Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Update on what's been going on

I'm sorry to have been MIA for the last week or so.  I have been sleeping a lot and feeling nauseous, and puking here and there.  We went to St. Louis over the weekend and returned yesterday, and during the trip I was hardly nauseous at all, and that made me nervous.  I have read that a sudden loss of morning sickness can indicate a miscarriage.  That kept me worried the whole time.  Now that we're back home, though, the nausea is back in full force.  The cinnamon toast crunch cereal I ate this morning did not stay down more than 30 seconds.  Let me tell you, that stuff is not pretty coming back up.  Yuck!  

Also over the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to get opinions on whether, due to my myomectomy in 2007, I have to have a c-section.  I have heard of women being able to have vaginal births after myomectomies, but when I was first pregnant back in 2008, I was seeing a family practitioner who is VBAC friendly, and he was adamant that I would need a c-section, and not only that, but an early one because he did not even want me going into labor.  

So, I went last week and met with a maternal fetal medicine doctor that I met at the same event where I met Mrs. Du.ggar.  He was so nice to let me just drop in and give me free advice.  I brought him a copy of my operative report from the myomectomy, and he said it was not clear from the report whether the surgeon cut all the way through the uterus.  But, even if she did, it was an 8% risk of uterine rupture.  He suggested seeing if there was an ultrasound report from before my surgery that would describe the fibroid.  Well, I obtained the ultrasound report, and it was not helpful at all.  Basically, all it said was, yep, there's a fibroid.   

The next day, I met with my neighbor's OB.  My neighbor had a myomectomy last March, and her doctor was allowing her to try a vaginal birth.  (by the way, she gave birth on Monday, and the baby is adorable).  I met with this doctor, and he said he thought the op report read as if she did cut all the way through the uterus, but he would allow me to try a vaginal birth, but he would require an intrauterine pressure catheter, which would also involve an epidural, and pitocin.  Totally not the way I want to have a baby!  Then, I got home and googled this intrauterine device, and based on what I read, NO WAY!  They have to break your water, then screw something into the baby's poor little head.  You are of course "on the clock" because they have broken your water.  There is a risk of infection to both the baby and mother.  And, ACOG has reported that these devices are not helpful in identifying a uterine rupture. 

I also finally heard back yesterday from the doctor who did my myomectomy.  Her nurse left a voicemail saying that she asked the doctor, and the doctor said I would need a c-section.  I did not get to hear why.  I do know that this doctor practices at what I have heard is the hospital with the most c-sections in the U.S.  So, perhaps she is just pro c-section.

I am still waiting to hear back from my local GYN whether he will take me as an OB patient.  Apparently, he is taking on less OB cases.  I would like to have him as my doctor because he has been doing this for over 30 years, so I am sure he has seen it all, and if I do have to have a c-section, he would probably be an excellent surgeon.  I think I will make another call over there today to see if he has made a decision, and maybe ask about 1 or 2 other doctors in his group.  

I can't remember if I blogged this, but I have my first ultrasound scheduled this coming Monday, April 16.  I cannot wait to see our little baby up on that screen and to see the heartbeat!     

5 comments:

  1. Oh man this sounds super stressful! But I am so glad to hear the morning sickness is back, hehe :) Can't wait to hear how the ultrasound goes!
    November

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  2. I'm not glad you are nauseous and throwing up, but then again, I am! :-) I'm glad the baby is thriving!
    I hope you can get a good answer from your doc about Vag vs. Ceserean. Wouldn't it be nice if there were a third option? Teleported from the womb into the world? :-)
    I can't wait to see ultrasound pics!!!

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  3. Sorry you are not feeling well...but glad you are feeling "pregnant"! That is exciting about your upcoming ultrasound. :)

    I hope you can find a good doc who'll give you some advice about the best way to deliver. I agree, I don't like the idea of the intrauterine pressure catheter either! I freaked out when I found out they SCREW IT INTO THE BABY'S HEAD.

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  4. I can't wrap my mind around the screwing anything into any human being - unless it is knee surgery or something like that....yuck....

    If you do end up going the c-section route, I can give you my thoughts on mine. I actually had a very good experience with it and will most likely have to have another one given what they found during this 1st one. (But I was in labor for 24+ hours before they decided to go the c-section route, so I got to experience both I guess!)

    4/16 is a GREAT day! I am a bit biased though. That is the day we found out we were pregnant with Elizabeth and it is a double feast day - St. Bernadette and St. Benedict Labre!!! I will definitely ask both of them to intercede for you and your little one. Does he/she have a nickname yet?

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  5. Okay, I am a complete idiot because it just dawned on me that I did have a interuterine pressure catheter inserted during my labor (it did sound familiar)...but I was confused by the screw thing - which we definitely didn't do. A interuterine pressure catheter can be inserted alone to monitor the intensity of the contractions or it can be used in conjunction with this thing - Internal Fetal Monitoring. Here is a link that describes the difference -

    1st - the catheter by itself (IUPC)
    http://pregnancy.about.com/od/laborbasics/ss/interventions_6.htm

    2nd - the screw type thing:
    http://pregnancy.about.com/od/laborbasics/ss/interventions_5.htm

    Elizabeth or I didn't have any problems with the internal catheter on its own and like I said - they didn't need to use the screw thing. Could they use the catheter if needed for you to attempt a VBAC, or would they need to use the scalp screw thing as well?

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