Hi! I am so happy to see another person here who has PKD like me. I learned I had PKD when I was 19 through an ultrasound preformed on my kidneys. I received it through my mom's side of the family.
I am currently in my second pregnancy. My first pregnancy was rough. I developed pre eclampsia early on in the second trimestor (around 16 weeks). I had to deliver by c-section at 31 weeks due to the protien in the urine amounting to 17g.
I personally blame myself for this because I did not go see my nephrologist until much later on in the pregnancy and chose to let the OB moniter the blood pressure. My reasoning for this at the time was that I found the Nephrology office a little creepy. You never see another healthy looking person in there, but I guess thats because they see the sicker patients more often then those in the beginning stage.
Anyway to get back on topic. After my first pregnancy the high blood pressure stayed as well as the protien leaking in the urine; although the amount has greatly reduced to 100mg. (I am told that even a normal healthy person may pass that much at some point or another) At first I saw my nephrologist every month, and then when the protein started dropping to normal levels, I saw him every 3 months for a while. Now, I am back to seeing him once a year.
I was a little nervous going into my second pregnancy, and my mother didnt help matters because she is against it claiming that I nearly died with the first one. (Both OB and Nephrologist have assured me that that was not the case) She has even went as far as telling me that I was crazy for not getting a tubal litgation immediatly after my first, and of course she also claimed that breastfeeding my baby was bad for my health, which made me feel more sad when I couldnt breastfeed beyond 3 months. I had no encouragement, high blood pressure problems, and postpartum depression. (Dont get discouraged if you get negative comments, especially ones made from ignorance.)
So I am now in my second pregnancy, and everything is moving smoothly. Knock on wood! Protien is low, and blood pressure is under control. My nephrologist has prescribed a little extra more then the actual dosage I take so that if the blood pressure did run a little high due to eating a higher salt food item, I dont run out of medicine before the end of the month. He has taught me how to moniter it and when it does become high, how much extra I can take to help control it. But so far I have enjoyed this pregnancy and its lack of complications. I am looking forward to delivering a healthy baby girl by October.
