Yesterday...

Yesterday was spent going from one medical establishment to another.

From early morning to late in the evening. Starting with a visit to Taiping Hospital (the ACN clinic) to see an OB-GYN there at 10am which lasted till 1.30pm. The usual checks were performed; weight, urine test, blood pressure and a little chitchat regarding my past 2 pregnancies.This whole part itself didn't take that long, it's the waiting-outside-in-the-hallway-to-eventually-SEE-the-doctor that took hours. We're used to this situation since the day Shahrin was born, so we took it like a pro. But there are countless others who were constantly complaining and making rude remarks about how slow things are and they're wasting their time there. The usual pain in the butt kind of people who think the world revolves around them *ughhh* 

I mean, come on! Do you really expect the doctors to just rush through every patient just to make the waiting list grow shorter? Would you have liked it if the doctors just do a cursory glance at you and then send you home with a few advice, just because you don't want to waste your time there? But then, whatever. It's not my problem anyway.

So, I digress heheh. All in all, it was the usual kind of waiting with the boys running around with a bunch of other children, making the waiting a bit more interesting since you get to see parents trying to break off fights, pushes (boys will be boys) and overall children-related mayhem. 

When it was FINALLY my turn, I went in and sat down opposite the doctor who is actually 1 year older than I am. How do I know this? He told me himself when he looked at my IC number heheh. We chatted a bit about my past deliveries and the related medical conditions. Then, he got down to business regarding this pregnancy. I have been referred to them since I underwent a C-section for Nazrin's delivery. So, the main concerns about this are:

1- I have tissue-scaring in my womb and my stomach skin. With such scars, the doctor is concerned that during contractions when I am due to deliver Baby, the tissues might be torn apart at the scar area. This could lead to heavy bleeding or hemorrhage, which could be fatal. 

2- Usually, with cases like mine, the doctors would offer the patient a choice between having a normal delivery or go through another C-section. If the patient chooses to try for a normal delivery, she would have around 6-8 hours of trying before matters are taken out of her hands. After this period when she is still unable to deliver the baby, then the doctor would immediately order an operation. This is to prevent the scarred tissues from tearing during prolonged contractions. Unfortunately, as the doctor told me, this situation would mean that future pregnancies would have to be monitored even more closely due to issue #1.

3- In this trimester (in my case, the 3rd trimester, I'm already 8 month along) I should pay close attention to any sudden or intense pain in my abdomen. He said this kind of pain would be different from contractions & that I should not try to 'wait till the pain is gone' or 'try to self-medicate myself' by rubbing oil or something like I did when I had the ectopic pregnancy back in 2007. That kind of pain could indicate that something could be wrong in there & waiting for it to go away could put Baby and myself in danger.    

Apart from that, there were also concerns about protein detected in my urine. Read more about protein in urine here and here. As these articles have stated, this could indicate a bigger problem which is preeclampsia. I've wrote about this condition here. So, the doctor has ordered me to bring some forms to my local clinic for a follow-up on urine test as well as an EOD BP. The EOD BP test is a blood pressure test to be taken every other day, starting on Monday next week. The doctor did told me not to worry to much about this condition as it was never detected before. Hopefully, this condition will go away on its own but I still have to check back with my local clinic for a closer monitoring. 

Then, we had a little 'visit' with Baby, which 1) gave the doctor a shock as Baby kicked just when he placed the 'wand' thingy on my belly and we had a good laugh over it, 2) still unable to determine Baby's gender since we were only presented with the backbone and a few more kicks and 3) a relief to me since Baby is calculated to be in the normal weight range. Alhamdulillah. 

So, after a few more minutes of chatting, we finally settled everything and I was to report myself to the clinic with the forms the doctor gave me. As it was already lunchtime, we headed out to the nearest McDonald for some burgers and ice cream (I've been looking forward for the ice cream heheh). After Zuhur prayer, we rushed back to Bagan Serai and while at the clinic, I had to go through the same routine again. My 2nd urine test for yesterday revealed that I indeed have some protein in my pee. So, as the big doctor's order, I have to be there again next Monday for my first EOD BP, on Wednesday for a second EOD BP and another urine test, on Friday for a 3rd EOD BP and the following week for more follow-ups. 

Well, that about wraps up what happened to me yesterday. Today was spent as leisurely and unproductively as my bulging belly allows heheh. Hopefully tomorrow will be more fruitful as I intend to ask a neighbor here to come and help me clean house. No visitors, please! hehehehe