Today Jay had his kidney testing up in Madison at the American Family Children's Hospital at University of Wisconsin - Madison and took his first "long" car ride and out of state trip.
I got up just before 6am to get myself ready before feeding him and getting him ready, stopped for gas and picked my mom up since she was coming to keep me company on the drive as hubby had to work. The GPS estimated about an hour and 40 minutes but it really only took us about an hour 15.
We got there just before 9am and found where we were going. They got us settled in a day treatment room and started getting Jay hooked up by giving him an IV (which sucked as they had to stick him twice to get a good vein) and put the catheter on him, which he didn't like one bit! Poor little guy... They let the IV hydrate him for bit, which made him fall asleep too.
The first test was a lasik scan where they scanned his kidneys and stuff for like an hour watching them fill and drain, etc. Fortunately he slept through most of that. We finished about 1130am and had to wait around until just before 1pm when he had his 2nd test which involved barium GI (it was called a VCGU). He did okay with that one. He was naked for it and pooped on the towel but it was alright - they got it cleaned up. The said the good news was that he wasn't showing any signs of reflux in the kidney, so it's not like anything was getting stuck up in there!
As we were finishing up the VCGU there was a statewide tornado drill and so yeah... we had to wait around for someone to come back to the front desk to validate my parking! Oh Wisconsinites and your silly statewide drills!
Jay did a great job though - I've VERY proud of my Little Man for taking everything as well as he did! Of course he cried a bit when they were sticking the IV on him and the catheter as expected but other than that he was momma's good boy! He also LOVED the Pedialite they gave him too! We fed him around 1130am but since he still had the barium test to do at 1pm they only wanted him drinking clear liquids so they gave us a bottle of apple Pedialite and OMG he wolfed that down!
Hopefully this will be the last of any testing he'll have done, as unless he needs surgery to unblock the blockage, they can just monitor it via ultrasound every few months and hope it'll unblock as he grows.
This weekend is a busy one for Jay - tomorrow he gets to go to mommy's deskjob with me as they actually have something for me to do and want to meet Jay so they said to bring him with and my 1 boss will help me watch him while I work as she's dying to see him. Then tomorrow night we're going out to dinner for Aunt B's 18th birthday (which is Monday). Saturday mommy's going to try and take him to see the Easter Bunny first thing in the morning as the local Rockford Kid's Club has get your photo taken with the bunny using your own camera for $1/kid! And Sunday he gets to meet his cousins Noah (who's 4 in July) and Lucas (who is 4 months older than Jay)!
Showing posts with label testing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label testing. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Failure to Thrive
Those that follow me on Twitter and of course family and friends that are on Facebook already know about what's been going on this week... for the rest though, here's an update - thoughts and prayers for us and little Jay are much appreciated!
As I mentioned over the weekend, we switched Jay to formula as at his doctor's appointment on Friday showed that he had LOST weight rather than gained any and the doctor wanted us to supplement with formula to see if that would put the weight on him, thinking maybe my milk supply just wasn't doing the job.
Well first thing Monday morning we went in for a follow-up again just to see if the formula was doing the trick... well he hadn't lost anymore weight, but he didn't gain any either, holding steady at 6lbs, 1oz, which was the same as his hospital discharge weight after he was born.
Our doctor said that wasn't acceptable and had his receptionist call over and get us admitted at the hospital so they could look into why he wasn't gaining any weight despite us feeding him every 2-3hours.
Well, Monday we met with the pediatric doctor here who explained that it's possible Jay just has what is called "failure to thrive" meaning that for whatever reason he just "got behind" and hasn't seemed to catch up. He looked him over and said that Jay appears to be completely healthy - he was very impressed at his strength too, despite his small size, and how well he was already holding his head up! They ran another renal ultrasound on Jay just to check and make sure his left kidney (the enlarged one) hadn't grown any in the past 2 weeks, possibly putting pressure on his stomach causing it make him feel full when he actually isn't, and they drew some blood for some blood work tests too. They also had us feeding him formula via a bottle and then pumping the rest in via a pump hooked up to his feeding tube, as he needs to be eating 2.5oz per feeding to get in the calories he needs to grow (at home we were doing good if we could get him to take 1oz per feeding - getting anymore than that into him before he fell asleep or spit it up was rare!).
About 1am on Tuesday we had a bit of a scare too - Jay started spitting up and coughing up A TON of mucus! It was really scary as at one point it seemed like he was choking trying to cough it up and the nurses had to suction a ton of it out of his noes and the back of his throat... seemed like it was taking forever to get it to stop coming up and yeah... it was just really scary!
Tuesday morning we had the results of the ultrasound, which came back fine - his kidney hasn't grown or changed since so that's not the issue, and all the tests they did with his blood came back fine as well. They suggested we do this barium x-ray where they mix barium in with formula and feed it to him and watch via an x-ray to see how it's going through his system, down his throat, into his stomach and through to his intestines, making sure there's nothing blocking or obstructing the flow that would cause him not to eat much or spit up when he eats more than a certain amount. That came back fine though too - nothing abnormal, everything was going through him fine.
He kept his 11am feeding down pretty well but spit up most of the 2pm feeding. They hooked him to an IV bag with formula in it that is slowly continuously pumping the food into him via his feeding tube. He spit up a little at 8pm and again at 130am. I fell asleep around 3am and they said he spit up again at about 4am so they turned down the amount he was getting per hour from 20ml to 10ml and he hasn't spit up since (as of 930pm Wednesday night).
Today (Wednesday) we had a pediatric GI specialist come in and take a look at him to see if she could think of any other reason that what we've already ruled out that could be the cause for this. She said the same thing the pediatric doctor did - he seems perfectly healthy! She said it just seems he "got behind" and needs the push to get him to eat more and hold it down. She also increased his calorie intake from 24 to 27, so it seems like going back to breastfeeding won't be an option for us as he needs high calorie formula to catch up and push his growth.
The pediatric doctor said that for tonight they're going to keep him on the continuous feeding to see if he continues to grow more (he's gained 4oz since we've been here, now at 6lbs 5oz, up from 6lbs, 1oz) and then tomorrow we'll try giving him a bottle again and pumping in what he doesn't finish every 3 hours to see if he can stomach it now that he's been having it continuously going into his system for over 24hours. He said we'll be here at least through Friday if not through the weekend and it's possible they might send us home with his feeding tube still in him so we can give him a bottle and pump in the rest via a syringe - hopefully he does well enough though the next few days with the bottle though that we won't have to do that. He also said the feeding tube can last for several months before needing to be changed out, however he said he doesn't see Jay needing it for more than a few weeks after we go home if at all. He also said that they'll leave us alone as much as possible, meaning they won't be doing anymore tests or poking/prodding of Jay unless there's an absolute reason for it as he'd rather just see how he takes to the feedings.
I must say though, this pediatric doctor has been great! I like his approach of let's not do anything unnecessary when it comes to the testing and all that and he's very easy to talk to - I think when our family doctor retires (we believe he's in his early-mid 60s) I might try to see if we can get on under this guy.
Jay has been quite the little trooper too, taking everything so well! Sure, he cried when they put the feeding tube in (which was hard for me to watch too) and got a little fussy near the end of them drawing blood from his heel and at the end of the ultrasound and while they took the big scary x-ray of his belly, but for a barely 3 week year old he's been doing very well! He's been sucking on his binky quite a bit too, using that as his security item it seems, as Monday while everything was going on he was sucking on it like crazy while holding onto my finger. He had a little bit of a crying fit earlier - nothing seemed to comfort him for about 10 minutes, but then he was fine - I think he's just a little stressed, having to be back in the hospital and hooked up to a machine with nurses coming in throughout the day to check his vitals... I don't blame him for having a good cry - the situation sucks.
My mom's been coming up during the late morning and staying through the afternoon so I can get a nap and shower in (I've only been getting a few hours of sleep at night here in the hospital as I don't want to leave Jay alone up here - he's too little and only a few faces are really familiar to him) while hubby's been coming up after work in the evenings and staying til around midnight - fortunately he took this week off as his vacation from UPS as we were expecting Jay to be born this past weekend so he doesn't have to rush off to his night job this week.
So that's where we are with things - we'll be here at least through Friday, possibly through the weekend, all depending on how much Jay grows and how well he does with the bottle the next few days.
Thanks in advance for your prayers and thoughts - hopefully things continue to progress and get better and he's able to eat as much as he should be on his own!
As I mentioned over the weekend, we switched Jay to formula as at his doctor's appointment on Friday showed that he had LOST weight rather than gained any and the doctor wanted us to supplement with formula to see if that would put the weight on him, thinking maybe my milk supply just wasn't doing the job.
Well first thing Monday morning we went in for a follow-up again just to see if the formula was doing the trick... well he hadn't lost anymore weight, but he didn't gain any either, holding steady at 6lbs, 1oz, which was the same as his hospital discharge weight after he was born.
Our doctor said that wasn't acceptable and had his receptionist call over and get us admitted at the hospital so they could look into why he wasn't gaining any weight despite us feeding him every 2-3hours.
 |
| Jay with feeding tube & pump |
About 1am on Tuesday we had a bit of a scare too - Jay started spitting up and coughing up A TON of mucus! It was really scary as at one point it seemed like he was choking trying to cough it up and the nurses had to suction a ton of it out of his noes and the back of his throat... seemed like it was taking forever to get it to stop coming up and yeah... it was just really scary!
Tuesday morning we had the results of the ultrasound, which came back fine - his kidney hasn't grown or changed since so that's not the issue, and all the tests they did with his blood came back fine as well. They suggested we do this barium x-ray where they mix barium in with formula and feed it to him and watch via an x-ray to see how it's going through his system, down his throat, into his stomach and through to his intestines, making sure there's nothing blocking or obstructing the flow that would cause him not to eat much or spit up when he eats more than a certain amount. That came back fine though too - nothing abnormal, everything was going through him fine.
He kept his 11am feeding down pretty well but spit up most of the 2pm feeding. They hooked him to an IV bag with formula in it that is slowly continuously pumping the food into him via his feeding tube. He spit up a little at 8pm and again at 130am. I fell asleep around 3am and they said he spit up again at about 4am so they turned down the amount he was getting per hour from 20ml to 10ml and he hasn't spit up since (as of 930pm Wednesday night).
Today (Wednesday) we had a pediatric GI specialist come in and take a look at him to see if she could think of any other reason that what we've already ruled out that could be the cause for this. She said the same thing the pediatric doctor did - he seems perfectly healthy! She said it just seems he "got behind" and needs the push to get him to eat more and hold it down. She also increased his calorie intake from 24 to 27, so it seems like going back to breastfeeding won't be an option for us as he needs high calorie formula to catch up and push his growth.
 |
| Keeping calm in mommy's arms with his binky while continuously being fed via feeding tube. |
I must say though, this pediatric doctor has been great! I like his approach of let's not do anything unnecessary when it comes to the testing and all that and he's very easy to talk to - I think when our family doctor retires (we believe he's in his early-mid 60s) I might try to see if we can get on under this guy.
Jay has been quite the little trooper too, taking everything so well! Sure, he cried when they put the feeding tube in (which was hard for me to watch too) and got a little fussy near the end of them drawing blood from his heel and at the end of the ultrasound and while they took the big scary x-ray of his belly, but for a barely 3 week year old he's been doing very well! He's been sucking on his binky quite a bit too, using that as his security item it seems, as Monday while everything was going on he was sucking on it like crazy while holding onto my finger. He had a little bit of a crying fit earlier - nothing seemed to comfort him for about 10 minutes, but then he was fine - I think he's just a little stressed, having to be back in the hospital and hooked up to a machine with nurses coming in throughout the day to check his vitals... I don't blame him for having a good cry - the situation sucks.
My mom's been coming up during the late morning and staying through the afternoon so I can get a nap and shower in (I've only been getting a few hours of sleep at night here in the hospital as I don't want to leave Jay alone up here - he's too little and only a few faces are really familiar to him) while hubby's been coming up after work in the evenings and staying til around midnight - fortunately he took this week off as his vacation from UPS as we were expecting Jay to be born this past weekend so he doesn't have to rush off to his night job this week.
So that's where we are with things - we'll be here at least through Friday, possibly through the weekend, all depending on how much Jay grows and how well he does with the bottle the next few days.
Thanks in advance for your prayers and thoughts - hopefully things continue to progress and get better and he's able to eat as much as he should be on his own!
Monday, December 27, 2010
32 Week Dr.'s Appointment
This morning we had the first of our 32 week doctor visits, as they're now seeing me every Monday as well as having me come in for a follow-up at the end of the week due to the gestational diabetes so they can check how I'm doing with it.
Last Thursday (which I forgot to post about due to the holiday) they put me on medication - 2.5mg of glyburide (1 pill) to be taken with dinner - as while my dinner levels were looking good and under the cutoff since making the changes the dietitian/nutritionist recommended last Monday, my fasting numbers were still a little high.
Well... the pill seemed to get my fasting levels down the 1st day (Friday) but Saturday through Monday it was back to what it's been at (high 90s or 100 when the cutoff is 90). Today the doctor bumped me up to 5mg of the glyburide (2 pills) to see if that does it.
Christmas also messed me up a little, as they say it's difficult to count carbs when you yourself home-make food, let alone when someone else does it and we had 2 big Christmas dinners within 24 hours. I ate smaller portions but I knew that most likely it was going to be off and it was... although not too bad. The doctor basically told me to get back on track and keep monitoring my meals like I was now that Christmas is over.
Today they also started me with the weekly "stress test." What that is, is where they hook you up with the contraction belt like the one the hospital had me wear when we went after the car accident in October, and they have a separate one they put on you that monitors baby's heartbeat. You sit back in a comfy chair for about 20 minutes while they monitor baby's heartbeat and any contractions you might be having and it all shows up on the printout. Also, you get this button clicker too that you press everytime you feel baby move.
Yeah... Jay didn't seem to like this too much! He was quiet prior, however they had the volume turned up so they could hear for the heartbeat just outside the room at the nurse's station in case anything did happen (the hospital one was quiet) and I think that peaked his interest! After a few minutes he started moving around a little bit... and then he found where the hard round plastic contraction monitor was in the center of my belly and started kicking and punching it - he got in a few good ones! Hubby came with today and started laughing at how the lines on the printout machine were spazing when Jay was beating on the plastic monitor! He gave up after a few minutes but then soon found the similar monitor that was monitoring his heartbeat and he started beating on that one! lol... eventually he stopped and gave up, realizing that like the other one it wasn't going anywhere, but it was pretty funny!
He seems to have issues with things that press on my belly or when I'm curled up in a position that "cramps" his space and he's not shy about letting me know he doesn't like nor is he afraid to get aggressive and start beating until he gets his space back! lol...
We had a brief ultrasound today - she mainly checked the placenta and his growth to see how much room and amniotic fluid he has as well as if the placenta was looking healthy still and not old and icky. The doctor said 10-20 (forgot the units she used) is where we want to be and we were at 14.5 so she said that's good and he still has room without us having to worry. His heartbeat was 149bpm which is what it's been at the last few check-ups, so no change there and that's good. She also said he's head down, which is the position we want him to be, so that's good too!
Guess we'll see how my follow-up goes on Thursday!
Last Thursday (which I forgot to post about due to the holiday) they put me on medication - 2.5mg of glyburide (1 pill) to be taken with dinner - as while my dinner levels were looking good and under the cutoff since making the changes the dietitian/nutritionist recommended last Monday, my fasting numbers were still a little high.
Well... the pill seemed to get my fasting levels down the 1st day (Friday) but Saturday through Monday it was back to what it's been at (high 90s or 100 when the cutoff is 90). Today the doctor bumped me up to 5mg of the glyburide (2 pills) to see if that does it.
Christmas also messed me up a little, as they say it's difficult to count carbs when you yourself home-make food, let alone when someone else does it and we had 2 big Christmas dinners within 24 hours. I ate smaller portions but I knew that most likely it was going to be off and it was... although not too bad. The doctor basically told me to get back on track and keep monitoring my meals like I was now that Christmas is over.
Today they also started me with the weekly "stress test." What that is, is where they hook you up with the contraction belt like the one the hospital had me wear when we went after the car accident in October, and they have a separate one they put on you that monitors baby's heartbeat. You sit back in a comfy chair for about 20 minutes while they monitor baby's heartbeat and any contractions you might be having and it all shows up on the printout. Also, you get this button clicker too that you press everytime you feel baby move.
Yeah... Jay didn't seem to like this too much! He was quiet prior, however they had the volume turned up so they could hear for the heartbeat just outside the room at the nurse's station in case anything did happen (the hospital one was quiet) and I think that peaked his interest! After a few minutes he started moving around a little bit... and then he found where the hard round plastic contraction monitor was in the center of my belly and started kicking and punching it - he got in a few good ones! Hubby came with today and started laughing at how the lines on the printout machine were spazing when Jay was beating on the plastic monitor! He gave up after a few minutes but then soon found the similar monitor that was monitoring his heartbeat and he started beating on that one! lol... eventually he stopped and gave up, realizing that like the other one it wasn't going anywhere, but it was pretty funny!
He seems to have issues with things that press on my belly or when I'm curled up in a position that "cramps" his space and he's not shy about letting me know he doesn't like nor is he afraid to get aggressive and start beating until he gets his space back! lol...
We had a brief ultrasound today - she mainly checked the placenta and his growth to see how much room and amniotic fluid he has as well as if the placenta was looking healthy still and not old and icky. The doctor said 10-20 (forgot the units she used) is where we want to be and we were at 14.5 so she said that's good and he still has room without us having to worry. His heartbeat was 149bpm which is what it's been at the last few check-ups, so no change there and that's good. She also said he's head down, which is the position we want him to be, so that's good too!
Guess we'll see how my follow-up goes on Thursday!
Monday, December 6, 2010
The results are in!
I got a call this morning from my clinic letting me know my labwork was back from my 3hour glucose screening I did on Friday.
Here's my results:
Fasting blood draw - 83 (cutoff is 100, so that was normal)
1st blood draw post-glucose drink - 158 (cutoff is 180, so this was normal)
2nd blood draw post-glucose drink - 168 (cutoff is 150, so this was high)
3rd blood draw post-glucose drink - 163 (cutoff is 139, so again, high).
Apparently you need 3 out 4 of your draws to be "normal" to not have the gestational diabetes - only 2 of mine were, so turns out, I do have the gestational diabetes (as we kind of figured I would).
The lady from the lab said that a girl from Maternal Fetal Monitoring would be contacting me in the next few days, after clearing everything with our insurance, to set up an appointment for me to come in and go over diet and nutrition, as well as how to monitor my glucose levels. They also said that since Jay is measuring big, they'll do an ultrasound there as well as I guess their ultrasound machine is more elaborate, thorough, and high tech than the one at my clinic - they want to be able to see if he's just big or if it's the amniotic fluid due to the gestational diabetes causing him to measure bigger than he should be at this point, as GD can play a part in that.
I'm not too thrilled - especially since Christmas is right around the corner and there's soooo many sweets. I'm a bit bummed I can't really eat Christmas cookies this year (and I refuse to make them since I can't eat em as I'll be too tempted to eat too many, having them around here). Also, the diet doesn't sound too nice (from what I've read) but I guess it's doable.
I keep telling myself, I'm already 29 weeks along, full-term is 37-40 weeks, so we figure I only have to suffer through this for another 8-11 weeks (and probably closer to 8 weeks, as hubby and I both have this strong, strange feeling he's going to be early) as GD tends to go away after delivery.
Today was also a bummer of a day for me - I had a "call in" shift at work, which I was hoping they'd let me come in and work it as they canceled both my shifts last week and I really want to work or at least do something. I need an excuse to get out of the house, but I can't always afford to go out or visit my friend across town as we're tight on money right now and watching our expenses and it takes gas to go places.
I tried to call my mom and let her know about my results, but as it's been the past few weeks, I can never seem to get ahold of her. I know, she's been busy with the costuming up at church for the Christmas program this weekend, but it's just frustrating when I call every number I have to reach her at, multiple times, leave messages for her to call me back, and I never hear anything. Hopefully after next week she'll be more accessible, but yeah... I'm a bit worried that if I go into early labor, my family's going to be the last to know as it seems like no one in that house can answer their phones =(
What really threw me over the edge today was when I was looking for a top I could have sworn I put in the laundry to be washed but couldn't find it in there no matter how hard I looked, and on top of that I noticed I broke another nail.
I started crying, hubby came home soon after, and we snuggled for a bit as I was just really frustrated with everything so far today and hormones were making me all sad panda over stupid little stuff.
Jay's being a bit of a butt today too - like he's purposely trying to stretch out as much as possible, throwing painful punches and kicks in the process! He's been pushing on my uterus it seems, and then once he's pushes with all his might in there, he gives it a good kick or punch! Neither the strong pushing or the kicks/punches are very comfortable to me though! lol...
Here's my results:
Fasting blood draw - 83 (cutoff is 100, so that was normal)
1st blood draw post-glucose drink - 158 (cutoff is 180, so this was normal)
2nd blood draw post-glucose drink - 168 (cutoff is 150, so this was high)
3rd blood draw post-glucose drink - 163 (cutoff is 139, so again, high).
Apparently you need 3 out 4 of your draws to be "normal" to not have the gestational diabetes - only 2 of mine were, so turns out, I do have the gestational diabetes (as we kind of figured I would).
The lady from the lab said that a girl from Maternal Fetal Monitoring would be contacting me in the next few days, after clearing everything with our insurance, to set up an appointment for me to come in and go over diet and nutrition, as well as how to monitor my glucose levels. They also said that since Jay is measuring big, they'll do an ultrasound there as well as I guess their ultrasound machine is more elaborate, thorough, and high tech than the one at my clinic - they want to be able to see if he's just big or if it's the amniotic fluid due to the gestational diabetes causing him to measure bigger than he should be at this point, as GD can play a part in that.
I'm not too thrilled - especially since Christmas is right around the corner and there's soooo many sweets. I'm a bit bummed I can't really eat Christmas cookies this year (and I refuse to make them since I can't eat em as I'll be too tempted to eat too many, having them around here). Also, the diet doesn't sound too nice (from what I've read) but I guess it's doable.
I keep telling myself, I'm already 29 weeks along, full-term is 37-40 weeks, so we figure I only have to suffer through this for another 8-11 weeks (and probably closer to 8 weeks, as hubby and I both have this strong, strange feeling he's going to be early) as GD tends to go away after delivery.
Today was also a bummer of a day for me - I had a "call in" shift at work, which I was hoping they'd let me come in and work it as they canceled both my shifts last week and I really want to work or at least do something. I need an excuse to get out of the house, but I can't always afford to go out or visit my friend across town as we're tight on money right now and watching our expenses and it takes gas to go places.
I tried to call my mom and let her know about my results, but as it's been the past few weeks, I can never seem to get ahold of her. I know, she's been busy with the costuming up at church for the Christmas program this weekend, but it's just frustrating when I call every number I have to reach her at, multiple times, leave messages for her to call me back, and I never hear anything. Hopefully after next week she'll be more accessible, but yeah... I'm a bit worried that if I go into early labor, my family's going to be the last to know as it seems like no one in that house can answer their phones =(
What really threw me over the edge today was when I was looking for a top I could have sworn I put in the laundry to be washed but couldn't find it in there no matter how hard I looked, and on top of that I noticed I broke another nail.
I started crying, hubby came home soon after, and we snuggled for a bit as I was just really frustrated with everything so far today and hormones were making me all sad panda over stupid little stuff.
Jay's being a bit of a butt today too - like he's purposely trying to stretch out as much as possible, throwing painful punches and kicks in the process! He's been pushing on my uterus it seems, and then once he's pushes with all his might in there, he gives it a good kick or punch! Neither the strong pushing or the kicks/punches are very comfortable to me though! lol...
Friday, December 3, 2010
The 3 Hour Glucose Test
Well today was the grueling 3 hour glucose test.
I had to fast starting at midnight. Poor Jay though - he didn't like the lack of food one bit and was letting me know by throwing fits in there every so often. Poor little guy!
My appointment was at 8am, but they didn't take me back til about 20 after as there was a bunch of people coming in at 8. The girl drew my blood before giving me the drink. For the 3 hour test they only had the drink in lemon lime and orange. I opted for the lemon line. Compared to the 1 hour drink, this one tasted extra syrupy - like a Sprite or Sierra Mist with extra syrup in it!
She said I might feel a little sick or queasy the first hour - I could feel it in my stomach but it more just a form of gas.
The first passed by sort of quick, I read some of my book, they took me back to draw more blood and then we started the 2nd hour. The 2nd hour seemed longer. I tried to get comfortable enough to nap, but it was a little cold in the waiting room and the chair just wasn't comfy enough. Eventually that hour was up and they took me back to draw more blood and the 3rd hour began and came and went.
The 3rd time they drew blood it was starting to hurt from getting pricked so many times in the same spot and my arm started to sting. Same with the last time they drew blood before sending me off.
While waiting in the waiting room, there was a guy that came in, acting like he was running late for an appointment. The girl at the desk was a little confused and flat out asked what kind of appointment he had at an OB/GYN office. The guy looked confused and she clarified they only see females here. The guy was a little embarrassed and realized he was at the wrong clinic! It was a bit funny though!
I was soooo hungry and tired by the time we got done. Hubby dropped me off but had to go to work so my mom picked me up and took me out to lunch (I don't feel comfortable driving when my blood sugar is low or after I've had blood draw as I can feel a little dizzy and weak). I came home and slept for most of the afternoon too.
They said my results will be back Monday and they'll give me a call to let me know and figure where to go from there. Hopefully if I do have the gestational diabetes it's only borderline...
I had to fast starting at midnight. Poor Jay though - he didn't like the lack of food one bit and was letting me know by throwing fits in there every so often. Poor little guy!
My appointment was at 8am, but they didn't take me back til about 20 after as there was a bunch of people coming in at 8. The girl drew my blood before giving me the drink. For the 3 hour test they only had the drink in lemon lime and orange. I opted for the lemon line. Compared to the 1 hour drink, this one tasted extra syrupy - like a Sprite or Sierra Mist with extra syrup in it!
She said I might feel a little sick or queasy the first hour - I could feel it in my stomach but it more just a form of gas.
The first passed by sort of quick, I read some of my book, they took me back to draw more blood and then we started the 2nd hour. The 2nd hour seemed longer. I tried to get comfortable enough to nap, but it was a little cold in the waiting room and the chair just wasn't comfy enough. Eventually that hour was up and they took me back to draw more blood and the 3rd hour began and came and went.
The 3rd time they drew blood it was starting to hurt from getting pricked so many times in the same spot and my arm started to sting. Same with the last time they drew blood before sending me off.
While waiting in the waiting room, there was a guy that came in, acting like he was running late for an appointment. The girl at the desk was a little confused and flat out asked what kind of appointment he had at an OB/GYN office. The guy looked confused and she clarified they only see females here. The guy was a little embarrassed and realized he was at the wrong clinic! It was a bit funny though!
I was soooo hungry and tired by the time we got done. Hubby dropped me off but had to go to work so my mom picked me up and took me out to lunch (I don't feel comfortable driving when my blood sugar is low or after I've had blood draw as I can feel a little dizzy and weak). I came home and slept for most of the afternoon too.
They said my results will be back Monday and they'll give me a call to let me know and figure where to go from there. Hopefully if I do have the gestational diabetes it's only borderline...
Thursday, December 2, 2010
3 Hour Glucose Test diet really sucks!
This whole protein and veggie diet I'm on today for my 3 hour glucose test tomorrow morning really sucks!!!
Seriously, I ate eggs for breakfast and was okay til around lunchtime. Then I went over to Burger King for lunch and had 2 hamburger patties and a side salad with ranch (it was the only dressing with 1g of sugar or less in it, as they said to eat as little sugar as possible today and no sweets at all). I ate it all but I was still pretty hungry.
I'm planning on going over to Subway and getting a $5 footlong grilled chicken breast with veggies (and eat it without the bun of course since they said to avoid bread today) for dinner. I also had a thing of string cheese for a snack this afternoon as I feel like I'm starving and it has no sugar in it.
Honestly though, what I wouldn't give right now for some bread - especially with peanut butter on it - or a granola bar or a cup of applesauce...
Jay doesn't seem too happy about this lack of food today either as he tends to kick/punch more often in a certain way when I haven't eaten in awhile to sort of get my attention (if I wake up and don't eat right away he really gets going).
Stupid genetics.
I told hubby, he's probably going to have to drag my comatose butt to the doctor in the morning as I know I'm going to feel all sick and like crap in the morning from not eating all that much.
=(
Seriously, I ate eggs for breakfast and was okay til around lunchtime. Then I went over to Burger King for lunch and had 2 hamburger patties and a side salad with ranch (it was the only dressing with 1g of sugar or less in it, as they said to eat as little sugar as possible today and no sweets at all). I ate it all but I was still pretty hungry.I'm planning on going over to Subway and getting a $5 footlong grilled chicken breast with veggies (and eat it without the bun of course since they said to avoid bread today) for dinner. I also had a thing of string cheese for a snack this afternoon as I feel like I'm starving and it has no sugar in it.
Honestly though, what I wouldn't give right now for some bread - especially with peanut butter on it - or a granola bar or a cup of applesauce...
Jay doesn't seem too happy about this lack of food today either as he tends to kick/punch more often in a certain way when I haven't eaten in awhile to sort of get my attention (if I wake up and don't eat right away he really gets going).
Stupid genetics.
I told hubby, he's probably going to have to drag my comatose butt to the doctor in the morning as I know I'm going to feel all sick and like crap in the morning from not eating all that much.
=(
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Got my results already
So I got my results back already from my 1hr glucose test yesterday...
They want me to come in Friday at 8am to do the 3hr version as I "failed" the 1hr version. They said the cutoff is 130 and I was at like 150.
So not looking forward to it!
They gave me an outline of what to eat, meal-wise on Thursday which is pretty much all just protein (eggs and sausage for breakfast, hamburger patties and veggies for lunch, grilled chicken and a salad for dinner) and I can't eat anything after midnight. I'm going to feel like crap when I go in, I just know it.
Honestly though, I'd be surprised at this point if I didn't have the gestational diabetes, as I previously mentioned my mom was borderline with it while pregnant with my sis, my aunt had it and their mom had it too. The GD would also most likely explain why Jay is measuring big too.
Oh well, wish me luck!
They want me to come in Friday at 8am to do the 3hr version as I "failed" the 1hr version. They said the cutoff is 130 and I was at like 150.
So not looking forward to it!
They gave me an outline of what to eat, meal-wise on Thursday which is pretty much all just protein (eggs and sausage for breakfast, hamburger patties and veggies for lunch, grilled chicken and a salad for dinner) and I can't eat anything after midnight. I'm going to feel like crap when I go in, I just know it.
Honestly though, I'd be surprised at this point if I didn't have the gestational diabetes, as I previously mentioned my mom was borderline with it while pregnant with my sis, my aunt had it and their mom had it too. The GD would also most likely explain why Jay is measuring big too.
Oh well, wish me luck!
Monday, November 29, 2010
3rd Trimester and Glucose Testing
Well everyone, we've made it this far - as of yesturday we are 28 weeks along and according to most pregnancy sites and books, that marks the beginning of the third trimester! Yay!!
Size you're considered being full term at 37 weeks, this means only 9-12 more weeks and Jay should be here in the flesh!
Today I had the Glucose Challenge Test.
They had told me last time I was there not to eat anything sugary or sweet today prior to taking the test and recommended I stick to eggs and sausage for breakfast. We don't have sausage but I did make myself some eggs when I woke up. Gotta say though, for having low blood sugar, not being able to eat or drink anything sweet or sugary prior to my 145pm test really sucked! Fortunately I didn't feel my blood sugar levels begin to drop until we were almost there. I could feel my face start to get flushed and I was starting to get a little lightheaded with the feeling in my stomach that the worst was coming soon if I didn't get sugar in my system ASAP.
They took my weight and got me set up with the drink right away. They had orange and fruit punch available and of course I opted for the fruit punch as I like that flavor better and I've heard the orange version is just gross. I had 5 minutes to finish it finished it with about a minute and a half left - as soon as I started drinking it I felt A LOT better, it had a A LOT of sugar in it. It didn't taste horrible, but wasn't all that great and had a strange after taste while drinking it.
Since I had to wait an hour before they could draw blood I had my check up with the doctor.
Turns out, according to their scale, I lost a pound in the past 2 weeks - take that, Thanksgiving!
The doctor commented though that it seems the odds of me having the gestational diabetes is stacked against me, as my mom and her sister as well as their mom all had it while pregnant once they reached a certain weight (which I've already passed).
Also, she checked Jay's fundal height and... she said he's measuring big! Eeep! She said if he's still measuring big next time I come in they'll send me over to have an ultrasound to make sure he has enough room and get more exact measurements.
Other than that she said everything seems great - his heartbeat was in the 140s, a little lower than what it's been, but usually he's more active at the doctor too and since I hadn't eat much and didn't have any sugar this morning prior to the glucose drink, it doesn't surprise me.
They sent me to wait out in the waiting room until my hour was up (I had about 30 minutes left), and then drew some blood, which wasn't too bad this time. They said to consider no news to be good news, and that my results should be back by the end of the week. They said if I "fail" this version of the test then I have to come back next week for a 3 hour version. Hopefully I don't though, as I did the best I knew to prepare. They said if it comes back and I do have the gestational diabetes then they'll put me in touch with some women's center or whatever that can go over how to watch my diet and prick my finger, etc.
Size you're considered being full term at 37 weeks, this means only 9-12 more weeks and Jay should be here in the flesh!
Today I had the Glucose Challenge Test.
They had told me last time I was there not to eat anything sugary or sweet today prior to taking the test and recommended I stick to eggs and sausage for breakfast. We don't have sausage but I did make myself some eggs when I woke up. Gotta say though, for having low blood sugar, not being able to eat or drink anything sweet or sugary prior to my 145pm test really sucked! Fortunately I didn't feel my blood sugar levels begin to drop until we were almost there. I could feel my face start to get flushed and I was starting to get a little lightheaded with the feeling in my stomach that the worst was coming soon if I didn't get sugar in my system ASAP.
They took my weight and got me set up with the drink right away. They had orange and fruit punch available and of course I opted for the fruit punch as I like that flavor better and I've heard the orange version is just gross. I had 5 minutes to finish it finished it with about a minute and a half left - as soon as I started drinking it I felt A LOT better, it had a A LOT of sugar in it. It didn't taste horrible, but wasn't all that great and had a strange after taste while drinking it.
Since I had to wait an hour before they could draw blood I had my check up with the doctor.
Turns out, according to their scale, I lost a pound in the past 2 weeks - take that, Thanksgiving!
The doctor commented though that it seems the odds of me having the gestational diabetes is stacked against me, as my mom and her sister as well as their mom all had it while pregnant once they reached a certain weight (which I've already passed).
Also, she checked Jay's fundal height and... she said he's measuring big! Eeep! She said if he's still measuring big next time I come in they'll send me over to have an ultrasound to make sure he has enough room and get more exact measurements.
Other than that she said everything seems great - his heartbeat was in the 140s, a little lower than what it's been, but usually he's more active at the doctor too and since I hadn't eat much and didn't have any sugar this morning prior to the glucose drink, it doesn't surprise me.
They sent me to wait out in the waiting room until my hour was up (I had about 30 minutes left), and then drew some blood, which wasn't too bad this time. They said to consider no news to be good news, and that my results should be back by the end of the week. They said if I "fail" this version of the test then I have to come back next week for a 3 hour version. Hopefully I don't though, as I did the best I knew to prepare. They said if it comes back and I do have the gestational diabetes then they'll put me in touch with some women's center or whatever that can go over how to watch my diet and prick my finger, etc.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Not the test results we were expecting...
So you remember how 2 weeks ago I went to doctor for an emergency exam because of some strange discharge I was having? And how last week I updated that I got a call that my test results were fine?
Well... I didn't realize we were waiting to hear about 2 different test results - the urine test results or whatever and a culture test results.
Last week they called regarding the urine testing, which came back fine.
Today I got a call regarding the culture test results.
Turns out I have a bacterial infection called Mycoplasma, which the nurse I spoke with said is a very common urinary bacterial infection that most everyone gets and because it's so common it's rarely treated or even really considering to be much of anything.
However... because I'm pregnant, it needs to be treated because if it's left untreated it can cause early contractions and preterm labor - neither are things we want.
They put me on this z-pack type medication called Azithromycin, with is a category B drug, which means it's been safely tested on animals all with no results of birth defects or anything else that could be bad for pregnancy. Doing research of my own online, I also found that there's been a few studies done on pregnant women in various trimesters and aside from the one that decided to terminate the pregnancy early, all babies were carried to term and have had no defects or complications - the ones they followed up with a year later are all doing fine.
I have to take 6 doses of this medicine - 2 right away, and then 1 a day for the following 4 days, and then refrain from sex for a week, followed by another week of only using condoms. While it's a common bacterial infection and not an STD, it is transmitted like an STD, as you pass it back and forth via sex.
So... this means hubby has to get on the prescription too!
My OB/GYN office said he could see a regular doctor if he had one or just go to an immediate care clinic and explain to them what I have and that odds are he has it too, but because I'm pregnant he needs to get checked out and treated if he has it as well so we're not passing it back and forth.
He went to one of the local immediate care chain's clinics, explained it to them and... they told him they can't do that there - he has to go to a hospital for that.
Say what?!
My OB/GYN seemed pretty confident and sure that he could just go in there and get it done easily (he doesn't have a regular doctor). He wants me to call my doctor's office again tomorrow and see if they can't just write him a prescription for it, since odds are that I have it, he has it too, however I told him I doubt they'll do that - they don't have any of his medical information on file and aside from him coming to the pregnancy appointments with me and his name being the primary on our insurance they don't know him as they've never seen/checked him out before.
Fortunately, his parents are good friends with a doctor - we asked them and they said they would call and ask him tomorrow to see if he could help us out any too... hopefully we can get him on the prescription quickly without having to deal with the hassle that is the hospital (plus hubby said hospitals are expensive and I know they take forever too and with him working 2 jobs, there's not really time for him to waste sitting around for someone at the hospital to fit him in whenever).
I might just call one of the nearby immediate care clinics and talk to them over the phone about it, stating my OB/GYN said it could be done there, as who knows - maybe the person he talked to just didn't know or understand what he was talking about.
So keep us in your thoughts and prayers - that we're able to get this infection cleared up, that hubby can get on the medication for it without too much of a hassle, and that the medication and infection doesn't affect Jay at all. We have his anatomical survey ultrasound on Monday (where they count his fingers and toes, get a good look at his spine, heart and brain and just make sure he's developing everything correctly), so if it is affecting him, hopefully we'll be able to tell when we go in.
Well... I didn't realize we were waiting to hear about 2 different test results - the urine test results or whatever and a culture test results.
Last week they called regarding the urine testing, which came back fine.
Today I got a call regarding the culture test results.
Turns out I have a bacterial infection called Mycoplasma, which the nurse I spoke with said is a very common urinary bacterial infection that most everyone gets and because it's so common it's rarely treated or even really considering to be much of anything.
However... because I'm pregnant, it needs to be treated because if it's left untreated it can cause early contractions and preterm labor - neither are things we want.
They put me on this z-pack type medication called Azithromycin, with is a category B drug, which means it's been safely tested on animals all with no results of birth defects or anything else that could be bad for pregnancy. Doing research of my own online, I also found that there's been a few studies done on pregnant women in various trimesters and aside from the one that decided to terminate the pregnancy early, all babies were carried to term and have had no defects or complications - the ones they followed up with a year later are all doing fine.
I have to take 6 doses of this medicine - 2 right away, and then 1 a day for the following 4 days, and then refrain from sex for a week, followed by another week of only using condoms. While it's a common bacterial infection and not an STD, it is transmitted like an STD, as you pass it back and forth via sex.
So... this means hubby has to get on the prescription too!
My OB/GYN office said he could see a regular doctor if he had one or just go to an immediate care clinic and explain to them what I have and that odds are he has it too, but because I'm pregnant he needs to get checked out and treated if he has it as well so we're not passing it back and forth.
He went to one of the local immediate care chain's clinics, explained it to them and... they told him they can't do that there - he has to go to a hospital for that.
Say what?!
My OB/GYN seemed pretty confident and sure that he could just go in there and get it done easily (he doesn't have a regular doctor). He wants me to call my doctor's office again tomorrow and see if they can't just write him a prescription for it, since odds are that I have it, he has it too, however I told him I doubt they'll do that - they don't have any of his medical information on file and aside from him coming to the pregnancy appointments with me and his name being the primary on our insurance they don't know him as they've never seen/checked him out before.
Fortunately, his parents are good friends with a doctor - we asked them and they said they would call and ask him tomorrow to see if he could help us out any too... hopefully we can get him on the prescription quickly without having to deal with the hassle that is the hospital (plus hubby said hospitals are expensive and I know they take forever too and with him working 2 jobs, there's not really time for him to waste sitting around for someone at the hospital to fit him in whenever).
I might just call one of the nearby immediate care clinics and talk to them over the phone about it, stating my OB/GYN said it could be done there, as who knows - maybe the person he talked to just didn't know or understand what he was talking about.
So keep us in your thoughts and prayers - that we're able to get this infection cleared up, that hubby can get on the medication for it without too much of a hassle, and that the medication and infection doesn't affect Jay at all. We have his anatomical survey ultrasound on Monday (where they count his fingers and toes, get a good look at his spine, heart and brain and just make sure he's developing everything correctly), so if it is affecting him, hopefully we'll be able to tell when we go in.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Quad Screen and Insurance Stuffs
So at our next appointment on September 20 we have the optional Quad Screening which is a blood test that can determine if baby has spina bifida or Down's Syndrome among a few other things. Hubby and I were talking about it and right now we're leaning towards skipping it.
While it is covered under our insurance (which is a $250 yearly deductible, with insurance covering 85% and with us having to pay up to $2000 out of pocket max), we decided it's not really worth the extra expense - I'm only 26 now, as is hubby, so I'm at low risk; from what we've read, a lot of the time the tests come back with either a false positive or a false negative; and honestly, even if our kid does end up having a deformity or is a special needs baby, what difference is it really going to make?
Hubby and I aren't too keen on abortion (hubby has his personal reasons for it, so he's extra sensitive about the topic, whereas I think it should only be a valid option in the case of rape as I don't feel the victim should be forced to live with a constant reminder for 9 months or in the case where carrying the baby to term poses a serious risk to the life of the mother) so it's not like if the test comes back positive for anything we're just going to terminate it - neither of us feel right about that at all.
Since we're delivering in the hospital, it's not like there won't be someone nearby to help with whatever when kiddo is born, so the only real benefit of knowing ahead of time is to mentally and financially prepare ourselves, but no matter how much you prepare mentally, it most likely won't hit ya until kiddo is actually here and you're "dealing with it" ya know? And financially... as cliche as it sounds, if it happens, it's in God's hands and help us provide.
I also read that if there are any major defects, like a missing limb or whatever, it'll show up during the later ultrasounds and that the further along you are, they can tell via ultrasound by looking at certain facial features and stuff whether or not baby is developing Down's Syndrome.
I have no problem with people that decide to do the Quad Screening, but for us, we just don't really think it's that necessary and we're both fine with not doing it.
I'm a little confused about the upcoming anatomy ultrasound though. I called our insurance today to ask about whether the Quad Screen was covered and asked about the anatomical survey too, as our doctor said that since it's not a necessary required ultrasound, some insurance companies don't cover it and when they mentioned having a few cervical ultrasounds they said our insurance is a pain about things like ultrasounds even though they'd get it approved for us. I asked the lady about the anatomical survey being covered and she said it wasn't coming up in the computer and said my clinic would have to send over the procedure code so they could find out and look into it. But then later when I said it was an ultrasound she was like "oh, well all the ultrasounds are covered under your maternity benefits."
So I guess that means the anatomy ultrasound is covered...?
That one isn't until closer to the end of October so I think I'll mention it when we go in for our appointment on the 20th and ask them about sending our insurance the "procedure code" for it just to be sure. We both want to know what we're having, but it would be nice to know if insurance is covering that one or if we're going to have to pay out of pocket for it.
While it is covered under our insurance (which is a $250 yearly deductible, with insurance covering 85% and with us having to pay up to $2000 out of pocket max), we decided it's not really worth the extra expense - I'm only 26 now, as is hubby, so I'm at low risk; from what we've read, a lot of the time the tests come back with either a false positive or a false negative; and honestly, even if our kid does end up having a deformity or is a special needs baby, what difference is it really going to make?
Hubby and I aren't too keen on abortion (hubby has his personal reasons for it, so he's extra sensitive about the topic, whereas I think it should only be a valid option in the case of rape as I don't feel the victim should be forced to live with a constant reminder for 9 months or in the case where carrying the baby to term poses a serious risk to the life of the mother) so it's not like if the test comes back positive for anything we're just going to terminate it - neither of us feel right about that at all.
Since we're delivering in the hospital, it's not like there won't be someone nearby to help with whatever when kiddo is born, so the only real benefit of knowing ahead of time is to mentally and financially prepare ourselves, but no matter how much you prepare mentally, it most likely won't hit ya until kiddo is actually here and you're "dealing with it" ya know? And financially... as cliche as it sounds, if it happens, it's in God's hands and help us provide.
I also read that if there are any major defects, like a missing limb or whatever, it'll show up during the later ultrasounds and that the further along you are, they can tell via ultrasound by looking at certain facial features and stuff whether or not baby is developing Down's Syndrome.
I have no problem with people that decide to do the Quad Screening, but for us, we just don't really think it's that necessary and we're both fine with not doing it.
I'm a little confused about the upcoming anatomy ultrasound though. I called our insurance today to ask about whether the Quad Screen was covered and asked about the anatomical survey too, as our doctor said that since it's not a necessary required ultrasound, some insurance companies don't cover it and when they mentioned having a few cervical ultrasounds they said our insurance is a pain about things like ultrasounds even though they'd get it approved for us. I asked the lady about the anatomical survey being covered and she said it wasn't coming up in the computer and said my clinic would have to send over the procedure code so they could find out and look into it. But then later when I said it was an ultrasound she was like "oh, well all the ultrasounds are covered under your maternity benefits."
So I guess that means the anatomy ultrasound is covered...?
That one isn't until closer to the end of October so I think I'll mention it when we go in for our appointment on the 20th and ask them about sending our insurance the "procedure code" for it just to be sure. We both want to know what we're having, but it would be nice to know if insurance is covering that one or if we're going to have to pay out of pocket for it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)