Medical Issues + Pregnancy

So far, I have been pretty lucky with my pregnancy. I haven't had a lot of morning sickness and I didn't have an extended run of exhaustion. One thing I never thought about before getting pregnant was how you handle medical issues when you are carrying. I have tried extremely hard to stay away from any medicine other than my prenatal vitamins since I found out I was pregnant. I actually stopped taking Ibuprofen when we started trying to conceive because I heard it can increase your risk of miscarriage. I didn't want anything getting in between us and a healthy baby.

When I was 8 weeks pregnant, I started having some pain in my lower jaw. I had broken a tooth in that area about four months ago and my dentist at the time had suggested I put off getting it filled until I got pregnant and was in my second trimester. It turns out waiting was a really bad idea. Well, I went and got myself knocked up and during that time, my dentist sold her practice. I went to see her replacement for a meet and greet and did not connect well with her at all. I then found out that the receptionist my dentist used was leaving, as well. That sealed the deal for me, I had to find a new one.

When the pain got too bad, I found a new dentist and got in on a Monday morning. I was 8 weeks and 4 days along and they told me they needed to do an x-ray to check out that tooth. I was worried, so I asked the dentist to call my OB first to check and see if it was all right to have an X-Ray at this point in my pregnancy. The OB stated they just had to double cover me to reduce the risks from radiation. The good news was I was having a single tooth X-Rayed so they didn't have to scan my entire mouth. This kept the X-Ray machine pointed at just one point in my face, far away from my belly.

After the dentist visit, I headed to work and immediately started working started researching "negative affects of X-Rays on a fetus." I scared myself plenty, but I did finally come to an article on The American Pregnancy Organization's website which made me feel so much better. This question and answer made most of my fears go away:

What are the chances that my baby will have an adverse effect if I had x-rays during pregnancy?

According to the American College of Radiology, no single diagnostic x-ray has a radiation dose significant enough to cause adverse effects in a developing embryo or fetus. Some common diagnostic procedures include dental, chest, CT scan (head/chest), and abdominal view.

My X-Ray unfortunately showed some serious damage by the tooth which the dentist announced would need a root canal and crown. Asap. My reaction was not a good one. First, when he poked at the tooth, there was severe pain, so I shrieked and started crying. He apologized profusely and kept asking me if it still hurt because I couldn't stop crying but I told him to just keep talking. Once you get me crying, especially it seems while pregnant, there's no stopping me.

Well, the dentist sent me away with a prescription for an antibiotic, a prescription for Vicodin for pain and a prescription for a root canal. All of these items were approved through my OB before they gave them to me. I took the antibiotics and I made my appointment for my root canal for when I'm 14 weeks along. I know it's a while from now but I'll feel a lot safer if I'm a bit further out of my first trimester. Plus, if I wait too long, I will be in my third trimester when doctors tell you not to lay on your back for extended periods of time. I haven't taken any of the Vicodin, but I have taken a total of 3 Regular Strength Tylenol since I got pregnant. I'm telling you, I don't want to take medicine! I only took the antibiotics after I read about them and found some women are on them their entire pregnancies due to one issue or another.

*Update: Once I hit my second trimester, I started feeling better and noticed the pain in my tooth was not as bad. I have decided (probably against everyone's professional opinion) to wait until after I have given birth to have the root canal. I don't really want to deal with more X-Rays and more pain if I can help it.

Another health issue my doctor warned me of was the flu. She suggested I get a flu shot but also said it wasn't mandatory. They did tell me that if I got the flu, it could be pretty bad for the baby due to dehydration. I wasn't really thrilled with the idea because I have never had a flu shot before and really didn't want to have to start when I was pregnant. My main reason for not getting the shot is because I normally get colds, not the flu.

Speaking of colds, guess what I caught? My husband's cold. Sore throat, sneezing and general miserableness. I was fine for a couple of days but by Friday, the cold had definitely taken a toll on my body. I decided to stay home from work and see if it would pass. I ended up spending all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the couch. I did check my paperwork I received from my OB on approved cold medicine and took 2 Tylenol Cold and Flu tablets to try to help me sleep Friday night. They worked like a charm and I slept for 4 hours. At 3am, though I was wide awake with more misery.

I took my miserable self to my good friend Google once again and started researching Tylenol Cold and Flu + Pregnancy. Google's responses were not all that pleasant, mostly I was reading that pregnant women should stay away from Tylenol Cold and Flu MULTI-SYMPTOM formula. Well, that's what I took. My doctor didn't say that type was out of the question but it wasn't specific on the information sheet either. I just decided from there on out that I wouldn't take anymore cold medicine and I would tough it out. That was fun.

This whole "taking care of another living being" thing is really trying sometimes! Normally when I'm sick, I don't eat or drink much at all. Now I know I have to continue to take in as many fluids as I normally am to make sure I'm staying hydrated for that baby. I am thankful that I don't have anything worse than just a cold and a sore tooth, though. I know there are many other problems that can occur so I'll continue to count my blessings that I am a generally healthy person and will continue to take the best care possible of this growing being in me.