My Name is Bethea

Today : 28 weeks and 5 days along.

The first 6 months of my pregnancy had been SO pleasant… nothing like I had expected.  I didn’t have much of a problem with morning sickness…  and after that initial first 12 weeks was over, it was like I had to remind myself that I was pregnant!  I felt great!

Exactly around the end of my first 6 months, my belly TOTALLY popped out  within a week.  I was HUGE all of a sudden and people were finally starting to comment…it’s pretty obvious I’m pregnant now. haha

Ever since I got my new, giant belly, all the real problems and symptoms of this pregnancy came along with it.

• I immediately started having swelling in my legs and ankles and the only shoes that fit are my  slip on Teva sandals!  Also, since it’s winter time… and all I wear is Sandals, I have huge, cracks in my dry feet! OH MAN!

• My acne is BAD and to the point where it was when I initially went on Accutane 3-4 years ago.  I get bad headaches from my acne and often just want to hang out at home so I don’t have to deal with people seeing my face sometimes. Yes I know… I have zits.  Don’t stare at me!
• I also have a bad case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in my wrists.  At night I wake up because my arms, from my elbow to my fingers, are asleep.  I’ll move my fingers to try and get the blood flowing.. but my fingers and joints are swollen and in SO much pain.  I’m excited to wear my wedding rings again someday!  Also, I’ve dropped and broken a LOT of our dishes.  Next time around, it’s plastic during the pregnancy.
• I have Acid Reflux! I went to my Dr. during a regular visit and told her that I wake up at night and find that I’m gasping for air.  I thought, “Oh, well I already snore a TON now that I’m pregnant, it’s probably just related to that or I have mild sleep apnea that will go away.” – I didn’t expect to hear “acid reflux”… but yes, it makes sense.  I have never really thrown up during this pregnancy but I throw up all the time in my mouth (Gross I know, sorry) – but I got used to it.. and the heartburn… it all fits.   I now take Prevacid for my acid reflux and I hate having to wait 30 minutes before I can eat breakfast everyday.  I’ll get over it.
• Restless Leg Syndrome.  Apparently it occurs in around 20% of pregnant women and goes away around 4 weeks after they give birth. Basically if I’m not up at night going to the bathroom, I’m up stretching and flexing my legs and trying to relieve crawling sensations and charlie horses in my legs.
• ER VISIT – 2 weeks ago I woke up on a Thursday night with a bad pain in my left side.  I just thought it was another annoying, new pain I’d have to deal with and tried to sleep through it.  I woke up again and was in SO much more pain.  I thought, “Oh, I just need to go to the bathroom or , Oh, it’s just Gas or something.?  Maybe a muscle ache?”  I took a bath to try and relieve the pain but nothing was helping.. and my trusty Tylenol did nothing.  I basically cried to Pete for 2 hours and then finally fell asleep.    Next day – The pain went away after I ate breakfast, came and went throughout the day but came back in the evening.  It got even worse that night so around 12:30 when I was curling up and crying, shrieking in pain, I said “OK – we have to go to the emergency room!!!”  We went to the emergency OB clinic at University Hospital around 1:15 am.  They tested my urine, blood and did a full pelvic exam to see what was going on.  They then hooked me up to an IV because they said I was very dehydrated.  The vein in my hand collapsed (Because of the carpal tunnel) – so they used the vein in my arm/elbow.  Talk about a bloody mess! I think the nurse was tired.  A few minutes later, they gave me some medicine that would help me not to throw up then they gave me some Morphine.  It made me really sleepy so I just hung out until they had more to tell me.  In the mean time, Pete was in the bed  just over from me sleeping.  He had taken a sleeping pill before we got to the hospital. Poor guy.  The Dr. finally came in and said “You are showing absolutely NO signs of labor, your baby is running laps inside you and is healthy and your fluids are clean.”  She said the only explanation was Kidney Stones.  Those were the last words I had expected to hear.  Apparently if women get kidney stones, they are usually pregnant.  With the changes in hormones and minerals in my body, there was something that didn’t agree with my kidneys.  The Dr. said there was nothing they could do and that I would just have to pass the stones.  Usually they would do an ultrasound to spot the stone but since there was a baby in the way, it was no use.  I was sent home with an RX for Lortab and a strainer to try and find my stone once I pass it. Oh man.   Once I was wheeled out to the car and got up, the pain came shooting back.  The Morphine didn’t do anything!!  I went home and was in pain all night but atleast was able to sleep from all the drugs.  The pain has gone away for the most part and even moved to the other side for a day.  I’m just doing my best to keep hydrated and hopefully that’s what is saving me from all the pain of passing a kidney stone.

Well sorry this post was so boring and long but, if people don’t read it, at least I have a record of what happened!? haha
I go to the DR. today and have a check up.  I do my glucose tolerance test today (YUCK!) so we’ll see how that goes.  Hopefully I don’t need to tack on Diabetes to this list of ailments.

Posted on March 5th, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Current Events