Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

Jessi, i think it s quite normal for you to feel this way, i felt i was going crazy when i was first put on bed rest...weird as it might sound i m more used to it now and i ve accepted it so it s a little easier. Try to arrange to do one thing a day, like one day i ll say i ll watch that film i ve always wanted to, the next i ll read a book, i ve just finished with all my other options and tonight my aunt is coming to show me how to knit!! ow and of course i ve become an internet junkie! Too bad (well not really-i so wish i got a bunch of free stuff too!)you got all your stuff for free, internet shopping is so much fun! But you could also do window internet shopping (well that s all i can afford to do!!)
The tightening you are having could be braxton hicks unless they get too painful or too regular. But again like everyone said dont hesitate to call in! Hope you re feeling more upbeat soon!
 
Kate - booo for the hurting :growlmad: but CONGRATS! on getting the stitch out! :happydance: HUGE, HUGE milestone. Next thing you know, you'll be holding your baby! As for the epidural, it's so common here in Greece I'd think very very few women give birth without it any more. You'll still feel your baby slipping out, and it will speed up delivery time in half-that's what I've been told.

Oh, and if you remember, I had some brownish discharge for a couple of days post stitch-removal, so it should be normal hon, esp. if they fidgeted around in there for a while.

Jessi - Hon, can you get a DVD player up there and become a vegetable watching TV series and stuff? Hang on, it's not easy I'm sure, but think of the purpose, it's so worth it!

Sending my love to everyone else.xx
 
Jessi - I would urge you to get checked out if your menstrual-like cramping is still there and/or getting worse. It can be normal in women with stitch, and in pregnancy but given that your cervix has been misbehaving, and you had begun to funnel I personally would want to check its progress. There are still things that can be done to help if caught early enough. If things were to suddenly get worse you would have limited time to get to hospital because at this gestation things can happen very fast. I really don't want to frighten you Hun, but it is wise to play it safe - you are not over worrying or bothering anyone, the staff are there to help and reassure xxx
 
Hi All,

Jessi I know what you're going through. I've been on hospital bed rest for nearly four weeks now & it's dreadful.

Girls I am really suffering & beginning to doubt my ability to get through this - it's not just counting the days & weeks down from a hospital bed, the cries of women in labour & newborn babies ringing in my ears, but I am pralysed with fear about what is causing my condition.

I had Clinic today & although I don't have to have an amnio this week my levels have already increased again dramatically. They've been talking to a geneticist about potential genetic issues it could be - there are hundreds - & have told me some neuromuscular conditions don't present until the third trimester. Yes things could be ok but here is also a one in three chance that a) my baby won't survive or b) it will be ill & have a poor quality of life because it has some shitty rare genetic defect.

Sitting in a hospital room with breathing difficulties & aching limbs, waiting for the outcome of this nightmare pg, without the comfort & stability of my home & the people who love me, is just about pushing me over the edge. I have managed an afternoon's leave at home & I want to stay here. I want to be treated in outpatients not incarcerated like a prisoner who's being punished. It is all too much, after everything else I've been through, and I have begun to doubt my own ability to cope. Never in my life have I doubted myself before but this condition & all its associated horrors is just beyond the pale. I am beside myself with misery & fear & I cannot find any comfort or relief.

There. It's said. I feel like I'm losing my marbles. It will be a miracle if I can come through this with my sanity intact.

I know there's nothing anyone can say, I know no one else has exprience of this accursed condition - I can find very few online who have - but at least you all know what loss & fear are like so you can empathise. After all the IVF misery & losing my mum as a child this is all just too much. :-(

Sorry for being so self-absorbed.

Kate will txt you if I'm in hosp or home on Friday.

Hope you're all ok.

Jj xx
 
Dear JJ,
you are right, there is nothing I or anyone can say to change your so heartbreaking situation. We dont know what will happen. But we can have faith for you when you feel like you are loosing it. Faith in you having a baby that is healthy, the third option that you didnt mention. And yes, since many of us have experienced loss and hopelessness, we feel so with you. I can sense some of your despair, recognize a small bit of it, and its not really posible to put down in words. I just want you to get what is possible to get out here,so that you can get some support and encouregement. I wish I could take your pain away. The only thing we know is that you are much further in pg now than when you first joined this thread. And that this will be over one day, its not a lifetime condition. And most important, you have a living baby inside you that have a chance to be perfectly fine. I think you are the breavest women i have ever heard about. Lots of love from Oslo
 
Oh jimmy my love. I feel for you. I know this is such a horrendous journey for you, and the lack of a guaranteed prize of a healthy baby at the end of it all is making it mentally unbearable. That is the cruelest part I think. Any light at the end of the tunnel just doesn't seem bright enough as the doctors are always having to remind you of the worst case scenarios ( which these things are. Worst cases that legally they have to remind you off).

The only thing I can suggest is asking them if there is a counsellor you can talk to. Mentally you need support through this and your doctors should be made aware of that. They should have offered you support already to be honest.

Are they likely to offer more scans now to reassure you off you babies progress? Scans can show so much now - how the major organs and heart etc add working, which should be good indicators of babies future health. That might at least offer some extra reassurance.

I may come and see you tomorrow if you think you're ok to leave your room. I'll probably be at hammersmith hospital now to hold my mums hand through her heart procedure. I'll text you tomorrow if I am. I hate to think of you feeling so wretched and not being able to help.

Also try writing or typing out your worries and anxieties. It really will help you to voice those darkest fears somewhere - allow them out if your system as they will only serve to cause you more pain inside if they're left to fester.

Sending you so much love and support. Shall see you very soon xx
 
For heaven's sake, Jimmy, you're not self-absorbed at all! After all you've been through, I think you're being very brave, and hon, you're only human! I have broken down for far less serious issues.

It's true that there's not much one can say, and I suppose you're thinking it's easy for some of us to offer advice, but please know, every lady in this thread has experienced some sort of agony/pain/loss and you can rest assured our best wishes and utmost empathy are with you. I can also tell you that once you're in your third trimester time flies by.

So yes, you may be stuck in a shitty situation, trapped physically but also emotionally on the circumstances, but there may come a day when all this is just behind you, and you have an absolutely perfect, healthy baby in your arms. Easier said than done, but please try not to think of the 1 in, but of the 2 of 3 favourable chances that are on your side.

We're all thinking of you. It's not going to be long now. Please hang on. Easier said than done, I know.
 
Hi JJ - the other ladies have said it so well in offering their support, and I echo their sentiments entirely hun :hugs:

This is an awful time for you both. The lack of certainty you are enduring must be soul destroying JJ. It's a daily battle in which you have no idea of the outcome, nor if it's worth the fight.

I experienced those exact same emotions with Evie, tho much of our torment happened after she was born since I didn't manage to stay pregnant for long after the stitch. The fleeting sense of relief I felt when she was delivered (I no longer was responsible for trying to hang on to a pregnancy I 'knew' was doomed to fail), gave way very quickly to an overwhelming sense of despair. How were we going to commit to month after month of fighting, when ultimately her survival was not within our control? I had no way of knowing what lay ahead. Would she live, if so would she have a half decent quality of life?

It was this not knowing in particular which crushed me. I wanted to give up, rewind and wash away the experience, have my chance to start again with another pregnancy, and this time not let my baby down in the worst possible way. Of course I could have those thoughts, (brief and rare though they were), but also have an almost pathological desperation for my Evie to make it, to survive no matter what the cost, outcome or how badly disabled she might be. I'd love her regardless, probably even more so if that were possible. I doubt that very few people have ever had to face those kinds of conflicting emotions JJ as I did and as you are facing right now. It is cruel, unfair and immensely stressful.

There is no easy way out of this for the time being, and that is tough in itself. I can't offer any pearls of wisdom about how to cope or get though this because I found no magic formula in managing my own nightmare, except to stagger blindly from day to day, praying that today would be at least the same as yesterday, and hoping that tomorrow might be better. It seldom was, but for 6mths remained the same, didn't get worse, and that was in fact all we could have ever hoped for as it turns out.

We were lucky that we came through the storm intact and with a relatively healthy baby. For that we are blessed. Your outcome is as yet unknown, and your nightmare ongoing hun, but I wanted to share all this with you in the hope that it might demonstrate that you are not alone and that when I say I understand, I really do get it. Your current uncertainty adds a particularly cruel twist of the knife, and for that I am so sorry.

There is no easy way through, but you will get through. You are bravely enduring this pregnancy for the possibility (no matter how small) that everything might one day be ok. Keep focusing on that fact - it is important now more than ever that you do :hugs:

On a practical note, Is there a possibility that you might be able to continue the pregnancy at home now? Do they know how distressed you are feeling? There is an argument which says the stress of staying in far outweighs its benefits, and that you could maintain your health better at home - on the proviso of course that you will go immediately in if you detect any changes in your condition.

Medics cannot actually enforce your staying in, but it pays not to oppose medical advice too strongly. It might be worth putting the pros and cons to your team Hun, they are a rational bunch who can be persuaded to see the advantages of being in a more familiar, less stressful environment. Goodnight honey :hugs:
 
My lovely jimmy, everyone s said it all so well, i am so so sorry for the way you re feeling and what you have to go through...i feel you re my "other half" as we re both due on the same day, i so want this happy ending to come along for both of us and for you to be able to at last relax and enjoy your miracle. Of course my worries are not as difficult or serious as yours are but the only thing i can tell you is to take it one day at a time. Everyday that dawns just think "one more day, the sun will rise and set, it s only one more day". You ll get through this horrid situation and hopefully you ll be rewarded for such braveness with a perfectly healthy baby. Sorry i cant offer any words of wisdom but know that i am thinking of you a lot. Xo
 
Hey everyone,

I'd just like to say that Amy sent me a pm congratulating me on Xanthe. :flower: I felt terrible for haven't visited her journal for ages, and so I went and checked it out and guess what- she's taken Connie home! :happydance:

I am SO happy for her. It's been such a long, traumatic journey for her and I'm very glad and relieved to see she's got the happiest of endings, which she so deserved.

She's been an inspiration to us all.

:flower:
 
BF: I am so sorry to read about youre brother. The world is so unfair and it brought me in tears to read about it. I have been thinking about you alot. I am very happy u still pregnant and imagine when you have, not only one, but two, beautiful babies at the end of this journey! Keep this picture in mind hun. I wish you and your family all the best and lots of love in this terrible time.

Jj: How you today? Hope this is one of the "better" days, but if not, just get it out here! We are here.

Kate: congrats with sticht removal. Sorry about the pain, but at least that part is over now :happydance:

Christina: thank you for replying to my worries about blood in former post. It stopped, so I guess it was okay :)

Lizzie: how long where you on strict bedrest? until birth in week 38? or did you start to move around earlier? did you use blood thinner? since i am having a cection i have to stop my bloodthinner shots and start to walk more around, but it scares me to walk aroun as im scared it will start labour, or water breaks...She is so far down that I feel its just days until it all starts.

Hope everyone is ok :)
 
Hi Liven, I was never officially put on bed rest, but chose to stay on the sofa for much of the time anyway. From 28wks the babies were very low down and putting lots of pressure on my bladder and cervix but I remained like that until 38wks, ans showed no signs of going into labour because of it.

I felt more relaxed from 36wks, but couldn't really move much by then because the boys were so big and the pain in my hips terrible if I did try to walk for more than 5mins. I couldn't drive because the seat wouldn't go back far enough to accommodate the bump, and it was near impossible anyway to get up and down or move at all. If I'd had a singleton in there, I know that I would have begun to venture out and about more after 34wks. I would have with the twinnies, but physically was unable to.

You can relax hun, the symptoms you describe are normal in pregnancy in the last few weeks. Baby engages and gets bigger making you feel as though birth is around the corner, when in reality it might be weeks away. Just take it easy and don't over do to, but gently walking and shopping should be fine xxx

PS - I didn't have blood thinners but recommend you begin to move around more now Hun to counteract stopping them. X
 
I hope everyone is doing well today. Congrats to Kate for stitch removal. It must have been painful :( hope you are well otherwise and enjoying last few weeks of this pg. hope JJ you are feeling better today. Thanks to all for your kind words about my little brother. Cannot stop thinking about him, missing him...Can't believe he's gone.

I have a question. I had this Anamoly scan on 11th when they measured the cervix transvaginally and found no funneling. They found the cervix length close to be 4 cm. it was less than 3 cm when stitch was placed on feb 5. I have no idea how it can increase but anyway....

since yesterday and today am experiencing something like few light gas bubbles passing out of my vagina. I get this feeling like ...pop! Is it possible for gas bubbles to escape when cervix is closed? I don't have severe pains.. The usual pains here and there. There isn't any special discharge..just the yellowy mucous.

My next appointment is on Monday, 26 th.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?
 
Lizzie: thank you so much for elaborate reply! You always explain things so well. Thank you, thank you. I am hoping for at least two more weeks you know, but its not easy to think it can come true when babys head feels far down cervix, and it hurts!

Bf: Wow! No funneling and 4 cm cervix is after my knowledge very, very good! I am so happy for you having some good news! The cervix is dynamic, like Lizzie has written before, and can get longer, so then you are living proof of this :)
As for the air bubbles i have experienced it, now it is maybe 4 weeks ago, and it was a really strange feeling. But the baby is still in, so I guess it wasnt a symptom of anything special. I would think it isnt for you either. It just went away, i think i experienced it two days in a row.
I am "glad" to hear your description of your discharge, as it sounds perfectly similar to mine. And during pg it has only increased. But have had a lot of swabs, and everything has come back clean so far.
All the best for you and your family Bf.
 
Hi bf :hugs: The bubbles inside your vagina are very normal and not at all related to your cervix. They are simply a result of air moving in and out and are common whether you are pregnant or not.

Brilliant that your cervix is now 4mms. It can indeed lengthen just as it can shorten, and the stitch and bed rest helps to make this happen. This good news must be so bitter sweet for you considering what has just happened to your family :( Try to take some comfort in the fact that at least the pregnancy and babies are looking good darlin', that might give you strength at this sad time? Much love :hugs:

JJ, Kate my girlies - you both ok? Olga, haven't heard from you in a while honey?

Love and hugs to all you non-preggos too :hugs:
 
Thanks Lizzie and others who responded to my questions and concerns regarding cerclarges. I met with my high risk doctor yesterday and he re ommended a shirodkar cerclage, while my ob is going to do on Tuesday a Mcdonnell. My cervix now is 3cm, but that can change like wit my previous loss.

What type of cerclage did you ladies have. I am also pregnant with twins.
 
Nhood- sorry i dont know what mine is called, just the plain one that is done vaginally. Just wanted to say that 3cm is a good length! Good luck!

Little update from me: last night i almost couldnt breath so today i went to the hospital...i have developed a very bad case of bronchitis and has almost turned to asthma, plus tonsilitis plus another boot of infection down there. They wanted to keep me in for a couple of days as the coughing is stressing the baby but i just cant leave ds alone and dh has his bday on monday...anyway they agreed to let me go with a bunch of antibiotics and inhalers but if it s not any better in 24 hours then i ll have no choice and i ll have to be admitted. Gggrrrrmmmmffffff i just want this flu to go away.
 
Nhood- sorry i dont know what mine is called, just the plain one that is done vaginally. Just wanted to say that 3cm is a good length! Good luck!

Little update from me: last night i almost couldnt breath so today i went to the hospital...i have developed a very bad case of bronchitis and has almost turned to asthma, plus tonsilitis plus another boot of infection down there. They wanted to keep me in for a couple of days as the coughing is stressing the baby but i just cant leave ds alone and dh has his bday on monday...anyway they agreed to let me go with a bunch of antibiotics and inhalers but if it s not any better in 24 hours then i ll have no choice and i ll have to be admitted. Gggrrrrmmmmffffff i just want this flu to go away.

Aww Christiana, I hate having a cold and being pregnant. Please take care of yourself and your baby first. I'm pretty sure dh will understand. You can always make up for it later.
 
Hi All,

Crappy reception but urgent question. Was meant to be at home today & able to post properly but ...

Have been having increasing Braxtons over last few days & around 7pm last night they started to get crampy. At Midnight I wiped bown discharge (first time since stitch) & then spent an awful night being woken repeatedly with contractions & pain. Have brown spotting on pad was given overnight.

This morning a CGT monitor had the contractions coming at ten-minute intervals although the pain had subsided. I noticed the crampy contractions were worse lying on my side than when sitting up during the night. Pain radiates out from lower abdomen/back & cervical area & tummy goes really hard.

The doctor has been 'coming' since about 9.30 but I still haven't seen anyone. Surely that's why I'm here? It is now 1pm. Last night around 6ish my consultant popped in & when I mentioned them to him he said to expect contractions as I was showing 34/36 weeks rather than 28 & only to worry if I had a 'bloody show' or leak. Well, I am spotting now & beside myself with anxiety that this is it & can't understand why I still haven't been seen. I'd have been better off coming in by blue lights.

I havn't had my cervix checked/FFN done since Weds last week as the teabm are away & I'm worried this is PTL.

I wanted to thank you all properly for yr posts but am really stressing out.

Chrissy I hope you get better. Liven, lizzie, Kate & LaRock thank you.

Lizzie does this sound normal to you? Am I going into labour? Or does this sometimes happen? Is it my cervix packing up? The baby's been breech & I've felt kicking & 'bubbling' sensations around that area. In fact, am having a crampy contraction right now ...

Plse advise asap.

Distressed, Jj xx
 
Christiana-I hope you feel better very soon, hon. Being sick while pregnant sucks big time. :(

Jimmy-I wish I had an answer for you, hon. I'm sure Lizzy knows better than me. Please let us know asap what's going on. Sending out my thoughts and best wishes to you.
 

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