October 18, 2011 – Doctor, Doctor

It has been a rough couple of weeks.  Last week we had another failed pregnancy.  I became very ill last Monday.  I tied to ignore it and tried to go on with my daily life, but by the time Doc got home I had been unable to eat anything and was not keeping things down.  The nausea continued for two days, along with shaking, sweating, and just general ickiness.  There was no fever, so I knew it wasn’t a virus.  I already had my doctor appointment scheduled for Monday, so I waited to talk to her then.  Even though in the moment it felt very urgent, I knew there was nothing that could be done to stop it. 

Yesterday I saw my doctor.  I love my doctor.  I explained everything that happened and she ordered some additional tests.  I’ve been having a pain in my left side since Monday.  It hasn’t been bad, but I know better than to ignore pain.  For once the news that we were not pregnant was good news.  If I had still had elevated levels of HcG it would have pointed towards an ectopic pregnancy, which would have made yesterday suck a lot more than it did.  Unfortunately, it did lead to a doctor’s order to see a specialist, “sooner rather than later.” 

For those of you that don’t know about endometriosis; it is a disorder where the lining of the uterus grows in places where it should not.  When it grows in these incorrect places (like the abdomen) it is still functioning, so when the rest of the lining is shed, this incorrectly placed lining attempts to shed.  Only when it sheds into the abdominal cavity it causes internal bleeding.  Pain is just one fun side effect.  The real trouble begins when the body attempts to stop this internal bleeding.  As a part of the “healing” process it creates scar tissue in places where it should not be and can cause problems when it attaches normally free floating organs to one another.  I once had a doctor describe it as trying to pull apart tissue paper that has been glued together.  Not a nice picture when you consider this is my abdomen.  It causes the individual pain when they move.  The solution for this problem?  Surgery!  L

One of the side effects of all this healthy living I have been doing (increasing my iron, adjusting my hormones) is that the lining has been shedding more.  Simply put, there has been a lot more internal bleeding going on.  So a new pain, which has developed in only a few months, is not a good sign.  The internal bleeding is one of the many reasons that patients with endometriosis have trouble conceiving.  When the uterus attempts to grow, existing scar tissue prevents expansion, which isn’t good for baby. 

So, I have orders to see the specialist.  I know we will need to schedule surgery, but one of the problems is finding a good time to do that.  Doc doesn’t exactly get a lot of days off and he needs me to take care of things around here, like walking our crazy dogs and grocery shopping.  I had a similar surgery done when I was 20 and while the surgery itself isn’t bad, the recovery days sucked. Doc is scheduled to be in his inpatient rotation next month, which means he is working pretty much non-stop for that month.  He won’t be able to hold my hand for the surgery, much less take care of me afterwards.  Not to mention my extreme dislike of surgery.  Irony of all ironies; I am actually afraid of doctors.  J  I will figure it out; I am just finding all kinds of reasons to avoid thinking about it today. 

Almost every thing else looked good during my visit.  I’ve got low blood pressure, which considering my family history of heart problems and high blood pressure is good news.  Almost all of my blood levels were within the range of health.  The only problem with my blood work was that my iron is still low!!  I have made so much effort on this one variable!  I eat red meat, I eat leaf greens, I eat beans, and I take prenatal vitamins plus an additional supplement of iron!  Now I find out I have to double the supplements I take!  I don’t understand how I can still be low!  For those who have never take iron supplements before, they suck.  They cause all kinds of trouble.  I love the way my doctor gave the order though, “if you can tolerate it, double your supplement.”  Sadly, we all know I will tolerate it.  I went through a month of stomach aches when I started it all in the pursuit of baby-making!  I’m not stopping now!