Trips to the Lab and Other Fun Outings

Well, it's been another week(ish) and as usual, there's lots to report. More than you're probably interested in reading, but I'm gonna' write about it anyway...

Last time we left off with the Glucose test and Mother's Day.

This time we begin with another Glucose test and Father's Day. With some other events in the middle.

So let's get crackin' shall we?

Last Thursday I had a lovely chat with one of the girls at my OB's office. They got the results back on my glucose test... I was high. My blood sugars were high... I wasn't 'high'... well you get the idea. Anyhoo, that meant I got to go do the intensive screen. For the uneducated, here's what's involved in this little adventure...

Step 1: Eat as many carbs as you can force into yourself for three days (so this would be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for me).

Step 2: Fast for twelve hours (Sunday night - fun)

Step 3: Show up at the doctor's first thing in the morning, grab the requisition for the lab, run down to the lab, and do another test. This time, 75mg with blood letting (they call it taking...) at fasting, one hour, and two hour intervals.

Those were simple enough instructions - even for me. So, armed with the knowledge of what I had to do, I set off for my weekend.

Friday - hungry? Eat something with way too much sugar in it.

Saturday - still hungry? Tired of eating your carbs? Drink them instead.

Saturday night - off to a Jack and Jill (Stag and Doe - whatever) for "Dad's" friends. In Hamilton. Forgot to take the happy drugs with me... Dreaded Sunday... owies.

Got home at 2:00 am Sunday morning. Took one Diclectin instead of the usual two as I knew I would have to get up early(ish) and didn't want to sleep through the whole day. It seemed to work.

Sunday - Jay's Game with the inlaws and the nephew. Baby Boy enjoyed his first game immensely. That kid is so great in crowds. Nothing at all like his Auntie.

Dinner was had at one of the greatest restaurants in Toronto... Shopsy's. If you're not into meat, don't go there. If you like Delis, give it a shot. The place makes the best corned beef EVER!

Knowing I was counting down the hours to the 12 hour fast, I made night of it. I had the "Heart Attack on a plate." - they call it the "Hot Dog Surprise." It sounds better for you with that name. They also make a fantastic milkshake... I don't believe I knew that, but for future reference... Very creamy.

After dinner we headed back up to the In Laws house and had Ice Cream Cake from Baskin Robbins. Now ordinarily I don't like Ice Cream Cake... Ice Cream Cake is not cake - it's hard, rectangular ice cream. If I wanted ice cream, I'd get ice cream. However, this cake had some actual chocolate cake in the bottom layer... this made it quite edible. In my opinion. Not in everyone else's. But hey, when you're pregnant, you don't care if the day isn't intended to be about you - it's still all about you.

So, with the tummy settled, we chatted for a bit longer then went home so those people could go to bed.

Monday morning: Slept in as late as possible (Doctor's office didn't open 'til 9:00), had nothing better to do so checked the sugars... 6.8 Not good, not horrible, not surprising.

Got to the OB's office, grabbed the requisition, ran down to the lab. Dad went back into town in search of the tux for the wedding.



So, about the test...

I found the beverage to be quite delightful for first thing in the morning. In fact I would have gladly consumed a second bottle. But I'm a little weird like that and the Jelly has a wicked sweet tooth.

This time we used the left arm at my request as the bruise from the previous test had not yet healed.

Hour #1 - not terribly boring. Read for most of it, then Dad came back.

Second blood letting at 1st hour mark - went fairly smoothly.

Hour #2 - boring as crap, way longer than it needed to be.

Third blood letting - I experienced an altogether new sensation - I was looking forward to it. It mean I could go home and get something to eat. Yeah I was hungry. What?

So we stopped at Casey's in the mall. They make an excellent salad - The Asian Chicken Salad. It's got a ton of lettuce, some mandarin orange slices, honey lime dressing (the stuff rocks!), and some beautiful strips of teriyaki chicken.

Why oh why can I never remember that the Jelly doesn't like chicken?

Well we particularly don't like teriyaki chicken. I was able to keep it down just long enough to digest it in order to figure out the problem was. Apparently we're also not big fans of the black olives stolen from Dad's taco salad. Jells, you've got a lot to learn about good food.

Casey's also make a very good fruit smoothie. Check it out next time you're there. Multiple flavours.

Tuesday - second trip to the OB. I mentioned the nasty morning sickness that during the night. Monday night's dinner was rejected at 3:00 Tuesday morning. Took long enough... I told the OB that the nasty sickness comes in three week cycles, assured her that I am able to eat during these times and that the baby is still plenty active with no sign of bleeding.

So we took my various measurements, listened to the heart beat and waited for the glucose test results to show up (one day service? Specialists are really lucky people...)



Sooo... guess what?!



We've got gestational diabetes! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Okay, so most people don't cheer about it. I'm just glad we caught it. The OB and I are not at all surprised by this diagnosis.

So the referral was to be made on Tuesday and I was told that eventually I would hear from the new team of specialists (hopefully by the end of the week).

Yeah, more like ten minutes after we go home. Dad answered the phone. I got on the phone and said, "wow... that was really fast." The woman on the phone laughed and said, "did you just leave the office?" I said, "no, but we did just get home about ten minutes ago."

So, we scheduled the appointment for Thursday morning at 8:30. Woo-hoo! Gads that's early.

But I know some of you are asking... "What is Gestational Diabetes? What does it mean? Are you on insulin?"

Basically at the moment, all it means is, I probably won't need 'newborn sized' diapers. I'm gonna' give birth to a giant Jellyfish that may have some troubles regulating its own blood sugars after birth (this is not necessarily diabetes - just some birth related problems). Step one is to develop a proper eating plan to (fingers crossed) keep my sugars in check. If this doesn't work, then we get to move to insulin. Yippee. That would suck. I've got no problem closely monitoring my sugars. I've got no problem eating food that doesn't have a ton of 'sweet' in it. Jelly might not like it, but I'm sure we'll survive. It is coming up on the end of June so there isn't a ton of time left anyway. And now it's time to do something with that monitor instead of carrying it around to add weight to my purse.

...

So, some time has passed. It is now Thursday evening. We've been to the Diabetes Education Centre. Very helpful people there. I personally know some Diabetes Educators and Dieticians... they really are a wacky bunch. I mean, these people can look at a plate of food and altogether way too quickly tell you the nutritional value of the entire plate. They are handy to have around when you go out for dinner though. So we suffered from the small world thing that happens to a person who works in health care in a small town (me)... The first woman we talked to has actually worked with a friend of mine at a different hospital... We have mutual friends. I'll stop there before this gets even more silly.

So the basics:

I get to eat more food than I have been eating. It turns out my problem was only partially quality of food. The real problem was timing and not eating snacks... so I'd be starving mid-afternoon and that was when the chocolate bars would come out. I'm gonna' miss those. They were really good for the nausea. Jellyfish has a wicked sweet tooth after all. On the bright side, I seem to like yogurt again so that could be good for both of us.

Right. Basics. Sorry. Got babbling again.

I get to become a human pin cushion. See when you've got Gestational and it's not controlled by insulin, you basically have to continually poke yourself in the finger(s). At the moment it's a touch overwhelming... my life is ruled by two questions: 1) what time is it? and 2) how many grams am I supposed to have right now?

I'm exercising again... I suppose it was about time. I'd whine more about that but it seems a little senseless. After all, it is good for us.

I get to go to a ton more appointments! And tomorrow I get to have a nice little battery of tests done at the local MDS lab. Including a Thyroid function test. Great. Could that not wait until after I deliver? I mean, honestly. I went off the Celexa so I wouldn't have to worry about harming the baby in the third trimester. I'm coping but I don't have to like it. Then I get an abnormal placenta - not 100% sure what that means, but I'm coping and I don't have to like it. Then I get gestational diabetes (and it turns out it has nothing to do with my eating habits, I was destined to get it and couldn't really control it). I'm coping but I don't have to like it. If there's something wrong with my thyroid, I want my SSRIs back! So here's hoping that turns out okay. We'll fill you in as soon as we know.

...

I think I'm done ranting for now.

We'll keep you posted on any new developments. There's a baby shower this weekend so that should prove to be a nice distraction from recent developments.

Gotta' go watch the series finale of Stargate! :(

Ciao!
-HLC

Road Trips and Doctor Visits

'Kay...

Tons of stuff to report.

First, we went on a road trip. Carted the Jellyfish all the way to sunny London, Ontario for a bridal shower. The Jelly greatly enjoyed it. The long drive was good. Jelly kicked and danced and shivered pretty much the whole way, but was good about staying off my bladder for most of the trip. We got there about half an hour late but I was still greeted with immediate directions to the bathroom and the most comfy chair in the room to sit in. Sometimes I truly enjoy this being pregnant thing.

sidenote: All this sympathy and special treatment is a touch embarrassing but hey, I'll take it where I can get it 'cause I imagine if there's a future Jellyfish the treatment won't be the same.

But a fun day was had by all and we enjoyed the trip home too. We even found some food at a Kelsey's somewhere along the way that may or may not have been somewhere near Kitchener.

How sad is that? Don't care where the restaurant was exactly. As long as they have that cracked peppercorn burger, we're good. In fact, we eat at Kelsey's so much we really need to start keeping a diary of it. As soon as we figure out where we were, we'll get started on that. There are many trips to the eastern end of Ontario in our future and there are many restuarants on the 401.

...

...

Guess what?! We met the poor woman who is charged with the all-encompassing task of being my obstetrician for the remainder of the pregnancy! Honestly, I feel terribly sorry for her and her staff. They're going to get sick of me. I tried to tell them that, but I don't think they believe me. They'll learn.

So, the details: The OB/GYN herself is maybe two years older than me if that. I wish I could ask her. I mean, she knows how old I am, isn't it only fair? Ah, propriety.

Right, bonus number 2 - she's as crazy as I am. Her staff is great too. The girl who had to suffer the horror of telling me how much I weighed set the scales WAY low. I told her to start a bit higher than that and she'd spend less time fighting with them. Then she subtracted a whole pound for my shoes. I love her.

So, after the weighing, into the office we went. The doctor made it in and after the intros said, "So you're pregnant." I said, "That's what they tell me." She said, "There's a lot of that going around my office." Yep. She wins the prize for dang funny joke related to one's profession.

She kindly reassured me that though she may not be the OB on call the day I go into labour, all of her colleagues have the same methods for making a woman unpregnant. She said if she was on call that day, I was stuck with her. I corrected her and told her she would be stuck with me... and my mother. Poor thing really doesn't get it yet.

Oh - and we finally got to hear the heartbeat. It's about freakin' time. Sounds like the Jelly is happy and enjoying the free room and food.

I got to do the glucose tolerance test. I've heard that people get sick on the stuff. I guess they're not blessed with a Jellyfish with a monstrous sweet tooth like me. Yeah, it was a snap. I was lucky enough to get the stuff cold. I thought that was really nice of them. I thought it tasted like orange crush, but not as sweet. Apparently I have an odd sense of sweet.

The woman that took my blood after decided not to listen to me when I told her my veins were useless and she should draw from the left arm, inside vein. She said, "no, we'll use the right arm." She pumped the sucker dry. And it hurt like a sonofa&*$! the whole time. Later that day when my arm hurt and I figured I was reacting to the tape (again) I pulled tape off to find nothing but a slightly swollen inside of the elbow. So we went out to see a movie and I thought little of it. At the end of the movie I looked down and was pleased to see a giant purple (more lilac and mauve) bruise forming. Oh yeah, the next day it was bluish black with purple spots. It's great. See I figure if you're gonna' be hurt like that, you deserve a battle wound. I didn't bruise at all the last time I had blood drawn and it took them 8 tries (no exaggeration, honest) to find a vein. All I ended up with was the general feeling of being a human pincushion - but no physical evidence.

Anyhoo...

So, the updates - we get to have two more ultrasounds. One at 30 weeks and one at 36 weeks. We're at an increased risk of growing a rather large Jellyfish so we need to keep an eye on the squirt to make sure it doesn't run out of room.

Jelly's still keeping me sick pretty much all the time (yeah Jelly!). I've decided the only way I can feel generally okay is if I can wake up whenever I feel like it (after 8 preferably), then fall into the kitchen, have something resembling breakfast and then sit on my butt all day. That seems to keep the nausea and heartburn at bay. If I need to function in society at all, in any way, I'm gonna' be exhausted and generally feel like a big bag of poo. So it goes. With any luck I'll feel better sometime after I give birth. I can handle being tired all the time, I just wish it wasn't accompanied by a churning stomach.

*whine*

Right, so other symptoms:

Sciatic nerve pain: Not nearly as bad as it was. Either 'the contents' have shifted, or I've gotten used to it. I prefer the first explanation.

Intermittent hand tinglies: yeah, but not as freaky as it was.

Heartburn: getting worse.

Nausea/vomiting: Strong as it ever was. Stayin' on the Diclectin. Diclectin is my friend. It's a better friend than Tim Horton's Iced Capps. They work well, but Diclectin has fewer calories.

Headaches: nope.

Waistline: still have one. Sort of. I can still completely hide the fact I'm pregnant if I feel like it.

Weird craving of the week: Italian bread and peanut butter. Or any reasonable facsimile of Italian bread and peanut butter. Or M&Ms - peanuts. Basically there's a whole peanut thing going on here. Interesting really 'cause it was sometime in Feburary I believe when peanuts were the only thing that would calm the queasies. They worked a helluva lot better than crackers I'll tell ya' that. So we're back to the peanuts.

Perineal ache: starting. I've detected it and I'm not enjoying it. So the totally random couple of times it's happened, we'll just ignore them.

Clumsiness: Oh yes.

Swelling: Not really. The rings still fit, so that's good. They're a bit tighter, especially on humid days, but that used to happen to me anyway. Gotta' drink more water...

Interesting kicks: Jelly can tell when I'm nervous. I think it's kind of cute. I don't like thunderstorms. If I have a wave of 'freaked outedness', Jelly kicks. I've checked it with a couple of storms now. We seem to be tuned.

Absentminde... where was I going with that?

Yeah, that's about it. Coming up: we have a Stage and Doe to look forward too. I think I'll harass the couple with having planned their whole wedding badly for a few years... I can't drink at the Stag and Doe. I can't drink at the wedding. I can't dance unless I've been drinking. I mean really drinking. I'm too uptight. And now I'm not even on celexa... I'm not sure how this is gonna' work.
Also, the trip to Ottawa in July has been approved - with a gentle reminder to get out the car and stretch often.

So that's it for now. It's Grandma's birthday next week so I'm hoping the Jelly lets me eat some cake. That would be nice. Hopefully we'll have a bunch more stories next week. The kind that come with humour.

In the meantime, Jelly's telling me it's time to get up and wander around a bit. Kid's been sleeping all day, so it's about time really.

Ciao!

-HLC

Quick note...

So it's been a week.

There's currently nothing to report except that I know better than to try going off the Diclectin again. We'll just stick with it right 'til the end.

'Nuff said.

Stay tuned for an update sometime after this Wednesday when (fingers crossed) we meet the OB/GYN!

Woo-hoo!

-HLC