Many apologies to all who might have been reading this blog or who might have accidentally stumbled upon it only to notice that I *suddenly* stopped posting. I can only imagine what y'all must have assumed. (We humans have the tendency to assume the worst - especially in weird risky-seeming situations.) Yes, I have a lap band. Yes, I had gestational diabetes. And things got even more exciting in the last month or so as my blood pressure started going up to fairly concerning levels.
BUT - despite it all, I managed to deliver (via C-section) a wonderful, healthy and happy baby boy who is the love of my life (and of Geekboy's).
It's now been 14 weeks since the baby was born and I've decided it's time to "get back on the wagon". A couple of weeks after his birth, quite shockingly, I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I've never lost 30lbs in 2 weeks before. That was an experience! However, since hitting that weight low, I started gaining and had put on a good 10-12 lbs. I think it was a combination of the free-for-all experience with the diabetes going away and getting off of insulin, no longer having to worry about the well-being of the baby, being unfilled, and not exercising at all due to baby demands.
How does one "get back on the wagon"? Well, I went in for a fill yesterday. And today I'm feeling it. Possibly a little too much. I'm going to try to give it a day or two to see if things settle down, but if not, I might be headed right back for a partial unfill. I had the nurse practitioner take me from 5ml to 6.75, where I had been prior to the pregnancy, figuring that it was a pretty good level before. Things might have changed. How do I know? Let's put it this way - I tried to eat ONE scrambled egg with a sprinkling of cheese for dinner. I got half of it down, spit up a quarter of it (along with a lot of slime) and am still feeling it an hour and a half later. Ugh.
It's Wednesday. I'm going to try to make it to Monday to see if things resolve themselves. Hopefully, I won't shrivel up or be too overly miserable in that time.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Follow up to Bloody Pee
I went to the doctor yesterday for my first visit since the second hospital episode with blood in my urine (hematuria). They checked all of the labs that had been run and everything appeared normal, so they weren't particularly concerned. While relieved that it's not something alarming to the doctors, I did feel a bit frustrated by the inconclusive nature of it all. They don't seem to think I need to do any follow-up at this juncture, but if it happens again, they do want me to go in for evaluation.
Port Ache
So far during the pregnancy, I've had no unusual port-related symptoms...until today. According to the doc's measurements, my "fundal height" (top of the uterus) is now three to four inches above my belly button. My port is located about six inches up from this from my belly button and two inches to the right.
I imagine that what's going on is my uterus is starting to push directly on my port or push on my guts (yes, that's a fancy medical term) that are then pushing on my port.
It doesn't really hurt - it's more of a dull ache, but it's enough to make me aware of my port's presence and location.
When I touch my port, it's a bit more tender than usual, but not super-sore.
It seems logical that this port ache is only going to intensify as the pregnancy proceeds.
I'm now officially in my third trimester...so not super long left to go!
I imagine that what's going on is my uterus is starting to push directly on my port or push on my guts (yes, that's a fancy medical term) that are then pushing on my port.
It doesn't really hurt - it's more of a dull ache, but it's enough to make me aware of my port's presence and location.
When I touch my port, it's a bit more tender than usual, but not super-sore.
It seems logical that this port ache is only going to intensify as the pregnancy proceeds.
I'm now officially in my third trimester...so not super long left to go!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Hip Pop
I've developed this weird thing where when I move in the night, my hips pop loudly. I feel the vibration in my pelvis, but it doesn't hurt at all...it's just kind of disconcerting.
Doc says it's perfectly normal and is a product of the relaxin hormone that is working to loosen up my muscles and joints in prep for baby's exit. Weird!
Doc says it's perfectly normal and is a product of the relaxin hormone that is working to loosen up my muscles and joints in prep for baby's exit. Weird!
Blood Part Deux - With Food Poisoning to Boot! (British Pun Intended.)
So, the blood in my urine thing happened again. I had been feeling kind of achy in my lower abdomen all day, but charted it up to the fact that I'm pregnant and didn't think much about it. However, in the evening when I got home, I again noticed blood in my urine. Around that time, I also noticed that I didn't seem to be passing anywhere near as much urine as I should have been considering the amount of liquid I had been drinking.
I called the doc who encouraged me to go in to the hospital, although they had done nothing useful for me on the previous visit. I told her I'd have dinner and then bring myself in. She seemed satisfied enough with that. She also suggested that I have them catheterize me so that we could find out once and for all if the blood was coming from my bladder(which I insisted it was) or if it was vaginal bleeding (which they were pretty convinced it was).
I went into the "pregnancy ER" and they remembered me from last time. I got all checked in and eventually they got around to doing the catheterization. I don't think I've ever been catheterized before. It wasn't super fun, but it wasn't too horribly awful, either. The verdict? Blood in my urine. I resisted the urge to say, "I told you so!"
They took blood samples and made me hang out hooked up to the fetal monitor for an eternity. I guess they wanted to get 20 minutes straight of baby's heartbeat and movements on record, but baby kept moving out of range. Hours later, after I asked what was going on, the nurse explained this 20 minute thing to me - so I took it into my own hands (literally) as I wanted to get out of there and go home (it was now well past midnight). Every time baby moved out of range, I'd chase him with the monitor until I got a good solid heartbeat. This involved some pretty weird contortions to keep the monitor reading - but it was totally worth it because I did finally get released from the hospital around 2:30am.
Exhausted, dehydrated (they would only give me ice chips) and famished, I headed home. Once home, I fried two eggs, ate them, climbed in bed, kissed GeekBoy, and fell fast asleep.
At 6am, I woke up feeling horribly nauseous and proceeded to go to the bathroom and have a dry heaving fit. That was followed by a nice round of diarrhea. I won't continue with the lovely details, but in a nutshell, my entire day was spent yacking and pooping. I called the doc and he didn't think that my bloody urine episode and the gastroenteritis were related. At first he wanted me to come into the hospital, but when I protested (as they'd done nothing useful on the past two torturous visits) he agreed that I could stay home as long as I was able to hold liquids down by afternoon/evening.
Thank heavens things settled down by then and I was able to drink some tea without losing it. After that point, I worked hard to rehydrate and I woke up the next morning feeling achy and battered, but much better off.
During the food poisoning day, I was a bit confused what to do about insulin and blood sugars since I was unable to keep anything down and I'd heard that blood sugars can skyrocket when one is sick. I decided to skip the insulin (and avoid the possibility of a low that I couldn't address) and keep a close eye on my sugars. Surprisingly, all day, they stayed just over 100 which seemed perfectly reasonable to me.
As a side note, I bought the eggs the day before from underneath a sign stating that the store's eggs had NOT been part of the big salmonella egg recall. So who knows?!?
I called the doc who encouraged me to go in to the hospital, although they had done nothing useful for me on the previous visit. I told her I'd have dinner and then bring myself in. She seemed satisfied enough with that. She also suggested that I have them catheterize me so that we could find out once and for all if the blood was coming from my bladder(which I insisted it was) or if it was vaginal bleeding (which they were pretty convinced it was).
I went into the "pregnancy ER" and they remembered me from last time. I got all checked in and eventually they got around to doing the catheterization. I don't think I've ever been catheterized before. It wasn't super fun, but it wasn't too horribly awful, either. The verdict? Blood in my urine. I resisted the urge to say, "I told you so!"
They took blood samples and made me hang out hooked up to the fetal monitor for an eternity. I guess they wanted to get 20 minutes straight of baby's heartbeat and movements on record, but baby kept moving out of range. Hours later, after I asked what was going on, the nurse explained this 20 minute thing to me - so I took it into my own hands (literally) as I wanted to get out of there and go home (it was now well past midnight). Every time baby moved out of range, I'd chase him with the monitor until I got a good solid heartbeat. This involved some pretty weird contortions to keep the monitor reading - but it was totally worth it because I did finally get released from the hospital around 2:30am.
Exhausted, dehydrated (they would only give me ice chips) and famished, I headed home. Once home, I fried two eggs, ate them, climbed in bed, kissed GeekBoy, and fell fast asleep.
At 6am, I woke up feeling horribly nauseous and proceeded to go to the bathroom and have a dry heaving fit. That was followed by a nice round of diarrhea. I won't continue with the lovely details, but in a nutshell, my entire day was spent yacking and pooping. I called the doc and he didn't think that my bloody urine episode and the gastroenteritis were related. At first he wanted me to come into the hospital, but when I protested (as they'd done nothing useful on the past two torturous visits) he agreed that I could stay home as long as I was able to hold liquids down by afternoon/evening.
Thank heavens things settled down by then and I was able to drink some tea without losing it. After that point, I worked hard to rehydrate and I woke up the next morning feeling achy and battered, but much better off.
During the food poisoning day, I was a bit confused what to do about insulin and blood sugars since I was unable to keep anything down and I'd heard that blood sugars can skyrocket when one is sick. I decided to skip the insulin (and avoid the possibility of a low that I couldn't address) and keep a close eye on my sugars. Surprisingly, all day, they stayed just over 100 which seemed perfectly reasonable to me.
As a side note, I bought the eggs the day before from underneath a sign stating that the store's eggs had NOT been part of the big salmonella egg recall. So who knows?!?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
It's called diabetes. Duh.
Went to the doc again last week for another checkup and follow-up ultrasound. Apparently, last time they didn't feel like they got an adequate look at the baby's heart due to his position so they wanted to scan again. Fine by me - I've got pretty good insurance coverage (thank heavens). Baby was still there doing his thing! His profile shot looked kind of weird to me (he had a bulbous looking nose) so I went online to look at what other 22 week ultrasounds look like. Can you say...exactly the same? It's weird how similar the scans are. In fact, I'm not sure I could tell the difference between some of them.
During the doctor part of the visit, the doc reviewed my blood sugar numbers from the past couple of weeks. My morning fasting numbers are still significantly higher than they should be despite a couple of increases in my nighttime insulin dosage and plenty of experimentation with my bedtime snack. Nothing (so far) seems to consistently work. I asked the doc if there are some people whose morning numbers are just always out of whack no matter what they do, thinking that I might fall into that category. He looked at me and said, "Yes." Feeling pleased that I wasn't the only one, he continued, "They're called diabetics."
Gee, doc. Thanks for the enlightenment.
During the doctor part of the visit, the doc reviewed my blood sugar numbers from the past couple of weeks. My morning fasting numbers are still significantly higher than they should be despite a couple of increases in my nighttime insulin dosage and plenty of experimentation with my bedtime snack. Nothing (so far) seems to consistently work. I asked the doc if there are some people whose morning numbers are just always out of whack no matter what they do, thinking that I might fall into that category. He looked at me and said, "Yes." Feeling pleased that I wasn't the only one, he continued, "They're called diabetics."
Gee, doc. Thanks for the enlightenment.
Hellooo Lap Band!
Since my partial unfill a while back, I've pretty much been acting like I don't have a lap band. I've been able to eat whatever I want, drink with meals, not chew my food particularly well, sip soda, and all of those other things one is not supposed to be doing with a lap band. In fact, I had kind of forgotten what it was like to have a filled band.
Tonight at dinner, my band decided to remind me that it's still there. Geekboy and I were eating chicken, barley, and salad. A few bites into the chicken, I got that familiar tightness that conveyed "you'd better stop now, or else...". I paused, commented to Geekboy that the band was back, and proceeded to go into a hiccup fit (a common lap band experience). I got up from the table, walked around a bit, and after a couple of minutes, I felt the chicken pass. Wow - it was quite a surprise to suddenly again be lap-band-y. I returned to my meal, taking small bites and chewing well and finished without incident. I wonder if this is the beginning of the band getting tighter from the pregnancy progressing? As long as I can still eat and drink well, that might not be such a bad thing as I've been putting on the poundage a little faster than desired (though I'm really only up 11 pounds from my low point now that I'm 24 weeks along). Originally, my goal had been to gain no more than 15 pounds during the entire pregnancy, but I'm not longer convinced that the pregnancy weight gain is entirely under my control.
Tonight at dinner, my band decided to remind me that it's still there. Geekboy and I were eating chicken, barley, and salad. A few bites into the chicken, I got that familiar tightness that conveyed "you'd better stop now, or else...". I paused, commented to Geekboy that the band was back, and proceeded to go into a hiccup fit (a common lap band experience). I got up from the table, walked around a bit, and after a couple of minutes, I felt the chicken pass. Wow - it was quite a surprise to suddenly again be lap-band-y. I returned to my meal, taking small bites and chewing well and finished without incident. I wonder if this is the beginning of the band getting tighter from the pregnancy progressing? As long as I can still eat and drink well, that might not be such a bad thing as I've been putting on the poundage a little faster than desired (though I'm really only up 11 pounds from my low point now that I'm 24 weeks along). Originally, my goal had been to gain no more than 15 pounds during the entire pregnancy, but I'm not longer convinced that the pregnancy weight gain is entirely under my control.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sunday, Bloody Sunday...
Warning: this one may be gross.
This past Sunday, I got up, took care of my morning routine, had breakfast, and then headed out to run a ton of errands. I noticed that my lower abdomen was kind of achy in a not-too-bad-but-annoying-nonetheless menstrual crampy way, but I decided to ignore it and go on about my business. At my first stop, I went to the bathroom and noted that my pee looked oddly orange, but aside from the mental note, I didn't think much of it. I figured I was dehydrated or had eaten something strange that had colored my urine. (Kind of like what happens when you eat a lot of beets.)
All day, the crampiness continued and every time I peed, I noticed that it was still oddly colored. By the end of the day, I was starting to think it might be something to be concerned about.
Around 5pm, I finally headed home. At home, I peed in the "pee hat" I had leftover from my 24 hour pee test. (I think I blogged about the pee test, but I can't really remember.) If I didn't blog about it, here's the synopsis: the doctors ordered me to catch all of my pee for a 24 hour period so they could check it for protein and other schtuff. They gave me a "pee hat" which fits on the toilet and catches everything. Then I poured it into a big jug.
Looking in the pee hat, I was completely alarmed. The pee was reddish orange and clearly full of blood. (This hadn't been as apparent earlier in the day due to the dilution of the bloody pee in the toilet water.) I went and got Geekboy and told him that something bad was happening and I needed to get in touch with the doctor.
I called the doctor line and the doctor called me back. I explained what was going on and he suggested that I might have a urinary tract infection, but he wanted me to go to the hospital to be checked out so they would know for sure.
I told Geekboy to grab his computer because we were going for a ride. (He's much better off when he's got geeky entertainment.) I grabbed a big mug of water and we were out the door. I figured I should hydrate so I could pee when we got to the hospital.
At the medical complex where I'm being seen, they have a 24 hour pregnancy triage and assessment center. The nurses checked me in to an examining room and had me pee in a cup. It was pink - there was still obviously a decent amount of blood present, but it was nothing compared to what I'd discovered in the pee hat at home.
Then, while waiting to be seen in the patient room, I found that I had to pee every 5-10 minutes. I think it was a combination of being nervous and having consumed the giant mug of water on the way to the hospital. After a few more pees, the nurse arrived with a different cup for me to pee in. I produced the sample and it was as clear as tap water. For some reason, they decided to check for the presence of bacteria under a microscope on the clear pee sample (rather than the bloody one).
After about an hour, the doctor came in and told me that the sample was clean. She then conducted a quick pelvic exam (the first Geekboy had ever attended) and told me that my cervix looked a little tender and the q-tip swab she did produced a little bit of blood. She theorized that the blood in the urine was actually coming from my vaginal opening, rather than through my urethra. I questioned this theory a bit, but in the end, didn't want to get into a pointless argument with her. However, I'm 95% sure the blood was in my urine and not coming from somewhere else and mixing with the urine.
They sent us home. That evening, I had another slightly off-color pee (in the hat), but by morning, my pee was back to normal and the lower abdominal cramping was gone. I've been watching very carefully and I'm now on my third day of normal pee. I'm baffled by what happened, but I guess that if it's cleared up and the baby is fine, there's not much to worry about.
This is the type of thing where you begin to believe it's all in your head, but Geekboy has confirmed for me that it did, in fact, happen.
This past Sunday, I got up, took care of my morning routine, had breakfast, and then headed out to run a ton of errands. I noticed that my lower abdomen was kind of achy in a not-too-bad-but-annoying-nonetheless menstrual crampy way, but I decided to ignore it and go on about my business. At my first stop, I went to the bathroom and noted that my pee looked oddly orange, but aside from the mental note, I didn't think much of it. I figured I was dehydrated or had eaten something strange that had colored my urine. (Kind of like what happens when you eat a lot of beets.)
All day, the crampiness continued and every time I peed, I noticed that it was still oddly colored. By the end of the day, I was starting to think it might be something to be concerned about.
Around 5pm, I finally headed home. At home, I peed in the "pee hat" I had leftover from my 24 hour pee test. (I think I blogged about the pee test, but I can't really remember.) If I didn't blog about it, here's the synopsis: the doctors ordered me to catch all of my pee for a 24 hour period so they could check it for protein and other schtuff. They gave me a "pee hat" which fits on the toilet and catches everything. Then I poured it into a big jug.
Looking in the pee hat, I was completely alarmed. The pee was reddish orange and clearly full of blood. (This hadn't been as apparent earlier in the day due to the dilution of the bloody pee in the toilet water.) I went and got Geekboy and told him that something bad was happening and I needed to get in touch with the doctor.
I called the doctor line and the doctor called me back. I explained what was going on and he suggested that I might have a urinary tract infection, but he wanted me to go to the hospital to be checked out so they would know for sure.
I told Geekboy to grab his computer because we were going for a ride. (He's much better off when he's got geeky entertainment.) I grabbed a big mug of water and we were out the door. I figured I should hydrate so I could pee when we got to the hospital.
At the medical complex where I'm being seen, they have a 24 hour pregnancy triage and assessment center. The nurses checked me in to an examining room and had me pee in a cup. It was pink - there was still obviously a decent amount of blood present, but it was nothing compared to what I'd discovered in the pee hat at home.
Then, while waiting to be seen in the patient room, I found that I had to pee every 5-10 minutes. I think it was a combination of being nervous and having consumed the giant mug of water on the way to the hospital. After a few more pees, the nurse arrived with a different cup for me to pee in. I produced the sample and it was as clear as tap water. For some reason, they decided to check for the presence of bacteria under a microscope on the clear pee sample (rather than the bloody one).
After about an hour, the doctor came in and told me that the sample was clean. She then conducted a quick pelvic exam (the first Geekboy had ever attended) and told me that my cervix looked a little tender and the q-tip swab she did produced a little bit of blood. She theorized that the blood in the urine was actually coming from my vaginal opening, rather than through my urethra. I questioned this theory a bit, but in the end, didn't want to get into a pointless argument with her. However, I'm 95% sure the blood was in my urine and not coming from somewhere else and mixing with the urine.
They sent us home. That evening, I had another slightly off-color pee (in the hat), but by morning, my pee was back to normal and the lower abdominal cramping was gone. I've been watching very carefully and I'm now on my third day of normal pee. I'm baffled by what happened, but I guess that if it's cleared up and the baby is fine, there's not much to worry about.
This is the type of thing where you begin to believe it's all in your head, but Geekboy has confirmed for me that it did, in fact, happen.
Blog Followers - Yay!
I haven't really made many efforts to publicize this blog yet as I've been distracted by my job, pregnancy, a basement renovation, figuring out whether to get married or not, the gestational diabetes, housekeeping, purchasing a new house, tenant turnover, and a whole host of other crazy stuff. However, it is on my list of things to do as it would be nice to know that there are folks out there in cyberspace reading (and hopefully learning from) my experiences. After a blogging hiatus of a few weeks, I was thrilled to sign on to see that I've got two blog followers. Yay! So now I've got impetus to keep up with the posts. Thanks blog followers! I'm glad you found your way here and I hope it's interesting to you. May many more followers soon follow your lead!
Morphing Lap Band Scars
I have five scars on my belly from the lap band surgery. Three are dots and two are more incision-type scars. One is about 3/4 of an inch long and the other is about 1 1/4 inches. They never really had a chance to fade after the surgery (I've been told this can take up to two years), but they used to be relatively flat and light pinkish.
As the pregnancy has progressed, I've noticed changes in the character of the scars. Especially in the last few weeks, they've grown much deeper in color and have also become much more raised/pronounced. In fact, one of the dot scars almost looks like a blister (but it's not infected or inflamed or anything).
I hadn't really noticed the morphing of the scars until one day when I looked in the mirror and I could see them THROUGH my shirt. It wasn't even a particularly tight shirt, but the scars caused the material to sit at a slightly different angle which caught the light. Weird. Since then, I've noticed that I can often see them through my shirts, but I doubt most people would notice. (Note: I'm not going to work in see-through shirts - it's the raised bumps I'm seeing under the fabric!)
I asked the doc about it and he said that weird things happen during pregnancy and a lot of them can be attributed to hormones.
The newly pronounced scars don't really bother me too much and geekboy doesn't seem the least bit bothered by them either - so, for the most part, I don't really care. But it seems like something that could be alarming or bothersome to scar-conscious individuals.
(I just tried taking a photo so you could see what I'm talking about, but it didn't work so well - sorry.)
As the pregnancy has progressed, I've noticed changes in the character of the scars. Especially in the last few weeks, they've grown much deeper in color and have also become much more raised/pronounced. In fact, one of the dot scars almost looks like a blister (but it's not infected or inflamed or anything).
I hadn't really noticed the morphing of the scars until one day when I looked in the mirror and I could see them THROUGH my shirt. It wasn't even a particularly tight shirt, but the scars caused the material to sit at a slightly different angle which caught the light. Weird. Since then, I've noticed that I can often see them through my shirts, but I doubt most people would notice. (Note: I'm not going to work in see-through shirts - it's the raised bumps I'm seeing under the fabric!)
I asked the doc about it and he said that weird things happen during pregnancy and a lot of them can be attributed to hormones.
The newly pronounced scars don't really bother me too much and geekboy doesn't seem the least bit bothered by them either - so, for the most part, I don't really care. But it seems like something that could be alarming or bothersome to scar-conscious individuals.
(I just tried taking a photo so you could see what I'm talking about, but it didn't work so well - sorry.)
Med Appointment
2 weeks ago, I had another medical appointment. I've been so bad about blogging that I can't even remember what happened. I'll try to remember and update this post. Consider this a placeholder.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Insulin in the Vein
The other night, I went to give myself my before-dinner insulin shot and noted that the prick was significantly more painful than usual. Nonetheless, I carried on and finished the injection. When I removed the needle, I noticed that a lot of blood came with it and the injection spot was very painful. There was also a hard bump where the insulin had gone in - it didn't seem to dissipate at all.
Somehow, I seem to have managed to hit a vein. I panicked a bit and got online to see what I could find out about injecting insulin into a vein. Fortunately, it's not that big of a deal and apparently it happens to everyone from time to time. The biggest concern is that one can have a sugar low from the insulin being absorbed too fast, but thankfully that didn't happen to me.
Now that it's been a few days, I've got a nasty looking purple bruise at the injection spot. Geekboy commented that it complements the purple shirt I've got on today!
Somehow, I seem to have managed to hit a vein. I panicked a bit and got online to see what I could find out about injecting insulin into a vein. Fortunately, it's not that big of a deal and apparently it happens to everyone from time to time. The biggest concern is that one can have a sugar low from the insulin being absorbed too fast, but thankfully that didn't happen to me.
Now that it's been a few days, I've got a nasty looking purple bruise at the injection spot. Geekboy commented that it complements the purple shirt I've got on today!
The Novelty of Insulin is Gone
It's funny to read my last post about my first day on insulin. The novelty has worn off and although shooting myself three+ times a day is still not a big deal, it's become an annoyance remembering to do it. So far, I've only completely forgotten to give myself a shot once, but I've come close a few times. I'm also amassing an alarming number used syringes which I've been storing in a sealed container (as instructed).
I don't know if I've gotten cavalier with my eating or my sensitivity to the insulin is already diminishing, but the quantities I was instructed to use no longer seem to be quite doing the trick. My after dinner numbers are coming back high (pretty much consistently) and my morning numbers aren't great either (in fact, they've never been in the target range...ever). I have a follow-up appointment with the doc in a few days, so hopefully they'll be able to adjust my quantities to get me where I need to be.
With the lap band loosened, I no longer have any restriction so my food control all has to come from me. I've been eating a fair bit more than I need to be and the scale is starting to reflect it. I've also gotten lax about exercise. My goodness - I'm falling apart!
This coming week, I plan to rededicate myself to the "plan" to see if I can get things under control. I'm fairly confident that Bebe and I can get things straightened out.
I don't know if I've gotten cavalier with my eating or my sensitivity to the insulin is already diminishing, but the quantities I was instructed to use no longer seem to be quite doing the trick. My after dinner numbers are coming back high (pretty much consistently) and my morning numbers aren't great either (in fact, they've never been in the target range...ever). I have a follow-up appointment with the doc in a few days, so hopefully they'll be able to adjust my quantities to get me where I need to be.
With the lap band loosened, I no longer have any restriction so my food control all has to come from me. I've been eating a fair bit more than I need to be and the scale is starting to reflect it. I've also gotten lax about exercise. My goodness - I'm falling apart!
This coming week, I plan to rededicate myself to the "plan" to see if I can get things under control. I'm fairly confident that Bebe and I can get things straightened out.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
First Day on Insulin
So - I'm almost through my first day on insulin and really it's not all that bad! I was fairly scared about getting the whole hang of injecting myself and about figuring out doses and whatnot - but it really hasn't been near the big deal I had made it out to be in my mind. With the exception of my waking blood glucose number which is still too high, all of my numbers over the day have been perfectly within range - which is great considering that I've been fairly "loose" with my eating and I haven't pursued any after-meal exercise all day.
I'm on a combination of two different types of insulin: long lasting and quick acting. In a nutshell, I get a shot of long-lasting before bed and in the morning. I take a shot of quick acting 30 minutes before meals. Because dinner is the only meal where my numbers have been giving me trouble, at this point, I only use quick acting then.
Tonight was my first pre-dinner shot. I filled the syringe and took it with me in the car on the way to the restaurant. Just before getting out of the car, I administered the dose as I figured it would take about 30 minutes to order and get our food. Before leaving for dinner, I did a pre-meal blood sugar test and my number was 84 (the goal is to be under 100). I was a bit concerned that if the food got delayed at the restaurant, the insulin could begin acting and give me a sugar low so I brought along a little Tupperware with dried apricots and almonds. (Remember the pre-unfill apricot of death episode?) I ate one apricot before the meal came and it got a wee bit stuck - but nothing like last time. Note to self: don't eat dried apricots. Ever. For any reason.
The sugar low never occurred and my reading one hour after dinner was 128 (the goal is to be under 140). Woo hoo! Insulin works!
I'm on a combination of two different types of insulin: long lasting and quick acting. In a nutshell, I get a shot of long-lasting before bed and in the morning. I take a shot of quick acting 30 minutes before meals. Because dinner is the only meal where my numbers have been giving me trouble, at this point, I only use quick acting then.
Tonight was my first pre-dinner shot. I filled the syringe and took it with me in the car on the way to the restaurant. Just before getting out of the car, I administered the dose as I figured it would take about 30 minutes to order and get our food. Before leaving for dinner, I did a pre-meal blood sugar test and my number was 84 (the goal is to be under 100). I was a bit concerned that if the food got delayed at the restaurant, the insulin could begin acting and give me a sugar low so I brought along a little Tupperware with dried apricots and almonds. (Remember the pre-unfill apricot of death episode?) I ate one apricot before the meal came and it got a wee bit stuck - but nothing like last time. Note to self: don't eat dried apricots. Ever. For any reason.
The sugar low never occurred and my reading one hour after dinner was 128 (the goal is to be under 140). Woo hoo! Insulin works!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Quickening
Somewhere between 18 and 20 weeks, one is supposed to begin to feel the baby's movement inside the womb. I think I've been feeling these movements for a few days now, but only yesterday did I really figure out that was what I was experiencing. I've heard the movements described as "bubbles" or "butterfly flutters", but mine are more like little twinges, short-lasting cramps, or passing moments of extra pressure on areas like my bladder. They'd be easy to miss if I wasn't looking for them, but they're certainly there and seem to have grown stronger even over the past few days.
And the scale creeps down?
I'm fairly sure I've gained three pounds since my lap band unfill a week and a half ago. However, when I weighed in at the doctor's office this morning, it showed that I had dropped a pound since my last visit. I think that this could be attributed to the fact that I peed six times (no exaggeration) between the time I arrived at the medical center and the time I was weighed before my appointment with the high risk OB doctors. Some of it could probably have been chalked up to pre-ultrasound nerves, and the rest to the fact that Bebe is squishing my bladder - which makes me go all of the time anyhow.
I asked two different doctors for their thoughts on my weight. The first said that she'd like to start seeing some weight gain and suggested that a good target would be for me to gain between 10 and 15 pounds during the pregnancy. A second doctor suggested that I might be expected to gain 20-25 pounds during the pregnancy, but then backpedaled and said that less might be ideal given the diabetes situation and that he wasn't really too concerned with my weight gain (or lack thereof) provided that the baby was growing on track and I was feeling good energy and health-wise. He suggested that we shouldn't focus too much on the numbers. From the ultrasound, Bebe's growth seems to be on track and I'm feeling good these days - so perhaps I'm in a pretty good place, but I'm not going to be alarmed if the scale inches up a bit either.
I really don't want to gain too much during this pregnancy, but I don't want to jeopardize the baby's growth or my health in any way either. A target of 10-15 max seems reasonable. But only time will tell what actually ends up happening!
Regardless, tonight I ended up going out for a big steak dinner and ate.the.whole.darn.thing. I don't think that was what anyone had in mind when they suggested that it might be time for a little bit of gain. Goodness! The unfill seems to have worked a little too well.
I asked two different doctors for their thoughts on my weight. The first said that she'd like to start seeing some weight gain and suggested that a good target would be for me to gain between 10 and 15 pounds during the pregnancy. A second doctor suggested that I might be expected to gain 20-25 pounds during the pregnancy, but then backpedaled and said that less might be ideal given the diabetes situation and that he wasn't really too concerned with my weight gain (or lack thereof) provided that the baby was growing on track and I was feeling good energy and health-wise. He suggested that we shouldn't focus too much on the numbers. From the ultrasound, Bebe's growth seems to be on track and I'm feeling good these days - so perhaps I'm in a pretty good place, but I'm not going to be alarmed if the scale inches up a bit either.
I really don't want to gain too much during this pregnancy, but I don't want to jeopardize the baby's growth or my health in any way either. A target of 10-15 max seems reasonable. But only time will tell what actually ends up happening!
Regardless, tonight I ended up going out for a big steak dinner and ate.the.whole.darn.thing. I don't think that was what anyone had in mind when they suggested that it might be time for a little bit of gain. Goodness! The unfill seems to have worked a little too well.
Uncharted Territory
This whole lap band pregnancy thing is feeling more and more like uncharted territory. I knew that it would be rare, but I had no idea that most of the medical professionals I came in contact would have little to no experience or knowledge about someone in my situation. In fact, just today, I found myself educating three different medical professionals about my situation.
The medical center where I'm receiving my prenatal care is part of a large, well-known, top-ranked research hospital. It's also the same medical facility where my lap band surgeon practices. I guess I assumed that folks would at least be vaguely familiar with the lap band concept.
The first person I had to explain things to was the main high risk OB doctor. He commented that he had been involved in the cases of two women who had undergone gastric bypass and one woman who had some sort of "lap band" as he called it, but mine was the first he had heard of that was connected to a port where adjustments could be made relatively easily. He was fascinated by the concept that by adjusting the amount of the saline in the band through the port, my stomach opening could be opened up or closed down. He told me that the one woman with the non-adjustable "lap band" had actually requested a c-section so that the doctors could adjust her band tightness while they already had her "open on the table". Somehow, his conclusion from the whole conversation was, "If you feel pain, don't just deal with it - tell us and we'll make sure it's not indicative of a problem."
The second person who didn't have any concept of the lap band was the diabetes educator. I mentioned to her that I had a band and asked how that might affect the speed of food absorption or the timing of insulin related to meals. At first, she seemed confused by the question and then theorized that it might speed up food absorption. That made no sense to me so I explained the mechanics of the band to her after which she agreed that it might slow the food absorption. In the end, I figured that the answer probably doesn't matter all that much as I've been unfilled to the point that I can pretty much eat as I did before I had the band.
It's mildly disconcerting that people don't know what to make of the fact that I'm pregnant with a band, but I feel relatively well informed myself about the risks, challenges, benefits, etc., so hopefully I'll be able to adequately advocate for myself if need be.
The medical center where I'm receiving my prenatal care is part of a large, well-known, top-ranked research hospital. It's also the same medical facility where my lap band surgeon practices. I guess I assumed that folks would at least be vaguely familiar with the lap band concept.
The first person I had to explain things to was the main high risk OB doctor. He commented that he had been involved in the cases of two women who had undergone gastric bypass and one woman who had some sort of "lap band" as he called it, but mine was the first he had heard of that was connected to a port where adjustments could be made relatively easily. He was fascinated by the concept that by adjusting the amount of the saline in the band through the port, my stomach opening could be opened up or closed down. He told me that the one woman with the non-adjustable "lap band" had actually requested a c-section so that the doctors could adjust her band tightness while they already had her "open on the table". Somehow, his conclusion from the whole conversation was, "If you feel pain, don't just deal with it - tell us and we'll make sure it's not indicative of a problem."
The second person who didn't have any concept of the lap band was the diabetes educator. I mentioned to her that I had a band and asked how that might affect the speed of food absorption or the timing of insulin related to meals. At first, she seemed confused by the question and then theorized that it might speed up food absorption. That made no sense to me so I explained the mechanics of the band to her after which she agreed that it might slow the food absorption. In the end, I figured that the answer probably doesn't matter all that much as I've been unfilled to the point that I can pretty much eat as I did before I had the band.
It's mildly disconcerting that people don't know what to make of the fact that I'm pregnant with a band, but I feel relatively well informed myself about the risks, challenges, benefits, etc., so hopefully I'll be able to adequately advocate for myself if need be.
And it's a ???
The ultrasound tech asked me what I thought the baby's sex was before "the big reveal". She also asked Geekboy who, true to form, was unwilling to wager a guess based on the fact that he had no information to go on. I told her I had a hunch it was a boy though I was kind of secretly hoping for a girl. She said that mamas seem to have accurate hunches a surprising amount of the time. Then she went searching for Bebe's "parts". There between Bebe's two legs, she found...a third little leg! It's a boy!
It's very exciting to finally know how to think of Bebe. It's surprising to me that some people deliberately choose not to find out their baby's sex until birth. I want all of the information I can get!!!
I think I'm going to make Geekboy make the decision about whether or not to get Bebe circumcised, but that's a topic for a whole different blog post.
Marathon Medical Day
Phew - what a day! I spent exactly nine hours at the medical center today. I had taken the day off figuring I'd spend the morning having my ultrasound and doctor's appointment and the afternoon running some errands and enjoying a little free time. NO SUCH LUCK. Geekboy, on his way home from work, walked in the back door right as I walked in the front, having just returned from the doctor's office.
How does one spend nine hours at the medical center, you ask? Let me tell you! First, we showed up for the "big" ultrasound, but were called in about 40 minutes late as all of the earlier morning appointments had run over. Geekboy was able to stay for about 20 minutes, but then he had to run off to a work appointment. Had things gotten started earlier, he would have been able to stay for most of the ultrasound, but fortunately he got to see the baby, most of the important stuff, and the big boy/girl reveal before he had to go.
My ultrasound ended up running long - partially due to the fact that the baby's positioning made it hard for them to get heart images and partially due to the fact that they had to wait on a high risk OB doctor to review the scans. They tried to get the baby to move by making me empty my bladder and later making me roll onto my side, but neither tactic really did much, so I'm scheduled for a follow-up ultrasound in a month.
After the ultrasound, I was sent in (late) to meet with the high risk OB doctors. They were super nice and helpful and answered all of my questions very thoroughly. We discussed my blood sugar numbers, my history of hypertension, my possible diabetic history, my lap band, risks to the baby from the diabetes, and a whole host of other topics. A researcher also came in to discuss a study that they're running on pregnant diabetic women to test a new method of blood sugar level monitoring similar to the HbA1C, but only based on one month's blood sugar levels rather than three. After looking at the pros (minimal) and cons (minimal), I decided to join the study. Heck - why not if it can help advance medical science and it's no great inconvenience to me. And there is one small perk - they give you a free 3D ultrasound at around 35 weeks to try to accurately predict the baby's weight at birth.
After finishing up with the high-risk OBs, I was carted off to the lab by the researcher who wanted to make sure to get her blood sample. I was already having blood samples drawn for some other things, so providing an extra vial for her test was no big deal. Once the needle is in your arm, the worst is over. It really makes no difference if they take another little squirt of the red stuff. They also ran an HbA1c and a CBC (as I've been experiencing some fatigue and was wondering if I might be running anemic).
At the OB appointment, they decided that I should go on insulin - low levels to start out as my morning fasting numbers are consistently high and my after-dinner numbers run a bit high as well if I don't get out and do my walk right after dinner. While I'm not thrilled about this, I kind of figured it would happen sooner or later so I'm also not devastated. If anything, I feel mildly inconvenienced - that's about it.
Based on the decision to put me on insulin, after my blood draw, I had to go meet with the diabetes educator nurse so she could teach me to understand how the insulin works and to teach me how to administer it to myself. It was actually pretty fascinating stuff and I enjoyed the lesson more than I expected to. Based on what she taught me, I examined the doctor's recommendations for insulin amounts and timing and caught a recommendation that didn't make a whole lot of sense based on my history of after-breakfast blood sugar numbers. I showed the diabetes educator and she agreed that I was on to something. She suggested that I tweak my dosage accordingly. I was pleased to have understood the information enough to figure out what made sense for me. It's nice to be in control and to understand the reasons behind things rather than blindly following doctor's orders.
I was amused by the fact that the diabetes educator actually injects herself with saline during the lesson to demonstrate correct technique as well as to prove that the injections really don't hurt if done properly. She must have to shoot herself 5-10x a day! I wonder if that was in her job description when she applied for the position?
Once finished with the diabetes educator, it was 3pm and I was about to pass out from dehydration and low blood sugar. (Oh the irony!) All I had eaten up until that point was a protein shake for breakfast and a yogurt I had brought along in my bag for a mid-morning snack. I made a detour to the food cart in the basement of the building, but all they were offering was baked goods and pre-packaged sandwiches - both bad choices for controlling my blood sugar. I ended up going to a restaurant around the corner to get a bite to eat.
After "lunch" it was on to get an EKG as I had mentioned to the doctors that my heart sometimes seems to beat extra hard after meals. Waiting for the EKG: 40 minutes. Actual EKG: 2 minutes. It's actually probably a good thing that I went to eat before getting the EKG as my heart was sort of doing the beating hard thing when they took the reading so hopefully if there's anything weird going on, the test will show it.
Post-EKG: on to the pharmacy to get my scripts for insulin, needles, and blood sugar testing strips filled. More waiting.
And then finally I got to head home! What an exhausting day - but I fear it's only a taste of more medical fun to come...
How does one spend nine hours at the medical center, you ask? Let me tell you! First, we showed up for the "big" ultrasound, but were called in about 40 minutes late as all of the earlier morning appointments had run over. Geekboy was able to stay for about 20 minutes, but then he had to run off to a work appointment. Had things gotten started earlier, he would have been able to stay for most of the ultrasound, but fortunately he got to see the baby, most of the important stuff, and the big boy/girl reveal before he had to go.
My ultrasound ended up running long - partially due to the fact that the baby's positioning made it hard for them to get heart images and partially due to the fact that they had to wait on a high risk OB doctor to review the scans. They tried to get the baby to move by making me empty my bladder and later making me roll onto my side, but neither tactic really did much, so I'm scheduled for a follow-up ultrasound in a month.
After the ultrasound, I was sent in (late) to meet with the high risk OB doctors. They were super nice and helpful and answered all of my questions very thoroughly. We discussed my blood sugar numbers, my history of hypertension, my possible diabetic history, my lap band, risks to the baby from the diabetes, and a whole host of other topics. A researcher also came in to discuss a study that they're running on pregnant diabetic women to test a new method of blood sugar level monitoring similar to the HbA1C, but only based on one month's blood sugar levels rather than three. After looking at the pros (minimal) and cons (minimal), I decided to join the study. Heck - why not if it can help advance medical science and it's no great inconvenience to me. And there is one small perk - they give you a free 3D ultrasound at around 35 weeks to try to accurately predict the baby's weight at birth.
After finishing up with the high-risk OBs, I was carted off to the lab by the researcher who wanted to make sure to get her blood sample. I was already having blood samples drawn for some other things, so providing an extra vial for her test was no big deal. Once the needle is in your arm, the worst is over. It really makes no difference if they take another little squirt of the red stuff. They also ran an HbA1c and a CBC (as I've been experiencing some fatigue and was wondering if I might be running anemic).
At the OB appointment, they decided that I should go on insulin - low levels to start out as my morning fasting numbers are consistently high and my after-dinner numbers run a bit high as well if I don't get out and do my walk right after dinner. While I'm not thrilled about this, I kind of figured it would happen sooner or later so I'm also not devastated. If anything, I feel mildly inconvenienced - that's about it.
Based on the decision to put me on insulin, after my blood draw, I had to go meet with the diabetes educator nurse so she could teach me to understand how the insulin works and to teach me how to administer it to myself. It was actually pretty fascinating stuff and I enjoyed the lesson more than I expected to. Based on what she taught me, I examined the doctor's recommendations for insulin amounts and timing and caught a recommendation that didn't make a whole lot of sense based on my history of after-breakfast blood sugar numbers. I showed the diabetes educator and she agreed that I was on to something. She suggested that I tweak my dosage accordingly. I was pleased to have understood the information enough to figure out what made sense for me. It's nice to be in control and to understand the reasons behind things rather than blindly following doctor's orders.
I was amused by the fact that the diabetes educator actually injects herself with saline during the lesson to demonstrate correct technique as well as to prove that the injections really don't hurt if done properly. She must have to shoot herself 5-10x a day! I wonder if that was in her job description when she applied for the position?
Once finished with the diabetes educator, it was 3pm and I was about to pass out from dehydration and low blood sugar. (Oh the irony!) All I had eaten up until that point was a protein shake for breakfast and a yogurt I had brought along in my bag for a mid-morning snack. I made a detour to the food cart in the basement of the building, but all they were offering was baked goods and pre-packaged sandwiches - both bad choices for controlling my blood sugar. I ended up going to a restaurant around the corner to get a bite to eat.
After "lunch" it was on to get an EKG as I had mentioned to the doctors that my heart sometimes seems to beat extra hard after meals. Waiting for the EKG: 40 minutes. Actual EKG: 2 minutes. It's actually probably a good thing that I went to eat before getting the EKG as my heart was sort of doing the beating hard thing when they took the reading so hopefully if there's anything weird going on, the test will show it.
Post-EKG: on to the pharmacy to get my scripts for insulin, needles, and blood sugar testing strips filled. More waiting.
And then finally I got to head home! What an exhausting day - but I fear it's only a taste of more medical fun to come...
Before the "Big" Ultrasound
Today is the day for the "big ultrasound". I'm 18 weeks along according to the calendar and it's hard to believe that I'm almost half way there! From what I understand, they're going to spend about an hour examining every little part of bebe to make sure that things are OK and located where they're supposed to be. It's fairly exciting to know that in an hour or so we're going to be checking out the wee one in great detail. It's also kind of scary though as anything could happen. What if they discover some sort of problem? I try to focus on the positive, but pregnancy has made a bit of a worry-wart out of me.
I'm also excited for Geekboy as this will be the first time for him to see bebe on screen. I didn't really see any point in dragging him along to previous appointments, but I told him to put this one on his calendar.
And today is the day that we should be able to find out whether bebe is a boy or a girl! Last night at dinner, a friend asked us what we thought the bebe's sex would be. Geekboy had no guesses. (I think he's still trying to decide in his mind about whether it's a baby or an alien.) My thought is that a little girl would be fun to have, but I suspect it's a boy - which is great too! (I'd just prefer not to have an alien.) I told Geekboy that if for some reason they weren't able to determine the bebe's sex, I'd go crazy. So according to Murphy's Law, I'm sure the bebe won't cooperate or things will be blurry or something...so I'll have to continue to wait and wonder!
After the big ultrasound, I have my first appointment with the high risk OB - so I should have plenty of news to report later on. I suspect I'm going on Glyburide or insulin or something based on my blood sugar numbers which haven't been stellar (but on the other hand, haven't been terrible). We'll see.
I'm also excited for Geekboy as this will be the first time for him to see bebe on screen. I didn't really see any point in dragging him along to previous appointments, but I told him to put this one on his calendar.
And today is the day that we should be able to find out whether bebe is a boy or a girl! Last night at dinner, a friend asked us what we thought the bebe's sex would be. Geekboy had no guesses. (I think he's still trying to decide in his mind about whether it's a baby or an alien.) My thought is that a little girl would be fun to have, but I suspect it's a boy - which is great too! (I'd just prefer not to have an alien.) I told Geekboy that if for some reason they weren't able to determine the bebe's sex, I'd go crazy. So according to Murphy's Law, I'm sure the bebe won't cooperate or things will be blurry or something...so I'll have to continue to wait and wonder!
After the big ultrasound, I have my first appointment with the high risk OB - so I should have plenty of news to report later on. I suspect I'm going on Glyburide or insulin or something based on my blood sugar numbers which haven't been stellar (but on the other hand, haven't been terrible). We'll see.
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