The appointment on Thursday morning went well. Everything still looks great. We discussed at length my switch from Lovenox, the blood thinner I take once a day, to Heparin, the blood thinner I will have to take twice a day. I am switching on Monday. The reason for the switch is that Lovenox lasts for 24 hours, and Heparin leaves my system after 12 hours. Plus, the Heparin is actually reversible, so if I go into labor and its still in my system they can give me something to reverse its effect before getting an epidural or having a c-section. I can't do either if the blood thinner is still effective. Besides how often I take it, the big difference between Lovenox and Heparin is how it comes. The Lovenox comes in pre-filled syringes, and is extremely easy to just open and inject. Heparin doesn't come that way. It is a liquid in a bottle. I have to actually buy separate syringes and fill them myself. I am pretty familiar with how to properly fill a syringe from my years of laboratory experience, but I've never had to actually fill a syringe to inject myself. I wanted to make sure I was doing it correctly, so I discussed it with the pharmacist. He explained it pretty well, so I am sure it will be fine. The actual injection process is the same as I have been doing, so that won't be a problem. I'm really looking forward to ending the injections for good though. They definitely aren't my favorite thing to do. The simple injection has allowed me to have a healthy, normal baby though, so for that I am extremely happy to take them. I am still amazed at how simple the solution to my problem is. On the forum for people with my condition I read all the time about doctors who won't prescribe anything because they don't believe it really is a problem. It doesn't really make sense to me. Why wouldn't you want to just put these poor women on the blood thinners and see what happens? It has no adverse side effects, so it shouldn't be a big deal. I'm so glad my doctor has been on board with this. She is great!
Anyway, so the big news is delivery day. We didn't actually find out that morning at the appointment. The nurse actually called me late in the afternoon to tell me they had set a day for me. We go in the evening of August 10th to start a medication to help thin and dilate my cervix. Then they will start the pitocin the next morning to get the contractions going. If everything works out well I will have a baby sometime on August 11th. My sister went through the same induction process I am going through, and she didn't actually have her baby until 2 days after they started it all. Hopefully that won't be me. I have a feeling that if I go too long my doctor will just want to do a c-section anyway, but we'll see. Either way I will end up with a healthy baby, so that's ok.
It's so weird to have a delivery date set. I only have 2 weeks left of work! This whole pregnancy seemed to take a long time, but now that the end is in sight I can't believe its already here. I'm not panicked at the moment, but panic may set in at any time. I think we're ready. We have most of the stuff we really need, and we've taken some classes, so I think we're as ready as we're going to be. The only other major thing I want to get done is a car seat safety check. They do them free at the hospital, but you have to make an appointment and the only time I could get in is actually the morning of the day I'm supposed to be admitted to the hospital. That's ok though. At least it will be done before the baby arrives. :)
The countdown is on!
No comments:
Post a Comment