Baby Website

I've created a baby website to blog and post pictures of the pregnancy. 

http://AndreaJeffBaby.ourbabychannel.com

The weather has been great the past two weeks. We’ve been spending a lot of time outside. Jeff’s been working in the garden and we’ve been spending hours at the dog park.  Also now that I’m feeling better I’ve been walking to/from work again.  The only downside is my allergies are acting up. I’m hoping I won’t be spending the summer sneezing and coughing but at least I’m over the fatigue and morning sickness.

The rumors are true!

Snooki is pregnant…and so am I!

Baby Pyle coming November 2012!

The morning of 2/24 I went to my doctor for a blood test right before Jeff and I started our drive to the coast. As we were nearing the campground, the nursing assistant called with the exciting news that we were expecting!

On 3/6 we went in for our first ultrasound at five weeks. Starting the previous week I was feeling fatigued and going to bed by 8pm every night.

On 3/16 we went in for our second ultrasound at the end of six weeks where we heard the heart beat for the first time. Since everything was looking good I was released from the infertility clinic to the care of my primary obgyn.

At 8 weeks the morning sickness began. It really is morning sickness in my case. The worst is between 3am – 8am. Luckily I can pull myself together right before I leave for work.

On 4/2, at 9w3d I went in for my first routine exam. At an inch long the baby was moving all over the place. We could even see it’s tiny fingers. At this point I’ve already gained 5 lbs and have bought my first pair of maternity jeans.

Camping

We started our camping early this year. Jeff was able to go camping with the scouts at Mt. Rainier 2 weeks ago and then last weekend we went camping at Ocean Shores. 

I was so excited to get out for a weekend I didn’t care that the weather report called for rain and temps in the 30s.  The campground looked more like a swamp but we were able to find a spot that wasn’t a small lake.  We spent a little bit of time at the beach before setting going back to camp.  We set up a tarp to get the rain off us while eating dinner and then we headed for what I hoped to be a relaxing goodnight sleep. 

Unfortunately by the time midnight rolled around the wind and ocean were extremely loud I woke up feeling nervous.  I checked my weather app to find out there was wind storm advisory (expecting gusts at 60 mph/falling trees & branches) and a high (30 ft.) surf advisory.  If you’re not familiar with the Pacific Northwest wind storms cause a lot of damage and there are always trees falling.  I feel nervous when I’m home during wind storms; the last place I wanted to be sleeping was in a tent under large trees.  We ended up staying the night but I didn’t get any sleep. As we were leaving we found that the ranger closed the campground due to power outages.

So the camping trip didn’t go as expect but it was nice to get away.

Oy vey!

Last month the Rheumatologist changed Jeff’s Humira prescription to once a week vs every other week. We were both really excited because we thought this would help Jeff feel better sooner. Unfortunately that was not what happened. The prescription hung up in red tape between the doctor office and the insurance company for a month all while Jeff couldn’t get any of his Humira doses. We finally learned last Friday the insurance company denied the claim for once a week but reapproved his every other week dose which Jeff was able to pick up on Monday.

So while all that was happening Jeff was sick and not feeling well. Last week he was vomiting for a few days and on Friday vomited up blood. His primary doctor told him to take some medicine and if he vomited up more blood to go to the ER. Long story short we ended up in the ER where it was decided he probably tore his esophagus from all the vomiting. They put him on an anti-nausea medicine so his esophagus could heal faster.

Then this past Monday (three days later) Jeff took his first Humira dose in a month and he’s been doing great. He’s doing well enough that he will be going with the scouts snow camping tomorrow night. He’s really excited to go and I’m really excited for him to get out doing something he loves.

Oh and I almost forgot. Jeff also had a colonoscopy back in mid-January to look for Chrons disease. The results came back normal.

Jeff’s been on Humira for 3 weeks now.  He’s been sick most of that time with a flu/cold which is not surprising considering the medicine works by suppressing the immune system. He has a follow up with the Rheumatologist this Friday. We’re hoping he’ll start feeling better on the medicine soon.

Unfortunately I have not been fairing much better.  I started a new medicine four weeks ago which has been making me sick.  So far I’ve only been able to work up to two pills with the expectation of going up to four.  Then last week had bit of scare when I felt a very small lump on breast.  I saw my primary Dr last week & today had an ultrasound done.  The good news is they did not find anything concerning.  I didn’t think they would find anything because I am so young but you never know.  Better safe than sorry.

Finally

After waiting three weeks for the insurance to approve the Humira (it is really expensive) we were able to pick it up this afternoon. Jeff took his first dose tonight. Hoping he responds well to the medication.

Treatments

Jeff has been on a steroid the last two weeks which suppresses his immune system; he hasn’t been feeling well.

Jeff went to the Rheumatologist this morning for a follow up visit.  He will soon start taking Humira (an injectable TNF alpha blocker) every other week.  This treatment carries the risk of infections, especially tuberculosis because it suppresses the body’s ability to fight off infections. It works by blocking a proteins known as TNF alpha which causes inflammation.  Normally this protein helps fight infection but in Jeff’s case, the excess amount causes painful inflammation and eventually can cause severe joint damage.

Finally, Answers!

This morning was our appointment with the Rheumatologist.  When the Dr. first got into the room he started asking Jeff a bunch of questions which Jeff seemed to answer no to a lot of them.  That made me start thinking that the Dr. wasn’t going to have any answers for us.  After examining Jeff, he went through his bone scan and x-rays from 3-4 years ago and started to ask Jeff more questions about where he feels pain.  The Dr. then showed us where he was seeing inflammation on the bone scan and x-rays.  He then stated that Jeff has spondyloarthritis. These were the same scans that we’ve been told came back normal! Also the MRI Jeff had done a while back cut off right before the area on his spine where the inflammation would have shown up on the MRI!  The answer was in Jeff’s records all along.  We just had to find the right doctor who knew what to look for.

We finally have a diagnosis!  I couldn’t believe it.  I think Jeff & I were both in shock.  Part of me didn’t believe that we finally know the name of the disease Jeff’s been battling for so long.

The Dr prescribed Jeff an anti-inflammatory drug to start. The drug can cure stiffness and pain.  We have a follow up visit in a couple weeks to check in. The treatments are successful in 80% of the patients diagnosed with this disease.  Jeff and I really excited and optimistic that he’ll get better with treatment.  We are going out to dinner to celebrate and hopefully start living life again.

Well today was my turn at the doctor. This afternoon I went and did another round of visual tests for glaucoma. No changes from my May test but because I do have a tiny bit of nerve damage I have to go in every 6 months to see if the damage progresses.