Just thinking...

Today, as I sat in an exam room at my endocrinologist's office for almost an hour before my 3 minute visit, I started looking at online doctor reviews.  Then, I started thinking about what I would post if I decided to review my OB in Tucson from Kason's birth.

In case you don't remember, or I didn't tell you, I wasn't a big fan of hers.  Upon our first visit, at just shy of 6 weeks, she began by walking in the room and calling my urine, "pee pee".  Strike 1.  That same visit, she did an early ultrasound.  I was spotting and cramping badly.  The only thing visible on her crappy ultrasound machine was an empty sac.  She said, "there's your baby (when clearly there was no baby visible)", and turned the machine off.  She went on with her exam and then told me that I had a threatened miscarriage and I would be seen for an ultrasound by Obstetrix at 9 weeks.  I continued to spot and sat in worry through the Christmas holidays.  Strike 2.

After this first visit, I was thrilled to go to Obstetrix and see my handsome little guy with his heart beating away.  I, however, was a mess everytime I went back to Dr. I's office from that point on. As soon as I walked in, my blood pressure would sky rocket.  Thus began Dr. I's obsession with my blood pressure.  She prescribed me blood pressure medicine, even though I had purchased my own machine and took twice a day readings.  I even brought it in to her office to show that when I was there it matched her machine.  She 'diagnosed' me with chronic hypertension, even after seeing records from other physicians showing my blood pressure was normal, if not even a little low.  She sent me to the perinatologist, who agreed that I had white-coat syndrome (only in Dr. I's office) and there was absolutely no need for blood pressure medication.  Not only was there no need, it could be quite risky, especially since my typical readings are 90-100/50-70.  Dr. I was still upset that I refused the medication.

My blood pressure remained high every time I went to her office.  So, at 21 weeks, she insisted on a 24 hr urine sample and some blood work.  This is where my review would take a drastically different turn from the one I might have previously written.

Dr. I's obsession with my blood pressure could very well have saved Kason's life, as well as saved Kyle and I the heartache of infertility and/or repeated miscarriages.

The urine sample was clean and there was no problem with my blood pressure.  My blood work, however, showed that I had a very underactive thyroid.  Dr. I repeated the blood work and called several endocrinologists in the area to find me the first available appointment.  I was seen later that week by Dr. P and after more blood work, showing my thyroid antibodies and TSH were both through the roof, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease and hypothyroidism.  My hypothyroidism had most likely been accelerated by pregnancy and I was immediately started on a fairly high dosage of thyroid meds.

It took me a while to realize the true seriousness of a thyroid disorder in pregnancy and it took until my pregnancy with Noah to realize what the consequences of not having it checked early and often in pregnancy could be.  Had my thyroid problems remained undetected and untreated, we very well could have lost Kason.  Aside from late term loss and stillbirth, undiagnosed/untreated hypothyroidism can also cause infertility and even slight hypothyroidism can result in early loss. 

Today, I have no thyroid function at all and my body does not absorb the meds as efficiently as most would.  Therefore, I am on a dosage equivalent to what a 250 pound man with no function might need.  This dosage typically goes up throughout my pregnancies (I have had one dosage increase so far) and stabilizes after delivery.  So, while I wouldn't have gone back to Dr. I for a second pregnancy and had already switched OB's in Tucson when I found out I was pregnant with Emily, I do owe her a debt of gratitude.  I don't know where our road might have led had my thyroid disorder gone undetected, but I do know that my family could look very different than it does today. 

So, after all of this, I think my review will remain unwritten.