Yet another Nug/Jaime update

Last Tuesday, I had my Week 36 appointment and was told that everything looked good though he's still measuring small and that I was 1cm. dialated and 70% effaced. That evening, I noticed my heart beat a little faster than normal and I got winded easier than normal. The next day, Wednesday, my heart REALLY started racing. I had a non-stress test scheduled for that evening at the hospital so when I got there, I told them about my concerns. They took my blood pressure and said that it was normal (123/78) which is in the normal range, but not for me. My normal range is 100-105/60-65. The triage nurse said I was probably just nervous and didn't seem concerned. However, it was back to racing again Thursday - I checked my pulse at 124bpm, so I called my OBGYN. The nurse said that if I hadn't just had a non-stress test last night she'd tell me to go to the hospital immediately to have one but that maybe I should call my GP because he may have more of an idea of my history and have some other ideas of what could be causing it. So that night, I went to my GP. By the time I saw him, my blood pressure was back down closer to normal for me but still slightly elevated. He took blood and said to stay at home Friday and rest, which I did. I slept from 10pm Thursday night to 1pm Friday afternoon. On Saturday, I had another non-stress test at the hospital (twice a week 'til the baby's born). My pressure was up to 134/89 which is EXTREMELY high for me. The OB on-call asked for a urine sample and even though the one I gave at Tuesday's appointment was clear, by Saturday I had developed a bladder infection. *sigh*

I was really thinking that my bloodwork would show I was deficient in something and I'd be able to take something and feel back to myself again shortly. I called for the results this morning and was told that it was all normal. I am not deficient in anything. So now I'm completely stumped as to why I feel like I do. I have my Week 37 appointment this afternoon so hopefully my OB will be able to shed some light on the whole thing but I'm not holding my breath. I'm just so tired of feeling this way - getting winded for NO reason, my heart pounding so badly that I feel like I just ran 5 miles for NO reason... I wake up in the middle of the night panting. This can't be normal.

But because I'm basically being monitored three times a week (one OBGYN appointment, two non-stress tests) no one seems overly worried... which is good, but at the same time I'm really tired of feeling like this. It's really frustrating.

Awww, Jaime. It sounds like you're just getting ready to bring Nug into the world.

No advice, but hopefully a {{{{{{{{{hug}}}}}}}}}}}} will help.

Sounds like it's nerves and Nug is ready to make his appearance.

I don't know if it's that easy. My GP told me the other day that if it were stress-or-anxiety related, the top number of my blood pressure would go up but the bottom number would stay pretty constant to what it normally was. Since both have gone up so drastically, he said he didn't think it was anxiety or nerves. Reason 1 of many I'm feeling a touch frustrated.

uhm, welcome to pregnancy? ;) keep in mind babies can be delivered 2 weeks before, or after due date, as in mine and my brothers cases. Just be prepared and caaalm down. stressing yourself out only makes it worse. just breathe, everybody has their own problems through pregnancy the problem with you feeling "winded" by doing nothing could be caused by sudden weight gain?

I don't want to hijack your thread, but I wanted to share a little bit of humor with you in the hopes that a laugh might make you feel a little bit better if only for a moment.

Top 17 Fatal things to say if your wife is preganant:

17. "I finished the Oreos."
16. "Not to imply anything, but I don't think the kid weighs 40 pounds."
15. "Y'know, looking at her, you'd never guess that Pamela Lee had a baby!"
14. "I sure hope your thighs aren't going to stay that flabby forever!"
13. "Well, could they induce labor? The 25th is the Super Bowl."
12. "Darned if you ain't about five pounds away from a surprise visit from that Richard Simmons fella."
11. "Fred at the office passed a stone the size of a pea. Boy, that's got to hurt."
10. "Whoa! For a minute there, I thought I woke up next to Willard Scott!"
9. "I'm jealous! Why can't men experience the joy of childbirth?"
8. "Are your ankles supposed to look like that?"
7. "Get your own ice cream."
6. "Geez, you're awfully puffy looking today."
5. "Got milk?"
4. "Maybe we should name the baby after my secretary, Tawney."
3. "Man! That rose tattoo on your hip is the size of Madagascar!"
2. "Retaining water? Yeah, like the Hoover Dam retains water..."
1. "You don't have the guts to pull that trigger..."

Cute, Lobodeb. Thankfully, he's small so my weight gain has been on the low side. My doctor said they want you to stay within 25-35 lbs. and as of last week I was at 28 lbs. Not too bad... although I feel like I've been eating everything in sight lately! I made cinnamon rolls last week - Josh had 2, I had 6! After dinner!!!

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Originally Posted by LKPike

uhm, welcome to pregnancy? ;) keep in mind babies can be delivered 2 weeks before, or after due date, as in mine and my brothers cases. Just be prepared and caaalm down. stressing yourself out only makes it worse. just breathe, everybody has their own problems through pregnancy the problem with you feeling "winded" by doing nothing could be caused by sudden weight gain?

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That's the thing - I'm not stressing myself out. The nursery's about done. We've got just about every necessity I wanted to have. I've got loads of supportive family and friends nearby. Josh has been AWESOME with me and calms me everytime I do break down. Trust me, I know stress (I'm the person whose church burnt down less than 2 days before the wedding last year) and I just don't think this is it. I've never reacted to it this way before. Ever. I'm not saying it definitely isn't. I just don't think it is.

Anyway, I'm off to the doctor's. Hopefully she'll have some sort of better idea. I can't go another 2.5 weeks like this...

I hope they're able to put your mind at ease with whatever information they're able to gather from tonight's visit...

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Originally Posted by Samantha Puppy

Cute, Lobodeb. Thankfully, he's small so my weight gain has been on the low side. My doctor said they want you to stay within 25-35 lbs. and as of last week I was at 28 lbs. Not too bad... although I feel like I've been eating everything in sight lately! I made cinnamon rolls last week - Josh had 2, I had 6! After dinner!!!

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OMG!!! :eek: I thought I was the only one having this reaction. If it's sweet and in my path, consider it gone. :o

Great, now I'm going to have to make me some cinnamon rolls. Thanks a lot! ;)

Honey you are winded becouse you are packing some one besides yourself when you walk . It's normal. I gained 40lbs with my daughter it put me at the highest weight i had ever been 245 . I'm onluy 5'2" I looked and felt like a beached whale. You are doing so good just relax panic will only make you feel worse. You will be tired as your body has and is going through some very large changes. (HUG)

It's not extra weight. It's a condition called tachycardia. Apparently it isn't unheard of for women at this stage in pregnancy to get, though it isn't a common occurrence either. And basically, there's nothing to do except wait for the baby to be born and hope that no permanent damage was caused between when it developed (last week) and his birth. If it didn't, I should go back to myself after he's born. If not, I will have to see a cardiologist to keep it under control.

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Originally Posted by Samantha Puppy

It's not extra weight. It's a condition called tachycardia.

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Did you find this out tonight? Man, I hope it's not permanent...but, if you did find this out tonight, at least you know and can just deal with that, now.

I didn't know tachycardia was an actual condition. I thought it was just a label they used when the heart beats faster than normal. Tachy meaning fast-beating, cardia meaning heart.

Either way, it seems the signs are pointing more and more to have Nug join us here on the outside. How much more are they willing to let you endure?

I don't know, Lobodeb. I took it to mean it was a condition, but maybe she meant it as just rapid heart beat and when she talked long term, that it could ultimately cause another heart condition. I don't know.

As for how much longer they'll have me go on - because of his size she doesn't want him born before our induction date unless HE decides it's time. As far as I can tell, unless we go into labor on our own, I have to deal with it for another 2 weeks. Blah.

SO uncomfortable. :(

Well I would think if there is a risk to your heart they should induce, he may be small but he would definetely have no survival problems now. Sound like they are monitoring you very closely and I am sure they will consider your health as well.

Lobodeb is right, tachycardia is not an actual condition but just means your heart rate is faster than "normal." It can have any one of numerous causes including stress, increased caffeine or sugar intake, even increased carbohydrates, to name just a few. Kinda like tinnitus means ear ringing but it can be caused by a wide variety of conditions. Hope that makes sense.

Really if the medical personnel working with you are not too concerned, I would breathe easy as you can as they see hundreds and hundreds of pregnancies every year and probably see quite a wide variety of things. I know it has to be hard not to be anxious, in your place I would be too. I've had tachycardia before when I was dealing with an illness years ago and it's not a pleasant feeling. That winded feeling is very uncomfortable. But I hope it helps to know that you don't have an actual condition that will stick with you. I'm betting it will settle when the little guy comes into the world :).

Yeah, I feel better knowing that they aren't overly concerned about it... she did say that it could bring about heart issues in the future depending how severe the case is and how long I have it - I guess from the heart beating so fast for so long could damage/weaken it. Not sure. She said after I have the baby, I should follow up with my GP about it and allow him to refer me to a cardiologist if he feels it's necessary.

So yeah, while I feel better knowing that none of my doctors are freaking out about it, it's still really uncomfortable and I wish there was something I could do/take for it instead of just waiting for each episode to pass.