Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[lizziedripping]

Hey girls finally had my booking appointment. Bit pissed off as the hospital hadn't bothered requesting my notes from the hospital were my 2nd daughter was born prematurely so I basically had to tell them everything which obviously I've probably forgotten a lot off and blocked out bad memories. Anyway they said I was 9 weeks 4 days and then checked my cervical length which was only 2.8cm. When I asked was that good or bad she just didn't give me a definitive answer and went off to speak to another consultant. When she came back she booked me another appointment for 3 weeks time to recheck the cervical length. She said they would hopefully have my notes through from the other hospital by that stage and would be a better position to make a decision about the stitch but certainly if it shortened at all they'd be bringing me in straight away for a stitch. I'm just confused though I remember with both previous pregnancies I was about 3.9 - 4.6 cm at this stage as all my scans were done around the same period so surely 2.8 is on the low side and if that's the case then why not just do the stitch already?!!! Stupid NHS!!! XOX

Hi Jen - I was going to ask if they did a TVU because abdo scans are not at all accurate in measuring the cervix. Was it a consultant or reg who did the scan? Cervix measurements are actually quite a skilled job and not all sonographers/docs are that good at doing them, so they may have miscalculated.

Worst case scenario that your cervix is actually 2.8 at this stage, that would likely be it's starting length pre-pregnancy too, in which case it might not necessarily be weak or shorten prematurely. It absolutely would not be shortening this early due to uterine stretching, since embryo plus sac is so small as to not be putting your cervix under pressure at all. The earliest an IC begins to change is 14wks, but more typically from 16wks. Since your previous pregnancy cl measurements we always above average I would question how accurate this clinician actually was - it seems odd that you suddenly have a starting length of below 3.

In any event, they intend to measure at 12wks which will allow plenty of time to place a stitch if indeed you need one honey. I totally understand your anxiety and need to have one now, I was exactly the same, but until they've ruled out major abnormalities with the 11wk plus scan, they won't do it. Take care, and keep us posted xx

 

[lizziedripping]

Sorry to hear that ich. Stay strong x x

I am a little restless tonight. I am having a cervical length scan tomorrow. Last 1 I had was 3 Weeks ago and I was .7cm. Fingers crossed it hasn't got any worse. I reach the 24 week mark on Saturday. I will let you know tomorrow what the outcome is x x

Good luck Angel - you've come so far that I have everything crossed your cervix is continuing to hold up

 

[lizziedripping]

Has anybody had the stitch done under general anesthetic? My doc is favoring it as he says it's quicker and a quicker recovery time? I've only read of it being done under local...? Nervous either way!

Hi Lou - I had my emergency stitch done under a general. I was already 3cms dilated tho, and the consultant felt it would maximise its success to have me completely out of it and still. It's unusual to place the elective stitches this way, but not unheard of. If you're not comfortable having a general, then say so darlin, your entitled to state a preference. Hope that helps xx

 

[Alisa F]

Has anybody had the stitch done under general anesthetic? My doc is favoring it as he says it's quicker and a quicker recovery time? I've only read of it being done under local...? Nervous either way!

Hi Lou, my stitch was done under general. Doc didnt say ahead of time which i would get, i wasnt given an option nor was i advised the difference. it went well, overall im super please with the stitch cos whenever i go for a cervical measurement scan the doc who does the scan comments on how high up and buried it is and what a good stitch it is and how she is not looking forward to removing it. Sooo , maybe he did general on me so he can be in there a bit longer and get the stitch well in there... who knows...

 

[lizziedripping]

Ich honey You have both been under so much strain in recent months, maybe this will be a wake up call for your fiancé? Younger guys tend to struggle with the responsibilities of parenting, but most of them come around to the idea in the end - its just whether you have the patience to put up with it! Here for you sweet

 

[Alisa F]

hi ladys sorry about tmi but those of you who have used progesterone pessarys did you ever get a big leakage at night time i woke last night and had to change my trousers and underwear as it had made me quite wet panicked it might have been my waters but nothing this morning so must be pessary xxxxx

i deposit my pessaries rectally so as to avoid having to stick fingers in vag and introduce any unwanted bacteria there near stitch, and also so it doesnt affect my vag discharge so i dont have these freak outs

My docs have all said it makes no diff if you deposit them vag or rectally. its actually easier for me rectally. i bought sterile gloves online really cheap, so i dont get stinky finger hahahaha

 

[lch28]

thanks lizzie it just got to the point of severe emotional abuse and i couldn't take it anymore. im hoping he wakes up.. but ive already told him that unless he gets help with his anger and trust issues he won't have a chance. (he is always accusing me of cheating, saying this baby isn't his.. he took my virginity i have not ever been with anyone else) so im not really sure what to do. im just concentrating on me right now =D

 

[MillyBert]

A little update.. well after several doctor phone calls, a night in hospital and a midwife appointment i have been told,i need one and soon, i wont be getting one and its very unlikely i would be getting a stich but to ask my consultant next thursday... i been told i have a wee infection (no treatment tho :S) and muscle pain to fix this i got to go on my hands and knees and pull my tummy muscles up. im just preying i dont go into labour early. ive lost the will argueing with doctors. Evan got shouted at by a nurse saying my babys wasnt that premature. (36 weeks and then 32 weeks) which left me crying infront of a ward full of other people.

 

[angel229]

Hi all,

Back from hospital. Had my scan and my cervix is the same as it was 3 Weeks ago. Funnelled to stitch and then closed 7mm past that. Consultant told me to continue doing what I have been doing and he will see me again in 4 Weeks. I will be a day off 28 Weeks next timeI see him and he is not scanning me then either. Next scan around 32 Weeks.

 

[Jen1802]

That's good news Angel! Lizzie it was a consultant who did the tvu, however dh pointed out this morning that in both previous pregnancies cervical measurements were done abdominally so maybe they were wrong previously....I suppose I can speculate as much as I want about the what if's and it won't make any difference, I'll just have to see what happens at the next appt. Things will hopefully be clearer then. xox

 

[baby_maybe]

Thanks for the reassurance Lindy, I'm still unsure of feeling damp. Ive been wearing a liner but it never seems to be wet, yet I have the sensation of trickling, a bit like you do when you first get a bfp and you're convinced you must be getting af. I've had that feeling since the very beginning of being pregnant this time round, so I'm not sure why I suddenly now think its leaking rather than just mucus. Guess I'm just super cautious like lizzie said. I haven't been to get checked yet, but I'm almost certain I'll give them a call in the morning and see if I can go up and get checked out.

 

[lch28]

baby_maybe i have always felt really wet since i got my stitch. do you have one in now?

lizzie and anyone else - remember a few weeks ago i lost a tiny tiny piece of stitching and thought it was my cerclage? it happened again this morning. it was a longer piece with knots in it. it was very thin thread.

 

[Hopeful 4 #1]

UGH. I got my first ever Braxton Hicks yday... and they were painful not uncomfortable! I did get checked out I was that freaked out. But reassured thats what they were. One thing after another eh!

 

[lch28]

i dont think i ever had those with Sophia. What does it feel like?

 

[Hopeful 4 #1]

I just suddenly got a pain and she started kicking loads... which was prob actually a tightening, but they came with no warning and I had 3 random pains in an hour... I drank water and they went, but then i got some last night too so went in just in case, they looked at my cervix via a speculum, told me its closed, did a swab, and told me its most likely just braxton hicks. Phew.

 

[lizziedripping]

Yuck Hope, BH are awful and terrifying for us IC ladies - you have my sympathy. I had them 3/4 times per hour for a few hours each day from 20-28wks hun, and they were sometimes triggered by baby movement, stress or for no reason at all! I hated them.

Keep resting, they're common and usually amount to nothing. Stitch ladies seem more prone to them probably because as your uterus expands, the stitch pulls and irritates it xx

 

[lizziedripping]

Ich - it's normal to see bits of stitch come away. It's obviously taken a while for yours to make their way outside. Nothing to worry about darlin xx

 

[lch28]

thanks lizzie - was just worried as its been 5 weeks! it was thin though and you said the stitching for cerclage is thick??

 

[Hopeful 4 #1]

Were yours painful Lizzie?! Ich I just read your post... I have had no stitch pieces seen yet! Gosh I am glad someone has said its normal though so I don't freak if it happens!

 

[baby_maybe]

lch I don't have my suture in yet, but I seem to have felt wet for a few weeks now. It's only the past few days I've been thinking it might be leaking, but I did get checked on Tuesday scan and speculum and they said everything looked ok. I am getting my suture done next Tuesday.

I'm thinking I might phone tomorrow morning and go up to get checked again since I can't stop thinking this might be something, of course it could be nothing!

With regards to braxton hicks, I had them pretty much constantly from about 24 weeks last time I was pregnant. They never did anything and I still went to term plus quite a few days!