Should I feel this terrible at 14 weeks pregnant?

[Anna208]

Hi all

Just wanting some reassurance that what I'm feeling is normal.

I'm pregnant with my second baby. I'll be 39 in January so I'm 5 years older than when I had my son.

I suffered with relentless nausea and bloating from week 5 to around week 11ish which began to slowly calm down. I also suffered with terrible breathlessness when climbing the stairs etc which I remember from my first pregnancy (all pretty standard early pregnancy symptoms as far as I'm aware).

I hit 12.5 weeks and my breathing became extremely laboured even whilst sat at my desk. I called 111 who said to go straight to A and E where they suspected I had a pulmonary embolism. Had a CT scan which was thankfully clear as were all other tests bar BP being slightly up (white coat syndrome) later that day I started with a virus (not covid) which had me coughing, chills, snotty nose etc. This week the virus got progressively worse to the point where I couldn't get out of bed for a couple of days. I managed to get a phone appointment with the GP who prescribed antibiotics for chest infection as a precaution. Bear in mind he didn't actually examine me so I'm not sure whether I do have a chest infection or not but I'm taking the tablets just in case.

Anyway, at various points each day this week I've felt like I was going to keel over. I went back into the office today because I felt significantly better this morning and by lunchtime I felt like I was dying (extreme weakness, faint, nauseated, racing heart, and just generally feeling absolutely terrible).

So my question is, does anyone recall feeling this bad at this stage in pregnancy and at what stage did you begin to feel human again?

I know I have the added complication of actually having a bug but I do feel shockingly bad.

Sorry for rambling 😩

Didn’t want to read and run- I am pregnant with my first ans honestly weeks 13/14/15 were the worst. I am now at about 28wks and even this dicomfort is nothing compared to how shit I felt back then!! I didn’t have your breathing issues but god I felt absolutely awful. Small tasks were like mountains to climb. Xoxo

Has your iron been checked? If not ring the midwife and ask for a blood test. Mine was fine at booking (8 weeks) but I was anemic by 16 weeks (not a routine test I suspected it due to tirdness and breathlessness)

@Bobojangles yes iron was normal. They did a really comprehensive set of tests when I was in A and E last Wednesday and pretty much everything was normal bar slightly elevated CRP (probably because I was coming down with something) and D-dimer was elevated which is the one that made them suspect blood clot. I've since found out pregnancy can elevate that too.
I feel like I've got a hangover from drinking all weekend - that feeling where you feel like you're going to implode.
@sjxoxo that's horrible for you but reassuring thanks. Im hoping it is just pregnancy related and it passes soon. I started a new job on 13/08 and found out I was pregnant later that day. Can't really afford to have any time off sick otherwise I'd just stay in bed until I was better

Feel much the same! Was horrible through my first pregnancy up to about week 14/15, and then I chirped right up.

This time, I've just hit 14 weeks and feel utterly wrecked. Have had to head to bed in the afternoon a couple of times (thank god for camera off meetings!) and really lightheaded and generally teary.

Blood pressure is low though, so hanging most of it on that.

Hope you feel better soon!

@SlipperTripper thanks for the reply. Hope you pick up soon. I'm tempted to have a look at my own BP as I do have a monitor at home but I'm worried I might become a bit obsessive over it. I had pre eclampsia with my son and freaked out every time they came near me with the cuff so I've developed a bit of a 'thing' for it. How I'm feeling certainly does feel like low blood pressure though

I'm nearly 31 weeks pregnant, first pregnancy. Honestly, if I hadn't known I was pregnant between weeks 7 and 14 I would have thought I had a terminal illness. I have always been a well person so the fatigue, weakness, dizziness, nausea, headaches, breathlessness, heart palpitations, chills, repulsive taste in my mouth and complete aversion to any smell apart from fresh air all came as a very unwelcome and, quite frankly, terrifying surprise. I felt much better by week 17, and although I now have pelvic girdle pain, back pain, swollen ankles, heat rash on my feet, tender skin on my belly, sore breasts, headaches and bloating, it isn't a patch on the effect of those first trimester hormones. It's a really trying time, and I totally feel your pain and anxiety around it. All the best to you and your baby. x