Is this an "acceptable" level of fatigue?

[Smokering]

I've been hit really hard with fatigue and dizziness this first trimester - WAY worse than with my first pregnancy. I mentioned it to my midwife, and she just smiled and said "Oh yes, well think how much work your body's doing, take care of yourself and take it easy". Which might very well be the case, but I'm wondering at what point it warrants further investigation? (My blood pressure is fine - 110/70 at my last visit, I think. I had low BP last time, but not this time - weird, huh?)

Cases in point:

-I'm 13 weeks. A few days ago I went to a fabric store with Mum and had to abruptly sit down on the floor about eight times because I had that horrible pre-fainting feeling (blurry vision and all). I felt a wee bit better after a staff member got me a glass of water, but not great. We were only in the store for about 5 minutes before it started, and I wasn't exactly dashing around.

-This morning I got up at the leisurely hour of 9:45AM, checked my emails and forums (sitting down!) for maybe 20 minutes, then soaked the fruit for my Christmas cake and started to tape together a PDF pattern for a sundress for DD. Halfway through that I started to feel woozy, got a pounding headache and had to sit down.

-If I go into town on the bus (so again, lots of sitting) for an errand or two, I am totally wiped out for the rest of the day. As in, horizontal.

-Even sitting up for too long isn't good enough, I have to lie down. I can read in bed, but not knit or anything.

Does this sound normal or problematic to you? I spend HOURS every day lying down, and a week or two ago I was pretty much all day in bed. DH had to bring me lunch in bed because I couldn't get up to eat, I ate it lying down, etc. Housework is a joke and cooking has been minimal - I have to make muffins in two easy stages, and then call DH to get them out of the oven because I'm back in bed! (Poor DH. He has to do everything these days.) I mean, I've heard of women having worse pregnancies, but I assumed they had some exciting medical condition. :p I don't see my MW again for another week and a half. Should I just wait until then and hope it goes away as I enter my second trimester, or what? I don't want to whine at her unnecessarily, but - aside from the fact that being bedridden sucks! - I'm wondering if it's a sign of some doomy condition. What do you think? And feel free to tell me to stop whining if this is, in fact, perfectly normal. :p

[amaayeh]

I'm not sure what exactly is 'normal'.  What is you are describing is almost what I am, but not quite as bad.  I have been a hundred times more tired this time around than the previous two times.  I have been chalking it up to having to take care of two kids, but the reality is that I haven't been doing all that much.  Are you eating enough iron?  My midwife suggested I eat at least one to two eggs a day made in a cast iron pan in order to up my iron levels.  She said that would help with the energy.  I haven't seen a huge difference, but I'm willing to try anything.  I hope you can figure something out that will help with the energy thing.  My only other thought is that it could be twins...  :)

[Smokering]

My iron levels at my initial blood test were surprisingly good (surprising because I've always been prone to anaemia). I have been eating at least two eggs a day, usually in a cast-iron pan; I guess it helped? But it doesn't make me feel any more bouncy and energetic... although, who knows? I might be worse without it. I'm also taking one Floradix a day (a very minimal dose, you're meant to take 3 a day).

Heh: I certainly hope it's not twins! Wouldn't I be looking bigger than normal by now (13 weeks) if that were the case? I haven't heard a heartbeat yet (declined the doppler, will wait for the 20-week ultrasound or fetoscope) , so I guess it's possible... but I'd rather it was iron deficiency. :p

[amaayeh]

Haha!  You are like me....there is NO way it's twins!  :)  I hope that you start getting your energy back soon.  I'm 12 weeks so we are very close!

[Marissamom]

I'm still constantly exhausted (though not dizzy anymore) and I'm 25 weeks. I blame the fact that I have an 18 month old, who is still nursing and sometimes wakes at night. I just can't take it easy like I did my first pregnancy, and my body can't keep up with everything I need to do. I also had way worse morning sickness this time around. 

[Peony]

I was tired with #2, and bone numbing exhausted with #3, just waking up every day was a chore. I dragged my tired butt through 9 months of that because I had no choice, life must go on, but it is was difficult. 

[msmiranda]

We are at the same point in pregnancy and I feel almost exactly the same way you do.  I spend most of each day horizontal, including sleeping 11-12 hours a night and having at least one short nap during the day.  Yesterday in the morning I felt well enough to go shopping with my family.  We went to two stores and I was completely exhausted when we got home and spent the rest of the day on the couch.  I have been as/more tired this pregnancy than the previous 2 and far, far sicker.  I have been attributing it to being older and my body getting too worn out to handle pregnancy as well as it did the first time around.  (I'm 35).  My DH is doing EVERYTHING too.  I am hoping to start feeling better soon because he has been a saint and I would like to start helping out again, as well as enjoy the holidays. 

My iron level is also good (and I was also surprised ... but I'm sure it will drop by late in the pregnancy), so it's not that.  I do think this is a variation of normal.  Oh and I know from u/s that this is a singleton, so I don't have any extraordinary factors to blame it on!

[mrsbernstein]

I don't have ANY advice, but am glad to read of your experiences.

As a first-timer, I have NO reference points.  And (for me), am exhausted every day!  My usually late-nights are ending.  And as a "professional 

shopper" (my FT job), I am in and out of 4-5 stores per DAY.  And I LOVE LOVE LOVE what I do.

But now, I actually turned the car around the other night on the way to a Walmart...because I was so tired!

Mrs B

[pumpkin]

It sounds like my pregnancy. From the beginning DH had to drive me to work everyday. I struggled to get from the front door of the building to my office. One day the elevator was broken and I just sat in the lobby waiting for the repair and it's only 6 stories. I had pretty severe morning sickness so part of it was a lack of calories, but even on days I managed to eat everything was a struggle.

[DanielleT]

I am not a medical professional but i am a mom and i have been pregnant 4 times and yes although fatigue is very common and there were days where even existing is tough for me but what you're describing does not sound normal to me and if it were me i would be getting it checked out...

[kythryne]

I was about that bad in my first trimester - there were weeks when I couldn't do much of anything except sleep. It turned out I was borderline anemic and scary low on Vitamin D. I started supplementing both heavily and my energy levels did improve a bit, although I never got to feeling particularly great. It might be worth asking for a check on your Vitamin D levels, especially if you don't get a lot of sun exposure.

[Smokering]

I have been attributing it to being older and my body getting too worn out to handle pregnancy as well as it did the first time around.  (I'm 35).

I can't even blame it on that. I mean, I'm obviously older than last time I was pregnant... but I'm only 24. And I'm not a triathlete or anything, but I'm somewhat physically active (no car, so we walk everywhere), and eat pretty well - plus, I did several weeks of semi-intensive pre-conception nutrition. So I can't think of any obvious reason for it.

Oh well. When I see my midwife next I'll mention it, a bit more specifically than last time - ie, the nearly passing out repeatedly in Spotlight - and see if she still thinks it's normal. (I should add - I haven't had a shower for WEEKS that didn't end in me curled in a foetal position on the bath mat. Which again sounds to me like a low-BP thing, but the Machine That Goes Ping declares otherwise!)

[HappyMommy2]

I agree that the store and shower experiences are not normal.  Also, I am a firm believer in trusting your instincts.  It doesn't seem right to you, so keep asking questions and keep pushing your midwife.  Don't wait for the next appt (unless it is tomorrow) ... just call her.

This is my 3rd pg, and I was pretty much horizontal in the first tri.  My iron and thyroid levels were whacked.  Yes, I am older this pregnancy, and fatter, but it just is not as easy as the first two pg's.  I think being tired is normal, but I think you (and a few of us) think that your situation is not quite normal and is definitely worth exploring further.  (Maybe just a couple more machines that go ping!!!)

If it is normal, and nothing, then that is great.  Better safe than sorry!  (FWIW, I avidly avoid the doctor, but would check a few more things if I was feeling off like you describe.)

[Lauren82]

Have you had your thyroid levels checked? If your thyroid is out of whack it can cause symptoms like you are describing.

[Smokering]

I don't think I've had my thyroid levels checked, unless it's routinely done in the initial bloodwork. I recall that testing for iron levels, various diseases - HIV and syphilis and things - and immunity to rubella, chicken pox etc. Not sure if it covered anything else.

I rang the birth centre today and left a message for my MW to get back to me (it's a pesky system, and DD lost the card with her pager number on it!). So I'll just ask her if I should be concerned and see what she says, I guess.

[msmiranda]

(I should add - I haven't had a shower for WEEKS that didn't end in me curled in a foetal position on the bath mat. Which again sounds to me like a low-BP thing, but the Machine That Goes Ping declares otherwise!)

There was no way that I could stand up long enough to take a shower when the sickness was at its worst.  I took baths instead. I did get dizzy when I got up off the couch.  If something is wrong with you, something is probably wrong with me too, but I've had all my bloodwork and it's not anything obvious.  I would never have thought to worry about it until I saw this thread. :)

[ibusymomto5]

I wonder if it could be low blood sugar? I started having problems with that during my 5th pregnancy, though I didn't know that's what it was until my next pregnancy. I was having the same exact symptoms as you, the getting dizzy in the shower and being super fatigued, not being able to stand for long at one time. I figured I must be anemic, but my labs came back great. I also passed the blood glucose test, although it was on the low side of normal. My bp was normal too. All my symptoms disappeared after the birth, but then my with my 6th pregnancy it all started again. A new mw had joined the team, and when I told her about my symptoms she suspected low blood sugar. Turns out she was right. You can pass the test and have normal numbers later in the day but still have low blood sugar swings first thing in the morning or after going too long without a good protein/carb snack.

My mw recommended I follow a gestational diabetic diet, and it has made all the difference for me. I "thought" I had been eating healthy before, but when I tracked it I realized I was eating too many carbs. She also recommended daily exercise. Once I changed my diet and added in daily exercise, it made all the difference. The dizzy spells and faint feelings went away, and my energy sky-rocketed. I've followed the same dietary principles in future pregnancies including this one, and while I do have normal first trimester tiredness and nausea I do not have debilitating dizziness or so much fatigue that I'm bedridden. Once the 2nd trimester hits I feel great with lots of energy.

[Smokering]

Well, my MW rang me back. She said the iron test only tested my circulating iron, not my ferritin, so it's possible I'm low after all. So I'm stepping up my Floradix to 3 tablets a day (the proper dosage), which she says should make me feel better within 3-4 days if it's an iron issue. She also asked how big my tummy felt, because twins was another possibility! Arrgh! (I ended up googling "thirteen week pregnant belly" to reassure myself that I'm not any bigger than average - in fact, judging by the pics I'm actually smaller. But I may consent to a doppler after all, just to make sure...)

[jeminijad]

I am almost as bad off as you.

I'm 15 weeks. Things are supposed to be getting better. But I am perpetually exhausted... I've had persistant headaches, neck aches, back aches at work. Today I fell asleep in the middle of an online job assessment! I'm not anemic, and my BP is 120/80. Blood sugars normal. No answers.

[EnchantedMamma]

It may not be freakishly un-normal, but I'm not sure it's necessary. I think it's ultimately an 'undiagnosed' deficiency or something of that nature.

Without going on and on, I've dealt with this outside of and during pregnancy. This pregnancy is doing better.

My iron was always fine as well.

The things that helped: Being super careful with blood sugar. As I get tired I crave carbs, but unfortunately those make it worse over time.

Frequent snacking on protein/carb mixed foods helped. Keeping well hydrated helps.

This time around I am taking a lot of D, C, and B vitamins (in lieu of my multi... naughty me). I've taken B6 daily with breakfast until recently at which point I started a B complex instead. I recently added Floradix as at 20 weeks I seemed to have hit an Iron low.

I eat protein-heavy for the first two meals and daytime snacks, then have carbs/starches at night.

At 23 wks I'm starting to not have as much energy, but I'm still surviving. You might experiment with adding some extra C and D and some B vitamins, depending on your current intake.

Oh, and I'm also drinking Red Raspberry Leaf tea.

I hope things improve!