I am entering my third trimester this week and just had the obligatory run of blood tests on Friday. While I'm not scheduled to see my doctor again until next week, I have online access to my medical records and went over my test results last night. It looks like I'll have to be taking yet another 3 hour glucose test (I did early on in the pregnancy after getting a similar result of the 1 hour test), and both my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are low.
I'm assuming that if any of these results were a major concern, I'd be hearing from my doctor before next week's appointment (which is still a possibility). Since I've been through the glucose issue before I'm not horribly concerned, but the idea of possibly being anemic is new and a little scary to me. I did a little reading about anemia during pregnancy on some reputable sites and many suggest cutting down the exercise as the issue basically amounts as a lack of oxygen. So I'm wondering if I should just take it easy until I see the doctor again? I'd planned on doing my usual workout at the gym today but after reading those lab results think I might be better off if I just stayed home.
I imagine I'll probably have to start taking iron supplements, but of course I'm waiting on what my doctor recommends so I don't overdo anything. Until now I felt I'd been doing ok diet-wise, taking my prenatals daily and eating a lot of iron-rich foods like beans and spinach. I'm now reading that iron is better absorbed with vitamin C and doesn't absorb as well with calcium, so I'm considering eating an orange with my breakfast (when I take my prenatal) and taking calcium with my lunch (the doctor already approved my calcium supplement since my prenatal is relatively low with it).
I was also wondering who else has gone through this? I'd appreciate hearing about other people's experiences. I've noticed that I've been extra tired in the past few weeks, but have been assuming it's a just a normal part of being pregnant.
Thanks for reading!