Wednesday, June 18, 2008
thoughts upon thoughts
I was worried for nothing. Which seems to be the story of my life. Not that I'm complaining, but they had me so worried about this aortic stenosis and now today at my appointment told me that it's not cause for concern. Well couldn't they have called and told me this??? I dunno. So looks like this labor and delivery will be able to be natural like the last time. Baby is fine too, they monitored her and everything looks good and normal. yay. D can't get his cdl license now until 2010 because of his license being suspended a few years ago, so he is pretty depressed about that. Seems like he keeps getting dead ends with the job department. He was supposed to get a job with my dad's company but that is not happening either yet so who knows. I just want him to get a nice job, but here in MI that is almost next to impossible! grrr. His group of friends were over the other day and they didn't end up going to the shed, so I'm wondering if he talked to them? Hopefully! We've been doing pretty good now. Not much going on. The weather right now is freezing, it was 50 this morning and we had to get the coats back out. ugh. I just want summer to start!!! Oh we had a really bad thunderstorm this weekend and the house across the street had a tree land on it and it demolished the house!! We had gotten a brand new glass patio table from my aunt for the deck and it got shattered from the wind lifting it up and throwing it. I was upset since we had just gotten the table about 8 hours before the storm. My aunt went and bought us a new one though, so that was awesome. The storm also threw the gutter off my house too. They were saying tornado, but that never happened, I was so afraid. Glad that's over with! My insurance guy....sigh...I think he is Ridiculous!!!! The bank sent me a letter saying they need proof of insurance(on the house) and so I asked him to fax it to them, no big deal, WRONG. He STILL hasn't faxed it and it's been 2 weeks, then when I call him about it he says sometimes that happens and he will mail it. Nope, he never mailed it. Now he's saying he doesn't have a copy of the policy because it can take 30 days to get it? WTF? I want a copy of the damn policy!!!!! If I don't get a copy in the next couple weeks I'm changing insurance. Don't know how hard that is to do. Oh so he said he'd get me a letter for the bank to get them off my back. I just don't think I like this guy, he doesn't seem to be serious at all about his job. When I asked what I owed him he said, oh just throw me $50 for now, and I'll catch up with you later..who does that? Anyway, I am not sure what else to type about. I think I have writers block.
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5 comments:
Glad the baby is doing well, hang in there hun!
-h
Oh, Yay! I've been worried about you! Still praying though!
Glad they didn't go to the shed. It sounds like they are willing to respect your wishes.
I would probably have been upset about the table too! I know it's a table, but STILL! Your Aunt sounds really great! :)
Ok, the insurance guy needs to get his butt in gear! Is there any way you can talk to the guy above him and tell them he's not moving fast enough? I really can't stand insurance guys. Unless they are nice and willing to do what they should be doing. Grrr!!!
Well of course you were worried with the way that doc had talked before!!!
Glad the "scare-o-meter" has been knocked down a few notches...
And this whole "shed" thing? Absolutely riDICulous. Not in the house, I guess, but still...
You may want to get a second opinion from a cardiologist who specializes in valvular disease. You didn't say why the o.b. said not to worry...is it because your stenosis is really mild, or because he doesn't know enough to know the real dangers? A regular o.b. probably wouldn't have much experience with aortic stenosis, because any expectant mom with that condition should be referred to a perinatologist. You need to see someone who SPECIALIZES in aortic stenosis. I've had two cardio docs give me misinformation on my condition.
I was told four years ago that I had stenosis and regurgitation, and that I would need surgery someday. The cardiologist said pregnancy would put more stress on my heart, but other than that, didn't seem to give me reason for concern. I now know that cardiologist was a quack.
I recently went to an ER for chest pain, the second time around, and was again told it was probably "just stress" after the ekg and blood tests came back normal. They knew I had valve damage (and a bicuspid valve, something I had recently learned after another echocardiogram). They still wanted to send me home. I had done my research, and insisted on a CT scan. There was an aortic aneurysm, a condition that can lead to aortic dissection and rupture (i.e., you can bleed to death in minutes).
It could be that your stenosis is mild and you just need to keep an eye on it. Or it could be moderate to severe, which is dangerous. 4% of people with AS experience sudden death as their first "symptom"...meaning no one knows they had it til the autopsy. AS is serious business for anyone, but for a pregnant woman, it raises your risks tremendously.
Because you've gotten it at such a young age, chances are good that you either got it from rheumatic fever, a heart infection, or a congenital heart defect, such as a bicuspid valve (like me). I'd be willing to put money on the latter, since you've had a murmur for most of your life. That's how I was diagnosed. Most people with AS are first diagnosed with a murmur. If you have a bicuspid valve (or certain other symptoms) you could have a connective tissue disease, like Marfan's, Ehler-Danlos, or BAVD. This would raise your risk higher, because during pregnancy your plasma levels raise by up to 50%, making your heart work harder and the blood pressure in your heart go up. It also makes all connective tissues stretchier in preparation for birth...and if you have a connective tissue disease, that is bad, because it can cause aneurysm in your aorta, your brain, or elsewhere...or make existing aneurysms burst.
You need to find a GOOD cardiologist and get a second opinion. Trust me this is nothing to mess around with. In my case I'm still waiting to see how bad my tests are. But based on my symptoms, I think I'm going into heart failure. Not a good thing.
I don't want to freak you out. You might be fine, like I said. Just educate yourself and make sure you get help from doctors who really know their stuff. The good thing is that even if you are in a high risk category, there are things you can do, such as go on beta blockers , or as a last resort, surgery. (Even open heart surgery can be done on pregnant women, if it's needed. Babies have survived unharmed.)
Check out valvereplacement.com. You may also want to check out bicuspidfoundation.com. The people on the forum there can direct you to the best aortic disease center near you. I don't know if you have a bicuspid valve or not, but you can get some really good information there in case you do. Also aorticdissection.com is a good place too. If you do end up having a bicuspid valve, connective tissue disease, or a family history of aneurysms/dissection, that site is essential. It has TONS of info and links and articles.
I know this all sounds scary, but isn't it better to find out and get it over with? All this stuff has totally freaked me out, but I'm armed with a lot of knowledge now, and unlike a lot of people in my condition who were misdiagnosed and died because of it, I'm not letting a doctor ignorant of the latest research let me fall through the cracks.
Sorry this is so long. Good luck, I hope it turns out that your o.b. was right!
By the way, I think I forgot to say I'm pregnant again as well. I just found out this week. I may end up having to have surgery to replace my valve and fix my aneurysm. If I do, I worry a bit about my baby, but I know in my condition, the risks are the same for my baby whether I get the surgery or not. The risks for me, however, are probably a lot higher if I don't get it. But they also may just do a valvuloplasty, which doesn't require open heart surgery.
Here is a link to a medical journal article on pregnancy and valve disease, if you're interested:
http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/full/46/2/223?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Valvular+Heart+Disease+and+Pregnancy&andorexactfulltext=and&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT
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