Still Pregnant

I'm here, I'm cerclage free, and I am still pregnant.

Now that you know the main facts, I will now bitch about my issues with anesthesia. Yesterday was mostly fine. The anesthesiologist appeared competent. She was very attentive when I told her that I felt sensation (to say the least) when the cerclage was placed in October. I forgot to tell her my other side effect, which is that my blood pressure plummets and I get totally nauseated. They call it a "vagal response.” There’s something about all these needles—needles in my veins, needles drawing blood, needles in my spinal cavity. I really hate it and I get very panicky. Especially when I can’t breath and think I’m about to throw up. So, as I said, Dr. Anesthesiologist was very attentive and pushed some other stuff into the IV when I started saying, “I can’t breathe!” and “I feel like I need to puke.” I don’t know what she did, but those drugs made me feel better than I have in weeks. It is the only good thing I will say about the anesthesia.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the blue screen draped between my head and the rest of my body, Dr. Cerclage was taking his time trying to get his famous stitch out. He told me he was about to give up hunting (which means I’d be scheduling a c-section) when, “aha!,” he finally saw a little piece of thread he could grab hold of. Snip. Dr. C then asked if my throat hurt because "that's how far up the stitch was."

I immediately dilated one centimeter. "I'll give you the first one for free, you have to work for the rest," Dr. C announced. He says these obnoxious-sounding things, but he is so twinkle eyed and caring and paternal that you can't help not minding one bit. I was out of the stirrups and out of the operating room in 20 minutes total.

But I digress. The anesthesia took forever to wear off. Twenty minutes in the OR but hours in the recovery room waiting for the drugs to get out of my system. I was wiped last night from all the drugs but happily had my first good night sleep in weeks.

Unfortunately, story doesn't end here.

Today I had the worst headache since my bout with meningitis when I was 8 years old. It lasted all day and was an awful, throbbing pain that made me totally incapable of doing anything but moan. I was nauseated. I finally left work. I called the husband and he could tell I was beside myself. He called Dr. Cerclage’s trusty assistant. She called me immediately and told me I was having a "spinal headache" and that I needed to go back to the hospital right away and get a "blood patch." I did as I was told. It sucked. It involved ANOTHER IV, another needle in my back and another needle in my arm. A new anesthesiologist drew blood from my arm and immediately squirted it into my back—to “patch” the leaky hole in my spinal column that was giving me that headache. Disgusting. But the headache is gone.

I swear to God I am considering natural childbirth just to avoid all the needles. If I went into labor tonight, there is no way would let anyone near me with another syringe. Famous last words…..