Lots of Dr. Appointments

Hello dear bloggy friends! I've been gone for some time because life has been an absolutely whirlwind.  I've had so many doctor appointments in the past few weeks. It has just been insane.  It all started when we had met with a nurse in our OB office to go over family history and how things might work for us.  I was sent to get the usual pregnant blood work up that they do, within the next week and a half so the results would be ready for our first OB appointment with the Dr.

Blood work has never really bothered me. Thank goodness I'm blessed with great veins and no fear of needles.  The 6 vials they took from me was nothing. I didn't even bat an eye lash. When we went to see the OB for my pelvic exam and first visit she told me that my blood work looked good except the blood platelets were lower than she would have liked to see.  Looking at the lab work paper that my RE office faxed over my numbers were even lower back in the fall.  She was happy that they had risen by about 40 thousand, but I was still 30 thousand away from the window they like to see.  She told me not to worry as there would be no harm done to the development to the baby or to me but that it was something to look into because down the line with delivery low platelets cause you to bleed more and if they are low enough they won't give you an epidural.

I was told I to go see a specialist.  With her number in hand we set up our next appointment which would be our 12 week appointment (May 16!) and off we went.  I called the office later that day and set up an appointment the following week.

Prior to the appointment with the hematologist I was seeing my primary care physician, whom I hadn't seen in about 2.5 years. He used to take care of my thyroid dosages but once we moved to the RE he took that over so there was no need to see my PCP.  I checked in with him because I wanted him to know what we've been through and how important it is for me to get my thyroid checked regularly.  I told him the numbers my RE wanted to see and that if it went above that he'd have to change my dose.  I find it amazing how going through IF has really taught me to stand up for what I need when it comes to medical care.  I never would have done this before.  He was all for whatever I wanted and was really sweet in congratulating us on our little Bug.

The following day I met with Dr. H who was the hematologist.  She works in the Oncology center and was very thorough with her questions.  She was concerned about my difficulty breathing at times (stairs cause me to be out of breathe and long conversations find me winded).  She wanted me to walk around the office with an oxygen monitor on my finger.  The first time I did this with the nurse my numbers dipped so about 20 minutes later I did it again.   Dr. H was also concerned when she asked about leg cramping and I told her that I just happened to get one in the middle of the night that night.  I know it was just my muscle but she wanted to check for a clot...

I was sent to the check out desk where an appointment was made to get a scan of my left leg... that day.  I then had to do lots of blood work... though I had no idea at the time how much it would be.  I set up an appointment for my spleen to be ultrasound (this is where your blood flows in and how and red blood cells are either passed through or discarded).  I also set up a follow up appointment with Dr. H. 

After doing this I went over to the registration desk and got a wrist band and then headed down for the scan of my leg.  All looked good.

I knew I had to do blood work and I was starving at this point so I made a stop at the hospital cafe because I tend to faint and I didn't want to subject the nurse to this.

After my snack I headed to the lab for the blood work.  I waited about 10 minutes and then about 10 minutes more in the little room while the nurse lay 17 vials in front of me.  SEVENTEEN!!! I couldn't believe it.  She assured me it wasn't that much blood.

Finally, I was free to go home.  I was 4 pm and I had arrived at the hospital at 12:45.  I was beyond tired and completely overwhelmed at what just happened.

This past Monday I went in for the scan of my spleen and the tech was so sweet she gave me a peak at Bug.  Bug looked so cute floating around and I couldn't believe how much of real baby it looked now!  I thanked her 100 times over for that peak and off I went.

I have my follow up appointment with Dr. H next Thursday, the morning after my 12 week ultrasound.  I'm hoping things are ok and will be manageable for later on down the road.

Now you know what's been going on and why I haven't been around.  It's been exhausting and the traveling to these doctors takes up time too.  They are all about 30-45 mins away.  I love my Dr.s so when they switch offices, I follow. :-)