November 04, 2004
28 wk prenatal appointment
At 1:15pm, I chugged down 10oz. of orange-flavored "Glucola."
At 2:00pm, I arrived at the lab.
At 2:15pm, two small tubes of my blood was drawn and I was sent downstairs to my ob/gyn.
At 2:30pm, I was called back for my appointment.
As usual, we started off by weighing me (up 2 lbs), and then I got to pee on a small strip of paper. If my blood sugar read high this time, it was attributed to the Glucola. Next was pulse and blood pressure (just fine).
In the exam room, we first listened to the baby's heartbeat. It took the nurse about a minute to find it, but then it was good, up in the 150s. When Misty (the RN) came in, she measured my belly (29 weeks, slightly ahead of my actual date) and said it looked good. Then we had the usual discussion of my aches, pains, and concerns.
I've had a lot of shortness of breath, even when there's been no recent exertion. Sometimes, it suddenly feels like there's a big, wide band around my chest, squeezing. My pulse rate also tends to be right around 100 constantly, and at times (again, no exertion causing it), I can feel my pulse throbbing in my fingertips and my eyeballs will even jump minutely with the force of my pulse. Because of this, Misty referred me to the Austin Heart Center. (I have an appointment for Monday morning.)
The pelvic pain is just something to be endured. I can see about visiting a massage therapist, or I can take Tylenol as needed.
I have had a mild sore throat that comes and goes for the last two weeks. Misty took a look and first asked me if I still had my tonsils (yes). She said she could see scar tissue and some irritation, but nothing that looked like strep. She told me to contact my GP for a check up. (I have an appointment for that for tomorrow morning.)
I also discussed flu vaccination with Misty. Unfortunately, I do qualify as high-risk and should get one, but the clinic doesn't have any. Misty told me to ask my GP. I called his clinic and was told they never got ANY. The receptionist suggest I call 211 and find out if any place near me had any vaccines. I've been trying, but I keep getting a busy signal.
Finally, I did discuss my weight again with the nurses. My NET gain (from pre-pregnancy to now) is a whopping 6 lbs. My gross weight gain is closer to 10 or 11 lbs, considering I lost 4 or 5 lbs during my first trimester. Either number seems awfully low to me (my Pregnancy Week by Week book says I should be up 17 to 24 lbs by now) but Misty isn't worried. Technically, I'm losing weight to the baby, but since I AM gaining overall, though very slowly, and as long as the baby is measuring on target, we're ok.
So, tomorrow I'll visit my GP in the morning about my throat, then get my glucose tolerance test results later in the day. Then on Monday, I'll go in for a heart consultation. And maybe some day I'll get an answer at 211 about a flu vaccination.