Day 31- lions and tigers and MRIs...

MRI with dye of me-- 32 weeks 6 days pregnant.
This picture is looking down cutting across my stomach.  See that big baby in there?!
AMAZING!

Yeah, my MRI was hard!  One of the hardest things I've done so far.  Who knew?
(Sorry if you think these pictures are a bit too revealing.  I like the whole world looking at my cervix.. ha!)

This is another picture of my baby-- see his brain?
My placenta is down along the front of my stomach, I think.

I wasn't worried because I'm not claustrophobic.  But!  I didn't plan on one hour of pain.  Pregnant, bed resting mothers have a hard time laying flat on their back with a 50 lb (probably less) weight pushing down their pregnant belly.  Ouch!  That nerve...  

I couldnt wear any metal- no bra.  But, I did wear my clothes.  They hooked my central line up to an iv line to insert a metal dye into my blood.  They used a controversial dye (grenadine?) so they could see better.  I could taste metal when it went in, but it didn't hurt.  They also gave me a blanket, but I wish I didn't have it because I sweated so much laying there.

The radiologists and nurses were all so nice.  I'm sure it wouldn't have been bad if I didn't have such an aching back.  They kept telling me to hold my breath and I couldn't hold as long as they needed me to.  Probably because I was a bit freaked out.

MRI's are really loud.  Lots of beeping, my baby was going crazy kicking.  I kept contracting (because of the heavy thing on my belly) and I honestly thought I might hemorrhage right there inside the MRI machine.  Wouldn't that have been funny?  Ha!

I had to use my best mind control efforts to breath and not push my little alarm button.  I was completely still, because anytime I moved one leg I'd get that shooting pain up my back.  

When they finally let me out, I almost passed out.  (i pushed the alarm button on my way out- just because i wanted to so bad.)  It took me a few minutes to figure out how I could stand up... My back hurts just remembering.  

Finally, I just rolled off the table a bit dramatically.  I was so quiet and still during the scan I think everyone was surprised how much pain I was in when it was over.  Blah.  I hated that.

I know that my MRI rendition seems a bit dramatic-- but it was hard.  Glad it's over.

Doctors just showed me the results this morning.  I do have Percretta.  The tip of my bladder is involved and my cervix.  My bowels don't seem to be involved!

I love the pictures!! They are so cool-- I'm showing you an iPhone picture of the computer showing me the MRI.  You can see the fuzzy line where my placenta mixes with my bladder in the picture where you can see the Dr's finger pointing...  They still don't think it is through all the layers of my bladder- and not near my ureters.

Here the doctor is pointing to the specific spot where my placenta is invading my bladder.
I'm fasting so my bladder is the white, smashed, rectangular thing at the bottom (under her finger).
My placenta is the big, kind of speckled, white oval taking up most of my stomach in this picture.
They are looking for crisp lines versus fuzzy lines.
The fuzzy lines at the top of the bladder suggest that the placenta has grown into the lining of the bladder.

Can you see that fuzzy spot where the bladder seems to be combining with the placenta...
THAT, my friends, is a lovely Percretta.
There should be a crisp, clean uterus boundary between my placenta and my bladder.  

My surgeon is coming to talk to me today.
A resident got a text this morning from my fetal medicine doctor saying, "I told Jen already that she would still have great sex even without a cervix."  Ha!  Even I blushed a bit at that one.  The residents were all laughing.  

6 days till d-day!!

Today I'm 33 weeks pregnant!!

I'm sure I will never have another MRI while pregnant.  !!!!

Happy Friday!