I'm now being followed by a maternal and fetal life specialist, aka a perinatologist. These are high-risk OB doctors who monitor you often alongside your regular check-ins at the OB. I was referred for the extreme hyperemesis that I've been having, and continue to struggle with. She had put me on a medication called Maxeran and after taking a single pill, I started to have heavy intestinal bleeding. The purpose of Maxeran is to move food out of your stomach within 20 minutes of its arrival. Because of how it works, it's supposed to help with the vomiting. No such luck. I remain on 8 Diclectin pills a day, along with 2 Gravol (Dramamine down in the US) prior to meals. I am also on an acid reducer pill to help with the mouthful of acids that I have been bringing up causing sore throats, and Zofran which I take intermittently to help with the nausea.
My bowels all of a sudden stopped working without "intervention" a few weeks ago. This resulted in me breaking my tailbone. Yes, painful. And no, don't ask. It was discovered that I have a partial bowel obstruction. During that same visit, the perinatologist saw one of the "canker sores" in my mouth and biopsied it. The verdict? Crohns. A referral was made to the gastroenterologist.
By all luck, I manage dot get into the gastro sooner rather than later, seeing him this past week. He wants to do an unsedated colonoscopy on me, most likely around May28, when the baby will be large enough to be safely monitored. He's not thrilled to be doing it, but he says that he needs to confirm the Crohns diagnosis and treat it, as left untreated it could potentially spark premature labour. I'm terrified to death of this.
Meanwhile, back at the perinatologist's office, I had my first urine test come back positive for protein. I've also been swelling in my hands and feet, which leads her to believe that pre-eclampsia is setting in. I curse my endo for this. If I didn't have only one partially functioning kidney (the other is completely dead) perhaps my kidneys would be able to keep up with the extra workload I've been giving it lately. Perhaps I wouldn't be so sick. Perhaps I wouldn't face the prospect of having a potentially life-threatening condition and could enjoy the rest of my pregnancy without this added stress.
I've become sick of being sick. I'm sick of visiting a doctor weekly. Waiting in a waiting room for 2-3 hours for an appointment gets really old quickly. While I am grateful and always will be for the opportunity to be able to carry at least one more child, I just want to have a bit of relief from the constant barrage of complications.
