The Good and The Bad

As you may have noticed, I went silent for a short while and haven’t posted since my stent placement in March.  There’s a reason, and that brings us to the “good” portion of the title.  Shortly after I returned home from Arizona, we discovered I was pregnant!

We are extremely excited, but also were also initially filled with fear because I had an MRI and ERCP while I was pregnant but didn’t know it. Fortunately, we were reassured by all my doctors that the tests, procedures, and antibiotics are safe for pregnant women and the baby is growing as it should be. I am due in November around Thanksgiving.

I underwent another ERCP procedure in April to remove the first stent placed. When the doctor removed the stent, the common biliary duct narrowed again so he decided to place two stents side-by-side to open the duct further. I was given antibiotics for 10 days after the procedure to reduce the risk of infection and all went well.

Then comes the “bad” portion of the title. A few days after I finished the antibiotics, I came down with a fever and achiness.  I tried to sleep it off during the night and was still feeling pretty crummy in the morning, so my doctors recommended I head into the ER. The doctors think I was experiencing an infection and decided to give me antibiotics via IV and observe me and baby for a day. After spending one night in the hospital I was sent home with two more weeks of antibiotics and baby was doing well.

Once again, a few days after completing the antibiotics, I came down with a fever and some nausea.  After a quick call to the doctor’s office, back to the ER we went.  They put me on antibiotics via IV again and kept me a couple nights for observation.  I was sent home yesterday after feeling much better.

The plan is to stay on antibiotics until my next ERCP to remove the stents in a couple weeks. The doctors are hopeful the infections will stop once the stents are removed. If I have to have another stent placed, I’ll likely remain on antibiotics for a while to keep the fevers at bay.

For now, baby and I are doing well and we’ll take things one day at a time.

Thanks for joining me on the journey.

~Liver Life to The Fullest