Justlooking Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Im currently 9 weeks pregnant with my third child. My first two pregnancies werea breeze but this one has left me dizzy 24/7. Im afraid I will loose my job...I work in sales. I have lyme and POTS like symptoms but no actual autonomic dysfunction per say...I just have a ton of cytokines causng vasodilation...or at least thats what my immunologist says. I dont take meds, except for antibiotics and florinef (lyme killed my adrenals) but my high risk OB let me try midrodrine...2.5 mgs to see if it helped me and it didnt...my blood pressure is fine 120/78 (which is slightly lower than normal, but everyones BP drops and blood flows to the baby in early pregnancy.standing sitting but I sill feel dizzy! My heart stays stable no kore than 95 standing...its just the dizziness. i dont really believe in abortion, but I feel,like if I keep going on I will break my body and be stuck like this forever...keep reading horror stories of how people are bedridden after birth, etc. My hubby is recovering from major heart surgery and I am the only means of income...and I have a great job that I cant afford to loose. Totally hoping for a miracle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjensen Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 I will let the women comment on the pregnancy stuff. I have never been pregnant. I did want to say to keep your head up, and to encourage you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackiemxoxo Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 I hope you find relief whatever you decide. I know that my first trimester of pregnancy with my daughter was pretty crazy with pots symptoms but the second and third were much better. I think most ppl find this to be true with pregnancy regardless. Also, not all people are bed ridden after birth so don't let that psyche you out. I would talk to your family, doctors, and others who you are close to for support and then try and figure out a plan. I think the fact that you are the only means of income can be adding stress to the situation.Also, you may want to play around with a low histamine diet if you think cytokines are contributing to inflammation. Maybe not a strict one since you are pregnant but reducing inflammatory foods might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbyw Posted January 4, 2015 Report Share Posted January 4, 2015 Hi,I just want to remind you that with or without POTS, the first trimester is usually pretty miserable. I have had 8 kids, and some pregnancies were much harder than others. No matter what, I usually know that I will start to feel better at around week 14. It is hard. But you will survive. Just one day, hour, minute at a time, and you get through it.I am not bedridden, and there are lots of others out there that aren't either. Don't predict the worst - just take it one day at a time.Meanwhile, do you have any way to get a sick leave for a few weeks? Do you have any legal protection against getting fired for being ill while pregnant? Good luck to you, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yogini Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 You may want to do some searches on the forum. I think there was some recent research by Dr. Grubb that shows that most POTS women have healthy kids. Did your doctor say it is safe to take florinef during pregnancy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue1234 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Since you know your adrenals are shot, do you think the stress of pregnancy would necessitate a higher dose of your Cortef(or Prednisone?)? Just a thought.Question. Can you explain your Lyme diagnosis and cytokines from labs? I just got worked up for Lyme last month, and will find out results later today. I also have the vasodilation really bad, and just curious what labs of cytokines showed up for you.So hope you feel better soon!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Many women feel better after the first trimester as others have said. I would research what your company might offer as far as temporary disability. Hopefully they don't want to lose you and would support temporary leave if that were necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaddico Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Sorry to hear how awful you feel. You've got some great advice here. Pregnancy with my son at age 39 was miserable to say the least (two previous miscarriages and infertility ). I worked in health care and I had severe morning sickness, until delivery,. Dizziness did get better like others mentioned in 2nd and 3rd trimester. Resting heart rate in 140's but Inderal helped some. I was out of breath and miserable but nothing beats the feeling of holding my son in my arms. Delivery resolved almost all of my symptoms other the increase heart rate. I felt great which is what I"m hoping for you.Please check with your supervisor. Most employers offer sick leave,short term disability/FMLA. Work was one of my majorstressors. I didn't, want to use all my leave prior to delivery but I had to do what was best for me and my son. I initially,cut back some of my work hours and supplemented with annual leave . I ended up on short term disability for 10 wks until delivery,which was overall better than using annual leave if this option is available for you. I wish you well and please try your best not to get discouraged. I'm cheering for you and praying for you. I know you will do what's best for you and your family. Best wishes:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justlooking Posted January 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 Thanks for the words of encouragement! I'm just torn. I never had any problems in my other pregnancies. Sue I have lyme, babesia and bartonella along with reactivated viruses (HHV6, parvo virus and EBV) I am much better after treating the lyme but the most improvements came from treating babesia. I still have elevated cytokines...TNF and all my interlukines high. They vasodilate me and if I get a cold, virus or good old pregnant with its lovely high progeaterone levels it makes things worse. The only cure is getting rid of the infections that my body keeps trying to fight! At least my immune system is still fighting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue1234 Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Thanks! I also just found out I have Lyme(babesia) and reactivated EBV. No fun!! I haven't begun treatment yet, but hope to see some improvement. It seems all that just compounds the normal changes from pregnancy. I truly hope it resolves some soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemma Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Hi marigold. You said after delivery you felt much better. Do you mean you feel like your POTS is getting better? I've heard that some women stop being sick after delivery, as if some hormonal changes fix the body. So, I am hoping this could be the case for some of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'm sorry that this pregnancy isn't going as smoothly for you. A lot of women start to feel better in the 2nd trimester, and you are almost there! I hope that you will feel better soon. The blood volume boost can be really helpful.You mentioned that you tried 2.5 mg of midodrine. I wonder if a higher dose would be beneficial for you. It might be worth talking to your doctor about. I took 15 mg of midodrine during my last pregnancy, and it really helped me.You might find compression hose to be beneficial also. I wore compression through all 9 months of pregnancy, and it was very helpful for me.Hoping for a miracle along with you,Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.