Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Surgery scheduled..
It is official, I will have decompression surgery on Friday, December, 21st, my Mom's birthday :( She and my Dad will drive down the day before to be here for the duration of the surgery since Kevin and I will be over an hour away in Durham. The next step right now is waiting for my OB to discuss my case with the high-risk OB of the clinic, who is currently out of town, to see if I need to meet with him. I'll keep you posted...
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Very good news :)
We were very nervous for today, the first OB appt for the baby on the way. I knew Dr. Bronec (my neurosurgeon) and Dr. Zmiewsky (my OB) were supposed to talk yeterday and we had no idea if they would end up on the same page, wanting or not wanting surgery, my OB understanding Chiari and the risks, etc. I had no idea what to expect.
I left the office today feeling like a different person, the appointment could not have gone better and Dr. Zmiewsky was fantastic! Let me tell you, between her, Dr. Bronec, and his PA, Joey, we have the most AMAZING team in place!
First off, all looks good with the pregnancy. We will be 8 weeks on Friday and due June 7th, as I had calculated ;) and a strong heartbeat of 150. This was the first time seeing my OB since the pregnancy and since telling her about my Chiari when I last saw her in August. We immediately started talking about the Chiari and her conversation with Dr. Bronec yesterday. Like me, she was also impressed with how down to earth and easy he is to talk to.
She absolutely thinks we should have the surgery during pregnancy, 2nd trimester of course, fitting our original plan of December. I knew Dr. Bronec wasn't sure last I had talked to him, but she said once he had her support that he agreed, as do we! She definitely feels it is not worth the risk of waiting and possibly encountering an emergency in the 3rd trimester where surgery would be much more risky. She is going to contact a few MFM (Maternal-Fetal Medicine) specialists she knows at UNC and discuss the situation with them to see if they think an MFM should be present for the surgery and if so she will make sure that happens.
I could not feel more confident in the team we have in place, taking this journey with us. Between them and our wonderful friends and family, we are truly blessed!!
Thanks everyone for your continued love and support! XO:)
I left the office today feeling like a different person, the appointment could not have gone better and Dr. Zmiewsky was fantastic! Let me tell you, between her, Dr. Bronec, and his PA, Joey, we have the most AMAZING team in place!
First off, all looks good with the pregnancy. We will be 8 weeks on Friday and due June 7th, as I had calculated ;) and a strong heartbeat of 150. This was the first time seeing my OB since the pregnancy and since telling her about my Chiari when I last saw her in August. We immediately started talking about the Chiari and her conversation with Dr. Bronec yesterday. Like me, she was also impressed with how down to earth and easy he is to talk to.
She absolutely thinks we should have the surgery during pregnancy, 2nd trimester of course, fitting our original plan of December. I knew Dr. Bronec wasn't sure last I had talked to him, but she said once he had her support that he agreed, as do we! She definitely feels it is not worth the risk of waiting and possibly encountering an emergency in the 3rd trimester where surgery would be much more risky. She is going to contact a few MFM (Maternal-Fetal Medicine) specialists she knows at UNC and discuss the situation with them to see if they think an MFM should be present for the surgery and if so she will make sure that happens.
I could not feel more confident in the team we have in place, taking this journey with us. Between them and our wonderful friends and family, we are truly blessed!!
Thanks everyone for your continued love and support! XO:)
Monday, October 22, 2012
Symptoms..
I was finally able to speak with my neurosurgeon, Dr. Bronec, last Monday the 15th. I don't think I'll ever get used to talking to a neurosurgeon on the phone and being so comfortable, he's the best :)
His major concern was my symptoms, whether any had worsened or new ones had come about. At that point they hadn't which he was glad to hear. He said the ideal situation would be that I experience little to no worsening of symptoms along with no new ones throughout my pregnancy and we wait until after the baby is born to do surgery. The only problem with this is that we have no idea what truly will happen! We would hate to wait, passing up the second trimester and optimal time for surgery during pregnancy, then have symptoms worsen in the third trimester when surgery is more dangerous for the baby, really impossible unless it's an emergency, and I'm then stuck with a numb arm or leg until after the baby is born!
We ended our conversation with Dr. Bronec planning to contact my OB to discuss what they think would be the best choice. I see her on Wednesday for my first appointment so hopefully they've talked before then.
The day after talking to Dr. Bronec, I woke up with a stiff neck (which had been getting better since the round of steroids) and an aching at the back of my head. The next day I experienced numbness below the elbow in my left arm, from my forearm down into the last three fingers of my hand. This was definitely a first for me. I have since also had some brief numbness in my right pinky finger. Trying to be a responsible patient, I left a message for Dr. Bronec to let him know of the changes.
On another note, this has been a miserable pregnancy thus far :( I have been nauseous, throwing up, and dry heaving constantly now for 13 straight days, definitely worse than last time! I'm hoping to get some meds on Wednesday to take away the worst of it. I like to say that it must be a girl because one of my sweet boys would never do this to their Mommy!!
XO :)
His major concern was my symptoms, whether any had worsened or new ones had come about. At that point they hadn't which he was glad to hear. He said the ideal situation would be that I experience little to no worsening of symptoms along with no new ones throughout my pregnancy and we wait until after the baby is born to do surgery. The only problem with this is that we have no idea what truly will happen! We would hate to wait, passing up the second trimester and optimal time for surgery during pregnancy, then have symptoms worsen in the third trimester when surgery is more dangerous for the baby, really impossible unless it's an emergency, and I'm then stuck with a numb arm or leg until after the baby is born!
We ended our conversation with Dr. Bronec planning to contact my OB to discuss what they think would be the best choice. I see her on Wednesday for my first appointment so hopefully they've talked before then.
The day after talking to Dr. Bronec, I woke up with a stiff neck (which had been getting better since the round of steroids) and an aching at the back of my head. The next day I experienced numbness below the elbow in my left arm, from my forearm down into the last three fingers of my hand. This was definitely a first for me. I have since also had some brief numbness in my right pinky finger. Trying to be a responsible patient, I left a message for Dr. Bronec to let him know of the changes.
On another note, this has been a miserable pregnancy thus far :( I have been nauseous, throwing up, and dry heaving constantly now for 13 straight days, definitely worse than last time! I'm hoping to get some meds on Wednesday to take away the worst of it. I like to say that it must be a girl because one of my sweet boys would never do this to their Mommy!!
XO :)
Friday, October 12, 2012
My how life can change in a day..
As I mentioned in my previous post, something came up a few weeks ago that made us think surgery would have to wait a while. That 'something' just happens to be a little brother or sister for Logan, we're expecting! This has been quite a surprise for us, not exactly what we had planned at this point. Our hope was that after having and recovering from surgery, I would physically feel like carrying and raising another little one, but I guess that choice has been made for us!
I found myself quite confused when I learned I was pregnant, which we found out while we were in the mountains, one of the many reasons we will never forget that trip! I felt a mixture of happy, disappointed, scared, upset, just about everything you can think of. I finally had a diagnosis and a great surgical team and was so looking forward to surgery. Our minds were set on it and I couldn't wait to finally have some relief. We thought the pregnancy was going to force us to put surgery off and I wasn't sure how I would do with pregnancy, childbirth, and a newborn in my current condition, without surgery. Needless to say, my thoughts and emotions were all over the place. Kevin has been nothing but excited from the beginning, but he understands that it's a little different for me.
Other than choice of delivery, c-section or not, there's little to no data out there on pregnancy with Chiari, or decompression surgery with Chiari. Things definitely changed last week though when I was finally able to talk to my neurosurgeon's PA, Joey. As it turns out, the pregnancy makes them want to do surgery even more. They're worried about the additional strain a pregnancy will put on my spine, particularly the worst case scenario, paralysis. The risk of miscarriage from anesthesia is 10% in the first trimester, however, it drops to 5% in the second trimester, a somewhat more comfortable number. It's definitely one of those situations where you have to weigh the risks against the benefits. Joey informed me that they would be contacting my OB to discuss what they all think is the best plan, and also to fill her in on exactly what Chiari is and what I'm dealing with. When I last saw her and told her that I have Chiari, her reaction was one of 'oh, so you get headaches'. Yeah, it's a little more than that! As great as she is, she definitely needs to be informed by someone in the medical field. I am still waiting to hear back from my neurosurgeon since I missed his call last Friday, but we are really hoping that everything works out and we can stick to our original plan of surgery in December, which will fortunately put me in my second trimester.
Kevin has been amazing. We've both been sick with the head and chest crud, pregnancy and Chiari of course have me feeling like crap. Despite all of this he's been so strong and made sure everything has been taken care of and that this household is running as smoothly as possible right now.
If I could ask a small favor? Please keep all comments about the pregnancy on the blog, I don't want it all over FB just yet! You are the privelaged ones who get to know first ;)
Thank you all so much for your love and support, we need it now more than ever to stay strong and positive, and as always, I'll keep you posted :) XO
I found myself quite confused when I learned I was pregnant, which we found out while we were in the mountains, one of the many reasons we will never forget that trip! I felt a mixture of happy, disappointed, scared, upset, just about everything you can think of. I finally had a diagnosis and a great surgical team and was so looking forward to surgery. Our minds were set on it and I couldn't wait to finally have some relief. We thought the pregnancy was going to force us to put surgery off and I wasn't sure how I would do with pregnancy, childbirth, and a newborn in my current condition, without surgery. Needless to say, my thoughts and emotions were all over the place. Kevin has been nothing but excited from the beginning, but he understands that it's a little different for me.
Other than choice of delivery, c-section or not, there's little to no data out there on pregnancy with Chiari, or decompression surgery with Chiari. Things definitely changed last week though when I was finally able to talk to my neurosurgeon's PA, Joey. As it turns out, the pregnancy makes them want to do surgery even more. They're worried about the additional strain a pregnancy will put on my spine, particularly the worst case scenario, paralysis. The risk of miscarriage from anesthesia is 10% in the first trimester, however, it drops to 5% in the second trimester, a somewhat more comfortable number. It's definitely one of those situations where you have to weigh the risks against the benefits. Joey informed me that they would be contacting my OB to discuss what they all think is the best plan, and also to fill her in on exactly what Chiari is and what I'm dealing with. When I last saw her and told her that I have Chiari, her reaction was one of 'oh, so you get headaches'. Yeah, it's a little more than that! As great as she is, she definitely needs to be informed by someone in the medical field. I am still waiting to hear back from my neurosurgeon since I missed his call last Friday, but we are really hoping that everything works out and we can stick to our original plan of surgery in December, which will fortunately put me in my second trimester.
Kevin has been amazing. We've both been sick with the head and chest crud, pregnancy and Chiari of course have me feeling like crap. Despite all of this he's been so strong and made sure everything has been taken care of and that this household is running as smoothly as possible right now.
If I could ask a small favor? Please keep all comments about the pregnancy on the blog, I don't want it all over FB just yet! You are the privelaged ones who get to know first ;)
Thank you all so much for your love and support, we need it now more than ever to stay strong and positive, and as always, I'll keep you posted :) XO
Thursday, October 4, 2012
MRI results..
Sorry it's been a little while. For one, we didn't expect to wait this long for MRI results! In addition, something else came up that made us think surgery wouldn't be able to happen in December, but it turns out it might still be possible, so we are happy about that.
The thoracic MRI came back normal. They are able to see the end of the syrinx, but more importantly, they didn't find anything, like a tumor, that could be causing the blood in my spinal cord. This means it is most likely from years of popping blood vessels at the hands of chiropractors, and my own regular 'cracking' of my neck.
Once again, thank you all for your love, support, and concern and we hope to have more surgery information soon! XO :)
The thoracic MRI came back normal. They are able to see the end of the syrinx, but more importantly, they didn't find anything, like a tumor, that could be causing the blood in my spinal cord. This means it is most likely from years of popping blood vessels at the hands of chiropractors, and my own regular 'cracking' of my neck.
Once again, thank you all for your love, support, and concern and we hope to have more surgery information soon! XO :)
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