The first time the thought that I could be pregnant even crossed my mind was at the gym. I had been training for a 10K this summer, and, being in Anchorage, I was training on a treadmill. I was following a program that gradually cranks up speed and time and as I started that day's workout, I just couldn't keep up. I turned down the speed and incline on the treadmill, but I was still feeling winded. I just couldn't do it. I thought, "maybe I'm pregnant" and then, "no, I probably just caught a cold from a patient".
That weekend, John and I took a trip out to Homer and stayed in a yurt on Katchemak Bay. On the way down from Anchorage, we stopped at a gas station and I saw some Gardetto's snack mix. Suddenly, it was all I could think about! I had to have it! I managed to call on some reserve of willpower and walk away, but I thought about that salty yumminess all weekend long! On the way back to Anchorage, I stopped at the gas station, got the snack mix, and proceeded to eat THE ENTIRE BAG! This was completely atypical behavior for me as A) I'm normally not a salty snack person and B) I don't normally eat junk food. After that, I had a sneaky suspicion about what was going on. When we got home, I took a test, and sure enough, I'm pregnant!
It was a few days after the positive test that the nausea came to visit. And decided to stay. I remember asking my friends with kids if morning sickness felt like regular nausea. They said that it did. However, this nausea is completely different from anything I've ever felt. It's really hard to describe. It's like the pain you get when you're absolutely starving combined with the awful pain and nausea from gastroenteritis. And eating relieves it temporarily. And so, I started eating. And eating and eating and eating. And I gained...13 pounds!!! Almost overnight! That's actually more weight than the guidelines recommend that I should gain for the entire pregnancy! That scared me and I was so miserable that I decided to go ahead and take an anti-nausea medication (Zofran). It has helped a lot! I just ran out of it last Thursday and the nausea came right back, but it's a little less awful than what it was. Perhaps because I also started taking Vitamin B6, which is supposed to help.
Other than the nausea, I'm also exhausted. Way more so than usual. I've pretty much given up exercise entirely because I just have zero energy. And I get so short of breath. Walking across a parking lot just about does me in. I feel like I have COPD and Congestive Heart Failure! After work, I've been coming home and collapsing. John has tried so hard to get me to get up and participate in life, but about the only thing that can get me out of bed these days is food. I sleep until my rumbling tummy just can't be ignored anymore! And sleep just feels sooooo good!
Other than exhaustion and nausea, I've been feeling pretty good. Now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, I'm hoping my energy will come back soon! Just in time to start residency...
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