First Trimester And Feeling Awful

[jackiemxoxo]

Ok, so I am only 6 weeks along and we have not even told anyone yet. I was feeling great before I got pregnant with little to no symptoms and no medication. I was even to the point where I did not have trouble working out or standing for long periods of time. Then three days ago, it all started up again. I am thinking this has to do with the pregnancy and hormones but its miserable. I can barely stand without feeling like I am going to faint. I feel feverish which is unusual for me because I usually run a temperature of 95-96. I feel like my legs are going numb at night probably from pooling and I am pretty much couch bound again. Did this happen to anyone else in her pregnancy? Did it eventually get better after the first trimester? I have read some posts on here about pregnancy but I just wanted to hear some first trimester experiences. Thanks in advance!

[corina]

Hi jackiemxoxo!

I can't really help you with your question but wanted to congratulate you on your pregnancy. I'm very sorry you're feeling so bad and hope you'll be doing better soon! Sending well wishes,

Corina

[Wendy C.]

Hi Jackie,

Congratulations on the baby!

Yes, the same thing happened to me. I was walking briskly 5-7 times a week, doing yoga 4-5 times a week and felt great beforehand. Weeks 5-37 were awful, with a tiny reprieve for only two weeks at around the 6 month point. We had no idea about me having OH/POTS back then either, so nobody knew why it was happening. They had me on Prilosec, a beta blocker and a calcium channel blocker. In that regard, look at the bright side - at least you know what it is and can try out some of the known methods that help with it. Perhaps you can research salt, electrolytes, compression garments, etc - things that don't involve meds, since I see in your signature that you like to avoid those. Are you seeing a perinatalogist, instead of a regular OB? That might help, too.

We want to have another baby soon, so our son has a sibling, but I am so scared that it will cause another huge relapse for me. I am trying to get as back to normal as I can before we start trying, but I have a feeling it'll all be for not because the pregnancy will likely set me back anyway. I am hopeful that a second pregnancy might be better though, since I have so much more info about OH/POTS and have a lot of methods that help me get by, all things that I had no idea about during the first pregnancy... Best of luck to you!!

[HopeSprings]

Congratulations! Pregnancy with POTS was horrible for me and the first trimester was the absolute worst. The dizziness, tachycardia were off the charts .. oh and the nausea, terrible. Things did lighten up after the first trimester for me - hopefully you'll feel a little better too. But in truth, the whole thing was pretty rough. Of course well worth it in the end!

[MomtoGiuliana]

Congratulations! My first and only pregnancy was when I developed POTS. My first trimester was very typical (keep in mind many women do not feel well first trimester with nausea, dizziness, tiredness). My POTS symptoms kicked in around week 20 or so and got progressively worse, with my absolute worst symptoms occuring post partum. So everyone is different--but I think many POTS patients feel worst in the first trimester and improve after that. Although post partum can be tough for some POTS patients too.

[jackiemxoxo]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and experiences. I hope this eventually gets better or it may be time to get back to the doctors.

[micheller]

Congrats!! My pots started when I was pregnant with my 3rd. It was horrible. I had to quit my job and was couch bound for 7 months. After I delivered I was able to do a few things but I could not stand for longer than 5 minutes without turning ghost white and almost passing out. 3 years later it's starting to get a little bit better. My c-section was awful. My bp dropped really fast as soon as my spinal kicked in.