Sunday, August 13, 2006
All Clear
Well after a week of worrying all checked out fine, my cervix was the exact same length as the prior week and looked good. I also met with the midwife of my peri group for the first time, I really like her. I feel more comfortable resuming normal activities but she said to work up slowly. She also thinks all my blood sugars look great and is hopeful that I will be able to control the gestational diabetes via diet which is good.
It's A ????
Spine
Well even with the scare we were excited to get a detailed view of our baby. We did find out that It's a GIRL!
That's right in the ultrasound she was beign stubborn but finally after I got up and walked around she repositioned and showed herself. She was very active in the ultrasound as she generally is whenever someone is trying to 'peek' in on her. Here are a few
of the clearer pics.
Face Profile
Lower Leg/Foot
Well even with the scare we were excited to get a detailed view of our baby. We did find out that It's a GIRL!
That's right in the ultrasound she was beign stubborn but finally after I got up and walked around she repositioned and showed herself. She was very active in the ultrasound as she generally is whenever someone is trying to 'peek' in on her. Here are a few
of the clearer pics.
Face Profile
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Lower Leg/Foot
BIG Scare!
July 26th
We made a trip to Emergency Room Labor & Delivery at 4:30 am on July 26th. I was experiencing some bleeding and was petrified. They found the baby's heartbeat just fine and the uterine monitoring did not show any contractions though my uterus was showing 'irritation' which I am told was from the bleed. We had an ultrasound of the baby which looked great and my cervix checked out fine. They sent us home and had me take wed-sun off work and limited activity. I returned to the doctor monday for a check up and retested cervical length. The cervix looked fine but appeared shorter than the prior check while still being in the normal range. They will retest in a week. They said I can return to work and resume some light activities such as walking or water work outs but I am still a bit paranoid, especially with the question on the cervix length and they told me the bleed could happen again as sometimes that, 'just happens'.
We made a trip to Emergency Room Labor & Delivery at 4:30 am on July 26th. I was experiencing some bleeding and was petrified. They found the baby's heartbeat just fine and the uterine monitoring did not show any contractions though my uterus was showing 'irritation' which I am told was from the bleed. We had an ultrasound of the baby which looked great and my cervix checked out fine. They sent us home and had me take wed-sun off work and limited activity. I returned to the doctor monday for a check up and retested cervical length. The cervix looked fine but appeared shorter than the prior check while still being in the normal range. They will retest in a week. They said I can return to work and resume some light activities such as walking or water work outs but I am still a bit paranoid, especially with the question on the cervix length and they told me the bleed could happen again as sometimes that, 'just happens'.
Picnic Picnic Picnic!
Saturday July 22nd
Normally Jared and I don't have a whole lot to do on the weekends, they are more leasurly. This saturday however was very busy.
We had my work picnic which was nice, there weren't a ton of people there but it was nice to visit and lots of good food. They had some games for adults and kids which I thankfully get a pass on being pregnant. They had some adults do tug of war and a water balloon toss that was fun to watch but best of all they had a team competition of dizzy bat which was hilarious to watch people fall down and run sideways.
Then we went to a BBQ to raise money for a man with cancer who's insurance is no longer covering him because he met his cap! This makes me so angry they shouldnt be able to do that. Anyway, Jared works with the guys brother. It was a pig roast so more good food and a silent auction. I won a gift certificate to get a massage for cheaper than I would normally pay and a sock monkey! Does anyone remember sock monkeys, Jared and his friends thought I was crazy! It is where you take two mens pair socks and make it into a stuffed monkey, they are so cute and I had been wanting one. The lady made it, put it into a basket with a book called Sock Monkey Boogie Woogie and homemade cookies it was very cute. By end of the BBQ I was tired but we had one more stop to make.
A few girls from work had a party after the work picnic and it was a much bigger success than the picnic I think. They did a hawaiin theme and it went very well everyone was wearing lays, BBQ'ing, some were swimming or playing games it was a good time. We didn't stay too long I was so tired, and couldn't partake in the Jungle Juice! I did meet a guy at work's wife who is due 2 days before me, she is showing so much less than me Yikes! She is very nice, they had just had their ultrasound and found out it is a boy -- I can't wait until next week for ours!
Normally Jared and I don't have a whole lot to do on the weekends, they are more leasurly. This saturday however was very busy.
We had my work picnic which was nice, there weren't a ton of people there but it was nice to visit and lots of good food. They had some games for adults and kids which I thankfully get a pass on being pregnant. They had some adults do tug of war and a water balloon toss that was fun to watch but best of all they had a team competition of dizzy bat which was hilarious to watch people fall down and run sideways.
Then we went to a BBQ to raise money for a man with cancer who's insurance is no longer covering him because he met his cap! This makes me so angry they shouldnt be able to do that. Anyway, Jared works with the guys brother. It was a pig roast so more good food and a silent auction. I won a gift certificate to get a massage for cheaper than I would normally pay and a sock monkey! Does anyone remember sock monkeys, Jared and his friends thought I was crazy! It is where you take two mens pair socks and make it into a stuffed monkey, they are so cute and I had been wanting one. The lady made it, put it into a basket with a book called Sock Monkey Boogie Woogie and homemade cookies it was very cute. By end of the BBQ I was tired but we had one more stop to make.
A few girls from work had a party after the work picnic and it was a much bigger success than the picnic I think. They did a hawaiin theme and it went very well everyone was wearing lays, BBQ'ing, some were swimming or playing games it was a good time. We didn't stay too long I was so tired, and couldn't partake in the Jungle Juice! I did meet a guy at work's wife who is due 2 days before me, she is showing so much less than me Yikes! She is very nice, they had just had their ultrasound and found out it is a boy -- I can't wait until next week for ours!
Baby on the MOVE!
I am enjoying feeling the baby kick! It is so exciting. At first I thought maybe it was just gas but now for sure I know I felt him/her. It didn't really feel like butterfly wings or whatever the books say more like if you were to lick the inside of your cheek! First few days very very faint but now it is picking up. If I eat something with sugar in it and then lie on my left side is when I can feel the kicks or bumps the most. I can't wait until they get a bit stronger!
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Symptom Update: Now the headaches have greatly reduced 18.5-19 weeks and I am so happy about that, I am still getting them a few days a week but not as bad. I am able to enjoy excercising and have been doing 1/2 hour-45 minute walk with the dogs or water aerobics/bike at the gym. Everything is looking up!
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Symptom Update: Now the headaches have greatly reduced 18.5-19 weeks and I am so happy about that, I am still getting them a few days a week but not as bad. I am able to enjoy excercising and have been doing 1/2 hour-45 minute walk with the dogs or water aerobics/bike at the gym. Everything is looking up!
Emily's Wedding
My friend from college got married today. It was a very nice and down home wedding. I always thought trying to do a smaller back yard type reception would not work out very well as the ones I have seen in the past did not but hers turned out fabulously--well except for the 95+degree heat! They had a nice church ceremony at their church followed by a reception under two large tents in the church's back yard. There was a blue grass band on hand and females in her family prepared all of the food. Her colors were purple and white and her dress was gorgeous. I am very excited for them.
Family Reunion
July 9th
Family reunion time. It was nice to see more people in attendance this year at Jared's moms side family reunion. It went very well, the weather was nice. We got to meet my new future sister in law. Forgot the camera that day so no new photos, maybe I can borrow a couple from someone.
Family reunion time. It was nice to see more people in attendance this year at Jared's moms side family reunion. It went very well, the weather was nice. We got to meet my new future sister in law. Forgot the camera that day so no new photos, maybe I can borrow a couple from someone.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
BP Headache Medicine Miracle
Well lets see I am taking Verapimil for blood pressure, it is what my grandpa used to take!
I took it monday night and tuesday I still had a migraines, wednesday migraine, thursday just headache and only 1/2 the day, then miraculously friday saturday sunday were headache free -- that is the longest stretch without a migraine in past 2 months so this just might be working!
I took it monday night and tuesday I still had a migraines, wednesday migraine, thursday just headache and only 1/2 the day, then miraculously friday saturday sunday were headache free -- that is the longest stretch without a migraine in past 2 months so this just might be working!
Peri Headache Update
18 weeks
Well now I am desperate the migraines are driving me nuts. I looked on the internet because one of the ladies on my IVF chat board is having headaches and her doctor prescribed her blood pressure medication. It appears that this can really help reduce the frequency of migraines and at this point I will try anything! I gave DrH a call and she said she was hesitant to try it because it can worsen asthma. She said I could give it a try as long as I monitored my breathing and let her know if there were any changes in my lung capacity etc. So tonight I will start these for the first time, I am so excited I want to run home and take them now!
Well now I am desperate the migraines are driving me nuts. I looked on the internet because one of the ladies on my IVF chat board is having headaches and her doctor prescribed her blood pressure medication. It appears that this can really help reduce the frequency of migraines and at this point I will try anything! I gave DrH a call and she said she was hesitant to try it because it can worsen asthma. She said I could give it a try as long as I monitored my breathing and let her know if there were any changes in my lung capacity etc. So tonight I will start these for the first time, I am so excited I want to run home and take them now!
Peri Appt
My doctor tried to take me off work today due to the migraines. I have missed about 4 partial days of work from them but i have not really been going home when I get them as I get them about 5 days a week. She thought maybe being home would help but I don't think so and then I would feel so housebound. Am I crazy for telling her no when I feel so miserable at work and I am so bored there anyway as they have not found me an alternate job?? All well I think it was the right thing to do.
Peri & Dietician Appt
13 weeks:
Met with the dietician today. She said that while I am doing excellent keeping the blood sugars reigned in that I have not been eating enough carbs! She said that being pregnant I need 180-240g carbs a day and I am probably only getting 90-100g on my current regimen. So I am to up my carb intake but in a controlled fashion and if my blood sugars are too high then I will have to either take insulin or start some pills to reduce it. I have to eat 30g carb for breakfast and my 3 daily snacks, and 45g carbs with lunch dinner.
Also met with peri and while all looks good she could see how awful I have been feeling with my migraines, I had one even at the office. She is concerned with their frequency and severity though she said this does happen to some women. She prescribed my vicodin to take for the headaches which I was very uneasy about but she assured me that they use it all the time in pregnancy. She also wrote headaches into my FMLA forms and told me to go home when I had a migraine or take the day off so I could take the vicodin as I can't work while taking it. She was not too concerned that I had lost weight especially since I had been having trouble eating with the headaches and all, she said if I dont' gain by 20 weeks then they would be a bit more concerned.
Met with the dietician today. She said that while I am doing excellent keeping the blood sugars reigned in that I have not been eating enough carbs! She said that being pregnant I need 180-240g carbs a day and I am probably only getting 90-100g on my current regimen. So I am to up my carb intake but in a controlled fashion and if my blood sugars are too high then I will have to either take insulin or start some pills to reduce it. I have to eat 30g carb for breakfast and my 3 daily snacks, and 45g carbs with lunch dinner.
Also met with peri and while all looks good she could see how awful I have been feeling with my migraines, I had one even at the office. She is concerned with their frequency and severity though she said this does happen to some women. She prescribed my vicodin to take for the headaches which I was very uneasy about but she assured me that they use it all the time in pregnancy. She also wrote headaches into my FMLA forms and told me to go home when I had a migraine or take the day off so I could take the vicodin as I can't work while taking it. She was not too concerned that I had lost weight especially since I had been having trouble eating with the headaches and all, she said if I dont' gain by 20 weeks then they would be a bit more concerned.
Gestational Diabetes - bump in the road!
So at my first peri appt I mentioned that she had me go for a one hour glucose tolerance test. This means that they take your blood to test it's sugar level when you get there then they have you drink what is pretty much like a really sugar laden pop and wait an hour to take your blood sugar again. Most of you know I don't drink pop, or pretty much anything except water so for me the solution tastes like flat syrupy pop and is extremely disgusting. Well I took my blood sugar on my meter after the one hour and it was in the 170's and I knew that was failing before I even got the official word.
The next day the doctor's office called to say I had failed and I scheduled a 3 hour glucose tolerance test -- these ones are awful and I normally take one every year anyway. Each year I trend a little closer to diabetic so with the pregnancy which impairs your bodies ability to use insulin I was sure I would fail this too. For the 3 hour you go in after fasting for 12 hours so my blood sugar was very low and I was very ill. Then you drink another sugary solution--twice as much sugar so twice as awful and you get your blood before then at 1, 2, and 3 hours. By the time I was to leave my blood sugar was so low I had to drink some apple juice before I could even walk to the cafeteria to get something to eat. For me what happens is at 1 hour my blood sugar will be high and on the rise but by 2 hours my body starts responding to it and since it waited so long it dumps a ton of insulin which my body reacts to and then by 3 hours my blood sugar is super low. So in essence my body does a delayed reaction followed by over correction.
So between my appointments for the test and while waiting for my next peri appointment I started journaling what I have eaten and the blood sugars before and after. I have found that I am able to control my blood sugar and keep it nice and low by only eating around 25 carbs at a sitting and only with some other protein/fat. I will meet with the dietician and the peri soon.
I knew I would have trouble with gestational diabetes but I was hoping it would take a bit longer before it happened, most women develop problems around 24-28 weeks. So much for enjoying any cravings during pregnancy! I am at the point where I look up each food I eat and how many carbs it has and count them all up, no candy, no ice cream, no nothing! I can do it standing on my head if it means a healthy baby though.
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Symptom Update: I am hoping that getting my blood sugars under tight control can help my headaches/migraines, I am still having them since about 10.5 weeks and they are getting more frequent and severe. We are on about 2-3 weeks of constant headaches now and I am finding it hard to even want to eat. I have also missed some work because my head is so bad I have left work early one day and missed one day completely.
The next day the doctor's office called to say I had failed and I scheduled a 3 hour glucose tolerance test -- these ones are awful and I normally take one every year anyway. Each year I trend a little closer to diabetic so with the pregnancy which impairs your bodies ability to use insulin I was sure I would fail this too. For the 3 hour you go in after fasting for 12 hours so my blood sugar was very low and I was very ill. Then you drink another sugary solution--twice as much sugar so twice as awful and you get your blood before then at 1, 2, and 3 hours. By the time I was to leave my blood sugar was so low I had to drink some apple juice before I could even walk to the cafeteria to get something to eat. For me what happens is at 1 hour my blood sugar will be high and on the rise but by 2 hours my body starts responding to it and since it waited so long it dumps a ton of insulin which my body reacts to and then by 3 hours my blood sugar is super low. So in essence my body does a delayed reaction followed by over correction.
So between my appointments for the test and while waiting for my next peri appointment I started journaling what I have eaten and the blood sugars before and after. I have found that I am able to control my blood sugar and keep it nice and low by only eating around 25 carbs at a sitting and only with some other protein/fat. I will meet with the dietician and the peri soon.
I knew I would have trouble with gestational diabetes but I was hoping it would take a bit longer before it happened, most women develop problems around 24-28 weeks. So much for enjoying any cravings during pregnancy! I am at the point where I look up each food I eat and how many carbs it has and count them all up, no candy, no ice cream, no nothing! I can do it standing on my head if it means a healthy baby though.
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Symptom Update: I am hoping that getting my blood sugars under tight control can help my headaches/migraines, I am still having them since about 10.5 weeks and they are getting more frequent and severe. We are on about 2-3 weeks of constant headaches now and I am finding it hard to even want to eat. I have also missed some work because my head is so bad I have left work early one day and missed one day completely.
Hawaiin Dogs!
Ok so you know you need kids when???
When you do this to your beloved fur babies (i.e. dogs)!
Taken June 4th, 2006
When you do this to your beloved fur babies (i.e. dogs)!
Taken June 4th, 2006
I think they are so cute! We went to a fundraiser for local rescue organizations and they had a company there advertising this special for a fundraiser so it was only $15 for 3 pictures. We didn't get to pick out the theme or anything but it turned out so cute, they did a very good job. If you think our dogs must be so well behaved to sit there like this you would be wrong! They first let them in to smell the 'set' and such then once they get them dressed someone hold them in position then the lady behind the camera makes a funny noise to make them look at her and the other lady lets go of the dogs and Presto! Perfect pose for about 5 seconds!
Peri Appt
May 31st
Had my first perinatologist (high risk ob - peri) appointment today. Everything with the baby looked great! I first had an appointment with Bronson ultrasound so they could check on the baby and ensure that all looked ok. The baby was 4cm long and heart was beating at 171 bpm, both are right on track. The sac was very large about 3X as long as the baby and She/He was bouncing back and forth from end to end and was not about to stay still it was very amazing and cute. I had expected a little body kind of in a 'stasis' mode I guess just floating here and there.
The appointment was a nightmare because it took so long, first I had the ultrasound at 9 so I showed up at 8:30, then I had to meet with the nurse to go over my history, family history, etc, that took forever. The doctor still wasnt there, she was stuck in a huge traffic accident on the highway so they gave me the option of coming back after lunch ~ 1.5 hours or rescheduling but I would have had to see the other doctor and I needed to talk about my work situation so I really wanted to see DrH so I got some lunch and waited around. She was finally there, but then wanted me after the appointment to go get a 1 hour glucose tolerance test, at this point I just called work and said I wouldn't be back. So by the time I got out of the lab it was 3:15pm so I literally spent all day at the hospital!
Even though it was hectic the appointment went well. My doctor, Dr.H, is a female and I love love her! There is also a male in the practice, a very old man, I am going to try and avoid seeing him as he is ok and very capable but I don't think I will like him as much from things I have heard. Dr.H seems to understand and be fine with that. She agreed with me and the RE that the lab is no place for a pregnant woman and wrote a note saying I would need an alternate assigment for the duration of pregnancy and that I was not to work with or around any chemical not proven safe in pregnancy thus cinching up any loopholes they may have tried to use, she even asked me what she should write.
I will be seeing them about every 2-3 weeks until I am further along. This is way more than I realized so she recommended filling out FMLA forms so that the time would be covered as they don't have early or late appointments to work around my schedule.
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Symptom Update: Since about 10.5 weeks the nauseau has slowed down and I can eat almost normally but now I am getting headaches alot, hopefully it is just my body adjusting to the hormone fluctuations.
Had my first perinatologist (high risk ob - peri) appointment today. Everything with the baby looked great! I first had an appointment with Bronson ultrasound so they could check on the baby and ensure that all looked ok. The baby was 4cm long and heart was beating at 171 bpm, both are right on track. The sac was very large about 3X as long as the baby and She/He was bouncing back and forth from end to end and was not about to stay still it was very amazing and cute. I had expected a little body kind of in a 'stasis' mode I guess just floating here and there.
The appointment was a nightmare because it took so long, first I had the ultrasound at 9 so I showed up at 8:30, then I had to meet with the nurse to go over my history, family history, etc, that took forever. The doctor still wasnt there, she was stuck in a huge traffic accident on the highway so they gave me the option of coming back after lunch ~ 1.5 hours or rescheduling but I would have had to see the other doctor and I needed to talk about my work situation so I really wanted to see DrH so I got some lunch and waited around. She was finally there, but then wanted me after the appointment to go get a 1 hour glucose tolerance test, at this point I just called work and said I wouldn't be back. So by the time I got out of the lab it was 3:15pm so I literally spent all day at the hospital!
Even though it was hectic the appointment went well. My doctor, Dr.H, is a female and I love love her! There is also a male in the practice, a very old man, I am going to try and avoid seeing him as he is ok and very capable but I don't think I will like him as much from things I have heard. Dr.H seems to understand and be fine with that. She agreed with me and the RE that the lab is no place for a pregnant woman and wrote a note saying I would need an alternate assigment for the duration of pregnancy and that I was not to work with or around any chemical not proven safe in pregnancy thus cinching up any loopholes they may have tried to use, she even asked me what she should write.
I will be seeing them about every 2-3 weeks until I am further along. This is way more than I realized so she recommended filling out FMLA forms so that the time would be covered as they don't have early or late appointments to work around my schedule.
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Symptom Update: Since about 10.5 weeks the nauseau has slowed down and I can eat almost normally but now I am getting headaches alot, hopefully it is just my body adjusting to the hormone fluctuations.
Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis!
Well this year the walk went well. Our team grew significantly as did the funds we raised. Having Pfizer sponsor us added to the number of people I was able to recruit from work. Pfizer also did a story on me and my disease which was distributed to the entire kalamazoo site so anyone who didn't know I had CF before does now! We did not have Draco as our mascot this year which was sad, we took Sachi in his place. We had a wonderful day and were so thankful for our friends, families, and co-workers support in raising funds and awareness for CF.
3 Years & Counting
Well we have been married three years now, almost seems like yesterday that we got married but seems alot has happened past three years also. We decided our family was too small and added dog #2 Sachi, then dog #3 Nala. We then decided we wanted a child and started 'not trying not to'. We both graduated, Jared went back to school then got a job in IT. By this time we were actively trying to have a child. We both lost our grandfather's. We continued remodeling the house in the hopes of moving. Now at our three year anniversary we are 10 weeks pregnant and couldn't be happier!
For our anniversary, which falls on Memorial day weekend we went to Grand Haven which is a beach town and went camping at Yogi Bear National Park. It was very low key and relaxing. We went tent camping in the rustic part of the park so there were not kids running around, everything way quiet. During the day we would go to walk along the beach and see the shops and the town. We stayed sat sun night and left monday during day.
For our anniversary, which falls on Memorial day weekend we went to Grand Haven which is a beach town and went camping at Yogi Bear National Park. It was very low key and relaxing. We went tent camping in the rustic part of the park so there were not kids running around, everything way quiet. During the day we would go to walk along the beach and see the shops and the town. We stayed sat sun night and left monday during day.
PIO NO MORE!
Wednesday May 24, 2006 - Last SHOT!!
PIO stands for Progesterone in Oil and it is a medication that we used for IVF. We have been injecting it nightly since we did the egg retrieval--that's 10 weeks ago! When they retrieve your eggs they are unable to leave the follicles which contain the eggs behind, this follicle is what would normally remain in your ovary and produce progesterone during the beginning stages of a pregnancy until the placenta is sufficiently developed to take over which happens around8-10 weeks in your pregnancy.
So, Jared has been injecting a 1.5 inch needle into my bum each night containing 1cc of liquid which is a thick oil. So then you have to apply pressure to reduce bruising, rub it in, then walk around to work it into your system. It makes you very sleepy and in hindsight I think increases the nauseau factor. We have been doing these long enough I have huge knots on both sides of my bum so the shots are starting to get very annoying and makes me a bit sore, kind of like I have a bruised bum on both sides. I won't miss these shots a bit!
PIO stands for Progesterone in Oil and it is a medication that we used for IVF. We have been injecting it nightly since we did the egg retrieval--that's 10 weeks ago! When they retrieve your eggs they are unable to leave the follicles which contain the eggs behind, this follicle is what would normally remain in your ovary and produce progesterone during the beginning stages of a pregnancy until the placenta is sufficiently developed to take over which happens around8-10 weeks in your pregnancy.
So, Jared has been injecting a 1.5 inch needle into my bum each night containing 1cc of liquid which is a thick oil. So then you have to apply pressure to reduce bruising, rub it in, then walk around to work it into your system. It makes you very sleepy and in hindsight I think increases the nauseau factor. We have been doing these long enough I have huge knots on both sides of my bum so the shots are starting to get very annoying and makes me a bit sore, kind of like I have a bruised bum on both sides. I won't miss these shots a bit!
RE Graduation & Belly Picture
Thursday May 11, 2006
We had our 8 week ultrasound. Everything still looks good, in two weeks the baby has more than tripled in size and is now 14.3mm. It is hard to see but there is a head up top pushed into top of the sack, then outline of a body and the leg buds are hiding behind the big circle at the bottom (yolk sac/developing placenta). You could see little arm buds too but not in this scan.
We are now released from Michigan Reproductive -- we have graduated after our first attempt at IVF! Since we have had two ultrasounds where everything looks to be developing perfectly the RE said that less than 1% chance of miscarriage at this stage which you normally have to wait until 12 weeks to be able to say but that is because no one is normally 'looking' at the baby this early to see if everything is ok, they just wait until week 12 and then say you are good.
We are being referred to our Perinatologist which is for high risk pregnancies due to my cystic fibrosis, not the fact that we did IVF. I had already met with the perinatology group prior to trying to get pregnant, and they had consulted with my CF doctors. They both felt that I was extremely healthy and well suited to have a pregnancy with little problems from my lungs. The peri also told me that my CF doctor anticipates a life expectancy of 60-70 for me, so plenty of time to raise this little one inside me to an adult as that was somethign I wanted to ensure first but my CF doc does not believe in giving that info out.
The baby may only be 14mm but I look like there is a 14'' baby in there, still remnants of fluid from OHSS which will remain until sometime in 2nd tri when I will be getting a big belly for real!
Draco's Last Days
This past weekend Draco, our oldest dog, started acting strangely saturday night. He would not eat and then sunday we noticed it seemed he was hesitating when trying to urinate. Even if I called him he did not want to get up, this is very unlike Draco who will get up just to follow you to the other room - even if you are coming right back. Jared and I had decided that with his age this was probably his time, we actually thought maybe he would die at home with us over the weekend. He was a few months shy of 10 and average life expectancy for these gentle giants was 8-10 years.
I called the vet on monday and we got him on monday afternoon, we both took him after work. I was very upset and convinced we would be putting him down.
It seems that Draco had lost about 10 of his 135 pounds. He was already a very thin dog, no doubt some of it had been over the weekend but he must have been slowly loosing before that and we couldn't tell since we saw him every day. The vet looked him over and recommended that we put him down. They are very familiar wiht him due to his near miss the previous year with bloat and everyone loved him. They said with his age and that he wasn't eating and was having trouble urinating they felt it was his time. Upon exam they found that his prostate was enormous and no doubt constricting his urethra and preventing urine from leaving his bladder. The vet said with a prostate enlargement that size it was probably cancer though it could also be prostitis but he couldn't tell without more tests and he thought that while only we could make the decision putting him down would be his recommendation.
Since we do not go out in the yard and watch him go we have no way of knowign how long he had been having problems with hesitation when urinating and being the stoic dog that he is he never let us know anything was wrong until it was too late.
Jared and I were so upset and I was bawling. Jared couldn't bear to put him down that day and in hindsight I don't know if I could have done it either. Jared decided we would take him home for one last night and bring him back in the morning to have a complete work up to see if there was anything that could be done for him. On the way to the car Jared was able to catch a urine sample and we took it back for analysis by the vet who found lots of blood in his urine, it was actually brown more than yellow. He did not find anything that would be indicative of cancer and therefore thought it was prostitis and we took Draco home for his probable last night with us. We put him in our bed for the night and those of you who know me well realize this is not the norm. We tried feeding him anything we thought might be appetizing to him, the only thing I could get him to try was a few bites of rice pudding. Jared and I both called in to work for the next day.
Tuesday morning we took him to the vet at 8:30am after saying our goodbye's just incase. We took pictures of him and the girls hoping it would not be their last time together. The vet decided it would be best if we just dropped him off for the tests and came back after lunch when they were done. We were both such a wreck there is no way we could have went to work. We came home and tried to decide what we would do depending on what they found. I was more in favor of putting him to sleep than Jared was simply becuase I know Draco and if he wasn't eating and acting himself he was truly miserable and I knew that if they could do anything to make him better it would be very hard on him, not to mention it would not buy him much more time as he was so old anyhow and I didn't want him to suffer so much at the end of his life. The vet called in afternoon and we went in to talk with him.
He had found that it was indeed prostitis and Draco's bloodwork did not indicate any cancer activity and all his x-ray's looked ok however the size of the prostate was enormous and Draco was very very weak with low blood pressure. They said that they could castrate him which would reduce the levels of hormones and help with the prostate enlargement as it was basically extremely enlarged due to irritation and some infection was probably present too. However, since Draco was so ill he was too weak for surgery so they recommended that we could put him on very high dose strong combination of antibiotics to help reduce the tumor and it may ease things up and allow him to urinate. Then once he was able to eat again and regained some strength they could do the operation. He would need to remain on the antibiotics for 2-6 months perhaps.
I know Draco very well and knew this would not be a viable option for him, he had been on antibiotics for staph infections in the past, he does not do well on antibiotics at all. I felt that bringing Draco home would just prolong his suffering as I did not think he would start eating again and we would end up having to put him to sleep after prolonging his suffering or he would get so weak he would die on his own. In the end the vet left us with Draco to talk it over. We decided to put him down. This was the hardest decision either one of us have ever had to make and I was crying so hard in all my hormonal-ness that I was choking and sobbing to the point of almost vomiting.
The vet came back in and said that it was a decision that only we could make and he respected that though we both got the feeling that he wanted to try treatment which did not help us to feel we were doing the right thing though in hindsight I 100% believe in our decision. They shaved his front paw and brought in the sedative at this point I began sobbing and telling Jared we didn't have to do it, luckily he maintained the course and we went ahead, I have never seen Jared so upset.
They said they would inject it and he would drift off into a deep sleep and never know what had happened. Well, if only all things went so smoothly. Draco's blood pressure was so low all his veins kept collapsing, the vet got a bit in at one time and Draco started looking sleepy though Jared thought he was looking confused and sad at what was going on. Then another vet came in to try and finish the job, she needed us to turn him over but he couldnt get up so we had to flip him over and this is when Jared thought he looked scared. She was able to get the rest of the sedative in and he slowly stopped breathing. It was incredibly awful we were beside ourselves. We stayed in the room with Draco for a long time and cried and apologized and told him how much we loved him and that we hope he knew we tried to make the right decision. I hope he heard us.
We arranged to have Draco picked up by a local pet funeral home and cremated. Jared opted not to have the remains returned in an urn as he felt seeing this urn every day would be too painful. We are going to frame a nice picture of him and put it up later. When we got home we went on a cleaning rampage to clean away all hair, drool, food, beds, leashes, etc that were from him as we didn't want to look at it.
The next day at work was very hard, I didn't want to talk to anyone nor did Jared. It was toughest for a few days, a few nights after he died I went out into the living room to check on the dogs and cried as I somehow had expected him to be there. Then there was the episode of Gray's anatomy that showed a dog being put to sleep and that was the worst. The girls would pace around where he slept and whine for a few nights and Nala went to tryign to lay on top of Sachi as that is normally what she did to Draco. We all still miss him very much.
I realize this post is way too much detail for anyone to want to read in it's entirety but it is good therapy going over all of this and I somehow dont want to forget it.
Draco on his last day
Siblings last day together
Nala (top) misses Draco - her old sleeping pillow. Her new sleeping pillow, Sachi, is not thrilled with this development (4 days after Draco passed, she did this for about 10 days)
I called the vet on monday and we got him on monday afternoon, we both took him after work. I was very upset and convinced we would be putting him down.
It seems that Draco had lost about 10 of his 135 pounds. He was already a very thin dog, no doubt some of it had been over the weekend but he must have been slowly loosing before that and we couldn't tell since we saw him every day. The vet looked him over and recommended that we put him down. They are very familiar wiht him due to his near miss the previous year with bloat and everyone loved him. They said with his age and that he wasn't eating and was having trouble urinating they felt it was his time. Upon exam they found that his prostate was enormous and no doubt constricting his urethra and preventing urine from leaving his bladder. The vet said with a prostate enlargement that size it was probably cancer though it could also be prostitis but he couldn't tell without more tests and he thought that while only we could make the decision putting him down would be his recommendation.
Since we do not go out in the yard and watch him go we have no way of knowign how long he had been having problems with hesitation when urinating and being the stoic dog that he is he never let us know anything was wrong until it was too late.
Jared and I were so upset and I was bawling. Jared couldn't bear to put him down that day and in hindsight I don't know if I could have done it either. Jared decided we would take him home for one last night and bring him back in the morning to have a complete work up to see if there was anything that could be done for him. On the way to the car Jared was able to catch a urine sample and we took it back for analysis by the vet who found lots of blood in his urine, it was actually brown more than yellow. He did not find anything that would be indicative of cancer and therefore thought it was prostitis and we took Draco home for his probable last night with us. We put him in our bed for the night and those of you who know me well realize this is not the norm. We tried feeding him anything we thought might be appetizing to him, the only thing I could get him to try was a few bites of rice pudding. Jared and I both called in to work for the next day.
Tuesday morning we took him to the vet at 8:30am after saying our goodbye's just incase. We took pictures of him and the girls hoping it would not be their last time together. The vet decided it would be best if we just dropped him off for the tests and came back after lunch when they were done. We were both such a wreck there is no way we could have went to work. We came home and tried to decide what we would do depending on what they found. I was more in favor of putting him to sleep than Jared was simply becuase I know Draco and if he wasn't eating and acting himself he was truly miserable and I knew that if they could do anything to make him better it would be very hard on him, not to mention it would not buy him much more time as he was so old anyhow and I didn't want him to suffer so much at the end of his life. The vet called in afternoon and we went in to talk with him.
He had found that it was indeed prostitis and Draco's bloodwork did not indicate any cancer activity and all his x-ray's looked ok however the size of the prostate was enormous and Draco was very very weak with low blood pressure. They said that they could castrate him which would reduce the levels of hormones and help with the prostate enlargement as it was basically extremely enlarged due to irritation and some infection was probably present too. However, since Draco was so ill he was too weak for surgery so they recommended that we could put him on very high dose strong combination of antibiotics to help reduce the tumor and it may ease things up and allow him to urinate. Then once he was able to eat again and regained some strength they could do the operation. He would need to remain on the antibiotics for 2-6 months perhaps.
I know Draco very well and knew this would not be a viable option for him, he had been on antibiotics for staph infections in the past, he does not do well on antibiotics at all. I felt that bringing Draco home would just prolong his suffering as I did not think he would start eating again and we would end up having to put him to sleep after prolonging his suffering or he would get so weak he would die on his own. In the end the vet left us with Draco to talk it over. We decided to put him down. This was the hardest decision either one of us have ever had to make and I was crying so hard in all my hormonal-ness that I was choking and sobbing to the point of almost vomiting.
The vet came back in and said that it was a decision that only we could make and he respected that though we both got the feeling that he wanted to try treatment which did not help us to feel we were doing the right thing though in hindsight I 100% believe in our decision. They shaved his front paw and brought in the sedative at this point I began sobbing and telling Jared we didn't have to do it, luckily he maintained the course and we went ahead, I have never seen Jared so upset.
They said they would inject it and he would drift off into a deep sleep and never know what had happened. Well, if only all things went so smoothly. Draco's blood pressure was so low all his veins kept collapsing, the vet got a bit in at one time and Draco started looking sleepy though Jared thought he was looking confused and sad at what was going on. Then another vet came in to try and finish the job, she needed us to turn him over but he couldnt get up so we had to flip him over and this is when Jared thought he looked scared. She was able to get the rest of the sedative in and he slowly stopped breathing. It was incredibly awful we were beside ourselves. We stayed in the room with Draco for a long time and cried and apologized and told him how much we loved him and that we hope he knew we tried to make the right decision. I hope he heard us.
We arranged to have Draco picked up by a local pet funeral home and cremated. Jared opted not to have the remains returned in an urn as he felt seeing this urn every day would be too painful. We are going to frame a nice picture of him and put it up later. When we got home we went on a cleaning rampage to clean away all hair, drool, food, beds, leashes, etc that were from him as we didn't want to look at it.
The next day at work was very hard, I didn't want to talk to anyone nor did Jared. It was toughest for a few days, a few nights after he died I went out into the living room to check on the dogs and cried as I somehow had expected him to be there. Then there was the episode of Gray's anatomy that showed a dog being put to sleep and that was the worst. The girls would pace around where he slept and whine for a few nights and Nala went to tryign to lay on top of Sachi as that is normally what she did to Draco. We all still miss him very much.
I realize this post is way too much detail for anyone to want to read in it's entirety but it is good therapy going over all of this and I somehow dont want to forget it.
Draco on his last day
Siblings last day together
Nala (top) misses Draco - her old sleeping pillow. Her new sleeping pillow, Sachi, is not thrilled with this development (4 days after Draco passed, she did this for about 10 days)
Let the Nauseau Begin!
Well at about 7 weeks, Tuesday May 2nd I began suffering from nauseau. Whomever named it morning sickness has never experienced it in person. Mine starts off slow in the am and builds throughout the day. Supposedly means a healthy pregnancy so bring it on! (I reserve the right to take that back later!)
Baby on Board
April 27, 2006- We had our first ultrasound today at the RE's office. We were so excited to see our child for the first time that I let Jared buy a video camera and we videotaped the ultrasound.
We now know that we have ONE baby on board! The baby was so very tiny, only 3.4mm and is the tiny little bean between the cross hairs in the picture. It was amazing to see the little heart beating so fervently at over 100 beats per minute, it looked like a little flicker on the screen. We will go back in 2 weeks to check in on the baby again. EDD is estimated due date and is right before Christmas, what a present!
I was released to return to work on Friday April 28th as all looked good and with the help of some acid reflux medication I am able to hold down food. I still have fluid retention as I look about 4-5 months pregnant so this shoudl prove interesting with everyone asking how far along I am. I am still able to fit into a few of my normal pants with a rubberband on the button or a couple bigger stretchier ones without that.
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We now know that we have ONE baby on board! The baby was so very tiny, only 3.4mm and is the tiny little bean between the cross hairs in the picture. It was amazing to see the little heart beating so fervently at over 100 beats per minute, it looked like a little flicker on the screen. We will go back in 2 weeks to check in on the baby again. EDD is estimated due date and is right before Christmas, what a present!I was released to return to work on Friday April 28th as all looked good and with the help of some acid reflux medication I am able to hold down food. I still have fluid retention as I look about 4-5 months pregnant so this shoudl prove interesting with everyone asking how far along I am. I am still able to fit into a few of my normal pants with a rubberband on the button or a couple bigger stretchier ones without that.
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