Theres always things to worry

10 weeks today and am a graduate!

We had our first appt with the OB/GYN last week. We always dreaded to go to her office though we really wanted to get to this stage. The last time we were there was during my ectopic pregnancy. Still remember her searching desperately for a sac when I was 6 weeks pregnant and I can never forget the look she had on her face.

Anyways speaking about better things...

The first appt went well, she took a very quick peek at our little bean...didn’t take any measurements; instead she just calculated how far I am based on my last period date. Oh well...welcome to the busy world of OB/GYN. She was happy and quite surprised about this miracle baby. As protocol dictates I had my blood work, cervical exam, pap smear done. She said the blood results will take at least 3-4 weeks and if I don’t hear from her, it means everything is normal (?!). She talked to me about different pregnancy symptoms and protein consumption based on my vegetarian diet. We decided to go with the first trimester screening (blood work and NT scan) and scheduled it for 13 weeks. I was a happy lady until yesterday evening.

Yesterday evening I get a call from my medical endocrinologist (who put me on Dexamethasone for high DHEAS and Testosterone). He says I am sorry to disturb you on a Sunday evening but then I get a feeling that something’s is up as he usually never calls on a Sunday. He got my blood results back from last week and the DHEAS levels are normal but Testosterone levels are a bit high (in 80s). Normal range is below 50. He wants me to come back for a repeat blood work this week to confirm the levels again and based on that he is going to talk to my OB/GYN. He mentioned it’s not something to really worry at this time as pregnancy makes hormones go a little wild but will have to be reviewed carefully.

Off I go to Google and I get all these scary information that high testosterone inhibits growth in the uterus!! Not something I wanted to hear...well there isn’t any choice…

PCOS women tend to have high DHEAS and testosterone but it is lowered by use of Metformin and corticosteroids like Dexamethasone which I have been taking for that last one year. My RE has asked to stop Metformin after first trimester as that’s the norm. Now am quite worried if that would further elevate my levels!

We are going for the blood work tomorrow but results will be back only by end of this week. My NT scan is 3 weeks from now, until then I will not know what’s happening..I really hope the little one grows well. Damn PCOS!

Transition

Last week, Thursday was our final appointment with our RE. The 25 mile ride felt really different that morning. We brought cupcakes to his office and thanked each one of them for making this happen. My 70 year old doc (yes he turned 70 last year!!!) was moved to tears when we said we will keep in touch and send pictures. Dr. Wizard wished us lots of luck and children :)

My RE is affiliated to RMACT (Reproductive medical associates of Connecticut) but he has his private clinic in NY. For some reason he is discontinuing his association with RMACT and is going to start working with RMANY which means that he will no longer have his own private clinic. Though it was a very happy day for us, his staff were not in their best spirits...most of them are losing their jobs only 1 or 2 out of 10 people are joining him at the new place. I felt so sorry for them...I may never see most of them when I visit him next time..

They were so kind enough not to show their disappointment that day.

After few hugs and smiles we left the place. My heart was heavy...this was one of the few places or people whom I felt very comfortable being with during this journey. We graduated and our first appointment with OB/GYN will be this Thursday.

I have been so tardy with blogging lately. I really need to pull myself together and provide more frequent updates. Weekend went like a fast breeze, Saturday was nice and Sunday was awful. I woke up with a headache, threw up after I had some decaf and I had that nasty headache the whole day. This morning I had a fasting blood appointment with my medical endocrinologist to review my DHEAS (androgen levels). He recommends me taking the Dexamethasone throughout the pregnancy and he is going to monitor me every 10 weeks to see how am doing. Stopping the medication may alter my androgen levels so he doesn't want me to stop at this point however I stop Metformin at 12 weeks.

Moving on to some updates about the little bean - We had our ultrasound last Thursday and the baby measured 9 weeks 0 days. For the first time we saw it make a little move...such an amazing sight!! Everything felt so real that moment! We will miss these frequent peeks at the bean going forward.

My mom-in-law is visiting us next week. I can’t wait to see her and spend some time with her. We will be visiting Cape Cod end of June…can’t wait for that either!! It will be our first vacation after almost a year!!

Good news

We went for our blood and ultrasound today. My anxiety levels were no less though we were able to see an intrauterine pregnancy last time. Our eyes remained glued to the u/s screen and slowly the little one showed up. Baby measured 6w6d (I am 7w today according to my LMP..so not bad) and then we looked at the heartbeat and it was 138 bpm :) It was such an amazing moment. Tears of joy ran down my cheeks as I got a copy of the ultrasound picture. I gave my blood and we were back at the RE's office. He was so overjoyed and kept thanking us for all the patience! I must say I was lucky to have a very understanding RE. He gave me a notepad to write down a few dates. We will be going to the RE for next three weeks and then transition to my OB/GYN. We will have ultrasound, blood work and internal exam done every week for the next three weeks. I thought that was a lot...not sure if all the REs do weekly u/s. Maybe this is his protocol?

As we were about to leave, I wished my RE happy first anniversary. Today, June 1st marks one year of working with him. Its been a wonderful journey but certainly not an easy one. There are so many wonderful moms out there who are still waiting for a miracle and my heart goes out to them. I really wish and pray all their dreams come true soon.

As far as symptoms are concerned, I don't like certain foods and nausea comes and goes. Sometimes it’s never there. Breasts are tender and pain at night. Bloating is huge, it could be partly indigestion as I get constipated now and then (sorry TMI!).  I have already gained 5 lbs...maybe it’s all that bloating..hoping to start some kind of exercise routine this weekend. Hope all of you are having a great friday!!