Alpha Thalassemia Trait

I got a call from the genetic counselor at the Big Hospital today, telling me that I have Alpha Thalassemia Trait of the trans variety. This was not a big surprise — it is common among people of Mediterranean descent and I was tested when I was a young child, but I did not know the specific results of those tests (other than that they were positive).

This is not a big deal for Snapdragon. FB is not a carrier, so Snapdragon will either be unaffected or will by a symptomless "silent carrier."

It's not that big of a deal for me either. My red blood cells are still small and I will always show up as anemic on blood tests, no matter how much iron I have in my system. Now I just have to make sure that my midwife understands this, because the last time we saw her, she seemed pretty confused by the whole thing and wanted to put me on iron supplements.

Medical Stuff Update

On Thursday, we met with the midwife for Snapdragon's 15-week checkup. Everything looked fine. Snapdragon's heartrate was a strong 160 and my uterus measured at a perfectly average 16 centimeters. All of the pregnancy books say that my uterus should be 2 or 3 inches below my belly button at this point, but I am short, so it's actually less than an inch away.

On Friday, we went to the big hospital for an ultrasound with the perinatologist so she could check on my ovarian cyst. The good news: Snapdragon looks perfectly healthy. The bad news: my cyst has gotten slightly bigger. It's about the size of a baseball, which isn't such a huge problem at the moment, but will be a problem as Snapdragon gets bigger and takes up more of the room in my very short abdomen.

So, long story short, I have to have my anatomy scan at the big hospital instead of at the birth center. If my cyst is the same or smaller, they'll let it stay, but if it hits 8cm, the perinatologist wants me to have surgery, which will mean general anesthesia, a 3-inch incision in my abdomen, and 6-8 weeks of bed rest recovery time. Not fun.

I've been reading online and thinking about it for a few days now, and I think that I am inclined to refuse the surgery. The perinatologist assured me that the cyst looks simple and benign and that it does not threaten Snapdragon in any direct way. The major issues are that it could break, which would hurt like hell, or it could get twisted and cut off the blood supply to my ovary. Either of these things would be extremely painful and dangerous in terms of my ovary, but not necessarily bad for Snapdragon. The surgery will definitely be extraordinarily painful as well, so there's no net gain there. I would like to save my ovary if possible, but I'm fairly unexcited about having major abdominal surgery in my second trimester. The doctor told us that they couldn't do laparoscopic surgery during pregnancy, but wasn't very clear on why not.

We'll see. I'll be back at the big hospital in three weeks for the anatomy scan and we'll see if it has grown more. If it's about the same, there will be no talk of surgery, but if it is still growing, I'll need a second opinion.

Ultrasound

Arms, Legs, and a Big Chin

On Friday, I went for a nuchal translucency scan at the big medical center in the city. FB is on a business trip, so my mom came with me. We got to see Snapdragon for the first time, which was pretty exciting.

S/he was flipping all around, so it took a little while for the ultrasound tech to get a clear picture. When she was finally able to take measurements, Snapdragon's neck was totally normal and her/his length was right on track for 12 weeks 2 days.

I am an otter.

We were in there for at least 20 minutes and Snapdragon was squirming like mad the whole time — jumping from one side to the other, waving its arms around, touching its face, etc. It was fairly alarming to see so much movement, but not be able to feel anything at all. When you consider that Snapdragon is nearly 3 inches long, I could have a hamster running around in my abdomen and never know the difference.

After the tech got some good looks at Snapdragon, she looked at my ovaries. My left ovary looked fine, but I have a big cyst on the right. One of the doctors came in and took a look at it and said that it's normal to have a cyst from ovulation, but that mine was pretty big (about the same size as Snapdragon, actually), so she wanted to keep an eye on it and ordered another ultrasound for 3 weeks from now.

I'm not particularly concerned — I've had ovarian cysts before and as long as they don't get twisted, they're no big deal. I'm glad we'll get to have another ultrasound when FB is home. It's reassuring to see that Snapdragon has a head and an appropriate number of limbs. At the next ultrasound, s/he will be 15 weeks and 2 days — perhaps the tech will be able to take a guess at the gender.

I also got to talk to a genetic counselor before the exam to discuss the nuchal translucency test. When she took my history and looked at my blood panel, she seemed pretty alarmed at my iron levels and my history of thalassemia. She ordered that I get some extra blood tests and that FB get tested as well, even though there is virtually zero chance that he is also a thalassemia carrier. I find that doctors asking about my thalassemia ask me very strange questions — "Do you feel ok?" "Are you tired?" I can say for sure that I am tired, but I am also pregnant. Sure, I feel ok, but it's silly to ask me if I feel normal — it's a hereditary blood disorder, so I've never felt anything different.

The Claw

Feeling Good

So far, I don't have too many symptoms of pregnancy. I've been peeing every two hours and have constant, low-level cramps, but nothing too terrible. The cramps don't really hurt — they just make me more aware of my uterus than usual.

Over the past few days, I've been eating some of my favorite foods in anticipation of nausea over the next few weeks. I may not want Indian food or quesadillas once the morning sickness sets in, so I might as well get them now.

FB and I have been enjoying a lazy long weekend full of board games, banana bread, prgnancy books, and housecleaning. Tomorrow, we go to meet the midwives for the first time.

Two Packs Left

I am not pregnant.

I have been on the Pill since I was 18 years old — seven full years this summer. I have two packs left, which will carry me through August and then . . .

I don't know how my body will react to the sudden withdrawal of its beloved hormone candies, but I can guess. The Pill has lessened my cramps, bleeding, headaches, and many of the other joys of female biology, so I can only assume that they will return in full force when I am Pill-less.

Of course, my goal in ceasing this hormone regimen is the ultimate in biological adventures. I understand that pregnant women look back on their pre-Pill cramps with fondness.

Two more packs and then,

the adventure.