HELP! AP Bio report, 2 1/2 preg w/ fatigue, loss appetite, irritability. Cause?

Question

Okay, I have a report for my AP Biology class due, and I'm a little lost. The teachers wife is about 2 1/2 months pregnant with there 3rd child. She’s a healthy 28 year old and there wasn't a single complication throughout her other two pregnancies, nor were there any problems with there births. This time though, he says she’s experiencing extreme fatigue, increased irritability, loss of appetite, and when she doesn't eat the fatigue hits the hardest. He stressed that when he said fatigue he didn't just mean weakness, that it was extreme fatigue, and latter during the class he said the fatigue was the most important clue. He said there was something wrong, that he already knew what it was, and that our assignment was to find the answer, explain it, and defend it through an essay. Does anyone know what the cause could be? Any help it deeply appreciated!

(agentdenim)
Today was our second day of school. The only thing we've discussed so far were seating arrangements, his grading scale, materials needed for his class, and schedule changes. Although, now that I think of it, at the beginning of the class he made us talk about the meaning of science, the true definition of a theory, and mostly about the importance of testing and retesting. At the time it just seemed like an introduction, but he is one of those cool, goofy, quotes lord of the rings and star tract, makes you laugh the whole class, tricky teachers. I can't find a connection between what we talked about and the assignment, but he does seem like the type to have subtly said the answer eight times during the class without us knowing it. Thanks for that, I'll think on it a bit.

(Archangel)
He shot down several answers which includes me saying that there wasn’t anything wrong or that it was a trick question, the problem having nothing metical to do with it, such as she’s been over working lately. He said no, that there was a problem, but to my over working statement that she has been stressed lately. Stress can cause many symptoms, but I don’t believe that’s the cause. He also shot down the twin idea when a girl screamed that out just after he finished speaking. Thanks on those though, I’ve already searched on yahoo (like it better than google), and I’m going to check out the anemia and iron thing.

Answer 1

iron deficiency anemia definitely a possibility she should be going for lots of testing to determine if this is it or some other nutritional deficit pregnancy and childbirth deplete the bodies store of many minerals ,etc. It could also be hormonal imbalance she should definitely be going for multiple tests to diagnose her problem because sometimes pregnacy ,even the first one affects some women in this way. For most women in fact, fatigue is a normal part of the first trimester. Many consequently feel an energy surge in the beginning of the second trimester. Did he say there was definitely something wrong or definitely a condition that has been diagnosed as the cause of the fatigue?

Answer 2

Usually this is either a psudo iron def. anemia, or later in pregnancy, gestational diabetes. It isnt true IDA b\c the pts plasma volume increases an enormous amount, but her red blood cells stay about the same (size,mass and volume). At this stage the fetus is about the size of another organ, which drops the pts blood pressure as well. To defend this you need to do whats called a CBC and an SMA7 panel (metabolic panel). The CBC will let you know 2 critical values-the hematocrit and hemoglobin (there are 4 values-whitecell/hgb/hct and platelet) if her hemoglobin is less than 10 (in my hospital) she needs iron supplements. The SMA7 will give you her glucose (as well a sother values) and if it is below 120, the needs a thing called a glucose tolerance test. There are 2 flavors. The simple quick and easy is to give 50g oral glucose and check in 1 hour. If it is less than 140 we go to a 3 hour fasting GTT. This, at 10 weeks-is almost never the cause. You see, gestational diabetes is from a hormone called human placental lactogen, with other hormones. hPL doesnt show its face until 24-28 weeks, and even in extreme cases-never 10 weeks. The fatigue with no eating is (probably) an added effect of ypoclycemia coupled with pseudo IDA. Tell your teacher you want the CBC and SMA7 values before you answer.

I hope this helps. If it isnt clear, say so on this forum and I'll try to simplify it.

Answer 3

Anemia, or lack of iron is one possible cause, could also be that she's carrying twins, although that doesn't sound like something's necessarily wrong. Might as well google "Extreme fatigue, first trimester"

Answer 4

What have you been studying recently that would lead up to this line of thinking? Any number of conditions can cause fatigue in a pregnant woman, regardless of prior uncomplicated pregnancies.

Answer 5

another possibility would be gestational diabetes. the lady needs to get to her ob/gyn and have her prenatal testing done. they will check for gestational diabetes, anemia etc. once the lab results are in, then a diagnosis could be made. do some research on gestational diabetes.