I've been triggered and am scared

[kimmiepie]

Okay, I have always (well for many years now) had a fear of blood clots. Every time I am pregnant I worry extra about it, because that is one of the risk factors. I have had 3 healthy pregnancies with no blood clots, nor do they run in my family. But I am pregnant again (31 weeks) and have been worrying about it again. I try not to....but my right calf becomes painful often, and I always think it's a blood clot. I get lots of PVC's while pregnant, which doesn't worry me too much...but sometimes my heart beats really fast for no reason. I've read and even experienced these in other pregnancies and found it to be normal due to increased blood flow. But since rapid heartbeat is another symptom of blood clot I get scared. I also have periods of shortness of breath, which I also know is normal in pregnancy but again, I always think it's a blood clot. I have a swollen lymph node (that's what my dr said it was) on left side of my neck but it is close to my carotid artery and I can feel the pulse through it without even touching it. I worry that it is a blood clot. I also get a tight chest feeling a lot, especially on left side of chest, that goes through to the back. I think it's muscle tension, but still worried about blood clot.

See? It's a constant thing. Every ache and pain in those "target" areas and it must be a blood clot!! Well, my grandmother was admitted to the hosptial yesterday for a blood infection. Apparently the nursing home let her kidney infection get way out of hand . Well for some reason they did a chest sonogram last night and turns out she has a blood clot in her lung!!!! I have been freaking out ever since. Yes, she is very old, and yes she is sick. But what I don't understand is that as far as I know, she wasn't having any symptoms...and she could have just died!!!! I remember months ago her saying that her lung kind of hurt through to her back. So now I think she's had it for months!! What if mine is just sitting in there?!

What if my "mild" symptoms really are something and I'm ignoring it? They're not constant and have been coming off and on for the last few months...and I know they're all considered normal, but I can't help but think they're sinister. Then I worry that I will for sure get one this pregnancy at some point.

I'm tired of worrying about it. But I have been majorly triggered by my grandmother's diagnosis, and we're going on a 4 hour car trip tonight. My midwife said to stop every hour to keep blood clots at bay!! So of course now I'm freaking out that my trip will cause a blood clot.

I just need some reassurance I guess.

[LeeBee]

This reminds me a bit of when I was really worried about breast cancer; cos I'd been reading about risk factors and I ticked a few boxes.

If we worried about all of the things that MIGHT happen and that we have a few risk factors for we'd never do anything else; completely needlessly. Think about the times in the past you have spent time worrying about something that has not happened and almost certainly never will.

There are all sorts of things that might happen. Worrying about them won't make a jot of difference one way or the other. You're already doing everything you can by taking reasonable precautionary steps, like taking regular breaks on long journeys.

I would also say: stop checking. I've stopped checking my breasts all the time and the lump on my neck that I worry about from time to time (it's been that way for years and is probably just a "shotty" lymph node). Resisting the temptation to check keeps my mind away from my worry hot-spots. The lump in your neck is not a blood clot and it won't suddenly become one so leave it alone . Good luck with your pregnancy - hooray! Babies are lovely .