anxiousmom15
11-07-18, 18:56
Hello all, this is my first post, but NMP has helped me so much over the years with my persistent HA I thought this might be the time to stop being a lurker :) I'm sorry for the long-windedness of this post.
I am pregnant with my 3rd child. My 2nd is only 14 months so it's been a crazy time. I was suffering severely with HA just before getting pregnant again because I was losing a LOT of weight while nursing my 2nd baby. He is a very big boy and after having blood counts and a thyroid test done (all normal), my GP chalked it up to breastfeeding, an overabundant milk supply, and the fact that my baby is so big. When he was 10 months old I unexpectedly got pregnant again. At first I thought this was great news for my HA because in the past I've tended to do better while pregnant (something else to focus on I guess) but this time my HA has only increased during the pregnancy.
Anyone who has been pregnant knows that when you are pregnant virtually EVERY symptom you have gets blamed on the pregnancy. So any weird symptoms I have had are basically brushed off, and I think I would normally brush them off too, but in the context of the worries about the weight loss I am always sure that every symptom is linked to that and that I have some kind of undiagnosed cancer. I have gained weight much more slowly this pregnancy than I did in the last 2 and my appetite has been terrible when it is usually voracious during pregnancy. I am halfway through and I am barely up to my usual PRE-pregnancy weight because I started out about 10 lbs below normal for me (which was on the verge of underweight for my height). My OB is not concerned because my weight gain is still technically following a normal curve.
My newest worry is lung cancer. I have never smoked a single cigarette, but I have had a persistent throat clearing problem (productive, with mucus coming up) for about 6 weeks now. Some days are worse than others but it has been very persistent and causes my voice to sometimes crack and go slightly hoarse. I finally went to my GP, who believes it might be either allergies or a sinus problem (although I don't have sinus congestion and I have been tested for environmental allergies, all negative). Thus, she thinks the mucus is coming DOWN via post nasal drip rather than UP from my chest. She also put me on Amoxycillin in case of sinusitis since the symptoms have lasted for so long. I have also had blood in my saliva which she believes is a combination of bleeding gums and blood from my sinuses (common pregnancy problems because of increased blood volume). She does not think a chest xray is warranted at this point, which is what I was hoping to get.
Again, I think in the absence of the problems with my appetite and weight, I wouldn't be concerned about this. My HA has focused on a lot of things, but never lung cancer, especially since I have never smoked and have no known risk factors. Of course, now thanks to Google I know that a surprising number of lung cancer cases are in young nonsmokers (thanks, doc...), and my fear is that at some point I am going to find out I do in fact have lung cancer and looking back it's going to seem obvious because I had already been experiencing appetite issues and unintentional weight loss.
I realize that no one can actually give me medical advice about these problems, but I'm hoping someone might have experience with HA in pregnancy and the unique problems that come with this. For example, most doctors are very reluctant to do any unnecessary tests, esp xrays and CT scans, during pregnancy, and as I already mentioned, most weird symptoms are swiftly attributed to the pregnancy. I feel stuck, like I have done all I can do and there is no point in pushing it with my doctors, but I am having a hard time imagining how I can possibly relax and cope through the rest of the pregnancy without being able to get any tests that might offer some peace of mind. Thanks in advance if you've gotten this far :)
I am pregnant with my 3rd child. My 2nd is only 14 months so it's been a crazy time. I was suffering severely with HA just before getting pregnant again because I was losing a LOT of weight while nursing my 2nd baby. He is a very big boy and after having blood counts and a thyroid test done (all normal), my GP chalked it up to breastfeeding, an overabundant milk supply, and the fact that my baby is so big. When he was 10 months old I unexpectedly got pregnant again. At first I thought this was great news for my HA because in the past I've tended to do better while pregnant (something else to focus on I guess) but this time my HA has only increased during the pregnancy.
Anyone who has been pregnant knows that when you are pregnant virtually EVERY symptom you have gets blamed on the pregnancy. So any weird symptoms I have had are basically brushed off, and I think I would normally brush them off too, but in the context of the worries about the weight loss I am always sure that every symptom is linked to that and that I have some kind of undiagnosed cancer. I have gained weight much more slowly this pregnancy than I did in the last 2 and my appetite has been terrible when it is usually voracious during pregnancy. I am halfway through and I am barely up to my usual PRE-pregnancy weight because I started out about 10 lbs below normal for me (which was on the verge of underweight for my height). My OB is not concerned because my weight gain is still technically following a normal curve.
My newest worry is lung cancer. I have never smoked a single cigarette, but I have had a persistent throat clearing problem (productive, with mucus coming up) for about 6 weeks now. Some days are worse than others but it has been very persistent and causes my voice to sometimes crack and go slightly hoarse. I finally went to my GP, who believes it might be either allergies or a sinus problem (although I don't have sinus congestion and I have been tested for environmental allergies, all negative). Thus, she thinks the mucus is coming DOWN via post nasal drip rather than UP from my chest. She also put me on Amoxycillin in case of sinusitis since the symptoms have lasted for so long. I have also had blood in my saliva which she believes is a combination of bleeding gums and blood from my sinuses (common pregnancy problems because of increased blood volume). She does not think a chest xray is warranted at this point, which is what I was hoping to get.
Again, I think in the absence of the problems with my appetite and weight, I wouldn't be concerned about this. My HA has focused on a lot of things, but never lung cancer, especially since I have never smoked and have no known risk factors. Of course, now thanks to Google I know that a surprising number of lung cancer cases are in young nonsmokers (thanks, doc...), and my fear is that at some point I am going to find out I do in fact have lung cancer and looking back it's going to seem obvious because I had already been experiencing appetite issues and unintentional weight loss.
I realize that no one can actually give me medical advice about these problems, but I'm hoping someone might have experience with HA in pregnancy and the unique problems that come with this. For example, most doctors are very reluctant to do any unnecessary tests, esp xrays and CT scans, during pregnancy, and as I already mentioned, most weird symptoms are swiftly attributed to the pregnancy. I feel stuck, like I have done all I can do and there is no point in pushing it with my doctors, but I am having a hard time imagining how I can possibly relax and cope through the rest of the pregnancy without being able to get any tests that might offer some peace of mind. Thanks in advance if you've gotten this far :)