Twenty-Four-and-a-Half-Week Midwife Appointment

Today was the big glucose test. Originally my appointment was scheduled for 11:00 a.m., but because I was nervous about getting back to pick Elsa up from playgroup on time, and at the wise suggestion of my friend, Kate, I called the office yesterday afternoon and asked if I might be able to come in early to drink the glucose drink. They said that was totally fine, so I ended up getting to their office around 9:40 a.m.

I was almost immediately sent to the back to pee in a cup (must have been fine -- nice to know now that I am off the antibiotic), stand on the scale (137 pounds, up three pounds from the last appointment), and have my blood pressure taken (100/60). The nurse then gave me the lovely, non-carbonated, lemon-lime concoction, which I drank as quickly as possible, despite the fact that I had an entire five minutes to do so. It really was not that bad, but I certainly would not choose to drink the stuff.

I came with knitting and reading material in hand, knowing that I would have to sit around for an hour while my body absorbed the glucose drink. I completed several rows on the baby blanket I am making, which was satisfying, and then as I neared the hour mark I did some baby care refresher reading. I actually had to remind the nurse that an hour had passed, and was then taken back again, this time to have my blood drawn. Three more vials of blood left my body. With all of the doctor's appointments lately, I am really starting to feel like a human pincushion. Last week I had blood drawn at Dr. Owen's office for a more thorough thyroid check, and I am still waiting to hear the results of that.

The nurse put me in a room and I had to wait awhile longer before Amy came in to see me. She asked if I had any questions, and though I did not have any major ones, I did ask her if they had received the results from the further testing they were going to do at the emergency room in Charleston. They had not, so she gave me a medical record release form to send to them to see if we could obtain the results that way. She asked me if I had an ultrasound, as there was no record of it in my chart, so she had the receptionist look up those results while Amy measured my belly (must have measured okay) and listened to the baby's heartbeat (which sounded great). Once the receptionist came up with the ultrasound report, Amy looked it over and said everything looked completely normal. We then chatted some about my thyroid levels, as she noticed that the last T4 measurement they had was just barely low, at 0.81 (normal is 0.82). She asked me why we were monitoring the thyroid levels to begin with, and I told her that I had been diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis a little over a year ago, that my thyroid levels had been too high, and that they had been normalized just by going on the gluten-free diet, but now seemed to be going rather low. She said this is a very common path with Hashimoto's, but that we needed to stay on top of it because we do not want the levels to go too low. With being so concerned about high thyroid levels for so long, I have done little to no research on low levels, but apparently there is a risk to the baby if they go too low too. They can acquire thyroid issues in the womb, which can even lead to mental retardation. I believe my response to this was, "Grrreat." Amy said she was not at all concerned now since my T4 level was barely below normal, but she said we should certainly keep an eye on it, and if it continues to trend lower, I might need to go on thyroid support medication. I also plan on speaking with Dr. Owen and Dr. J about this when I see them next. Amy was glad to hear that Dr. Owen had ordered the more thorough test, and she gave me yet another medical record release form so she could get those results as well. She clearly did not want me to worry over this, and said that she had seen T4 levels as low as 0.02, and it was then that she would stay awake at night, worrying about the baby. She just wanted me to be aware that there are dangers, and I am glad that she told me.

Everything else seemed fine. I will go back in four weeks (the day before Jarrett and I leave for Jamaica!), and will get the Rhogam injection at that appointment. I decided to ask her as well about why I might not have received an injection after Elsa's birth, and she said it was most likely because Elsa tested negative. But she also said I might just not remember getting it. I still argue that I would have remembered, but who knows. Now I just wait for test results -- I will let you know as I am updated!