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