Surrogacy Diaries...3 *MEDICAL RECORDS*

POOP.

That is what I have to say about my first Dr. (the one I had with Blake's pregnancy and birth, and half of my pregnancy with Jordan....) Many of you have been following me since then, and know how RIDICULOUS they were!! They constantly lost my chart, or pages therein, couldn't get anything right, and were completely lacking in bedside manner (i.e. the midwife who told me to shut up when I was moaning during pushing.)

Well, I never really expected to deal with them again, of course- I forgot I would need them for their records on me for the surrogacy.
GREAT. The very thing they screwed up much of the time. So, I asked for my medical records, they didn't charge me (which was nice) and sent them the next day (which was very nice). What WASNT nice, is how disorganized they seemed when they arrived, and the fact that they didnt READ what was sent to them apparently.

With my first pregnancy with Blake, they speculated that I had 2 TIA's (transient ischemic attacks....aka mini temporary strokes) B/C I had 2 severe migraines that had speech confusion accompanying them. VERY scary, but not harmful, like a TIA. They of course referred me to a neurologist, and they ran a bunch of tests, and ruled out the TIA, as well as stated that I had very severe migraines (with reading too much the day before as possible triggers - i read a 500 page novel in one day lol) with "aura" which is strange symptoms occuring either before or during the migraine.

NOW...here is the part that (pardon me) pisses me off....


They, After recieving this information from the neurologist, CONTINUED to write constantly in my chart that I had a history of TIA's!!! Yea sure, make me look like a prize catch to my IM's Dr. who will be reviewing this. The only good thing about this  is that my neurology report is included (suprisingly).

Then we have the "heat stroke" with "seizures" sitting once or twice in there.....ummmm in 07 I went to a truck show with my current boyfriend, and suffered from heat exhaustion and the shakes....*SIGH* If I have to go to the carlisle hospital (which is kinda far away) to get THOSE records, I will for SURE be outraged at this Dr's office lol.

Next we have the "heart issues"....In the beginning with my pregnancy with Blake, they wanted my entire medical history, so I gave it to them....Including the fainting episodes I had whn I was 14. I had low blood pressure, but did a tilt table test (which I failed- I passed out) but no one ever knew why....after ultrasounds ECG's etc, I was ruled as "fine"...my palpitations possibly being related to anxiety. I state this one time,....and now it runs rampant through my records...so they send me to a heart Dr. and What do you know....Im fine. Luckily they included that report of I think I would have a heart attack. But yet they still continued to refer to these heart "issues".

And finally the "pre-eclampsia"....I took so many 24 hour urine tests with this Dr.....and NONE of them came back that I was peeing protein or my liver or kidneys were affected....everything was..... yep you guessed it.....FINE. all my levels were normal in every part of the labs included in my records, but my BP was trending upwards, and at the very end was pretty high. yet they still called it preeclampsia here, and hypertension of pregnancy there....But it the hospital induction report, luckily they said that I was brought to be induced b/c of pregnancy induced hypertension.


I seriously think i had high blood pressur b/c of how confusing and unorganized this Dr. was. I am so glad I finally switched. The worst of it all, which the chart does not reflect, is how they talked to me....talked down to me.  I am hoping everything works out. I LOVE the IP's I have, and it would suck to ruin it b/c of my Dr.'s incapabilities.

THANK GOD I switched Doctors, and had a wonderfully smooth pregnancy the second time around. I was able to relax and enjoy it. For that, I am very grateful.

WOW. I feel so much better now that I ranted on here. shew. Plus I wanted to Document every step of this process, so that if I go through it again, I am knowing what to expect. And if you made it this far, Thank you, and you are amazing.

Surrogacy Diaries...2

So....I have an inspiration for writing a blog today :o)

spill it, Liz


You push too hard, really. :P

IM MATCHED!!!! Yes! That's right! Im TAKEN. LoL

Sooo I haven't been talking much since my last update, both video and here, for a reason. I have been trying to decide between parents...a decision I wouldn't wish on anybody!....Its SO hard to pick from a handful of amazing people who are willing to work with you. BUT I am glad I chose who I chose.. well, they chose me too :o). Its so strange. Finding a match is MUCH like dating. You have to kind of "play the field" so to speak. But honesty is SUPER important.

Of course the term "match" goes without saying that its as long as I pass all the Dr tests. "M" Is a mom of one boy ("E") and "A" is the intended father :) We have been emailing back and forth, our lawyer letting us have some space to get to know eachother...all I can say is I love talking with them!!

I got THAT email today saying they officially want to move forward. Right now I am focusing on getting my medical records sent to me, and sending them along to "M" - for her review, and so she can pass them along to her private IVF Doc.

I have my routine Pap on April 6th (cuz i knew you wanted that info :P) and will have those results sent as well.

Then I will most likely be beginning the testing process. Tyler and I both will have to have blood work (me more so than him) to rule out infectious diseases. Once (hopefully) I pass those tests, they will likely to a test to inject dye into my uterus and fallopian tubes to measure the size/shape of my uterus, and make sure it is suitable for pregnancy.

Then, "M" and I will be placed on hormones and birth control to sync up our cycles, so they fall on the same days. Once this happens, they will collect the eggs and sperm of the intended parents and allow them to "do their thing" in a petri dish :D

Once there are several embabies (embryos lol) they will decide on a 3 day transfer or 5 day (this is the age of the fresh embryos, and marks their specific cell dividing stage) and I come into play :). They place up to 3 most likely 2 embabies in my uterus, and I "host" them. They will hopefully implant to the lining of my uterus, and become a viable pregnancy. Most likely there will only be one baby as a result of all this.

Then I continue hormone injections and meds until usually week 12 of the pregnancy, at which time the hormones given off by the placenta are enough to sustain the pregnancy on its own. Before that, the meds are important to "trick" my body into believing it is pregnant and not reject the pregnancy.

Sometimes, as a result of the hormones, Surros tend to get highly emotional, and sometimes "bloat up". This is just a normal temporary part of the whole thing! Once you get to the 3rd/4th month of pregnancy, you'd just carry on as if it were a normal pregnancy!

AHHHH so exciting!!!

FOR FUTURE REFERENCE:

terminology:


TS: traditional surrogate, where the surrogate mother's egg is used. I am NOT a TS.

GS: gestational surrogate, where a sperm and egg formed into an embryo which is not from the surro. I am a GS.

IM or "M": intended mother. use of her first initial is for her protection.
IF or "A": intended father. use of his first initial is used for his protection.
IP or IP's: intended parents.
IB or "E": intended brother (I may have made that up lol). Use of his first initial is used for his protection.