11 week Prenatal Doctor visit

Dr. Huff Peeler
For you to understand this better, I have to give you a bit of background information. If you already know this about me then skip to the next section but for those who don't know this, the rest of my posts concerning doctor's appointments won't make much sense if I don't explain. I HAVE A BLOOD PRESSURE CUFF PHOBIA!!! A full fledged.crazy.psycho phobia. The definition of phobia is an irrational fear so I am quite aware how ridiculous it is but am completely unable to control my fear. So, basically I get to the dr's office with perfectly fine blood pressure but by the time they take it I am having a panic attack and it is through the roof!!!! You can only imagine how difficult it was to have my blood pressure taken ALL THE TIME with the first pregnancy and for some reason it is worse this time. (I didn't think it could get worse.) On top of that, I am in therapy for it (among other things) but it has yet to make the slighest impact. :( It is very frustrating. However, I have the BEST OB doctor in the world, Dr. Peeler, who tries his hardest to make it as easy on me as he can. They let me come straight back to have it taken as soon as I get there so I don't have to wait and get even more freaked out, he always tells me he is not worried about it (unless it's really high and then he kind of fusses at me), they take it a few times to watch it drop, and when I got to the hospital to have LG they already knew about the fear and said they would do whatever I needed them to do to make it easier on me. Sometimes he lets me have a break and doesn't make me get it taken :). I love him! God knew what he was doing when he sent me to Dr. Peeler!

Yesterday I went for my routine OB visit and, as always, had a panic attack, blood pressure was high, Dr. Peeler got onto me and told me to work it out in therapy :). I got to hear the baby's heartbeat which he said was between 160-170 beats per minute. I do have to say that he kept getting my heartbeat confused with the baby's because my heart was beating SO fast!!! I'm a nut! Anyway, everything else looked fine (I gained 5 lbs since my last visit) and I go back in 4 weeks. Dr. Peeler asked me what was up with the weight gain and I told him I have to eat all the time to keep from getting sick. It is getting better though and I do try to eat healthy, i.e. yogurt, fruit, mini wheats...whatever, I'm pregnant~I'm supposed to gain weight! :)

I go to see my counselor today to try to deal with this phobia. Maybe Dr. Peeler will agree to let me have my blood pressure taken by my counselor either the day before or the day of my next appointment and let me use that instead of him taking it in that haunted house of an office where it's not going to be accurate anyway...I mean, my therapist (Dr. Tonia Long) is a doctor and he did say come up with a plan, right? We'll see...