I'm Not a Pin Cushion
Getting dehydrated is a very bad thing.
Getting dehydrated while pregnant can be detrimental.
Apparently when you can't even keep fluids down you have a tendency to become dehydrated. I had my first appointment at the Womens Center yesterday thinking I'd be there an hour, hour and a half max. Everything was going smoothly - I found out I'm 10 weeks pregnant, due at the end of August, everything looked good, we could almost hear the heartbeat - until they checked my urine sample.
It turns out I am severely dehydrated and that is not good for me or the baby. They set up a room for me to lie down and receive intravenous fluids for a few hours to get me hydrated again. The problem with this is that when you get dehydrated your veins shrink and it's really hard to get the IV in - but you have to get the IV in in order to become hydrated. See the problem? I have very small, hard-to-find veins as it is so this created quite a problem.
Two nurses tried with no success to insert the IV into my arm. It took them nearly an hour just to try to find a vein and then no success. They decided to send me to the hospital where they deal with people with hard-to-find veins all the time. Like chemo patients. So I go to the hospital and they spend an hour or so warming me up (cold veins shrink too) but I was always still freezing. Three nurses there each took a couple turns with the needle and my arms and the last one finally got the IV in. Hallelujia! It was quite the ordeal and not one I care to repeat. I asked one of the nurses (who are all very good at this under normal circumstances) if they had ever seen veins as bad as mine and she said not for a long, long time.
I'm just glad they finally got it in. Along with the IV they also put in anti-nausea medication that made me feel much better. I also got a prescription for more anti-nausea medication that is making me feel much less nauseated but way more tired. As nice as the nurses were I really hope I never have to see them again. I left my house around 9:00 yesterday morning, assuming I'd be back home by 10:30 or 11:00 but it was after 4:00pm when I finally made it.
Tomorrow I'm supposed to get blood drawn but I don't think I have an undamaged vein left. I look like a pin cushion.
Getting dehydrated while pregnant can be detrimental.
Apparently when you can't even keep fluids down you have a tendency to become dehydrated. I had my first appointment at the Womens Center yesterday thinking I'd be there an hour, hour and a half max. Everything was going smoothly - I found out I'm 10 weeks pregnant, due at the end of August, everything looked good, we could almost hear the heartbeat - until they checked my urine sample.
It turns out I am severely dehydrated and that is not good for me or the baby. They set up a room for me to lie down and receive intravenous fluids for a few hours to get me hydrated again. The problem with this is that when you get dehydrated your veins shrink and it's really hard to get the IV in - but you have to get the IV in in order to become hydrated. See the problem? I have very small, hard-to-find veins as it is so this created quite a problem.
Two nurses tried with no success to insert the IV into my arm. It took them nearly an hour just to try to find a vein and then no success. They decided to send me to the hospital where they deal with people with hard-to-find veins all the time. Like chemo patients. So I go to the hospital and they spend an hour or so warming me up (cold veins shrink too) but I was always still freezing. Three nurses there each took a couple turns with the needle and my arms and the last one finally got the IV in. Hallelujia! It was quite the ordeal and not one I care to repeat. I asked one of the nurses (who are all very good at this under normal circumstances) if they had ever seen veins as bad as mine and she said not for a long, long time.
I'm just glad they finally got it in. Along with the IV they also put in anti-nausea medication that made me feel much better. I also got a prescription for more anti-nausea medication that is making me feel much less nauseated but way more tired. As nice as the nurses were I really hope I never have to see them again. I left my house around 9:00 yesterday morning, assuming I'd be back home by 10:30 or 11:00 but it was after 4:00pm when I finally made it.
Tomorrow I'm supposed to get blood drawn but I don't think I have an undamaged vein left. I look like a pin cushion.
posted by Heidi @ 12:08 PM
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