Turnip

Today is 17 weeks. Other than the blinding migraines, I'm feeling good.

Our insurance company has a "Healthy Babies" program. You enroll in it during your first trimester. You have to promise to (a) let them send you lots of junk mail, mainly consisting of pamphlets on various pregnancy topics, illustrated with cheesy water colors of people dressed for the mid-1970s; and (b) chat on the phone once a month with a nurse, who makes sure that you're taking your vitamins and seeing your doctor, and then offers to answer questions. The idea, I think, is that having resources available to you makes you more likely to get proper care during pregnancy, which will decrease medical costs for everyone down the road. In exchange for not refusing the pamphlets or hanging up on the nurse, the insurance company mails you a check for $400 at the end of the pregnancy. Bottom line: chat with a nurse, and the insurance company will buy you a crib. Works for me.

Here's the only problem: the nurse is a moron. She called yesterday to check in, so I asked her a few questions. Some things I really did want to know, and asking her was easier than bugging my doctor. Other topics, I'm a little ashamed to say, I was just testing her on. Imagine how thrilled I was when, for each question, she said, "Hm... I'm not sure. Let me google it and try to find out for you." Thanks for the "expert" opinion, lady. That's real helpful.

So, here is the only question for which I'm not entirely willing to trust Nurse Google, but would love a more informed opinion. After 3 months of relief, my migraines are back with a vengeance. Not entirely shocking, since I knew this was a possibility. But, I've been having new and different visual disturbances. I normally get the occasional "floater" in my vision, but lately I've been experiencing bright, rolling balls of light on the periphery of my vision, only in my left eye. I usually get a headache within a few hours, also centered on the left side of my head (where my normal migraines are). So the little balls of light... normal escalation of migraines due to pregnancy? Indication of developing super powers? Or something else entirely?

Nurse Google went with "pregnancy migraines," and I'll admit that I'm inclined to agree, but informed input from others would be appreciated.