Over Halfway Through The Nausea

I've had a rough few days this week. On Wednesday, before work, I did my usual heaving before I took my Zofran and I swear I thought I tore my esophagus. My chest hurt for about 20 minutes after and even swallowing water was painful. So for the last two days, I've been taking the Zofran half an hour before I get up, so as not to throw up at all. It's not easy and once I swallow the water, the nausea starts. I lie there and grit my teeth for half an hour to keep it down, then manage to eat breakfast and start the day. I'm still fairly nauseous all day long, but not throwing up as much. I just keep reminding myself that the nausea in any form will probably only last a little less than 4 more weeks. I'm more than half way through it.

I have managed to rehydrate by eating ice. I've also discovered that chewing sugared bubble gum makes me able to drink water (though terrible for my teeth). I chewed the last piece last night, so I'll be off in search of more sometime today. Oh, the tiny tricks we use to survive a rough time.

On a positive note, my good friend, Judy came over yesterday to help me out. She helped me sort my laundry, put away some clean clothes, and then played with GG for over an hour. It was a huge blessing to me and to GG. They had so much fun together. She is great with kids.

Thank God for putting people in our lives who go out of their way to show kindness. 10 weeks, 1 day and counting!!!

My Solution for Today

I say it's a solution for today because things tend to work for me one minute, and not necessarily the next. Once I calmed down from my anger at the disregard shown to me by the medical assistant, I remembered one thing she suggested-ice chips. So after lunch as I was hanging over my trash can at work (I'm sure the folks there LOVE me right now), I asked one of my friends if she would go get me a cup of ice from the ice machine downstairs. I also got a can of plain Coca-Cola, not to drink completely, but to flavor the ice (plain ice can be hard to stomach for me). So far, so good. It's not enough flavor to start the bad taste syndrome, but enough to make the ice palatable, and hopefully not enough caffeine to do any harm. So far, I'm on my second heaping cup and it's tasting pretty good. So I guess the condescending lady gets a point for one helpful tip. Wow, am I bitter today or what?

Warning-Rant

I have tried to "push" myself to drink more over the last couple days, but I feel like I just can't catch up. Hubby and I discussed it and I decided to call my doctor's office this morning and ask about the home IV option. If it could make me feel better and give me a head start on re hydrating, I'd be willing to do it.

I called an hour after they opened and spoke with his assistant. She acted like she'd never heard of such a thing and asked me if I'd tried popsicles. I told her I've tried everything and it all leaves a horrible taste in my mouth and makes me want to throw up. I told her the doctor himself is the one who suggested the IV thing, and she said she'd talk to him and call me back.

She called me back no more than 10 minutes later and said that unless I'm dizzy and lightheaded, IVs are not necessary. He just wants me to push myself to drink. She said decreased urine output is a "sign they look for in children who can't communicate other symptoms." She was so condescending, it left me upset. I said I'd do my best and hung up.

I'm feeling fairly stupid right now (and mad). Hubby assures me that we heard the same thing on Saturday and that we don't know what the assistant said to him this morning, or exactly what he said back. All I know is that they made me feel like a moron for even mentioning the possibility of an IV. So I guess I'm off to force feed myself some more water (since there's nothing else available at work to drink) and pray it stays down. Grrrrrr. . .

All Is Well!

Just returned home from the doctor's office. He was able to see the baby with the transabdominal ultrasound (no more plastic probe, YAY!) Baby's heart rate was 186 bpm, normal for my stage today (9 weeks, 2 days). He didn't measure because the heart looked so good. He said the spotting was likely the result of the internal probe on Wednesday and it just took a couple of days to show up. We are immensely relieved.

I threw up in the car on the way home. Luckily, I brought a trash bag along just in case. I suspect that I am suffering from dehydration. I have several symptoms-very little urine output, very dry skin, dry mouth, chills, etc. My doctor gave us till Monday to rehydrate manually. He recommends sipping Gatorade, Kool-aid, etc. since water makes me nauseous (breathing makes me nauseous, too, but I must continue!) If I'm still dehydrated on Monday, he is going to order a home nurse to come and administer IV fluids. He said he knows it sounds bad, but it would make me feel a lot better very quickly.

So as I sit here typing, I'm sipping my purple Gatorade like a good girl. Hubby is now monitoring my fluids, which is probably good. It will keep me honest! Thanks to all of you who prayed and thought of me over the last 24 hours.