Read at your own discretion, this post contains some medical info that will be TMI (too much information!) for some people.
Well, our labor/delivery plans are up in the air at the moment.
On Wednesday I noticed a significant improvement in the back & rib pain I'd been experiencing over the last couple months. I'm not sure if the baby officially "dropped," but s/he is much lower now. The good news is, I've hardly had to wear the big, ugly support belts that I'd been wearing 18+ hours per day to help my back & ribs. My appetite returned a bit as well. The bad news is, the baby is apparently putting a lot of extra pressure inside my pelvis. (TMI upcoming, don't say I didn't warn you!)
My labor with Evyn was very fast & very intense. I had a lot of damage afterward, including a tendency to develop hemorrhoids. I've been dealing with an increase of them the last month or so.... but now, with the extra pressure from the baby, one has thrombosed. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice it to say I am in a lot of pain. (Don't google it - take my word for it, you don't want to see the pictures that the websites put up indiscriminately!) After a particularly bad day Saturday, Scott placed a phone call to the on-call OB who, after learning the details, told me to head to the ER to have it excised. So, that's where I spent my Valentine's evening!
The ER physician was concerned about the severity of it, and immediately called in a surgeon to excise it. The surgeon, however, wasn't willing to perform the procedure on a 36-week pregnant woman. His primary concern was that causing any bleeding in the region could interfere with healthy blood pressure and potentially interrupt blood flow to the placenta, which could put the baby at risk. Of course, this is all worst-case scenario, but worthy of consideration.
Neither the ER doctor, or the surgeon, were able to answer my questions concerning how a thrombosed hemorrhoid would affect our plan for an non-medicated vaginal birth. I do know, from the research I've done, that a 4th degree prolapsed hemorrhoid (I am borderline) CAN result in c-section birth.... again, worst-case scenario, but with only a few weeks to go before this baby arrives, I have to consider the possibility. The ER doctor asked me to reconsider having an epidural, which, I know would be an easy decision for many people.... but for our own personal reasons, it just wasn't in our plans.
So, I have prescriptions to take, including pain meds, which I'm not entirely comfortable with, but I need to do everything I can to heal quickly. I'm supposed to spend as much time laying down as possible, and not allowed to lift anything (do they know how much work needs done here at home??). I have a follow-up with the surgeon on Monday, and need to call my OB first thing Monday morning to discuss his feelings on proceeding with a non-medicated vaginal birth plan.
Whew, that got long!
It's actually a very common condition, and in the broad scheme of things NOT a big deal. I'm just not good at being a "patient." Taking it easy is a tough pill to swallow, especially when there is so much going on (construction, etc). I'll be able to relax when I know how (if at all) this will affect our birth plan. I'll post an update when I know more!
5 comments:
Hang in there girl...and pray. Sometimes the answer pops up when we don't expect it to.
Oh and feel better...never had 'em, but I hear they can be pretty awful!
Not something fun to be dealing with ever - let alone when you're 36 weeks pregnant! Hoping the ob can reassure you of some things tomorrow. Just out of curiosity, what is the reason or reasons you prefer not to have the epidural? i have my own reasons - but any others that can help me stand my ground in the midst of the pain can't be a bad thing, right?!
Shannon - I'd like to say that my reasons are strictly for the baby & labor process (lower risks of complications, freedom to move, embracing the full birthing experience & so on)- and I do believe in those reasons- but top on my list is that I don't handle being medicated very well.
The idea of being numb, relatively incapacitated, with diminished sensation freaks me out. My biggest regret with Evyn's birth is that I allowed them to give me Nubain. Whole other class of drugs & side effects, but still it reinforced FOR ME that managing pain produces better results than masking it.
They have me on Codeine now (hate it!) and I am forcing myself to take it, at least until I get some better info tomorrow!
Yikes. This one is truly a pain in your keester! HUGS HUGS HUGS! Hopefully the pain lessens some. I've never had them but I know what they are and they aren't good. HUGS (and a donut pillow) to you!
Thanks for the update...and so, with that answer, let's just hope you don't wind up with a c-section this time around! The epidural I ended up getting (at 10cms) last time with G was the smallest dose (or whatever they say) that you can get and so, just to give you some hope in case you have to get the epidural, is that I still felt able to push and move my legs and didn't feel incapacitated. Of course, then they dosed me up with all sorts of things for the c-section and I hated that. I, too, am hoping I can manage the pain better this time around and hoping I don't give in right when I'm in the home stretch. Keep us all posted on what your doc says tomorrow!
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