13 weeks, delayed

i want to try to post every week of my pregnancy, but this week i'm a bit late. i turned 13 weeks last sunday, but couldn't post then because i've been going through some medical issues that have been really frustrating and bewildering, and that have overshadowed the fact that i entered my second trimester.

since last thursday, i've been having trouble breathing. at first, it was more of an annoyance than a real issue, so i didn't think much of it. pregnancy makes you feel out of breath sometimes, so i thought it was normal. but friday i woke up and it was the same thing, so i went to my doctor. all the tests came back fine (EKG and bloodwork), so he wasn't sure what the issue was. he gave me a couple reasons that could be the cause (such as reflux and anemia) but he suggested i see a pulmonary specialist just in case. but then saturday i woke up and felt pretty good. i said to sh, "i feel better!" then ate a piece of toast. within 10 minutes, i felt a major blockage in my sternum/chest area and the breathing problems started up again. i self-diagnosed at that point and decided the breathing issue must be related to reflux, since it got worse right after i ate. the breathing and the chest pain/reflux got worse so i barely ate all weekend. sunday night it got so bad that we decided to go to the ER, but it was much of the same thing. all the tests came back fine, and the ER doc said based on what i said, it seems like it might be caused by reflux. he told me to keep taking zantac and to follow up with my doctor if i don't feel better in a week or so. i was so frustrated because as much as i kind of knew it probably wouldn't happen, i wanted some immediate relief. it is really exhausting to have to consciously suck in air every minute or so, only to still feel unsatisfied and like you didn't take a deep breath. side note, i am really scared of my ER bill, even with insurance. -_-

i emailed work on monday morning to tell them what happened, and stayed home to rest. i also made an appointment with a GI doctor and luckily they had a spot open the same day. (by this point, i had seen 3 doctors in 4 days, and i got weighed each time. my weight went 111, 110, 109.) the GI doctor said reflux can cause breathing problems, and that pregnancy definitely exacerbates reflux, but she didn't seem convinced that reflux would cause breathing problems consistently for 5 days. she said if the breathing isn't better in 2 days, go see a pulmonary specialist. my stomach/reflux issues were a bit better by monday so i was finally able to eat a little more.

the breathing was pretty much the same the rest of monday and tuesday so i scheduled an appointment with a pulmonary specialist on thursday. wednesday i felt a little better, and this morning, i felt a lot better, but i still went to the pulmonary specialist. i gave him the same summary that i gave the other doctors. he asked a lot of questions, then asked me to take a breath test. that was exhausting. it's just breathing into a tube over and over really hard. i was so light-headed by the end of it. the tech sent the report over to the doctor, and i went to his office and sat down. he said, "so. you have...asthma." !!! what!? i said "what??" he told me it appears that i've had it for some time, and it's very mild, but that it must have been dormant for my entire life since i've never experienced breathing problems before. he asked me if i'm active. i told him i was going once a week to the gym until i got pregnant because any strenuous activity made me nauseous. he asked me whether i was active as a kid, and i said i played a lot of ice hockey. he said ice hockey players have the best lungs and that it must've temporarily "cured" my asthma - in that my lungs were in such good shape as a kid that the asthma never had a chance to surface. however, he said it seems that there was basically a perfect storm of events in the recent weeks that led to the asthma showing itself for the first time - working a lot, stress, pregnancy, the cold weather, not exercising, etc. etc. i used to feel bad for those kids in elementary school who walked around with inhalers and were wheezing by the end of gym class. now that's me! :( he gave me an inhaler to use and told me to check in with him in two weeks. he said he's pretty confident this is the reason for my breathing troubles, but that there's always a chance it's not. i guess i'm glad to know the likely reason for my past week of breathing woes, but i was definitely blindsided by this find. i told my mom and after lamenting it for a while, she said, "so glad you guys played hockey. lana must play hockey!" i mean, duh.

in other news, we went to our first ultrasound yesterday. the doctor said everything looks good. we're so thankful for our healthy growing baby. i also will give said baby much hell in his/her teenage years about the pregnancy i went through for him/her. this pregnancy has been so much harder than the first. now that i'm in my second trimester, i hope to eat more normally soon. the nausea has definitely gotten better. maybe i'll start posting bump pictures next week...