It Was An Oops, Really...

Since we were told not to get pregnant, and I was not allowed to go back on birth control as it would mess up any test results, we resorted to condoms.
I hate them. They smell, they're messy, inconvenient, and, for me, they also trigger UTI's. Not very pleasant. But we used them anyway, because there wasn't any other choice.

On August 22, 2009, I went to see the Dr at our family practice for a test, because I was late. It was negative, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I started my period two days later, on the 24th. Everything was good.

We went to camp for Labor Day weekend. Camp is always one big party. Any memeber of GW's family is welcome to drop in at any time. We arrived late, so everyone else was already wasted. We set up the tent outside of the camp, and then we set up for a night of drinking and other debaucheries. When we woke up the next morning, there was a condom in our shared sleeping bag. Oops! We thought little of it, other than it was used, and gross. We laughed about it. I laughed even harder when GW found that he only had two beers left from what we had brought with us. He was not a happy camper that day.

When my birthday arrived, I was late again. The only other time I had not had a period on my birthday was when I was pregnant with TJ. This should have been a clue. I took a test, but it was negative, so we went on with our birthday plans. I continued to test weekly, and sometimes more often, but they all came up negative. I figured my cycle was still screwed up from the last miscarriage, and the shot of methotrexate.

In the second week of October, I got sick. I thought I was going to die. Really. It started with a sore throat, which I killed with apple cider vinegar. But I was still coughing. When I laid down, it felt like I had a concrete block sitting on my chest. I couldn't breathe. I tried to convince myself, and GW, by saying that no one ever died from "just a cough". It didn't work. He said, "Yeah, but people DO die from pneumonia". After two days of trying to sleep upright, and coughing so hard I couldn't keep liquids down, I finally accepted that I really needed to see a doctor. So we went to the ED at the hospital where GW works. "Gee, you look terrible!" said the nurse. Thanks. I know. She got an IV running in case I was dehydrated. The doctor told her to draw a blood sample while she was at it to check my electrolytes. Then he asked when my LMP was. I told him. GW had to explain (because I was coughing too much to talk) that we'd tested numerous times, with a negative result. The doctor wanted to do a blood test just in case, as pregnancy would affect any treatment I received.
We were mostly left alone while the lab processed the results. Good news, I wasn't dehydrated yet! I only had bronchitis, and I was pregnant. Congratulations!

What? No freakin' way. Of course, our first question was what the hcg levels looked like. The doctor said they were a little low, but still within an acceptable range for being almost 8 weeks. We were stunned. "How did that happen?" I think both of us thought it, but I can't remember which one of us actually said it. The nurse laughed at us, and told us if we didn't know by now, then we'd better start taking a sex-ed class to catch up on the basics.

The doctor went away to start working on my discharge papers, after deciding he didn't want to start me on any antibiotics, but he did want me to start a prescription for steroids to open up my bronchial tubes, because I wasn't getting enough oxygen for myself, let alone a growing baby. In the time that he was gone, I started coughing up blood. Great. Awesome. This night is just getting better. When he came back, I waved my bloody tissue at him (because I was too busy coughing into another one). He said "Ok, antibiotics it is, then!" and left to get me a few to get me started on them ASAP. He told me to pick up some Robitussin, and hopefully that would help with the coughing. He didn't want to give me codeine in addition to the antibiotics and steroids. I wanted it though, oh, boy, did I want it. *sigh*

The Robitussin didn't really work, by the way. It just tasted gross. I did find something else that worked. It also did not taste gross. And my PCP, Dr. E, was ok with me doing it. She said it was much less likely to cause problems with the fetus than codeine was. And if it made me stop coughing and breathe easier, smoke up. She wasn't really surprised, as she knew I smoked it, and she's also aware of the possible health benefits of smoking marijuana. One of those being that it helps to calm severe muscle spasms. "Just don't smoke until you're totally baked, just enough to make it work, maybe a couple of puffs here and there", which I was already doing. I didn't want to be stoned, I just needed to stop coughing for 5 seconds... But once I was done with the horrible coughing, I should probably quit. I agreed to Dr. E's "prescription", and after I was over the bronchitis, I didn't keep smoking. And I haven't had any during my pregnancy since then.
Dr. E also put me on Advair, and had me come in a couple of times for treatment with a nebulizer until my peak flows returned to normal. She also sent me for a viability ultrasound. I have to say, I was terrified at what we were going to see- or not see.