Leg Fun

I realize I haven't posted anything new in a while. Well, I haven't taken any photos in a few days (that's a long time for me!), and we haven't been up to much of anything exciting. Ron has been working quite a bit and in the evenings we try to relax... put our feet up.... speaking of which:

I had my doctor appointment for 24 weeks last Wednesday. Everything is looking/sounding good as far as the baby goes - heartbeat around 160 (although that seems to change every time) and my weight is slowly but steadily increasing (fun stuff). The only thing wrong is my dumb right leg which seems to be doing an inferior job of handling the extra blood volume that comes with pregnancy. Poor circulation has always been a problem for me, but never to this extent. Pregnancy also causes blood vessels to dilate and along with other hormonal changes it makes varicose veins pretty common, especially if they run in the family (which they do in mine). So, this has become an issue for me, and not only are they unattractive but potentially dangerous to my health (could lead to blood clots, etc.). It finally got to the point where I was concerned about it, and I showed my doctor. She actually seemed a bit concerned too (and she's a very laid-back type), so I was given a prescription for a sweet (not really) orthopedic compression stocking. It's significantly darker than my normal paleness, so I'm thinking about trying to even that out with self-tanner on the left leg. It actually makes my right leg look almost too flawless (which is far from the usual state of my legs). I will be wearing this for the rest of the pregnancy, for the rest of the summer and into fall. After the baby is born I will have surgery and hopefully take care of the problem. I know I would qualify for treatments to be covered by our insurance, since it is beyond cosmetic.

I'm blogging about it as a way to get over my self-consciousness which is making me feel stupid about wearing anything but long pants to hide the stocking. I just have to go about my usual business. There are MUCH worse things that can happen during a pregnancy, and this is only temporary. Most people aren't going to think much of it and I'm more aware of it than anyone. The good thing is, the stocking helps tremendously with the pain that I was experiencing, which was getting suprisingly bad. I almost can't stand not to wear it now. Also, I got an open toe one so I can wear sandals, and I only have to wear it on one leg (thigh high). They have a maternity version which goes up and over a big pregnant belly - but I imagine that wouldn't be very convenient when you have to pee every half hour, since it's a battle to get it on and off.

And here's a weird side effect: after I climb into bed, I yank the thing off and throw it to the floor. A few minutes later I get hit with a crazy headache located at the base of my skull. I attribute this to a sudden change in blood pressure when the blood vessels in my leg are no longer constricted by the stocking. It feels similar to the withdrawl syptoms of stopping drinking caffeine.