Steroids!

My 24 hour urine test came back showing some protein in it, but we had expected that. It wasn't any higher than we would have guessed, based on my other symptoms and what they've seen in the regular urine samples I leave at each trip to the OB. But my doc still decided that he would recommend that I have the steroid injections to speed up development of the babies' lungs. (He said he hemmed and hawed about this for quite a bit before calling me. It's totally borderline.) It's a standard procedure when an early delivery is likely, and there is a lot of evidence that it does indeed help them with breathing when they are born. Side effects for both me and them are not a big concern. The only thing is that it is not clear whether or not the positive effects last beyond a week or so, so we might not get any benefit out of them if I keep chuggin' along for a few weeks.

The doc still insists that he doesn't think I'm going to have any sudden problems. But it is possible that things could go wrong very quickly, and the shots wouldn't have time to be effective if we had to do an emergency delivery. I agreed. So I had a shot on Thursday and a shot on Friday, bringing my total doctor appointments to nine in fifteen days.

Those steroids have made me feel like a million bucks! What a miracle drug! Every pregnant woman should get steroids. I have more energy, my gastrointestinal issues have disappeared, I can roll over in bed without it feeling like I had to carry a piano up the stairs, and I even got through the night with only two trips to the bathroom last night. Best of all, I can feel my fingers again. I've been living with this carpel tunnel for so long, I had forgotten what it is like to feel normal. I didn't even wear the wrist braces last night, which made me feel so free! I still have a tiny bit of numbness just in the fingertips, but it doesn't hurt and it's not nearly as irritating as what I've been used to for the past few months. It makes me realize how far from normal I've been feeling, and now I'm looking forward eagerly to feeling normal again.

I tried to pin my doctor down on his best guess for when I'll deliver. He told me that at 36 weeks, he's just looking for reasons to deliver. A bad headache (pre-eclampsia symptom) would be enough at that point, since the benefits of keeping the babies in longer are marginal. 36 weeks is August 31. It's going to be a photo finish for me to meet my goal of two more September babies!