(no subject)
Well, let's see...the past couple of days have been busy with doctor's appointments and such!
On Tuesday I went in for the monthly ultrasound of the little man. THe ultrasound tech was really quiet the whole time - she was one I hadn't had before. I got the ultrasound at the Cheat Lake OB/GYN office rather than the hospital and I don't think their techs are maybe quite as good as the ones at Ruby. Anyway, she did the ultrasound, then walked out and said she wanted to go talk to the doctor. I freaked out, I mean, I was so scared the whole time she was gone because they have never gone to talk to the radiologist while we were in there. SHe was really vague too about things, I dunno.
Anyway, she came back in, and said that we could leave. I asked her how the R kidney looked and she said the radiologist said it was at the high end of normal size. I asked her why she had gone to talk to the radiologist, and she said they do that with every patient, but I know this is a lie because this was our 5th ultrasound and it's never happened before!
So we left, and I was really scared. Paul and his mom were with me and they didn't seem scared, but I couldn't figure out WHAT was going on. I was worried that she had seen something funny and was just going to let Dr. Merzouk tell me about it. The thing that scares me, is that if there are 2 things showing up "odd" like a weird kidney plus the 2 vessel cord, that there is some underlying cause for all these things that is genetic, or a series of abnormalities that can't be detected on ultrasound. The kidney being mildly dilated in and of itself doesn't worry me.
Anyway, I got on medsite when i got home, and used my hospital password to look at my medical record - this is totally allowed by the way....I am not allowed to look at anyone's record except myself, or patients that I am seeing. So I read the radiologist's ultrasound report, and he said that the kidney had an "extra renal pelvis" which is kinda strange, and something I hadn't heard of before.
So I had my appointment early the next morning with Dr. Merzouk. I had a non stress test, and the baby just wasn't waking up for it in the beginning! HE came around though after they brought me some juice, started moving and such and eventually passed his test. Dr. Merzouk came in, and she was a little concerned about there being a new "finding." I was glad she didn't just think I was crazy for being so worried! I love her!
Anyway, she said I could go see the high risk obstetrician and talk to him about it, as he deals with these things a lot more than she does. I think, by the way, one of the best qualities a doctor can have is knowing when to pass the buck and let you talk to a different person. Dr. Merzouk called him, and said I was a VIP patient and he told me to come in that same exact afternoon to see him! I wanted to give Dr. MErzouk a kiss!
Anyway, I went to the high risk office later in the day yesterday. The ultrasound tech at teh hospital, Heather, did my ultrasound. That makes the 3rd one of mine that she has done, and I really really like her a lot. She talks the whole time she is doing them, tells you what she is looking at, and she seems to really enjoy getting good pictures of the baby. She took a long look at everything, and she said nothing looked really unusual to her, but of course she doesn't have the final say. She went to get the high risk doctor, so he could come and talk to me.
HE came in, and I really liked him instantly. He put the ultrasound probe back on me and did an ultrasound himself! He magnified the kidney so that the span of a centimeter was blown up on the full screen, and he spent probably 5 or 6 minutes, just scrutinizing every detail of his right kidney. He looked at the other kidney and the bladder also, and said that he thinks everything looked fine, that there was nothing going on at all that was unusual, and the baby likely won't even need any follow up after he's born - everything should function fine. He said that in an AP view of the kidney like they did at Cheat Lake, it did look somewhat bigger than most, but when he looked at the entire kidney, it seemed fine. I wish he could have checked every inch of the baby like that, but I knew he was working me in and probably was in a hurry, and I felt so much relief to see him in the first place.
After that, I asked him what the chances were that there was some type of genetic problem, and he said about 1 in 17,000 since that's how my screening came back at the beginning of the pregnancy. Large kidney + 2 vessel cord are both "soft" markers and have a weak association with Downs syndrome, but he didn't believe my odds were really increased anymore. I asked him about other problems and he said that 2-3 % of all babies are born with some abnormality/malformation, and that ultrasound picks up about 1/2 of these before birth. He said that small holes in the heart usually weren't picked up...and I know various GI defects and such can't be seen. He said the possibility of something like that happening was still there, as it is there for anyone, but he doesn't believe it's really increased in our case because the kidney was looking normal to him.
So anyway, at the end of the day, I was so much more relieved since the high risk OB had looked himself, and Dr. Merzouk had gotten me in so fast to see him. I also love Heather, the ultrasound tech, and am thinking about sending her flowers. haha. Also, if I get another ultrasound done, I'm doing it at the hospital, NOT cheat lake. It sounds like if the radiologist had had better kidney pictures, he wouldn't have thought something was off to begin with and we wouldn't have had 2 ultrasounds in 2 days.
We have 3.5 to 6.5 weeks until we meet him! He weighs 4 pounds 9 ounces right now and is sleeping a lot more these days! I've gained 25 pounds, and even have trouble rolling over in bed at night! haha. I tell Paul that I need more than 1/2 the bed since there are 2 of me :) My back hurts constantly, ribs are ALWAYS sore, I can't eat much food at once without getting sick, but I don't care at all if he is okay!
On Tuesday I went in for the monthly ultrasound of the little man. THe ultrasound tech was really quiet the whole time - she was one I hadn't had before. I got the ultrasound at the Cheat Lake OB/GYN office rather than the hospital and I don't think their techs are maybe quite as good as the ones at Ruby. Anyway, she did the ultrasound, then walked out and said she wanted to go talk to the doctor. I freaked out, I mean, I was so scared the whole time she was gone because they have never gone to talk to the radiologist while we were in there. SHe was really vague too about things, I dunno.
Anyway, she came back in, and said that we could leave. I asked her how the R kidney looked and she said the radiologist said it was at the high end of normal size. I asked her why she had gone to talk to the radiologist, and she said they do that with every patient, but I know this is a lie because this was our 5th ultrasound and it's never happened before!
So we left, and I was really scared. Paul and his mom were with me and they didn't seem scared, but I couldn't figure out WHAT was going on. I was worried that she had seen something funny and was just going to let Dr. Merzouk tell me about it. The thing that scares me, is that if there are 2 things showing up "odd" like a weird kidney plus the 2 vessel cord, that there is some underlying cause for all these things that is genetic, or a series of abnormalities that can't be detected on ultrasound. The kidney being mildly dilated in and of itself doesn't worry me.
Anyway, I got on medsite when i got home, and used my hospital password to look at my medical record - this is totally allowed by the way....I am not allowed to look at anyone's record except myself, or patients that I am seeing. So I read the radiologist's ultrasound report, and he said that the kidney had an "extra renal pelvis" which is kinda strange, and something I hadn't heard of before.
So I had my appointment early the next morning with Dr. Merzouk. I had a non stress test, and the baby just wasn't waking up for it in the beginning! HE came around though after they brought me some juice, started moving and such and eventually passed his test. Dr. Merzouk came in, and she was a little concerned about there being a new "finding." I was glad she didn't just think I was crazy for being so worried! I love her!
Anyway, she said I could go see the high risk obstetrician and talk to him about it, as he deals with these things a lot more than she does. I think, by the way, one of the best qualities a doctor can have is knowing when to pass the buck and let you talk to a different person. Dr. Merzouk called him, and said I was a VIP patient and he told me to come in that same exact afternoon to see him! I wanted to give Dr. MErzouk a kiss!
Anyway, I went to the high risk office later in the day yesterday. The ultrasound tech at teh hospital, Heather, did my ultrasound. That makes the 3rd one of mine that she has done, and I really really like her a lot. She talks the whole time she is doing them, tells you what she is looking at, and she seems to really enjoy getting good pictures of the baby. She took a long look at everything, and she said nothing looked really unusual to her, but of course she doesn't have the final say. She went to get the high risk doctor, so he could come and talk to me.
HE came in, and I really liked him instantly. He put the ultrasound probe back on me and did an ultrasound himself! He magnified the kidney so that the span of a centimeter was blown up on the full screen, and he spent probably 5 or 6 minutes, just scrutinizing every detail of his right kidney. He looked at the other kidney and the bladder also, and said that he thinks everything looked fine, that there was nothing going on at all that was unusual, and the baby likely won't even need any follow up after he's born - everything should function fine. He said that in an AP view of the kidney like they did at Cheat Lake, it did look somewhat bigger than most, but when he looked at the entire kidney, it seemed fine. I wish he could have checked every inch of the baby like that, but I knew he was working me in and probably was in a hurry, and I felt so much relief to see him in the first place.
After that, I asked him what the chances were that there was some type of genetic problem, and he said about 1 in 17,000 since that's how my screening came back at the beginning of the pregnancy. Large kidney + 2 vessel cord are both "soft" markers and have a weak association with Downs syndrome, but he didn't believe my odds were really increased anymore. I asked him about other problems and he said that 2-3 % of all babies are born with some abnormality/malformation, and that ultrasound picks up about 1/2 of these before birth. He said that small holes in the heart usually weren't picked up...and I know various GI defects and such can't be seen. He said the possibility of something like that happening was still there, as it is there for anyone, but he doesn't believe it's really increased in our case because the kidney was looking normal to him.
So anyway, at the end of the day, I was so much more relieved since the high risk OB had looked himself, and Dr. Merzouk had gotten me in so fast to see him. I also love Heather, the ultrasound tech, and am thinking about sending her flowers. haha. Also, if I get another ultrasound done, I'm doing it at the hospital, NOT cheat lake. It sounds like if the radiologist had had better kidney pictures, he wouldn't have thought something was off to begin with and we wouldn't have had 2 ultrasounds in 2 days.
We have 3.5 to 6.5 weeks until we meet him! He weighs 4 pounds 9 ounces right now and is sleeping a lot more these days! I've gained 25 pounds, and even have trouble rolling over in bed at night! haha. I tell Paul that I need more than 1/2 the bed since there are 2 of me :) My back hurts constantly, ribs are ALWAYS sore, I can't eat much food at once without getting sick, but I don't care at all if he is okay!