Heart Palpitations and Old Wives Tale #4

So for the sake of keeping everything documented for this pregnancy, I am going to write about the latest symptom I have been having. Heart Palpitations. That's right, my heart has been a fluttering away. Now my husband claims I have to stop thinking about him so much, and they will stop. Very funny!

At first it was only once in a while. I googled pregnancy and palpitations, and it seems that since there is such an increase in blood volume, sometimes a pregnant woman can experience palpitations, along with shortness of breath with exertion. So, I let out a sigh of relief and went about my business.

Well, this weekend they picked up...ALOT! I was having 1-1.5 hour stints of constant palpitations. Some of them were taking my breath away, and on Friday I had to pull over twice while driving in order to vomit. I have had awful nausea with this pregnancy, but up until now, not much vomiting. the palpitations felt like they were in my throat, which then in turn made me throw up. So I decided it was time to call the doctor.

I called the office, explained what was going on and they called me back about 30 mins later. The nurse told me that if the palpitations were still going on by Monday, to call back. REALLY?!?!? They had been going on for a week. What would make them think that they would go away over the weekend!!?!??  So I agreed and continued on my way.

Well, surprise, surprise, they got worse instead of better. Foster and I headed out to my parents house for a little "Rapture Party", that's right, if we were going to go out, we were going to do it all together! :-) It was a lot of fun for everyone, and I didn't want to ruin it, but I felt the need to let my doctor know that the palpitations were getting worse. He wanted me to go to the ER. Not the closest one to my parent's house and not even the one that I work in, but one of the largest in Ohio. I agreed, but with more contemplation, decided not to. I had a few reasons.

#1 I was NOT going to pay a $150 copay! It is ridiculous! People come in all the time with stubbed toes and minor injuries and never pay a dime b/c they don't have insurance, and they "Don't have any money", even though they have their smokes and cell phones right there with them.

#2 Foster and my family were having too much fun killing ground hogs, and cooking out. I didn't want to ruin the fun, and I figured as long as I rested, and kept myself pretty calm, the flutters were bearable. I would go on Sunday if they persisted.

#3 I was afraid they may want to admit me if they DID find something wrong. I had a photo shoot on Sunday morning that could NOT be rescheduled because it was for a first Holy Communion. So it's not like I could ask the church to reschedule for Monday or something.

#4 I didn't know if the trip would be worth my while. If I went in and they were asking my history and found out I lost a baby last April and am now pregnant, they may just chalk the palpitations up to anxiety. If they decided to take and EKG, and it was when a palpitation was NOT happening, it would just confirm their initial thoughts in their mind. I was afraid they wouldn't take me seriously. I work in and ER, I know how it works sometimes, unfortunately. We see too many women come in who just want and u/s because they don't have an OB, and will use every excuse in the book to get one. This causes a lot of speculation and jaded perspectives on the part of the nursing staff and doctors. I hate that this is true, and I am not saying it ALWAYS happens, but I was afraid I would be categorized as a "crazy stillbirth mom" you know?

On Sunday, I just prayed and prayed that I would make it through the 2 masses without incident. Although I was faced with a few palpitations, there was nothing too extreme. When I called Foster after the shoot, he asked that I come home first, so that if I decided to go to the ED, he could go with me. I love him! I got home and fell asleep. I slept for 4 hours, and actually felt a little better afterwards.

For the past 2 days they have still been happening, but ALOT less. I only intermittently get them again. However, I am calling tomorrow. I am calling my doctor and letting him know that no, they haven't gone away, and explain my reasoning for not going into the ER. I hope he takes me seriously. He had mentioned that we may need to do a 24 hour holter monitor. I figured, since he has office hours on Thursday, he may be able to fit me in...I hope!

Foster and I will be heading to Georgia for my cousin's wedding, so I would like to have an idea of our plan before we head down south. It will be nice to just relax with Foster for a few days, and I can stay pretty stress free, since he is doing most of the driving and I can sleep!

I will keep you all updated!

On a happier note, although our u/s tech had a guess to the sex last time, I am still doing the Old Wives Tales. This time I did the baking soda test. If you take a couple tablespoons of baking soda, and add your urine to it, if it bubbles it is supposed to mean you are having a boy, and if it doesn't it means you are having a girl. I guess it has something to do with the acidity of your urine. Well, there wasn't a single bubble. So, according to this test, it confirms what the tech guessed, and we can expect a GIRL.

Results so far:

Declan: 50%
Avaleen: 50%

Looks like we are back at square one!