Hey there! Kendall and Bean here, once again! We are on a roll these days! I thought I'd update you all on a few things and then share a, long overdo, story! Right now, I'm between 15 and 16 weeks pregnant, and still NOT glowing... Anyway, other things going on... Last Monday, I went to an appointment just to make sure things were still running smoothly and I got to hear Bean's heartbeat again. It was 150 bpm. The doctor thought that Bean would have been higher up; no longer down close to my pelvic bone, so when she started out a little higher, and didn't fine a heartbeat, I started to get a little nervous. She moved the monitor down and there was little Bean! I swear, the kid is so low, by the time September comes, he/she better waltz on out of there... I'm talking three pushes or a sneeze and then, "Hello, Baby!" (I know that is completely unrealistic, but I can hope, right?!) So Todd and I will be going in April 10th to see what little Bean's gender is and we absolutely can't wait! Today, Todd and I took our first "bump" picture... It was like that scene from Talladega Nights where Ricky Bobby doesn't know what to do with his hands... I really don't feel like I have any sort of an actual bump... More like added poundage of mushy, mashed potatoe-ness from below my boobs into my thighs. I'm sure it'll get better... Now, onto my story! A few times, in past entries, I've mentioned having blood clots in the past, and having to give myself daily injections of blood thinners... I'll do my best to keep this short! Todd and I got married July of 2015. In early June, I went to the doctor to be put on birth control. The first couple weeks, everything was going really well. I wasn't feeling dumpy, chucky, or moody! I was running with some of the Jr. High and High School kids for summer XC workouts. Towards the end of June, it was getting harder and harder to run. I felt exhausted, I couldn't go a fast or as far, and I was feeling like I could never catch my breath.
I started to mention this to Todd and my mom, and I complained about having to take the birth control because I was sure the symptoms were caused by it somehow. A few more days went on and I was never able to take a full, deep breath. I'd have to sit down and really reach and gasp to get a full satisfying breath in. Along with that, my back and ribs hurt so incredibly bad, that I thought, somehow, everything was thrown out of whack and I needed to see a chiropractor. Todd and I were visiting some of his family, one evening, and I was so fed up (and they were so concerned) I ended up calling my cousin's wife, who is a doctor. She knew something was very wrong. She guess that I had one or possibly more pulmonary embolisms. That evening I picked up a very small perscription of blooth thinners, just to get things started, and the next morning, I was going in for a chest scan. My wonderful Gram went with me to the appointment. I had the scan. They read the results immediately, and sent me direcly to my doctor back in Minneapolis. I had several, small blood clots in the bottoms of both of my lungs. He was very reasurring that we caught them early enough, the blood thinners would prevent my blood from clotting anymore, and thus allow the existing clots to disolve. The part of my lungs that the blood clots had eliminated the blood flow to would always be "dead" or "dark", however, it wouldn't keep me from running or being active. We just needed to figure out why the blood clots had formed in the first place. Keep in mind, this was July 9, 2015... Just days before my wedding... After a lot of blood was taken, I began to take the blood thinner, Xarelto, and was scheduled to go to a blood specialist in Salina. All the while, I was told that my honeymoon might be problematic because flying on a plane and sitting for that long would be an issue with the clots. Todd went with me to the blood doctor and there we were told that my blood clots were not genetic! (My dad was and is taking blood thinners for previous clots. Never thought I'd be going through, medically, anything similar to my dad!) We also found out that my situation was not one that would force to me to take blood clots for the rest of my life, like my dad. Instead, I was supposed to take them for about 6 months. The presence of extra estrogen in my body, by taking the birth control pills, acted as a clotting agent in my blood, thuse forming the clots. We also found out that when we were deciding to start a family, we would need to talk with my doctor and get started on a blood thinner safe for pregnant women. Once I was able to stop taking the blood thinners, I would get extremely paranoid anytime I got really sick, stressed, or filled with anxiety because that shortness of and reaching for a deep breath would come back. At one point, I was even sent for another chest scan just to be safe. All it showed was that my previous clots were gone, or on their way out! What a blessing! When I first found out I was pregnant, it was a bit of a scramble to get into the doctor because I knew the blood thinners or at least talk of, should have taken place before Bean was in the picture. My doctor informed me of the plan. I started, am currently on, and will give myself daily injections of blood thinners, once a day. That's right. I give myself a shot! I grab my mashed potato stomach and just shoot it in! When I am at about 36 weeks, I will switch to a different type of injectable blood thinner, and will give myself an injection in the morning and one in the evening. The effects of those blood thinners last about 12 hours and the one I am currently on is about 24 hours. I plan to get an epidural, and in order for my blood to be back to normal, and not extremely thin too close to or during labor and delivery, it is best that I be on the 12 hour dose. Once I have little Bean, depending how it happens, I will either start up the blood thinners 4 or 6 hours after giving birth. Then, I will continue for a few weeks. And there you have it. The short version (if you can believe it) of quite a long story! I have a picture that I wanted to share with you. I know, I am supposed to dispose of these... and I certainly will, but after seeing many pictures of other womes going through the same thing, and also pictures posted by women who have struggled with infertility and have been blessed with a sweet baby, I wanted to post a picture with my story. By posting my own picture, I am by no means trying to steal the thunder of or discredit those other women's amazing stories. So, 15 weeks, and three bottles later... Comments are closed.
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WHAT IS THIS?Todd & Kendall both share their thoughts on this blog. Archives
September 2017
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