Maternity triage, 111 or wait it out?

[igglepigglegingin]

With front line care so stretched I'm not sure what to do, I've had intense heart palpitations all morning, dizziness, nausea, seeing stars, feeling faint etc. 23 weeks with DC3.

My other two DC have respiratory issues so I've used their (kids) oximeter which I know won't be the most accurate - resting Heart rate sat on the sofa is 100BPM sometimes going down to mid 80s which I think is ok? .

My question is, would you wait it out, try maternity triage although likely to be referred back into 111? Any experiences really welcome as it's the first time this has happened during all three pregnancies and very unpleasant.

Have you been tested for gestational diabetes?

Call the maternity unit.

What's your o2 Sat's?

You need to go to hospital.

Call the maternity ward and they will advise you what to do for the best. Don’t put your health or baby’s at risk to try and lighten the load of the NHS.

Call maternity triage please. They might say 111 or they might say A&E or they might say to go to them to get checked out, but please do something today.

Maternity triage. How much food and fluid have you had this morning?

This happened to me a few weeks ago. I phoned triage and they sent me straight to A&E as wasn't to do with baby (baby was moving fine). I went to A&E and they did ECG and other checks.

Sats fine- 98% and eating and drinking normally. I'll call maternity triage now. Didn't want to ring in case it was a 'normal' symptom for some women. Thanks so much.

Call your maternity triage, they can give you professional advice tailored to your medical history.

Spoke to maternity triage - they said it's not related to the baby so ring my GP.

I see you've rang triage. Seems strange they'd ask you to ring GP as I rang with very similar symptoms (although probably milder!) and they told me to go to A&E as it sounded like I had a pulmonary embolism. I had to stay as an inpatient while they ruled it out! My heart rate was in the hundreds and I was very breathless. Maybe try 111?

Go to A and E.
111 will tell you to anyway, with those symptoms.
I'm a midwife BTW.

And whoever told you to ring your GP on a Saturday is an idiot.

Hospital. Now.

Seriously, OP.
These are alarming symptoms whether you're pregnant or not.
Please go straight to A and E.

I made it to urgent care, resting heart rate 129 so I jumped queue, ecg fine, going to give me a bag of fluids and run blood tests.

That's good OP. You're in the right place.

By way of an update, I have an infection causing the palpitations and high heart rate - really glad I went in so thank you so much for the advice and encouragement to take it further.

I've been looked after impeccably in urgent care and couldn't have been more cared for despite the sheer volume of patients coming (and swiftly leaving) through their doors.

So glad you went in and are getting the best care

Are you still in hospital, OP?

No thankfully - I'm on bed rest at home now with antibiotics.