Ha, Maybe?

So, I nearly fainted at my 28 week appointment today. Apparently my issues are neither psychosomatic nor anxiety related, which I think the folks at the doctor's office may have suspected until now. In less than five minutes, my blood pressure dropped from 120/70 to 70/50, seemingly caused by me spending less than 10 seconds in a semi-reclined (far from fully reclined) position so they could check Lou's heartbeat (they later checked it with me lying on my side -- I wasn't concerned, since s/he had been kicking away all morning). And it took a really long time to rebound, inching its way up to 80/55, then 90/60 over a 35 minute period.

They wouldn't let me leave the exam room to get the glucose screen blood draw done, so the lab tech came to the exam room and did it there while I lay on my side. (This was totally embarassing.) Right before the blood draw, my bp had gone back up to 100/70, but fell back to 80/50 after, so they kept me there for another half hour until it was back to 100/70 and let me leave.

What I am to try until my next appointment in two weeks, at which point we'll reassess: one can of Coke or one cup of coffee first thing in the morning (what pregnant lady is prescribed caffeine??), followed by an iron supplement washed down with a big glass of full-sodium v8. I am also to drink at least 40 ounces of water before leaving the house in the morning (I was drinking 30, which seemed like enough, but apparently it may not be). I am also to call immediately if the dull, uncomfortable ache under the right side of my rib cage gets worse or is accompanied by vomiting, as they are concerned my gall bladder is inflamed, further compressing my innards (and causing problems of its own) -- someone had suggested that in the comments a while back, and it turns out that may be part of it, so thanks for the heads-up.

As for the glucose screen, the drink wasn't nearly as bad as I feared. It was far less syrupy than I thought it might be and not really that difficult to drink. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail (just a gut instinct), but the midwife said we'd cross that bridge when we came to it (the thought of having to get my morning caffeine in the form of black coffee makes me want to vomit).