The Sickness Returns!!!! ...again!

nospam@example.com (Bobby) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:59:08 -0700

Just when you think it’s safe to get back in the water…

Just when the world seems like it makes sense…

Just when you feel the need for stupid cliches has passed………

You were wrong.

Yep, you guessed it folks — and even if you didn’t, I’m going to tell you anyway — the (near) blissful (almost) comfort of the past several months (relative to the horror of the first trimester) has come to a sudden and really yucky halt. The Sickness has returned!!! …again!

It has changed form, certainly — but it is back nonetheless. And it is torturing poor Robin with the vengeance of one that has been too long denied.

Out of nowhere, Robin was bludgeoned with bronchitis. She has coughed up icky green stuff, she has had a fever — poor baby lives in a heatwave now — she has thrown up yucky liquids, and she has been relegated back to the “comforts” of the bed. I say “comforts” with those fabulous little bunny ears because, let’s face it, lying down for hours at a time is no fun for a pregnant lady.

Watch yourselves, ladies. The Sickness is tricksy.

It has even gotten into the mind of our doctor! Not the OBGYN — he’s in surgery all day and out of contact… — the GP that we generally go to. I have always been suspicious that he is one of those pill-pusher types doctors — you know, the kind that throw medication at everything, no matter what. When Robin got sick on top of the regular The Sickness in the earlier stages of the pregnancy, the doctor threw some strange pill at her that, upon researching, we discovered was actually banned from use in the US. I can’t remember what it was called now, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

Point is, it was banned somewhere due to possible badness to pregnant ladies.

And wasn’t necessary.

Bah!

This time around, he listens to Robin’s breathing, determines she has bronchitis and promtly throws a new pill at her — and a liquid med too (this one’s an expectorant/anti-asthma thingy). He didn’t even try to get a bacterial culture thingy to see what -kind- of bronchitis she has, specifically!We didn’t think too much of it at the time, because we know that bronchitis is the sort of infection that generally needs an antibiotic, but when we got home and did some checking on the effects of this drug (Biaxin or Claritromycin), we discover that it is not conclusive whether or not it is safe to take while pregnant. As a matter of fact, when I talked to a pharmacist today, she read to me right out of a book that said there have been relatively few human trials, and that those were inconclusive and need more testing, and that in the animal trials — poor animals and their babies! — the effects were not positive at all.

I know some people like to think so, but we are not so different than other animals when it comes to our basic workings. And yes we are animals too — don’t make me slap you!

Anyway, we are going to another doctor for a second opinion today. And I plan to call her OBGYN tomorrow. There are other options for bronchitis meds, and a couple of them are even determined to be “okay” for pregnant ladies to take. As long as the benefits outweigh the risks… Benefits, in this case, being that she gets better faster and the baby spends less time getting cooked by her body instead of baked at its regular, steady heat. Fever is not good for babies. Nope. Especially those unborn types.

I just hope we get some good information from this other doctor. I want options dammit! I want to be confident that the doctor isn’t just giving us what he or she figures is “okay” for the baby. I want to know that the doctor has put some serious thought into it and is giving us what he is sure is the lowest risk for the baby — and for Robin too.

So far, not feelin’ it.

I hope she feels better soon.

The Sickness -- Part II

nospam@example.com (Bobby) — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:16:38 -0600

continued from: The Sickness — morning, evening, night… pick one — Part One

So you might think that, being nearly 14 weeks along, the sickness would have abated by now…

You would be wrong.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I was just being dramatic. It has lessened — but it continues to haunt my poor wife’s life.

And mine.

Picture this, if you will: Robin is humming along, having a good day; her appetite is good (understatment), her mood is steady (…), and her vertigo has been gone for a while and shows no signs of coming back. She’s feeling pretty good about the whole being pregnant thing.

Then it happens…

It begins as this… feeling… in her chest. A constricting or a pressure of some kind. Almost like congestion, but not so easily described. It just feels… bad. I know when it is happening because she gets all quiet, usually sits up and hunches forward a bit — and then starts the long, slow, whistling breaths. And when I ask her if she is alright — she says no.

Next, she falls into coughing fits.

These come and go periodically for Robin — sometimes it seems like that cold from so many months back still hasn’t gone away entirely. From what I understand, however, it may be caused by the acid reflux/heartburn that is yet another fun discomfort of pregnancy. I was worried about the strain on the little one, but, apparently, there is little worry that this constant hacking will hurt the baby, as the little alien is equipped with some great shock absorption bio-technology.

Sorry… nerd moment.

She knew she married one.

Back to the coughing… Before long, the poor girl is doubled over or in the fetal position herself. She is doing the breathing thing more rapidly now. There is a pause… and then, without warning, she is up and moving. Fast. She is heading to the bathroom as quickly as she can safely go. Usually, she makes it all the way to that oh-so-huggy porcelain friend.

Usually.

Sometimes it is the nearest available sink.

If I am home, I am right there with her, kneeling down behind her and rubbing her back, if she can stand it. This is where it starts to affect me…

Oh, it makes me feel bad for her and all that. I hate that she has to feel that way. But this is not what I am talking about. It’s a more… direct… effect. Don’t jump to conclusions now, I’m not talking about sympathetic vomiting. I’m talking about fighting that urge so hard that it almost hurts.

I haven’t puked in years.

I think I may be almost phobic, I hate it so much. If I ever do throw up, I am so sick I probably need to go to the hospital. This may sound a little weird to you - but I reeeeaaallllyyy hate it — and I exercise my personal willpower toward that battle. With a great deal of success, I might add.

This is trying though.

But I stick it out. Every time she’s in there, hugging her new friend, I am in there with her — with my eyes closed, and my ears… dealing with it. No matter what I feel, it can’t be as bad as what she feels.

Ohh the wonders of pregnancy…

ick.

holy crap, I'm pregnant! (Entries tagged as coughing)

The Sickness Returns!!!! ...again!

The Sickness -- Part II