The Stories of our Lives

Transl. “May cause somnolence”

Although I have gone without on previous pregnancies, I’ve opted to try the nausea medicine, Diclectin, this time around because :

1. Even though I survived the nausea before, it involved a lot of lying down and my dearie Frank’s assistance. This time, however, I have a toddler to care for already, and cannot as easily afford an ample reserve of self-centered moments. Frank has proven he can very well handle our son mostly on his own, but putting all of Xavier’s charge upon him would no doubt put an important dent in my relationship with my son, something I don’t wish for.
2. This is my third pregnancy – the first one halted after the first semester only, but this first semester is the strongest for nausea – and I’m just litterally sick of the feeling.
3. The drug is supposedly pretty safe, the easiness with which my prescription was drawn up an odd testament to that – the receptionist was actually the one to write it up, and the first available doc signed it between consults, without a real look at the patient’s name.

We stopped by the pharmacy on our way back home, then, where I encountered my first setback: the price. It’s a good thing the medicine is for halting nausea, because the cost of it might give one a mild case. A hundred pills – not quite a month’s worth, at 4 doses a day – goes for 155$. Luckily for us, our drug insurance at work covers this one (at 80%, after a 50$ deductible, of course). I filled up only half the prescription, still, so I could try it out during our vacation time, first.

Second setback : May cause somnolence. I thought nothing of this at first. “So I’ll let Frank drive most of the time”. We work at the same company, which proves convenient at times. But. I was already feeling tired from the pregnancy, napping during the day and tucked in minutes after the baby each night. Having started the Diclectin yesterday night before going to bed, I’ve had trouble getting up this morning. In fact, I got as far as the living room couch, where I sat up to eat some cereal before lying back down until past eleven. Frank has been amazing enough to care for Xavier by himself and tend meals. As for me, the most productive thing I managed today was a load of laundry and reading some pulp (and this post, if I finish it). We all went for a walk after dinner, about 20 minutes out, and that was long enough for me. My muscles feel like they haven’t been used in a week.

There are also a couple of other things. Maybe not related to the medicine, maybe just because of the pregnancy, but tastes and smells seem partly altered, sometimes faded. I’m a little down, too. Not surprising, with the grey weather we’re having, maybe, but things I cared about only a week ago seem remote from me. On our walk, Frank was mentioning landscaping elements from yards we went by – I have been fired up on tackling our yard since the start of summer – and it was all I could do to follow his comments and add a “uh-huh” once in a while.

Some friends I’ve talked to about this will know already, but I have some concerns with how the pregnancy is going – cramps, spotting, one show of blood. Most women kindly note that it might not mean anything – which might be true – and mention similar stories with happy results, but a quick word squeezed in with my doc when I went to get the Diclectin prescription confirmed these symptoms might not be a good sign. She advised to tweak the dates I give when I call to get a date for the first ultrasound, so as to get it a little earliest. First ultrasound will be August 15, in the afternoon, then, same day as my first appointment with the doctor. I’ll try to muster all my faith meanwhile, but this is ‘wait and see’. It might be a bad idea to ask for the pregnancy to go on at all cost, but anyone who can spare a good thought for our small family – even if it’s just me being over-concerned for no reason – I’m quite grateful.