Time to pump you up! (with meds)

21 weeks

It's December now, and very dry.  Something that many pregnant women experience is a runny nose throughout their pregnancy.  I do but I don't get it.  Apparently it's worse in women with Hyperemesis, because of the (ahem) excess fluids entering the nasal cavity.  Gross.

I've worked my way up to about 30-40 ounces of fluids per day, still no where near what I need to be drinking, but an improvement.  We keep a humidifier by me most of the time, but it stops working at random times, and it is new.  I've also caught a bit of a cold, and I'm still getting sick 3-5 times a day.  So dehydration is starting to set back in.

I called my doctor on a Wednesday morning, after I was woken up by a bloody nose.  I'd not had a bloody nose since I was a kid.  It wasn't awful, but I know it was the result of being dry and dehydrated.  So the doctor called in an order to get me started on IV Fluids.

However... because this new nurse staffing company is based out of the southwest, which just got hit with some nasty weather, orders did not reach my nurse quickly.  And then they had to ship my meds, which again took time.

So by Friday night I'd received my reglan pump (to help the nausea and keep fluids in) but my IV supplies did not arrive.  Fail.

The reglan pump... you've got to be kidding.  I have to stab my leg or belly every 3 days?  Really?  What sane person would willingly put a thumbtack in their leg?  Because that's what this thing looks like!

Reluctantly, I gave it a shot.  Now I'm not going to lie, I didn't feel very nauseous... at first.

The next morning, however, I got sick 3 times.  AND THEN I slept the entire day.  No matter how hard I tried to stay awake, I couldn't do it.  I fell asleep while helping my daughters with their Bible Quizzing.  Sitting up - not kidding.  So... I took it off.

Then the IV supplies arrived, and another nurse arrived to give me my IV fluids.  Well, she tried at least.  Three times in fact.  On attempt #3, she popped a vein.  It hurt, a lot, and bruised instantly.  Yuck.  No IV tonight, and the nursing company has a policy that they're only allowed to try 3 times.

So my regular nurse stopped by the next day, to also try.  Three times, ending with another popped vein.  Although, it didn't bruise or swell as badly as the other arm did... (Silver Lining!)

So, no IV's for me...