Sorry that I have been missing lately. My pregnancy symptoms started at 6weeks and are at its peak now. I am tired all the time. The nausea keeps hitting at different times of the day and almost all evenings and nights. Since I work full time by the time I reach home I am very very tired and the nausea is bad so its been very difficult for me to cook. Because of the nausea I am not able to eat out and so my husband has taken charge of the kitchen. He has been doing so much around the house that I am literally being treated like a queen. Even though I feel guilty that he is doing more chores than I am I think soon I will get so used to this.
This week we had another ultrasound at 9w2d. TicTac was measuring 2 days ahead of schedule at 9w4d and everything looked good. The heartbeat was 161beats/min and we were able to record the whole session on video. Even though the baby is still tiny, measuring at 2.7cm (CRL) it kept moving its hands and legs as if it was waving at us. I am so glad we have it all on video as I am getting to watch it everyday. We also met with the doctor who said that I should get an appointment with an OB soon. He thinks that I will need progesterone supplementation for another 2 weeks and then I should be able to stop the PIO shots. My progesterone did increase to 19 this week from 17 last week (it was 14, 2 weeks ago) but they still want it at 20 or above. I have no complaints about the shots as they are pretty painless, I guess excess fat in your butt is useful sometimes.
After lots of consultation we narrowed down on a OB clinic and I called them for an appointment. The earliest is 3 weeks away. The receptionist asked very casually about how many times I've been pregnant before. I so badly wanted to tell her that this is my first and it was so damn hard to get here. She also said that at the first appointment they might not do an ultrasound unless its really necessary and she said that I would have monthly appointments after that. From being seen so many times in a week in a fertility clinic and getting an ultrasound every two weeks its a little difficult to go to a regular doctor and be one of their regular patients. I am not sure if I can rest at peace without an ultrasound for a long time. 2 of my very good friends had miscarriages at 10weeks and 16weeks and they did not have any symptoms at all. They went for a regular ultrasound and there was no heartbeat at all so this is one of the reasons why I need regular reassurances. I have read online about Doppler heart rate measuring instruments and am planning to ask my doctor if it is safe to use one. The OB clinic has 5 doctors and their policy is you get to see different doctors at each of your appointments. They do not assign a specific doctor for you. I am not sure if this is normal as I am used to a one doctor system for all these years.
For now I get to continue the twice a week PIO shots and get weekly blood tests. My first OB appointment is 12/23 and then I will have a better idea regarding whats in store for me. I will be 12 weeks at my first appointment.
Apart from the usual symptoms for the past 2 days I have noticed swelling in my ankles in the evenings. No pain or tingling associated with it and no swelling elsewhere so my doc thinks that I should increase my fluid intake and keep my feet raised as much as possible. I hope its not a big deal and it resolves soon. Hoping all is well with everyone.
4 comments:
Sorry to hear you are feeling so crappy. :( Because of my PCOS/insulin resistance, my OB suggested I go on a low carb diet (limiting myself to 50g carbs a day) and it has made a HUGE difference in the nausea/exhaustion which was knocking me on my booty. Apparently pregnancy increases your insulin levels so we PCOSers who already have insulin issues can really run into some problems during even though we're already on Rx for it. (My dr said if I'm not careful, I could easily gain 80 pounds because of the insulin stuff and I'm assuming we are at an increased risk for gestational diabetes as well.) You may want to give a low carb diet a try since you have PCOS, too. The Atkins website has lots of recipes and I was shocked by how many carbs are in healthy foods that I always ate like milk, apples, bananas, orange juice. And a lot of people think the Atkins diet is strictly meat and eggs, but it's really not. 50g of carbs a day puts you at level 3, which basically allows you to eat anything as long as there aren't a lot of carbs. (Plus, you can subtract every gram of fiber from every gram of carbs in a meal - so even though things like Fiber One cereal have like 20g of carbs, there's like 11g of fiber, so you are actually only getting 9g of carbs. Get it?)
We got our recent u/s on video too and it is so fun to watch! Love it.
The OB I went with is the only one in his practice as I didn't want to deal with seeing a different doctor each time. Also, because he's aware of our difficulties conceiving/PCOS/IVF, he does four u/s during the first trimester just to keep an eye on things. This has really helped my stress level and fear of miscarriage to be regularly reassured. So, I'd definitely ask your new doctors about that and sort of push to see if they can do more. If not - or if your insurance won't allow it - invest in an at-home doppler. You can rent them cheaper than buying them, but we also found some on Craig's list to buy for like $50-$100. (This was back before we knew we'd be getting lots of first trimester ultrasounds.)
Okay, I've written you a book!
Hope you feel better soon!
Hi CG, nice to hear from you.
I'm glad the pregnancy is going well, although I hope you stop feeling so miserable soon. That's wonderful that your husband is taking such good care of you- you deserve it!
I can imagine the prospect of being seen so infrequently is a little daunting. A friend of mine had one ultrasound during her entire pregnancy...considering I have at least seven even before ovulation I found that astonishing.
Like the previous poster said, perhaps you can talk to the OBs about your situation. They should be flexible and willing to offer you some more reassurance if you need it. If they don't make you feel like they're taking your concerns seriously, they may not be the right fit.
Hope you feel better soon. BIG hugs.
Hey!! Good to hear from you. I'm sorry the first trimester has been pretty rough. I'd also suggest talking to the DR about the trouble conceiving, they might be more supportive in a little extra reassurance as a result.
Praying for you.
~~HUGS~~
I totally agree that it is REALLY difficult to transition from an RE that gives you an US at every appointment to an OB who doesn't...my new OB called me an US "addict." Guilty as charged! Is it so wrong to have such a strong desire to see something so precious and amazing?! I don't think so! I'd highly recommend renting/buying a doppler. It's helped DH and I bond with baby and it gives me great peace of mind to hear the tiny little beat of the heart!
Congrats on 10 weeks...that's a huge milestone! And I can attest to the fact that morning sickness DOES get better. I'm almost 14 weeks now and the nausea has gotten TONS better.
All my best to you! *hugs*
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