This week, last month, summer and autumn have involved a LOT of traumatic events locally, which I haven’t gone into here, as they aren’t the focus of this blog. They have taken my attention, though, which is a lot of why I’ve written so little. I just haven’t had the mental energy to either fret about or enjoy this pregnancy.They also pulled me out of the running and other exercise I was doing in the first trimester (my DH felt it got dangerous to run alone late at night, and asked me not to, and it was too hot during the day, and although I joined the gym, I really didn’t enjoy exercising there very much), and it’s been really hard to keep up my energy levels ever since. I spend a lot of time feeling exhausted.
On the other hand, my medical test results have mostly been good. I did the follow-up ultrasound on the excess amniotic fluid yesterday, and while there is still a tiny bit too much, it’s nowhere near as bad, apparently. The doctor told me to go back in two months (ie right at the end of the pregnancy) so they can see how it looks before the birth. I had actually been wondering if there was an improvement in this, because I’ve been feeling more kicks and other movements, and feeling them more all over.
Also this week I started a series of dental hygiene appointments at the local dental school. A second (of two) year student on a local parenting group asked for patients, and it seems a very good deal – a single cheap price for multiple in depth appointments completely under supervision. I really haven’t had dental care since I moved here, so this would be a good thing. Both my (student) hygienist and her supervisor stressed how important tooth care in pregnancy is, because gingivitis can lead to low birth weight and premature labour. In the health questionnaire at the beginning I was asked about present or previous instances of high blood pressure or liver issues, so mentioned the last pregnancy. I very quickly gave up on trying to tell them about HELLP, and focussed on the pre-eclampsia having led to both, but being fine for now and carefully monitored. In the end they just accepted that and moved on, because it doesn’t seem like either should really be affected by this treatment. I was somewhat bemused that neither of them knew what pre-eclampsia is (let alone HELLP), and only the student (who has two daughters of her own) had even heard the term before. On the one hand, I’m delighted she didn’t need to know, for her sake, but in case she might want further children I hope she at least knows symptoms to get checked out, even if she doesn’t know what they might be from. I have no idea if her supervisor has children or wants to, but same for her if so.
Running from HELLP 