Anyone Been HighRisk For Downs But Refused Amnio??

[vermeil]

hello Khedigio!

Our results came back as 1:117 so we decided to go ahead with the amnio. It`s tomorrow morning; I`m very nervous of course, took today off so I can relax. We`re going to a hospital that do a lot of amnios so the risk is lower. I`m sure everything will be fine. I`ll be thinking of you friday Khedigio! *hugs*

 

[khegidio]

hello Khedigio!

Our results came back as 1:117 so we decided to go ahead with the amnio. It`s tomorrow morning; I`m very nervous of course, took today off so I can relax. We`re going to a hospital that do a lot of amnios so the risk is lower. I`m sure everything will be fine. I`ll be thinking of you friday Khedigio! *hugs*

Best of luck to you.... like you said I'm sure all will be well. Still - it's not easy to relax I'm sure. I know I am so nervous about it. Please let me know how it goes. Are you choosing to get the early results back too? Did you have that option?

Some good luck dust coming your way......

 

[vermeil]

aww thank you! I`ll let you know how it went. *hugs*

 

[vermeil]

well! not much to report - after waiting two hours in those ridiculous gowns, freezing in the waiting room, I was told the doctor was in an emergency surgery, so they were rescheduling half the ladies, the ones earlier along. Since I was the only one without a sizable bump I was, err, bumped off to next Tuesday. All that waiting and stress for nothing! Ah well I`m sure the week will fly by. I did have a great ultrasound though and saw bubba sucking his/her thumb

With that said, I should add... I know two people with downs, a good friend`s sister, and a distant cousin`s son. Both have a mental age of about 5... Watching my frail cousin dress her 30 year old, 250 pound son, feed him and wash him.. watch my friend babysitting for long weekends of constant supervision... I definitely want the amnio. I`m still not sure what I would do if I got a positive.

I`ll shut up now because I know I don`t fit in the original topic. Just wanted to wish all your great ladies the best in whatever decision you make, healthy pregnancies and amazing births.

 

[khegidio]

well! not much to report - after waiting two hours in those ridiculous gowns, freezing in the waiting room, I was told the doctor was in an emergency surgery, so they were rescheduling half the ladies, the ones earlier along. Since I was the only one without a sizable bump I was, err, bumped off to next Tuesday. All that waiting and stress for nothing! Ah well I`m sure the week will fly by. I did have a great ultrasound though and saw bubba sucking his/her thumb

With that said, I should add... I know two people with downs, a good friend`s sister, and a distant cousin`s son. Both have a mental age of about 5... Watching my frail cousin dress her 30 year old, 250 pound son, feed him and wash him.. watch my friend babysitting for long weekends of constant supervision... I definitely want the amnio. I`m still not sure what I would do if I got a positive.

I`ll shut up now because I know I don`t fit in the original topic. Just wanted to wish all your great ladies the best in whatever decision you make, healthy pregnancies and amazing births.

Sorry you had to get bumped. That has to be very frustrating. At least you got a great ultrasound. I cannot wait to see my little angel again.

Well I guess it will be me reporting to you!! I will definitely let you know how things go on Friday during my test. I am very nervous still but very anxious to get it over with. I want to enjoy my pregancy. I will talk to you soon.

Hey thanks for making me your bump buddy! Not sure how I even do that. I'll figure it out.

 

[midori1999]

With that said, I should add... I know two people with downs, a good friend`s sister, and a distant cousin`s son. Both have a mental age of about 5... Watching my frail cousin dress her 30 year old, 250 pound son, feed him and wash him.. watch my friend babysitting for long weekends of constant supervision... I definitely want the amnio. I`m still not sure what I would do if I got a positive.

.

The most intelligent people with Downs are actually more intelligent than some people without Downs. I know someone with Downs who runs their own business.

Having a child with Downs is really completely different to seeing someone else's child with Downs. When it is someone else's child (and you havent' already got your own child with Downs) all you tend to see is the condition, and it make it all seem so very hard. When it is your own child, you see them first and foremost, the individual, and they just happen to have Downs Syndrome.

I honestly would have felt the same way as you prior to having my son, but now, Downs really isn't a problem for me (and it certainly isn't for him!) and I would be just as happy to have another child with Downs as I would without. It does make me very sad when I hear of people terminating a pregnancy due to Downs. Of course, that is their choice, and I wouldn't deny them that, but I just can't help feeling that if they knew what I know now, they wouldn't do it.

 

[khegidio]

It is a personal choice for each individual. Personally, knowing my baby had Down's syndrome would not make me terminate my pregancy. It would however make me feel more comfortable in allowing me time to research and learn about the condition, as well as prepare myself for caring for a special needs child. I understand that there are different severities of Down's syndrome.

This is our first child though and we just feel that its important for us to know what we will be facing.

 

[midori1999]

It is a personal choice for each individual. Personally, knowing my baby had Down's syndrome would not make me terminate my pregancy. It would however make me feel more comfortable in allowing me time to research and learn about the condition, as well as prepare myself for caring for a special needs child. I understand that there are different severities of Down's syndrome.
This is our first child though and we just feel that its important for us to know what we will be facing.

oops, double post.

 

[midori1999]

It is a personal choice for each individual. Personally, knowing my baby had Down's syndrome would not make me terminate my pregancy. It would however make me feel more comfortable in allowing me time to research and learn about the condition, as well as prepare myself for caring for a special needs child. I understand that there are different severities of Down's syndrome.
This is our first child though and we just feel that its important for us to know what we will be facing.

There aren't really, they either have it or they don't. There are different types of Downs, which is dependant on how the extra chromosome is present (Trisomy 21, where the extra chromosome is attached to the other no. 21 chromosomes, Translocation, where the extra chromosme is attached to a different numbered chromosome, and mosaicism, which is where only part of the extra chromosome is present). The type of Downs it is makes no difference to how the child is affected.

Just like with any child, you don't know how intelligent they will be or quickly or slowly a child with Downs will develop until they start to grow up.

It's a shame really that they don't giove out the vcorrect information to couple facing a decision and medical staff strongly encourage those carrying a baby with Downs to terminate. I guess int he same way they used to tell Mothers to leave their babies who had Downs in the hospital, or keep them shut away at home instead of sending them to school. Hopefully that i something that will also move forward.

Sorry, not really what the thread was about, but thought the info might be helpful to some.

 

[vermeil]

Kherdigio - I`ll be thinking of you tomorrow!! I`ll send you positive thoughts, angels and what not. I`m sure everything will be fine *smile*

Midori1999 thank you for sharing your story with us; it certainly gives perspective to the whole (sensitive) topic. I really enjoyed reading your posts. Glad to hear your son is doing well!

 

[midori1999]

Kherdigio - I`ll be thinking of you tomorrow!! I`ll send you positive thoughts, angels and what not. I`m sure everything will be fine *smile*

Midori1999 thank you for sharing your story with us; it certainly gives perspective to the whole (sensitive) topic. I really enjoyed reading your posts. Glad to hear your son is doing well!

Thankyou, I hope it will help someone.

Also, what you must remember about your cousin is that even 30 years ago, children with Downs Syndrome were not really sent to school or given learning opportunities. It certainly wouldn't have been the done thing to teach them sign language, for instance, so if they had limited or no speech, they wouldn't have been able to communicate at all. It was just assumed then that they were somehow substandard human beings and weren't able to learn. It was quite ususual for Mother's of children with Downs then to even take them home from hospital, most doctors encourages Mother's to leave them. In fact, when I had my son, only six years ago, I was given the option to leave him at the hospital. Purely as he had Downs, it seems ridiculous to me!

I find with my son he actually knows and understands an awful lot. However, his inability to always communicate effectively (He does have some speech, but it is delayed) means that people who don't spend much time with him don't realise how much he actually knows. For example, the other day he wanted to watch his 'Peppa Pig' DVD, but I said no. I popped out of the room, and came back to find him turning on the DVD player, openin git, popping his DVD in, realising it was upside down, turning it over, closing the DVD player, pressing play, realising the first episode was the Christmas special, which he doesn't like and then fast forwarding to the next episode... Who'd have known?! He has never been shown how to use the DVD player, but obviously watched others and worked it out for himself... the little monkey!

 

[khegidio]

So good to hear. I certainly don't feel that children with Downs Syndrome are substandard.

I know many here that hold jobs and seem to have fairly normal lives.

Reporting in....We had our amnio this morning. The test seemed to go very well. We had a very detailed scan before, during, and after. The procedure hurt somewhat but definitely not unbearable. We saw the baby move the whole time and then they continued to monitor after the test to make sure all was well. I left a bit sore but overall happy that soon we would know for sure and be able to continue the pregnancy knowing exactly what's in our future.

So we will get the early results back next wednesday, and the full results back in 2 weeks. The early results will include the sex - although we found out today!! YAY we are so excited to be having a little boy. The amnio results will confirm but the ultrasound technician is 99% sure. We have some pretty detailed pics.

I will keep you posted as to what the results are.

Vermeil.... when is your test? Next Tuesday?

 

[vermeil]

oooh khedigio that`s wonderful to hear! I`m so happy for you. I logged in tonight just to see how it went. Glad that it went smoothly and you got detailed scans. It`s reassuring that they do that. A little boy huh, congratulations! And yes I feel a bit better about next Tuesday now. Sorry you turned out to go first after all heh.

woo hoo! *cheers*

 

[khegidio]

Vermeil - I know that you will be fine. Another thing I wanted to let you know. I was pretty sore the rest of the day. I also ended up calling the doctor later that evening because throughout the day I had noticed a very light dripping of clear fluid. I was told to call if I thought I was leaking any fluid - so I did. He told me to keep an eye on it and put a pad on. If the pad was wet after an hour, to call him back and that he would have me go to the hospital. I monotired it and the dripping seemed to stop. When I spoke withe the Dr. again he indicated that a little loss of fluid was normal because after all they were putting a puncture into the sac and it takes a few hours to heal itself (much like a puncture wound when taking blood).

So he did tell me to not do anything the rest of the weekend and to keep an eye on myself.

I guess I am telling you this just so you feel comfortable calling if you feel anything out of the ordinary. Its better to be safe than sorry.

You'll be in my thoughts and I will keep checking back in to see how things go. I will also keep you posted on the results.

 

[khegidio]

Update: My husband and I opted to get the early results (FISH test) as well as the detailed full results from our Amnio last Friday. The FISH test only tests for Trisomy 13, 18, and 21 (Downs Syndrome). They are accurate but the do not test for all chromosonal abnormalities like the full results do. But our insurance covers it and the results are returned in 24-48 hours.

Since we were mainly at risk for Downs Syndrome, we decided to get the early results as well as the full results.

I am happy to say that our FISH test results were returned today and they ar 100% normal. AND our baby was confirmed to be a little boy.

So - we still have to wait for the full results in 2 weeks to determine any other chromosonal issues, but we are feeling fantastic right now.

BACK ON CLOUD 9!!

 

[kessutripp]

khegidio - happy for you

I'm quite sure if the quick result was fine, everything is fine

 

[vermeil]

khegidio - that`s fabulous news! CONGRATULATIONS!

I had my amnio yesterday - it was nervewracking and stressful for me. But the procedure itself was almost a joke - I laid down, they disinfected my abdomen, I was getting ready for some numbing but poof - there was the needle on the scan, far from baby, taking fluid. Just like that! It was over in 5 minutes. Two doctors (one doing the echo, the gyno guiding the needle), two nurses. They carefully monitored heartrate, activity, etc. before and after. The doctors said they had a perfect window. They had to go through the placenta because it was in front (which worried me obviously) but they said it wasn`t a problem and didn`t cause complications. The liquid was clear = no blood vessels touched = good result. I went home and straight to bed, and today I`m working from home. But beyond some soreness and very mild cramping all seems good.

Thank you for the warning about fluid - didn`t happen but it`s certainly good to know! Glad yours was fine too *hugs*

other info I found today while searching - amnio fluid is essentially concentrated baby pee

 

[khegidio]

I am so happy to see your post. I have been checking back here daily waiting to hear back on how your procedure went. I'm glad it went so smoothly and it seems like you had a great staff to make sure all went well.

So how long will your wait be? Do they offer the FISH test (the early results) in Canada? We are still waiting for our full results which we should get next week.

Are you going to find out the sex? Were they able to give you a guess from the scans?

Yay! You're done now. Hopefully nothing but pure pregancy bliss for you from here on out.

Is this your first??

 

[vermeil]

aww I`m truly touched that you came to check! That`s really nice of you! *hugs*

The week should be 2, 3 weeks at most. They did offer the quick 3 day results - it`s not covered by public healthcare and I didn`t even think of checking if my work`s additional coverage would pay the 300$. In retrospect they probably would have, doh. Oh well. I don`t mind the wait. That`s the easy part for me ha.

I was actually worried for a day or so - my tummy felt sensitive, red and a bit warm. Until I finally remembered I`m super allergic to bandaids. This tiny bandaid the size of a penny had given me a big rash. I felt really silly for not figuring it out sooner

We will be finding out the sex yes. I have a feeling it`s a girl - then again I was convinced it was a boy at the beginning *laughs* I asked the nurse but she was already shutting down the machine - she apologized profusely for not offering but I said it was fine - as I said I don`t mind the wait

This is our first yes. Met the man of my dreams at 34 so I got into this baby making thing a bit later (turning 38 tomorrow !) but really I think we`ll have time for number two after this. I certainly feel young. People always assume I`m 10 years younger - no complaining here

 

[khegidio]

That's great. Its our first too. I'm in it kind of late in the game too. I turn 34 next month and my husband and I were married a little over two years ago. I really think it is better this way. People are living longer now so really we are both just right on time

I was convinced we were going to have a little girl too. So much that I was actually kind of shocked when the ultrasound technician told us she was 99% sure it was a boy. I didn't believe it for days.

But we couldn't be happier.

Good luck with the results. I know all will be well for you and the love of your life.