An Eventful Day of Appointments

I took this past Thursday off work to complete a day's worth of Doctor's appointments at UCSF. Jason was with me for my 1st appointment which was an ultrasound to check for growth. We were so excited to see how much our little guy had been growing and sure enough he measured right on at 30 weeks.

When I first got to my appointment, the tech put me in the room and told me to lay down. She left the room for a few minutes and as I was laying there I started to feel like I couldn't breathe. I sat up and told Jason that I was going to pass out. He took one look at me and realized from the color on my face that I may be telling the truth. After a minute or so, some water and a banana, I started to feel better. I figured maybe it was my new medicine or that it was really early in the morning. When the tech came back she had me lay down again and within 2 minutes the fainting spell came back. It took a few minutes to start feeling better again. The tech then casually mentioned that because I was in my 3rd trimester, I probably shouldn't be lying flat on my back. She explained it is common for women to feel faint in their 3rd trimester if they lie flat on their backs (something to do with your uterus cutting off a large vein that is responsible for blood flow). GOOD TO KNOW since she was the one who told me to lie on my back! I moved to my side (which is how I currently sleep) and I then felt fine.

After that I had my Glucose Screening where you have to drink a sugary substance and then have your blood drawn an hour later. I found out the next day that I didn't pass the screening. So now on Monday, I have to do the 3 hour Glucose Tolerance Test. I've heard it is not fun as you have to fast for 10 hours and then drink double the sugary substance on an empty stomach and then have your blood drawn each hour for 3 hours (all while not eating). I guess a lot of pregnant woman have a false positive in the screening but pass the 2nd test, so I'm hopeful for that. This weekend I'm trying very hard not to eat any sweets, which is very hard to resist. Good-bye sweet tooth!

Lastly, I went to the cardiologist for my 3rd trimester echo and appointment. The great news was that my echo came back good, so that was something to celebrate. During pregnancy your blood volume increases significantly and peaks at 30 weeks. I have had an echo done each trimester to track how my heart is tolerating all the extra blood flow. I was very relieved to hear that everything looked normal. I started taking beta blockers about a week ago due to my blood pressure getting a little high and they also seem to be working good. I NEVER take medicine (unless I'm forced), so for me to take this was a big step. The good news is they actually have a calming affect. I joked with my cardiologist that I could see people becoming addicted to these little pills since they make you feel so good.

So that was my day at the doctor's. Within 2 weeks, I start going in weekly for fetal non-stress tests and every other week to my cardiologist, so UCSF is going to be like a 2nd home. It is amazing how much precaution they follow when you are considered high-risk and a heart patient, but I feel so comforted to know that I am getting the very best care. I continue to feel really good and am hoping for another 2 months of keeping active and healthy.