I came down with strep throat in October. It developed into a condition called Guttate Psoriasis that has persisted and worsened since the week of Halloween. It is a full body rash that is sometimes itchy and always ugly. Luckily, my face is so mild it isn't noticeable and my neck cleared in a few days with some medicated cream. My trunk was completely covered and my limbs also had lots of red lesions. I was on a few different rounds of antibiotics to treat the strep throat, none of which worked. I was able to continue nursing Nate during the antibiotics. I was also using medicated creams to treat the rash which helped it fade a little. At the beginning of December I was prescribed an immuno-suppressant medication to attempt to treat the psoriasis (because the psoriasis means my immune system is on over drive to fight the strep, and is actually causing the psoriasis rash). The bad news is that the immuno-suppressant isn't safe to take while nursing. I had to wean Nathan and that was a very sad thing for me.
My Notes:
December 7th
I am about to start a medication that isn’t safe with
breastfeeding. Nathan struggled with breastfeeding as a newborn his first week
but, we both figured it out together within a week or so and since then it’s
been pure bliss. Nearly everything about him is pure bliss. At this point he nurses just once before a morning nap,
occasionally before an afternoon nap (if he takes one) and once before bedtime.
It is a wonderful time of the day for us. He is calm, happy and I think he
feels warm, secure and loved. I enjoy the quiet, the time to sit and rock him and look
at only him. I nursed him for the last time on Saturday night, December 5th, then none on Sunday and so
far none today. And so he is weaned. It is sad to be done nursing my sweet little baby, my last
little baby. I cannot say enough how grateful I have been to have five easy to
come by pregnancies, all of which were easy, (other than the normal {awful}
morning sickness with a couple of them but, that didn’t ever last long), 5 safe deliveries of 5 healthy babies. I love them each immensely. They stress me out, keep me worrying, make messes and can drive me crazy but, I love them endlessly. I look at the five
of them and can hardly believe how it all worked out so well. What an amazing
blessing.
We are done having more babies. I think I would have another
couple, because it is so rewarding, so exciting, so wonderful that it’s
impossible for me to not want that again and again. But, alas, we are done and
I am so grateful for each of them and to my Heavenly Father for giving them to
me.
On December 14th I had an appointment with an ENT Doctor, (Ear, Nose and Throat). I was frustrated that despite all the antibiotics and creams and now an immuno suppressant drug, the psoriasis hadn't cleared. It was decided that removing my tonsils and adenoids would help to make sure the strep was gone and make it harder for me to catch it again. We scheduled my tonsillectomy surgery for just 2 days later.
I was warned that I would be completely miserable for 3 weeks so, I spent the next day getting every Christmas present and stocking stuffer organized, wrapped and labelled. We were completely ready for Christmas which felt amazing!
On Wednesday, December 16th Charlotte came to babysit while Dave took me to the surgical center early in the morning.
I felt very nervous because I'd never had a surgery before except having my wisdom teeth out at age 12. A couple close friends had been so sweet to offer reassurance and positive experiences and tips. The nurses and doctors were very kind too.
Here I am waiting for surgery
A tonsillectomy is pretty routine and only take 45 minutes. I was home before lunchtime. I did use the pain pills like clockwork for the first week and had many times where it hurt pretty badly but, I was able to be up and about often and could help with all the kid and home jobs. I was able to manage the pain and didn't miss out on any Christmas activities or parties either. I tapered off the pain pills and was done with them by 2 weeks. I felt better and better as time went on and by 2 1/2 weeks I felt well again.
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