High Risk Check-in (1/21)

[lgsdesigner]

@lalalady53- (((hugs)) I'm sorry. FX for your growth scan and glucose test!

I was very nervous this week because I switched practices to get my VBAC. I was told by the VBAC doctor I CAN get a VBAC2, and am so, so excited! I did talk to him about what will happen if I go into preterm labor again, and he said he isn't the slightest bit worried about it, and since I actually ended up delivering both children at term (after being on bedrest), I am still a great candidate for a VBAC delivery. My cervix is also still long.

[rels09]

Hiii! Sorry about your difficulties, lala.

Everything is good on my end. Just got back from the MFM, where I had a growth scan and my MFM called my baby "juicy," which made me laugh. Everything is so good with baby and cervix that I don't have to go back for 3 weeks, which is great (it had been every 2). Then it will be another appointment at 30 weeks, and then every week until 34.

I have my glucose test AND my progesterone shot tomorrow, so I'd like to skip tomorrow if I could.

[t1green]

@lalalady54 Good luck with everything. I really hope your BP comes down and STAYS down.

Everything seems to be better on my end. I guess I was just having bad blood sugar days but it seems to be fine now. I've been under a lot of stress lately which can elevate glucose levels so I've been trying to not let things get to me so much. I started burning some lavender oils in my office which I think is helping and I'm going to research holistic stress relievers before tax season gets here. Last year I would have a few glass of wine at night but I obviously shouldn't do that this year. So far, I'm thinking bubble baths and back massages.

[emu0013]

@lalalady54 I hope they can get everything straightened out. I had a terrible time initially when they were messing with my labetalol dosage and ended up passing out. I hope they find the right dose soon.

I am so far so good! Had my A/S and everything was good, she was measuring slightly small but nothing to worry about yet. FX she is not IGUR like DD.

[pinkiemo]

Hey ladies, this is my first check in so I'll do a quickie intro.

I've got FVL with previous history of clots so I get to do the wonderful daily injections of Lovenox. No real complications with DD except a degenerating fibroid. Had preterm contractions with DS but my cervix hung in there for 9 weeks so no real issues there either.

This pregnancy is going just fine, I've got way less time to think about things with each new kid. The only complaint I have is switching insurance on Jan 1 and the insurance co required prior authorization in order for me to get the Lovenox. 21 freaking days later I still don't have my Lovenox because my OB's office is full of idiots. My OB is the one who originally prescribed the meds so her office needs to get the info to my insurance. I call about once every few days and they always have some random excuse as to why it hasn't been done. I'm about done with them. Oh and also, on the new prescription they wrote generic was ok, which I told them no I've had a bad reaction to the generic before. They still haven't fixed that either. GRRRR.

And that's my rant for today.

Hope everyone's week goes well!

[obi]

Hello, ladies!

@lalalady54 I'm sorry to hear your BP is still way up there. Fx for you.lala
lgsdesigner congrats on the great news! That must be very encouraging!

I've had a few appointments this week. I saw my OB Monday morning and she said she had no concerns. Heart rate was average. I left feeling pretty good about that. Saw my endocrinologist Monday afternoon and felt a bit discouraged. I've been having some trouble getting my BG down post meal, but there hasn't been a real pattern to it (some days I struggle with it, others it acts as it should) so he wasn't confident in changing any of my settings. I agree with his choice but every time I see a BG higher than normal I feel upset with myself. I know I'm doing everything I can, but it is still getting to me.
I had a re-do of my A/S yesterday because LO was napping for the first one. She was able to get the images they needed and gave us a couple to bring home. When she showed me his face on the screen my heart just melted. Unfortunately he moved and she couldn't get a picture of it as I saw him. The face ones I took home are more like smudged blobs.

I'm all done with appointments until early next week. Time to reorganize upstairs. We set up the nursery and now our bedroom is a bit of a nightmare.

[entropicepona]

So sorry about the BP drama, @lalalady54. I hope they can get it under control, and you've still got a lot of wiggle room, even with those doses of labetalol. I'm still on a fairly low dose, but the pressures are starting to rise!

My morning blood sugars are totally borked, so we've introduced some Glyburide back in to see if that helps. It's not doing overly much at this point, so probably up the dosage. I'm really discouraged, though. After my GD with my daughter, it segued right into Type II which I've been getting under control for the last 2 years. Now it's getting stupid and frustrating again. And while I KNOW intellectually that this would happen with another pregnancy, emotionally it's really hard. :-(

I also have a persistent platelet issue that really interferes with L&D options. I'm kind of starting to sweat that. I don't want to do another unmedicated birth, but it's looking like that's more and more likely. Le sigh.

[entropicepona]

Oh, and I'm going back on Zoloft (I had terrible, crippling PPD). I've started having some of the old feelings coming back, as well as a whole bunch of weird anxiety. I hope it makes me feel better, but damn.

[entropicepona]

So much love to all you gorgeous ladies. High risk pregnancy is no joke, and you're handling it all with such grace. GREAT MOMS!

[obi]

Jan 21, 2015 12:41:07 GMT -5 entropicepona said:

So sorry about the BP drama, @lalalady54. I hope they can get it under control, and you've still got a lot of wiggle room, even with those doses of labetalol. I'm still on a fairly low dose, but the pressures are starting to rise!

My morning blood sugars are totally borked, so we've introduced some Glyburide back in to see if that helps. It's not doing overly much at this point, so probably up the dosage. I'm really discouraged, though. After my GD with my daughter, it segued right into Type II which I've been getting under control for the last 2 years. Now it's getting stupid and frustrating again. And while I KNOW intellectually that this would happen with another pregnancy, emotionally it's really hard. :-(

I also have a persistent platelet issue that really interferes with L&D options. I'm kind of starting to sweat that. I don't want to do another unmedicated birth, but it's looking like that's more and more likely. Le sigh.

I know what you mean about it being emotionally difficult.  Like @lalalady54 said in her response to me, our bodies will do what they want while pg. 

I was diagnosed with T1 twelve years ago and I have always struggled with my morning BGs.  I've always been told it is called "dawn phenomenon" and is VERY common in all diabetics.  Often times you insulin requirements first thing in the morning (carb ratio and background insulin) are significantly higher than the rest of the day.  So don't be nervous about upping that dose more than you'd expect any other time of day.

If you've upped it and nothing seems to be happening, you may not be being aggressive enough.  Always be careful, and test a million and five times (especially if you have trouble recognizing lows), but know it is definitely not just you.  It may take some time and a lot of adjustments, but you will get there eventually

Also mmmmm Tim Hortons.  I'm so happy the red velvet muffin is back in season!

[lgsdesigner]

Jan 21, 2015 12:56:57 GMT -5 entropicepona said:

Oh, and I'm going back on Zoloft (I had terrible, crippling PPD). I've started having some of the old feelings coming back, as well as a whole bunch of weird anxiety. I hope it makes me feel better, but damn.

entropicepona - I have a bad case of SADD right now, but it usually is gone by Spring. I have to use special lights in my home (sun lamps) and try to get outside as much as possible. Could this possibly be it? Do you have cold, gray, depressing weather where you live?

[emu0013]

Jan 21, 2015 12:24:21 GMT -5 @lalalady54 said:

Jan 21, 2015 12:18:32 GMT -5 emu0013 said:

@lalalady54 I hope they can get everything straightened out. I had a terrible time initially when they were messing with my labetalol dosage and ended up passing out. I hope they find the right dose soon.

I am so far so good! Had my A/S and everything was good, she was measuring slightly small but nothing to worry about yet. FX she is not IGUR like DD.

FX and so many thoughts no IUGR!! However lebetalol can slow growth, were you on lebetalol with your first?? I was and DD was huge so not an issue, however this baby is measuring a little smaller (which is like a day or two behind as of my a/s, so I'm hoping she hasn't slowed more at my appointment Monday), silly medicine.

Yea I was on labatelol with DD, I was switched to it when we started TTC. I have had BP issues since I was 18 ARAGH, unfortunately, they think this is why DD was IUGR, apparently even if your BP behaves during pregnancy the history of High BP can cause IUGR. I had a whole slew of issues with DD though, pre term labor at 29W, low fluid and IGUR, had an emergency c-section at 35W because I had no fluid left. It was quite scary. Luckily I had an appointment that day with MFM. DD was 4lb8oz and came home at 4lb1oz.

[lgsdesigner]

Jan 21, 2015 12:38:07 GMT -5 obi said:

Hello, ladies!

@lalalady54 I'm sorry to hear your BP is still way up there. Fx for you.lala
lgsdesigner congrats on the great news! That must be very encouraging!

I've had a few appointments this week. I saw my OB Monday morning and she said she had no concerns. Heart rate was average. I left feeling pretty good about that. Saw my endocrinologist Monday afternoon and felt a bit discouraged. I've been having some trouble getting my BG down post meal, but there hasn't been a real pattern to it (some days I struggle with it, others it acts as it should) so he wasn't confident in changing any of my settings. I agree with his choice but every time I see a BG higher than normal I feel upset with myself. I know I'm doing everything I can, but it is still getting to me.

obi- Thank you! Yes-- I feel much more confident now, and really relieved. 

I am sorry to hear about your BP issues. That is really odd that it's so sporadic like that! Like you said-- you are doing everything you can, so just try your best to stay positive. I am sure everything will be just fine. 

[entropicepona]

@lalalady54 I live in Seattle, so yeah, it's dreary a lot of the time. But the anxiety/depression is more than that, so back on the Zoloft I go. I really hope that I'm able to breastfeed more this time around so that the withdrawal isn't so hard on Astrid.

As for the platelets, my last check was 45 with a PTT of over 170, but I don't know what the actual no-epi threshold is until I meet later on with my hematology team. My OB & MFM have talked about steroids and platelet infusions to try and stabilize things before delivery. <fingers crossed>

[brittneysandra]

Hi ladies!!
I posted in the Randoms about having a U/s today to see if the LO is growing! AND YES THANK GOD he/she is !!
The doctor said LO was perfect weight and all other things looked great, heart, kidneys ect. It was so relieving !
Than we got a 3D/4D u/s and took home some awesome pictures (I posted one in Randoms)
Follow up in 4w with another u/s
all good news today!

[frig0018]

I haven't checked-in in awhile - we moved over Christmas and are still trying to figure out some sort of internet situation, then I just realized everyone moved to this board yesterday when I saw the old board full of trolls.

We met with the pediatric cardiologist who will be doing the surgery on our LO at the 3 to 4 month mark. She said its a classic case of Tetralogy of Fallot which I guess is a good thing (if you can look at it that way ) Personally, I'm doing much better with the lupus and all liver stuff - though they still don't know the cause of any of it and all my levels are still off. I meet with my rheumatologist on Monday and have a growth scan with MFM on Tuesday, then it's scans every other week with doptone checks on the off weeks until 30 weeks. Sorry to hear about you ladies who aren't doing so hot. I hope having the LO here will make all these problems worth it!

[copilot2012]

Poking in to send my Creepy Internet Hugs and send you gals my best wishes!

[orangepickle]

I'm just catching up on all these but hugs to everyone - I'm glad that from what I've read so far everyone seems to be doing ok!

Everything for me is pretty much the same this week - heartburn's been a total bitch but aside from that no changes. I go back for yet another fetal echo on Monday so FX everything still looks normal with the heart. LO's omphalocele seems to have different organs in it every time I get an ultrasound so I'm interested to see what's going on with it on Monday.

[Poppy]

Jan 21, 2015 14:51:52 GMT -5 brittneysandra said:

Hi ladies!!
I posted in the Randoms about having a U/s today to see if the LO is growing! AND YES THANK GOD he/she is !!
The doctor said LO was perfect weight and all other things looked great, heart, kidneys ect. It was so relieving !
Than we got a 3D/4D u/s and took home some awesome pictures (I posted one in Randoms)
Follow up in 4w with another u/s
all good news today!

I hadn't seen your update yet. I'm SO glad for good news!! Yaaaay grow baby grow.

[Poppy]

@lalalady54 And @blackpearl08 I'm so sorry about the fluctuating BPs. That's so frustrating and scary. I can imagine the meds are overwhelming. I'm hoping things mellow out and stay even. Hang in there sweets. You are doing great!