Incompetent Cervix - stitch/cerclage - threatened labour

[Septie]

So, had my regular OB appointment today and asked about this. She checked vaginally with her fingers (felt very good), and sent me for a transvaginal US just to be sure. Exactly at 3cm at 21 weeks (well, 3.01 - so they report as bigger than 3??), but no funneling or anything. They are not planning to recheck, unless they are other issues. No restrictions. This is a very good university hospital... Should I ask for a recheck anyway at my next check up in 4 weeks, and keep it easy in the meantime (legs up while not at work, no long walks etc.)?

 

[Laney26]

Septie you could ask there's no harm in it but things are looking good for you.
Ladies can I ask does anyone have an irritable uterus with their stitch. I'm 27 wks today and last week my braxton hicks or contractions or whatever they are started up. Never 4 in an hour the max so far was 9 a day. Just wondering if anyone has advice on these I lay down on my left side most the day and am glugging water not on progesterone supps Dr won't give me them but I do have 2 boxes that cud get me to 36 wks. Any advice wud be fab xxx

 

[chistiana]

Septie, I agree, your cl is just fine but it can't harm to ask for another check in a month or so!

Laney, my uterus has been pretty active too...about a month ago I had a little bleed because I was contracting n the stitch irritated my cervix...these last few days I also seem to get quite a few of them, some painful ones too...After the bleed my doc increased my progesterone from 100gr to 400g per day n I m thinking of increasing my magnesium intake too. If your doc doesn't agree with the progesterone I wouldn't think it's ok to just take it because weaning off it takes time bug maybe you could tell him you d feel safer? Or maybe have the magnesium option??

 

[Laney26]

Lol Christiana you read my mind I have ordered some magnesium today, it's called magnesium oil and is safe in pregnancy lol how bizarre great minds think alike eh? I read on a forum that Gatorade can help also so bought a few bottles of that ( it can't do any harm) it may even give me some energy. Im pretty much in my left side all day so not sure what else I can do. I'm sure I had some last pregnancy but can't remember when they started its just weird that they started after my last internal scan and haven't settled which is a shame xxx

 

[chistiana]

Lol I m on 6 doses of magnesium per day and I take double before bedtime because my contractions are way worse then. Gatorade might help wth hydration but make sure you don't overdo it cause it has (I think) a huge amount of sugar!!

 

[Laney26]

Christiana do u mind me asking what dosage of magnesium u take? I will also ask my dr see what they reccommend. As for the Gatorade Its disgusting ugh I just keep having little sips. I've just been reading this post from the 1st page and see this is your 2nd time round. You guys were such an awesome support network for each other ive just got to the bit where Jimmy jam had her baby. Xxx

 

[chistiana]

Wow you re a hero! That's way too many pages!! I remember jim jam she had her baby at 28weeks if I m not mistaken but then we kind of lost her..she was due with me! And yes it was a very very supportive group that's why I came back!
I take 4-6 trofocard tablets per day but I m not sure how much they each have, I ll check on the box when I get home and let you know!! And I agree on the Gatorade, I have a sweet tooth but this thing can give me a sugar shock lol!!!

 

[Laney26]

Oh man had my urine tested for uti came back clear for that but high for sugar. I tried explaining I'd been drinking Gatorade (cringe) but now they want to do a diabetes test grrrrrr. How many weeks are u now xxx

 

[chistiana]

Yikes I m sorry, this sucks! I m 29w4/5d and did my GD test a week and a half ago...as I said never thought anyone could have a sugar shock...that glucose drink had my head spinning for a good 3 hours! The taste wasn't that bad but the aftermath was really disgusting! But high sugar levels in your blood doesn't necessarily mean GD and Vice versa. How far along are you?

 

[Laney26]

I'm 27+1 im not on strict bedrest as have a 6 and 7 yr old but stay flat as much as I can. Have had a few bleeding episodes they scared me more than anything. This is my 3rd stitch. I had my last internal scan at 26 wks it measured between 3.4 and 3.1 that was over a week ago now and I know how quickly things can change. Let's hope we make term u r almost 30wks that's fab xxx

 

[chistiana]

That's a great cl! Mine was about 2.5cm 4 weeks ago! Yikes you re a hero, trying to stay flat with 2 kids at home! I have a 3 and a 5 year old and i find it impossible to rest at all! I ve had a couple of bleeding episodes too and with 3 mcs so far I think I won't relax until I have this girl safe in my arms! Do you know what you re having? How come you ve had 3 stitches if you don't mind me asking (if you d rather not discuss it that's perfectly fine!!) ?

 

[Laney26]

No I don't mind talking about it all. My 1st pregnancy I had no symptoms of IC at all then at 25wks had bizarre discharge so got checked they said it was thrush but when they did a speculum I was 6cm dilated. I was put in trends berg position or whatever it's called and had my 1st stitch at 26 wks. By some miracle it held and my daughter was born at 38wks. 8 months later I find I am pregnant again (total shock) Dr put in a stitch at 16 weeks I was 1cm dilated by then had lots of scares plus looking after my daughter but we got to 38wks my cervix held at 2.9 with funnelling pretty much the whole pregnancy. Pretty much a yr ago I lost a baby at 6 weeks and fell pregnant with this one a few months later got my stitch at 14 wks diff Dr. this has been the scariest with bleeding and a lot more stitch pulling than I had with the others. We are having a little boy this time then my cervix is going into retirement I can't take rhis stress anymore. If u have any questions feel free to ask I really don't mind xxx

 

[Laney26]

Just realised this will be baby number 3 for u also. We must be crazy lol. xxx

 

[chistiana]

Lol yes we must, I get crazy looks all around especially since I ve list 3 and I was on strict bed rest the whole time with dd!so you have 2 girls n now a boy? Hopefully we ll be boy girl girl in a couple of months! N then we re off to retirement too! Are you planning for c section or vb?

 

[Laney26]

We will have one girl and 2 boys God willing. I think I'll be having a vaginal birth my 1st 2 were but both times I had episiotomies so I now have 2 scars from one hole to the other they have given me some problems so I don't fancy another but don't know if that's a reason to do a c sec. I only had gas and air the first 2 times this time I'm going epidural I can't go through that pain again. How about u xxx

 

[chistiana]

Ow God please don't describe the pain cause I might back out! My ds was a vb...don't know how much of the epidural got me cause I had it at 9am and at 9:05am my boy made his appearance. Don't know if it actually took effect or not! My dd was an emergency c section, I still had the stitch in and she was feet down so I had the spinal obviously but wasn't under full anesthesia. I hated hated hated it! The pain afterwards was excruciating! But it might be just me and not wanting a c section cause all my friends say they didn't hurt so much after. I m going for vbac this time round but I m not allowed an epidural in case the section gives way. Yikes....was it really that bad? I had an episiotomy with ds too, that did hurt days later!

 

[Laney26]

Oh sweetie sorry I didn't mean to scare u I don't have the pain of a c section to compare to and I only had gas and air so if u r struggling they can give u other stuff. I got a lot of pain after both my stitches so I probably am rubbish with pain. I am looking into hypno birthing at the minute as that is supposed to be very good xxx

 

[chistiana]

Lol don't worry, my c section was so bad, nothing can make me choose it again if I don't have to! We don't have any other alternative to pain relief here in Greece but ow well! I might as well go research this hypno birthing while am at it!

 

[Laney26]

Lol the grass is always greener isn't it. so u haven't done any bedrest this pregnancy I am jealous I'm really starting to struggle a bit. The sun is shining and the kids are out playing. My daughter had an upset tummy through the night think I'm just grouchy as ive had a bad nights sleep xxx

 

[chistiana]

Ow I m so sorry about your daughter..hope she's feeling better soon. How long have you been on bed rest? I did 5 weeks of bed rest between week 12 and week 17 because I was bleeding (membrane abruption) (w12-15) and because of the stitch (w16-17). I did have another little spotting episode around w20something because I contracted n the stitch irritated my cervix bug only stayed in bed for a couple of days. This pg is easier than the one with my dd (bed rest the whole time) but it's had its scary moments. Our NT scan measurements came back bad but dye to previous mcs doc didn't want to do the amnio..we did the verinata verify blood test but had to wait 2 weeks for the results. Anyway, meant to ask you...are you still experiencing contractions? Since yesterday I ve had quite a few and they re actually painful..yesterday at one oping they were 11 minutes apart but then they stopped. They are nog regular today but they don't feel very normal either. We have a doc appointment tomorrow morning, I m scared he's going to tell he I m dilated to the stitch or something