Hi Family and Friends,
I decided to start a blog to keep you all informed on my baby and Insulinoma. Alot of you may not know about my health problems so I will explain.
Ever since I came to school here at Brigham Young University-Idaho in August 2007, I noticed that my health was changing. Thing like, feeling more tired, no energy, less endurance, (I couldn't handle my usual exercise routines anymore), I seemed to get cranky very easily when I didn't eat on a normal basis and fasting on fast sunday was impossible anymore. I would get dizzy, blurry vision and feel like I couldn't walk. I didn't think too much of it, I just assumed I was hypoglycemic. Which means low blood sugar. As long as you make sure you eat normally and manage it there are no more symptoms.
However, when I got engaged to my amazing husband Josh, who also attends school here, I noticed it was getting worse. In the mornings I would wake up with an overwhelming feeling of fatigue. I could hardly see anything but I knew as long as I ate breakfast really fast, the symptoms would subside. So I did, then I would look back on those mornings and remember I was unconsciously eating high sugar foods and putting things in weird places, etc.
On my honeymoon in December 2008, Josh found me lying in bed, my eyes open but not really there. I would not respond to anything he said or did. So he took me to the ER. They asked if I was diabetic and if I had accidentally taken too much insulin. But I wasn't and never have been. My blood sugar was at 34 (normal blood sugar is between 110-130) so they gave me a shot of sugar to bring it up fast and then sent me home with a prescription to eat candy. When I came to, I could remember things while I was low, like Josh talking to me and things going on around us. It's like I couldn't think for myself, I was helpless.
Josh and I decided I should drink a glass of juice before bed so maybe this wouldn't happen again but it did. Josh and I were both in school full-time, working part-time and dealing with me having these same scary symptoms almost every morning. Josh would try and get me out of it by talking to me and giving me orange juice through a straw but he said I would get mean, I'd kick him and refuse to eat or drink anything! It was really trying our new marriage relationship. We would get frustrated with each other, we didn't know what was wrong and neither did anyone else. I would call my mom all the time and just cry because there was alot of stress with everything going on. I found out I was pregnant on January 21st 2009. Excited and scared all at the same time. Sometimes I would go for weeks and not have any low blood sugar symptoms and then all of a sudden they would come like crazy.
Finally, in March 2009, I went to the doctor for my first pregnancy check up and told him of my other symptoms. He was immediately concerned and had me come in the next day to do a blood sugar test. The test came back with results all leading to a very rare tumor called an Insulinoma. It is benign and usually located on the pancreas. He said they'd have to do further testing though to confirm it. So a few days later, I was admitted to the hospital here in Rexburg. They made me fast the whole time and kept my blood sugars up through an IV. They preformed and ultrasound and MRI of my whole stomach and couldn't find anything. I was there for 3 days and although my doctor was almost sure it was Insulinoma, it couldn't be confirmed until they could locate it and they needed better equipment to do so.
So I was referred to a specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. My mom and I flew there in April 2009 while Josh stayed behind to continue the semester. We were there for one week, they did more ultrasounds and testing with no luck. Until they finally decided to do an Endoscopic ultrasound where they put me to sleep and put a tiny camera down y throat to locate it that way. SUCCESSFUL! They found it on the head of the pancreas. A dangerous place because thats where all the bile ducts and other important arteries and things are. This Insulinoma is about the size of your finger nail bed. It is extremely rare, only 20 cases in pregnancy ever reported and only 300 cases at the Mayo Clinic in 25 years. It produces extra insulin, causing my blood sugar to drop dangerously low, consistently. I've had to manage the dangerously low blood sugar levels by waking up every 4 hrs at night to eat certain foods and every 1-2 hours during the day. I have gained about 40 pounds from the extra food to maintain sugar levels and another 30 from the pregnancy. The surgery is too dangerous to do while pregnant so it has been postponed until after Baby Ella arrives in late September 2009. The last month of my pregnancy has been much better. I don't have to wake up and eat at night because pregnant women are more insulin resistant. However, after the baby arrives, the doctor anticipates some very extreme lows so I may need medication until I can get back to the Mayo Clinic for surgery. We got an estimate from the Mayo Clinic for the cost and it could be between 20k-60k to have the tumor removed. So, your prayers, support and even donation would help us out and be forever appreciated!
That's where we are now, waiting and hoping everything will go smoothly. Please stay tuned!
