GOOD news

I just got back from my appointment with Dr. Dickhead, whose name really needs to be changed to reflect his new tone. How about Dr. Low Expectations?

The bottom line is that my labs are all in, and there is absolutely no sign of any autoimmune or generalized inflammation problems at all. In fact, I have a lower than normal amount of inflammation in my body. This pretty much conclusively rules out lupus, Waggoner's disease, Goodpastures disease and a bunch of other rheumatoid problems that I was especially worried about. The best guess they have at this point is that the hemorrhage was caused by the thyroid medication I have been on. Mine would be probably the one case in the country in a year caused by this drug. Dr. Low Expectations said he has seen two other cases this year of this (diffuse alveolar hemorrhage), both caused by a single drug (Plavix, in those cases). He said I performed better on my pulmonary function test than he does, and that my lungs are likely back to normal or near it already.

As for the steroids, he says that because this is such a rare occurrence (the hemorrhage), they do not have great data about what dose or length of steroid treatment will solve it, so he wants to make sure they are effectively treating the inflammation and solving the problem. I feel very comfortable with that explanation and ALSO with breastfeeding again, sooner rather than later. Dr. Low Expectations admitted today that he'd done some research and very very little of any of the medications I am on gets into breastmilk, and assumed that I would resume immediately. He answered all of my questions thoughtfully and completely, and Jeff's too. He took seriously my concerns and said "I don't know" fairly frequently, which I always appreciate. No one knows everything, and I'd rather a truthful "I don't know" than BS.

So now my biggest concerns are abnormal hair growth, insomnia, hyperness and irritability, and sweating, all possible side effects of the steroids. I'm sure we'll have some nursing hiccups as we get back in the swing of things after a week of bottles, too. But I don't care about any of that--we'll work through it. Just please don't make fun of my moustache and dampness. Truthfully I've always times when I've been an irritable hyper bitch, so good luck trying to sort that out. And may God help the person who says, "was she ALWAYS that hairy and sweaty, or is it just the steroids?"

I go back to see Dr. Low Expectations in five weeks for a new CT scan and pulmonary function test, at which time I will start weaning off the steroids. In the meantime, I'm watching Theo sleep on my dad and I'm going to nurse him when he wakes up. I can't wait.