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| 29 weeks with a new 'do and a newly-painted purple bedroom! |
The nurse gladly informed me today that my IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor) tested at 218. Sounds GOOD TO ME! Especially considering that normal range is 110-420 ng/mL. This is actually kind of miraculous. I've been on meds for about 12 years (with a 2-year hiatus) and some of my best bloodwork didn't come close to this reading. I have not a single hormone blocker in my blood stream and I have a happy little babe growing my womb (kicking as I type, actually)!
But, in case you need some background...
As you many of you know by now, I'm sure, I have a rare disease called Acromegaly. Acromegaly is caused by a growth-hormone secreting tumour on the pituitary gland (the "master" gland in the brain). After two only partially-successful surgeries (one in 1999 and one in 2000) I was left to take a hormone needle each month to keep my levels in normal range.
When I became pregnant, we were concerned that coming off of the drug would mean complications for my IGF-1 levels and ultimately my well-being. In pregnancy, my already stressed-out little gland would be operating at FULL swing, swelling to (I'm told) nearly 4 times its regular size. There is no room, therefore, for any tumour bulk in the tiny little cave within which that precarious little gland hangs! Thank GOD for modern medicine and for, of course, Mercy.
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| So small, yet apparently, so significant! |
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