Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Update on my pump and pregnancy stuff

It's been a month since starting the zofran IV medication, and let me tell you...night and day people, NIGHT and DAY. Before being on the pump, I was sick all.day.long. Not fun. I would wake up in the middle of the night, vomitting uncontrollably, I couldn't eat or drink anything unless I wanted to see it again in 10 minutes. I lost weight, bunches of it, and I felt so sick. Baby did so good during all of this, he/she stayed strong and stuck around...boy are we happy about that. I can't express how much happier I am to be able to function semi normally (because we all know I don't really do "normal" all that well anyway ;) But now that I have raved about how well I feel, I thought I should mention the darker side *cue the scary voice*

A few Con's to the pump so far:
-Site changes SUCK. The thought of having to plunge a needle into my thigh every 2 days just makes my tummy turn.
-THE BURN! When I have really bad days, there is something called a "bolus" or "demand dose" it's basically 4 hours of medication in 12 minutes. This burns at the infusion site, you get used to it over time...but there are occasions that it hits me...OUCH.
-Forgetting about the pump...OK, this one, SUCKS. The pump comes with a handy shoulder strap, and when I sit down, I take it off and put it on the back of the chair (think purse, hanging on chair back). But there are times I forget it's attached to me, get up, and the IV comes ripping out of my leg. Not fun...let me tell you.
-Site infection. This has only happened to me a handful of times, but, it's something worth mentioning. Sometimes the spot where the infusion is will seriously irritate the muscle/skin tissue, and nice size knot remains. My nurses tell me to alternate hot and cold compresses, but I have a bump from a 12 day old site and I don't see it going away anytime soon.
-Headaches. This is one of the few side effects from the medication, so naturally, I would get it. Headaches and me go way back, and these are pretty severe.
-Dizziness. Another lovely side effect that I could do without. BUT, there is a lovely drug called "BONINE" it's for motion sickness, completely safe during pregnancy, and TOTALLY takes the dizziness away....make a note of that.
-Skin breakdown. I have ridiculously sensitive skin, hence the skin breakdown. Luckily, they sell a lovely product called "skin prep" and you wipe it on in lieu of an alchohol pad, it puts a barrier between my skin and the infusion site adhesive. I hope it helps soon, cause at this rate, I won't be wearing shorts or a swimsuit anytime soon.
-Just being attached to a device 24 hrs a day. It makes simple things seem so difficult. Such as: sex, baths, showers, playing tag with the kiddos, swimming, laying on the side with the site, working out, sleeping in general, driving....

But even with it all...at the end of the day, feeling that amazing baby growing inside of me...it's all worth it.

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