Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Bumps explained

Remember a while back I asked if anyone got bumps while pregnant? Well I decided to go to the dermatologist and get a biopsy so they could finally give me some answers, I was a little sick of the response I do not know.

WARNING I WILL COMPLAIN IN THIS POST!

Well I got the answer I figured I would get and one I really did not want to get. I know some of you out there know I have a disease called neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). (you can learn more about it here) It basically causes you to grow small harmless tumors on or under your skin. Well I have had a VERY mild case my whole life....I have a lot more symptoms then actual bumps, in fact I only ever had 3 that were under my skin...before i got pregnant. I guess change in hormone levels can affect it and cause more to grow.

So my bumps are Neurofibromas they will not go away unless i have them removed but since i now have more then i care to count I don't think i want that many scars all over my body. So i get to just live with it, i will most likely get more with each pregnancy. This is a scary thought to me! I really do not like the current ones i have and the chance of getting them on my face is something i really do not want!

I was born with NF1. My parents do not have it i got it through some sort if gene mutation. Unfortunately i have the chance to pass it on to each one of my children a 50% chance. Luckily since i have NF1 the less sever type my children can only get NF1 however they could get it worse then me or even have a more mild case then i did.

We are pretty sure Jackie has it. I need to take her to get testing for it. I hope Abigail does not have it. I feel horrible about the fact that I can pass this to my children. Knowing that I am giving them something that will affect them for the rest of their lives is sad and hard for me. I want to have a lot of kids. I want a big family. I grew up in a big family and loved it. I want my children to grow up in a big family, but yet I still have that fear. I worry that they will get some of the worse side effects that I avoided. Really I just worry I want my children to have EVERY opportunity and chance in like and do not want to hinder them, and this could.

When you look at it though 60% of people with it have a mild form, the next 20% have a correctable form, and the reaming 20% have problems that scare me! I guess the odds do look good, and if the Lord wants me to have children I need to have them and he will give them what ever he sees fit to go through in this life. Still I think its unfair and I just do not want to put my children through that, and really I do not want to be known as spots for the rest of my life....I am a cougar not a leopard!

5 comments:

Steffy said...

Hey sorry to hear about it. You know I have a neurological disease that is genetically passed on too. I feel all freaked out whenever I think of passing my disorder to my kids too. I hope everything ends up being okay!

Mary said...

Sorry to hear this, though I'm glad you were able to get it figured out. Just keep having faith and the Lord will bless you.

Patrick, Adrienne, Isabella, & Makenzie said...

Just so you know, I see you all the time, and I don't see your spots. Maybe there are more under the clothes, but I doubt anyone notices them (well the ones outside the clothes lol) - I don't see them at all and you say they're everywhere. So don't worry too much girl!

The Stells! said...

its not that i worry about people really noticing them its more me i hate having them i see them all the time and for now they are not in super visible places...they are on my legs stomach back feet bottoms of my arms...but they say with each pregnancy they will most likely venture to new places

Danielle said...

goodness, i'm sorry Jess!!! If stretch marks, saggy boobs, etc weren't enough for mothers to deal with! Well, you're still super sexy regardless of any 'spots'! I LOVE YOU!!!