Possible Impending Miscarriage, not sure what to do...

[Zmomma]

Sorry This may be long. I'm so lost. I have no idea how far along I am, we've spent the last 3 weeks trying to figure that out. Lmp was July 16, but I had my iud (paragard) out on August 13th, bled for 48-72 hours, then on September 6th I got a very very faint bfp, on the 8th it was darker. Hcg on the 13th was 553, 2303 4 days later. Went for an ultrasound on the 27th, and it was too small to give a weeks measurement. They saw gestational sac and yolk sac. Ob said maybe its just really early. Hcg this past Tuesday was only 6442. Thursday was 7446 (they were expecting a decrease so I was excited). I had some red bleeding Tuesday, never enough to need a pad though. It switched over to spotting and stopped by the end of the day. One ob was ready to diagnose mc based on hcg. Mine sent me for an ultrasound Friday. Measured 5 weeks 1 day, still just gestational sac and yolk sac. They also saw some blood "near the pregnancy"

My ob thinks this is a miscarriage but is seeing me Tuesday for more labs and ultrasound Friday.

Late afternoon yesterday I had some spotting (tmi chunky brown discharge streaked with a little red blood). Then last night I started having contractions. Every 3 minutes for 2 hours. Painful. I was sure that was the end. Then they just stopped. Never had more bleeding. I was a little crampy walking around the grocery store today but that was it. I just don't know what to think. I feel like this may be ending soon but can't help but hang onto hope that maybe I am just 5 weeks and somehow things are okay.

This would be my third mc if it is one (one at 10 weeks, one at 5 weeks) and I have one 2 year old dd who was born between the two mc. I had a complicated pregnancy with her, contractions every 4-10 for 8 weeks. Contracted at a 3 for 7 weeks.

Idk if anyone has any input? I'm going crazy. Such a rollercoaster.

 

[slg76]

so sorry to hear what you are dealing with. I am in the middle of a mc scare myself right now. My doctor also says I will almost certainly lose the baby but when it's your baby it's just not that easy to accept. I think all we can do is be realistic that there is probably some issues going on but at the same time hold on to hope that our babies will come through it okay. I'm not willing to accept a diagnosis of mc until I actually, physically lose the baby. I have fingers crossed for you and your little one! I hope things turn out ok.

 

[slg76]

oh, forgot to say...in my sister's second pregnancy the doctor told her she would mc because her HCG levels were just too low and taking too long to double. That adorable little boy is 4 now.

 

[Zmomma]

Thank you for your reply. I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through something similar. Can I ask why your doctor thinks you'll miscarry? My ob said she was given "guarded hope" based on the significant growth from last week to this week but that the "chances are small" that this is a normal progressing pregnancy.

I just can't give up. But being in limbo is just hurting my heart so badly. My husband and I decided to go on believing we will deliver this baby sometime in may or June. We can't function any other way until we know FOR SURE it's over.

 

[slg76]

My doctor has been pessimistic all along; too much so for my liking. At my 6+5 scan we didn't see a fetal pole and the sac was smaller than she liked. At that point she said that this was probably not a viable pregnancy. At 7+5 there was a better defined yolk sac and a 4mm fetal pole but no heartbeat. So there was development but still not measuring on track. Also at this scan the gestational sac had only grown 2mm in a week which is concerning. It really seems to bother my doctor that my hog levels were so high and we still weren't seeing average development. At first scan they were 11,000 and at second they were 20,000. Her msg to me after my last HCG came back (given via the nurse) was that she "does not think this is a viable pregnancy but we will look again next week to see what happens". I think she expects me to miscarry any day. So far no cramps or spotting.

My head understands that things don't look great and that my baby is not developing normally. But, I have read stories where this happens and the baby catches up and is delivered healthy. My heart can't let go of hope until there is NO DOUBT that the baby didn't make it. Otherwise I feel like I would be giving up on my child and it goes against every mother fiber in me It makes me feel good to hear you are feeling the same way.

How pregnant does your doctor think you are? My non-professional guess is that you conceived around aug23 (me too!!). I'm guessing you should have started your period around the 6th when you got your bfp so I just subtracted two weeks from that to probable conception. that would have made you 6 weeks at your last scan. Your development doesn't seem so far off but it looks like your hog only doubled twice in two weeks? That wouldn't be normal.

Augh! Yes, a terrible, awful, emotional roller coaster. Hang in there. Please update when you find out more. I will be watching for your post

 

[Zmomma]

Yeah my hcg is really low. That's mostly where the concerns lay with them I think. Originally they were okay with me not having readable measurements at the scan on the 27th, which would put me around 4 weeks and a few days, so the growth to 5w 1d would make sense, but only if I got a super super faint bfp at 7dpo or there abouts. I did have ovulation like cramping the last weekend in August, but I figured I had already ovulated so I assumed af was coming. So my 553 number would have been at only 2 weeks. Bit I think that's mostly me grasping at straws. I'm having more bloodwork Tuesday. I asked them to also check my progesterone.

I've seen two obs this past week, mine and the other in her practice. My ob hasn't fully given up and is willing to go the distance with testing and scans. The other one didn't feel I needed anymore follow up after the 6442 hcg came back as was ready to dismiss this as a miscarriage. I'm still having crazy all day sickness, constant peeing, food aversions, etc.

Please update when you know more too. I'm sending positive and sticky vibes your way.

 

[slg76]

There's so much uncertainty already, it must be extra hard not to know for sure how far along you are.

My Dr. wondered if i could be wrong about my dates. If I ovulated when she thought/hoped I did I would have had a bfp at 6 dpo. Possible but not likely. Plus, I was tracking my ovulation and we only had intercourse twice and those were only two days apart. I wish I was wrong on the dates but I know I'm not.

I'm glad your Dr. is sticking it out with you. You shouldn't have to be left with any doubt about the baby and any decisions that you make. I've read so many stories recently about women who were told to get a D&C, didn't, and then had a healthy baby. As moms we will grasp at straws for our babies and we shouldn't be left wondering about anything.

My next scan is on Wednesday. Sticky baby dust coming your way!

Do you already have kids? I have a 3 year old.

 

[Zmomma]

The only source of my hope right now is that we truly have NO idea on the conception date.

My scan is Friday. I'm hoping she takes a peak for me on Tuesday. I plan on walking in and basically making her talk about the idea that maybe I'm just only 5 weeks and the probability. I did out the hcg math and it could make sense.

I have a 2 year old dd. she's a riot and really the only thing keeping us from falling apart in the waiting. She's been extra snuggly the past few weeks, telling us she loves us all the time.

I hope you see some growth Wednesday! My doctor said that some pregnancies can just be "sluggish" in the very early stages.

 

[Zmomma]

How are you doing? I hope your scan goes well today. I got more numbers in. Hcg 9586, progesterone 8.5. Waiting for a call back about progesterone supplements

 

[slg76]

hmm, that makes your hcg doubling time very slow doesn't it? If I'm looking at the other numbers right. Sounds like your doctor is hopeful if he/she is putting you on progesterone!

My scan today was bad news. No growth of the sac (10mm) and that the baby has shrunk by just a bit (4 to 3 mm). The Dr. said she could also see where the sac and such is starting to detach from the uterine wall. I'm sad that it didn't work out but mostly right now I feel relief that I have an answer and can move on. This baby took a year and a half to conceive so we are anxious to get started again. I already talked to my fertility doctor about a plan.

I'm glad you have a little one to distract you. My little girl always makes things seem just a bit brighter.

Please keep me updated! I hope your outcome is better than mine.

 

[Zmomma]

I'm sorry you didn't get good news

My doctor basically said she has little to no hope this is viable. Too late for progesterone. I'm going to pick up some cream tonight anyways. I have an appointment scheduled for after the ultrasound so we can talk. She expects to see little to no growth.

Are you going to miscarry naturally or go for the d&c? My OB is already asking me my preferences. My daughters birthday is tomorrow, and her party is this weekend. We have plans to visit my MIL who is going through chemo on Monday. I just hope I can make it through then. I'm considering having a d&c if this is in fact not viable. Since this would be my 3rd loss she's already told me she wants to do recurrent loss testing.

 

[slg76]

My hope is to wait for everything to pass naturally. I have infertility problems due to my own cancer treatment and I don't want to risk the possibility of making that worse. It took us a year and a half to conceive this bean. But, for me there is no reason to think it's anything other than a chromosomal problem in the baby. My doctor says based on my scan today she suspects my natural miscarriage will just be like a heavy period with extra cramps. I hope she is right. Do you have any advise on this?

Did you ever figure out how far along you are? My doctor offered me a procedure to clear everything out in her office. I think she called it a manual evacuation or something similar. She uses a local anesthetic and a small catheter. Sounded much less invasive than a DC. She also offered the drugs to induce the miscarriage. Maybe if you aren't so far along (before six weeks or so) the bleeding won't be so bad as to interfere with family plans?

I'm so sorry that you are having recurrent losses. I hope that you figure out what the problem is and that your next pregnancy is an extra sticky one

 

[Zmomma]

I think the process is different for everyone. For me, mine have been the same each time (10ish weeks and 4-5 weeks, the 10wk was more intense though). Usually I start spotting, then come cycling bad cramps, then the bleeding starts and gets bad, cramping and bleeding peak, then all dwindles quickly. My first one was overnight, the second, thankfully, peaked during my daughters naptime. For me it's like a mini-labor, contractions and all. I know for some it's just a bad period if it's early.

last week the ultrasound measured 5 weeks 1 day, so if progressing, this friday would have been 6w1d. I think I'm probably going to just hope for the best, if it is a miscarriage and doesn't start naturally by next week sometime, I'll ask for maybe the medication. We want to start trying again right away and I think you have to wait longer after a d&c.

I'm sorry to hear about your infertility issues. I am very very fertile, they just have a hard time sticking. I've been told you're extra fertile after a m/c, so I hope you guys can conceive again soon!

 

[slg76]

my bean stopped developing at 6 weeks and has actually gotten smaller. Hopefully my body has absorbed a lot of the tissue and the pain won't be too bad. I have a friend on standby just in case I need somebody to watch my daughter.

We also want to try again right away. It was actually my RE doing my scans for the baby so we had a chat today about restarting fertility meds the first cycle after the mc. I've heard varying opinions on waiting after a DC from not waiting at all to waiting six months.

Lets hope we are both extra fertile in the coming months and maybe we will be pregnant again at the same time soon.