My Story

The chronicle of the journey from infertility, to miscarriage, to finally raising twin girls born in June 2012.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

OB1

OB1.  That's what they call the first OB appointment of the pregnancy.  Makes me want to wave my hand and flatly say "These ARE the twins you're looking for" in a male British voice.

I kind of cheated and saw my OB a couple of days early because I was bleeding and having an emotional meltdown.  I don't even know where Monday's meltdown came from.  The bleed was minor, much less than what I've seen before, and I got through the last one far more annoyed than upset.  Guess I had a hormone surge or something that decided to burst out my tear ducts for a few hours.  Oh well.  I've overreacted over lesser things in my life.

No ultrasound since I got one on Monday, but we did all the other basic testing.  "What was your weight before you got pregnant, for the baseline?"  Oh crap, ain't that a loaded question?  Well, 2 months before it was about 250, then it dropped to about 230, then it went up to 235 about the time I did egg retrieval and as I continued to stuff my face now that they weren't forcing me to diet like a mad person anymore, I'm pretty sure it was a solid 240 by the time anything had a chance to implant.  Choose a number, any number!  I'm sure I hit that number at some point in there!

I don't have a whole lot to report about the doctors appointment itself for a couple of reasons.

First, I've mentioned this before but there are new followers who don't know this about me.  For some reason, I just have a mental block on anything that happens in a doctors office.  I never remember it correctly or I forget most of it the moment I leave the room.  I don't know why.  That's why I take K to most of my doctors appointments, so I have someone to confirm things with later.  I consider what a doctor has to say to be pretty important and I'd just really rather have a second set of ears hearing things too so that I don't mix them up.

And secondly, Dr C confirmed that he does actually read this blog.  Hi Dr. C!  Soooooooooo, well, repeating what another person has said and having that person read your interpretation of what they said, that just never goes well.  He told me that he threw out the shoes that I brought up in a previous post.  Dude, you're taking fashion advice from ME?  Whoa, that really makes me call your judgment into question!  But, on the other hand, hmmmmm, do I have some power to wield here?  I wonder.... if I make fun of his thick black hair, can I make him go blond?  Muwahahahahahahaha!  Ok, that would be too evil.

But since you're here Dr. C, I have recommended you to some new to Seattle moms looking for an OB.  One of the reasons - you don't do that doctor thing where you put your hand on the door, obviously ready to leave as you say "anything else I can help you with?"  Nope, you sit there until the conversation is over and don't make a motion to leave until questions are answered.  Is this a new fad in patient treatment?  Because most of my life I've had older doctors who don't know their patients at all, or care, but both you and my GP who is about the same age seem to have a much more personal take on patient care.  Don't lose that as you get older and more know-it-ally.  So there's your patient feedback for the day.

Anyway, I think we're all pretty much on the same page.  He was pretty chill about the last pregnancy, very low key and trusting that things would go fine because no one could see any reason why it wouldn't.  I tried to mimic that and be just as relaxed about that pregnancy.  We can all agree, that didn't end well.  We are not relaxing this pregnancy.  I'll be going in for checkups every 2 weeks, he said we could bump that up to weekly if I feel the need to (I'm really going to try not to feel the need to), we'll be starting progesterone shots at week 16, etc etc etc.  We're going with overkill cautious this time and I'm totally cool with that.

We did do a swab to check that I've got the right balance of bacterias and apparently things are a bit out of whack.  So a week of antibiotics for me.  And here's the funny thing, instead of being upset that there's something that requires medication, both K and my friend KM reacted with a thumbs up, as if it's a really good thing to find this rather than it being kind of a bad thing that this exists in the first place.  One of the side effects of the antibiotic is potential diarrhea and considering how much I've been fighting constipation, I'm totally up for a bit of change of pace in that department.

Metamucil is disgusting btw.  There's just no hiding that crap.  I've tried mixing it with water according to the directions, only using half a dose, trying to hide it in orange juice since it's orange flavored, trying to hide it in a totally different but overpowering flavored fruit juice.  Just no go.  No matter how you mix that crap, it's thick and gross and I don't want to try drinking it anymore.  The Metamucil cookies aren't bad though.  And I've found some fiber gummies so when I'm done with the antibiotic, I'll give those a go.

Welcome to my Paranoia Pregnancy!

7 comments:

  1. Alex, you make me laugh! First, you have *every* right to feel paranoid - look what you went through, girlfriend - so please try to cut yourself some slack. Emotional outbursts are to be expected and honored, in my opinion! You're not the first babyloss mama to freak out during a subsequent pregnancy...but, selfishly, I am glad you are working through it in view of all of us so I can see what it's like before I get there. :P

    Dr. C. - thank you for taking such good care of our online friend, Alex, and her onboard company. What's your take on probiotics during pregnancy to balance vaginal flora?

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  2. Aw, reading this I just feel how exhausting all this stress is for you and I wish I could somehow do something to minimize your stress!
    *HUGS!!!*
    That said, I understand your stress, and I'm sure if I ever get pregnant again I will be in a similar boat!

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  3. @Amy Lagerquist Hey Amy,
    I'm actually going to discourage Dr. C from answering anything on my blog. First, I think there are ethical issues with providing one patient with medical advice or attention outside of the office. It could be construed as some sort of favoritism or at the very least, giving away his services for free. And secondly, I think there may be issues with giving out any kind of medical advice to someone he's never personally seen.

    Yeah, I'm a judges daughter.

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  4. heh heh heh OB1. You are spot on with that joke, I love that. :D

    PS every time I see a capcha I think of your baby name suggestion contest. The one I just got was "poporken." What do you think???

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  5. OB1...he he he. You crack me up, lady.

    I'm so glad to see that you and your OB are on the same page as far as paranoia is concerned. It would have really sucked if you were pushing for more ultrasounds and your doc was poo pooing your concerns. In my case, no matter how concerned I may be, the insurance just doesn't cover the extra ultrasounds...and boy howdy do those 'extras' add up!

    You could try taking a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for your constipation. It really helps, it tastes good, and it has good healthy properties. It can help to lubricate the works naturally. One of my twins has chronic constipation, and it is the olive oil that finally did the trick. (we have done it all, fiber drinks, pills, prescriptions, prune juice...you name it)

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  6. @AlexMMRYeah, sorry, that was actually subtle manipulation on my part. I apologize. My RE supports my use of probiotics to try and keep my vag flora balanced, since infection was a huge contributor the loss of my kiddos. I guess what I should have asked - rather than directing a question to your RE - was whether *you* have had that conversation or been told that was a viable option for your current pregnancy. :P

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  7. Hi Alex,

    Just something to consider... I am a fan of Benefiber over Metamucil anyday!!! Kiwi strawberry specifically. No grit and smooth flavor and way more transparent... everything disolves!

    Check with anyone you need to - to make sure it's safe, but it was for me and it was a WAY better option than the M stuff.

    Hope that's helpful. (??)

    =)
    ~Lisa L

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