So we received more news today that has sent us on a whirlwind of a ride this afternoon/tonight and still has left me with some uneasiness. I did blood work yesterday--that was a terrible experience in itself. Drove to meet Kevin half way between his work and the base as he had my lab paperwork. Drove to medical on base to learn they were closed, of course... who knows why! Drove to Lompoc to learn the office my doc sent me to had been shut down. Finally ended up in Santa Maria... LONG DRIVE (35 min. from where I was at) where I finally got the blood work done! Thanks to Liam for behaving himself despite not being able to nap.
Anyways, blood work came back today with elevated or as my doctor put it "abnormal" results. They were expecting LOW Hcg levels since I have been diagnosed with blighted ovum (as you lose your pregnancy, HCG levels decrease). But, the levels came back very high, abnormally high (160,000). So he said he would set me up with his nurse so I could schedule my d&c, which I agreed to.
When I got home (I was on my way home when the doctor called) I looked up "normal" HCG levels for 8 weeks pregnant (remember my BODY still thinks it is pregnant--loving being sick when I'm not making a baby, by the way!). Normal falls in a range from approx. 7,000 all the way up until 230,000. Why did he consider this abnormal? I decided I'd ask the nurse when she called. To my surprise, the nurse called back immediately and wanted me in the office RIGHT THEN (not possible, 30 min. drive for me and Kevin was at work) for pre-op and wanted to schedule my surgery for tomorrow morning @ 7:30am (not possible, I need a sitter for Liam and Kevin needs time to prep for time off). When I asked her about the HCG levels, she said she had to talk to the doctor who would call me back.
He called back and said NOT to believe the American Pregnancy Association HCG numbers or the rest of the internet (why?). Then he proceeded to tell me that a normal range is 80,000-100,000 and my levels were abnormally high which may indicate a molar pregnancy. DO NOT look that up. It is SCARY, SCARY, SCARY! Basically, same type of thing as blighted ovum, but this may leave behind cancerous cells in my uterus! And the only way to diagnose is to do the d&c and have the tissue analyzed at the lab. Needless to say he had/still has me stressed.
I asked if we could do an ultrasound just to confirm the first ultrasound. He agreed, but could only do the ultrasound next week when his tech returns from vacation. Then the surgery would have to be held off until the following week, as he will be out of town next week. Excuse me, did you just say possible cancer cells and we can just wait? No sir I don't think so.
So after much debate (Kevin had rushed home from work when the doctor called and said to get to his office right away--he scared us both). By the time he got home and learned of the new news, we debated on what to do. We decided to head to the E.R. for a second ultrasound. We got a sitter and went to ER for 5 hours! We just returned and what we already knew and had come to terms with was confirmed--there is no longer a baby and I am definitely 8 weeks along (sac measures perfectly). Phew! We pretty much knew that, but had to make sure. Certainly not something we want to question ourselves on forever, ya know?
They gave me some pain killers for my cramping and some anti-nausea medicine for my ill tummy (all hormone related). They checked my cervix and did an extensive ultrasound. My cervix is closed, so my body is not prepared to miscarry yet. It truly, truly thinks it is pregnant. Everything on ultrasound looked great, except for the fact that there is no longer a baby (so everything is working and there is hope for another baby, someday). Tech did notice some type of hemorrhage type mass inside on my right ovary, but said it looks normal?! They did recommend I either miscarry naturally or have the d&c. Thank you--finally a second opinion, that confirmed what we pretty much suspected. That is all we needed/wanted.
Tomorrow I am starting paperwork to go back to my old doctor. I'm not happy with the new doctor and trust the one who followed my pregnancy with Liam. Hopefully he will do the d&c. I have nothing to lose--my current doc is currently out of town, so no surgery taking place at this point. I trust my old doctor, he will help me and has a better bedside manner.
After the surgery they will analyze the tissue to see if it is a molar pregnancy. Please pray it is not. That involves cancer, 6-12 months of extensive testing to make sure there is no more tissue or possible cancer cells inside of me and we cannot try to conceive for a year (maybe more!). If it is cancer, that would mean no more children, but 80% of cases are benign (thankful for that). So that's where we are at. I do ask, if you can and feel comfortable doing so, please pray for us/me.
Thank you so much.
Anyways, blood work came back today with elevated or as my doctor put it "abnormal" results. They were expecting LOW Hcg levels since I have been diagnosed with blighted ovum (as you lose your pregnancy, HCG levels decrease). But, the levels came back very high, abnormally high (160,000). So he said he would set me up with his nurse so I could schedule my d&c, which I agreed to.
When I got home (I was on my way home when the doctor called) I looked up "normal" HCG levels for 8 weeks pregnant (remember my BODY still thinks it is pregnant--loving being sick when I'm not making a baby, by the way!). Normal falls in a range from approx. 7,000 all the way up until 230,000. Why did he consider this abnormal? I decided I'd ask the nurse when she called. To my surprise, the nurse called back immediately and wanted me in the office RIGHT THEN (not possible, 30 min. drive for me and Kevin was at work) for pre-op and wanted to schedule my surgery for tomorrow morning @ 7:30am (not possible, I need a sitter for Liam and Kevin needs time to prep for time off). When I asked her about the HCG levels, she said she had to talk to the doctor who would call me back.
He called back and said NOT to believe the American Pregnancy Association HCG numbers or the rest of the internet (why?). Then he proceeded to tell me that a normal range is 80,000-100,000 and my levels were abnormally high which may indicate a molar pregnancy. DO NOT look that up. It is SCARY, SCARY, SCARY! Basically, same type of thing as blighted ovum, but this may leave behind cancerous cells in my uterus! And the only way to diagnose is to do the d&c and have the tissue analyzed at the lab. Needless to say he had/still has me stressed.
I asked if we could do an ultrasound just to confirm the first ultrasound. He agreed, but could only do the ultrasound next week when his tech returns from vacation. Then the surgery would have to be held off until the following week, as he will be out of town next week. Excuse me, did you just say possible cancer cells and we can just wait? No sir I don't think so.
So after much debate (Kevin had rushed home from work when the doctor called and said to get to his office right away--he scared us both). By the time he got home and learned of the new news, we debated on what to do. We decided to head to the E.R. for a second ultrasound. We got a sitter and went to ER for 5 hours! We just returned and what we already knew and had come to terms with was confirmed--there is no longer a baby and I am definitely 8 weeks along (sac measures perfectly). Phew! We pretty much knew that, but had to make sure. Certainly not something we want to question ourselves on forever, ya know?
They gave me some pain killers for my cramping and some anti-nausea medicine for my ill tummy (all hormone related). They checked my cervix and did an extensive ultrasound. My cervix is closed, so my body is not prepared to miscarry yet. It truly, truly thinks it is pregnant. Everything on ultrasound looked great, except for the fact that there is no longer a baby (so everything is working and there is hope for another baby, someday). Tech did notice some type of hemorrhage type mass inside on my right ovary, but said it looks normal?! They did recommend I either miscarry naturally or have the d&c. Thank you--finally a second opinion, that confirmed what we pretty much suspected. That is all we needed/wanted.
Tomorrow I am starting paperwork to go back to my old doctor. I'm not happy with the new doctor and trust the one who followed my pregnancy with Liam. Hopefully he will do the d&c. I have nothing to lose--my current doc is currently out of town, so no surgery taking place at this point. I trust my old doctor, he will help me and has a better bedside manner.
After the surgery they will analyze the tissue to see if it is a molar pregnancy. Please pray it is not. That involves cancer, 6-12 months of extensive testing to make sure there is no more tissue or possible cancer cells inside of me and we cannot try to conceive for a year (maybe more!). If it is cancer, that would mean no more children, but 80% of cases are benign (thankful for that). So that's where we are at. I do ask, if you can and feel comfortable doing so, please pray for us/me.
Thank you so much.
Comments
I vote for the D&C ASAP.........give yourself a better chance for recovery and further "nesting". lol
xoxoxo