Stressful day
Talk about a stupid stressful day.
First, the childbirth rant. I called the doctor's office today because they have 3 mid-wives on staff and I thought I might get what I felt was more objective information from them. So I told the receptionist I'd like to schedule a time to talk to one of the mid-wives about VBAC. She sounded thoroughly confused, "You want to switch to one of the midwives?" "No, I just want to have a consultation with one of them." "uh... can you hold on?" So she put me on hold for a few minutes and then came back and said she'd have a nurse call me back.
I get a call back from the nurse who doesn't understand why I would want to speak to a midwife. "You know that your doctor put in your chart that you're not a good candidate for VBAC? I know you told Dr. Solinsky that you wanted it, but Dr. Maida says your pelvis is narrow." I explained that I head read enough to know that that's not a definitive statement, and that I wanted to discuss it with a midwife because of all the conflicting information I was getting from different sources. Her attitude was pretty much that if the doctor had put in my chart that I wasn't a candidate for VBAC, then none of the mid-wives would tell me different. I said thanks, and I guess I'll look elsewhere for an objective opinion. Her advice was to talk to Dr. Levine at my next appointment. Now, of course, I feel completely at a loss as to who to talk to on this. Is there no medical practitioner out there who can give me an objective opinion? Explain to my why my pelvis being narrow increases the risk of uterine rupture, which is what I feel like this doctor is implying. If you can give me actual, scientific reasons why risks increase due a narrow pelvis, I'll be glad to listen. Otherwise, it seems like you just think c-section will be easier, which in my mind is NOT a good enough reason. (Ed - if you're reading this, hurry the f-up and read up on this, because you're the only one who has as much stake in it as I do and I'd really like to hear your informed opinion on the whole thing!!!!!) In case you hadn't guessed, I'm completely stressed out about this.
Then, to make things worse, I get a call from my Mom telling me my Dad is in the hospital. He was feeling crappy and weak yesterday, and running a fever. So, they decided that when he came in for hemo-dialysis they would actually remove the appliance for the peritoneal dialysis because with the diabetes, he's just too prone to infection. So there they are, prepping him for the 15 minute surgery when the anesthesiologist comes back and says no can do because my Dad's EKG came back crazy enough that they think he may have had a heart attack. What does this mean? Well, consider the factors. My dad is 66, has been a diabetic for 37 years (a diabetic who didn't track his sugar for a large chunk of that time), he has heart disease and his kidneys don't work. Problems with his heart could knock him of the donor list. Also, when my Mom and Dad retired, they retired to Alabama, so it's very difficult to be able to be there if they need me. They'll be testing his heart tomorrow. There is hope - they haven't been able to reach his cardiologist yet to get a base line to compare this ekg reading too, and my Dad has been told in the past that he has a very strange ekg. Plus there was the infection... but we really won't know until tomorrow. Thankfully, I just got the chance to talk to him and he sounds like he's in pretty good spirits. With him that can be half the battle.
Anyway - just needed the chance to vent a bit...
First, the childbirth rant. I called the doctor's office today because they have 3 mid-wives on staff and I thought I might get what I felt was more objective information from them. So I told the receptionist I'd like to schedule a time to talk to one of the mid-wives about VBAC. She sounded thoroughly confused, "You want to switch to one of the midwives?" "No, I just want to have a consultation with one of them." "uh... can you hold on?" So she put me on hold for a few minutes and then came back and said she'd have a nurse call me back.
I get a call back from the nurse who doesn't understand why I would want to speak to a midwife. "You know that your doctor put in your chart that you're not a good candidate for VBAC? I know you told Dr. Solinsky that you wanted it, but Dr. Maida says your pelvis is narrow." I explained that I head read enough to know that that's not a definitive statement, and that I wanted to discuss it with a midwife because of all the conflicting information I was getting from different sources. Her attitude was pretty much that if the doctor had put in my chart that I wasn't a candidate for VBAC, then none of the mid-wives would tell me different. I said thanks, and I guess I'll look elsewhere for an objective opinion. Her advice was to talk to Dr. Levine at my next appointment. Now, of course, I feel completely at a loss as to who to talk to on this. Is there no medical practitioner out there who can give me an objective opinion? Explain to my why my pelvis being narrow increases the risk of uterine rupture, which is what I feel like this doctor is implying. If you can give me actual, scientific reasons why risks increase due a narrow pelvis, I'll be glad to listen. Otherwise, it seems like you just think c-section will be easier, which in my mind is NOT a good enough reason. (Ed - if you're reading this, hurry the f-up and read up on this, because you're the only one who has as much stake in it as I do and I'd really like to hear your informed opinion on the whole thing!!!!!) In case you hadn't guessed, I'm completely stressed out about this.
Then, to make things worse, I get a call from my Mom telling me my Dad is in the hospital. He was feeling crappy and weak yesterday, and running a fever. So, they decided that when he came in for hemo-dialysis they would actually remove the appliance for the peritoneal dialysis because with the diabetes, he's just too prone to infection. So there they are, prepping him for the 15 minute surgery when the anesthesiologist comes back and says no can do because my Dad's EKG came back crazy enough that they think he may have had a heart attack. What does this mean? Well, consider the factors. My dad is 66, has been a diabetic for 37 years (a diabetic who didn't track his sugar for a large chunk of that time), he has heart disease and his kidneys don't work. Problems with his heart could knock him of the donor list. Also, when my Mom and Dad retired, they retired to Alabama, so it's very difficult to be able to be there if they need me. They'll be testing his heart tomorrow. There is hope - they haven't been able to reach his cardiologist yet to get a base line to compare this ekg reading too, and my Dad has been told in the past that he has a very strange ekg. Plus there was the infection... but we really won't know until tomorrow. Thankfully, I just got the chance to talk to him and he sounds like he's in pretty good spirits. With him that can be half the battle.
Anyway - just needed the chance to vent a bit...