Vaginal vs abdominal US and empty sacs?

JoAnneKA

I have been spot on with my periods they have always been regular. So that being said I know for a fact I am 8 weeks 3 days. I went in for my first appointment yesterday and I got an abdominal ultrasound. I had an empty bladder and doc had a hard time finding sac. It would appear then fade away. But when it did appear, the sac looked empty. The doc tried to reassure me and say it must be her outdated machine and to go again on Monday where I can get a vaginal US. 

Well, I couldn't wait so I went to get another ultrasound sound (with full bladder) today and the technician said I had a tilted uterus which made finding the sacs harder. YES, plural more than one!! But again, the sacs looked empty. Just two circles. They measured at about 5w6d and 6w2d. 

How can I be so off with dates?
Are the US inaccurate because they were done abdominally?
Say rhey are blighted ovums; when will they pass through?
does my tilted uterus have anything to do with hard to see sacs? 

vrj0522

I'm sorry you're going through this. What is the next step with your doctor?

Just an FYI,  unless you were tracking ovulation,  not just cycle length, you really don't know how far along you are. You could have had a wonky cycle, or you could be one to have a short luteal phase plus have had late implantation. Unfortunately blighted ovums can take a couple of days to 2-3 weeks to pass.

ekw832001

I had two different ultrasound techs do my first ultrasound.  The first one did the vaginal and it was blurry and she measured squirt at 6w1d.  Totally off...I complained to the ob because it had been 4 weeks since I got my positive pregnancy.  There was no way I was only 2 weeks when I got a positive.  So he got a second ultrasound tech to do a vaginal ultrasound to ease my worry, plus I was very disappointed in the first ob appointment experience.  2nd tech was perfect measured squirt at 7w3d.  So that being said error can happen.  I will not be using the 1st ultrasound tech again.  There was also worry because I have a sch...so yeah...I was not a happy camper 

roper2617

Are you going back for a follow up in a few days? I second @vrj0522 It's very possible that you didn't ovulate until later than expected. I hope this is the case for you! 
Keep us posted! 

mcvgal

Even cycles that are very regular can be exact until one month they simply aren't. Without tracking ovulation you can't be 100% sure of the date.

 That aside, with DS2 I went for a dating ultrasound with full bladder. They could not see very much just the sac, but it was a combination of me being overweight and the placement of my uterus. They immediately had me empty the bladder and did a transvaginal ultrasound. They were able to immediately see the sac, baby, and heart rate at about 6weeks and a few days.

Are you still going for the transvaginal ultrasound? Hopefully that will give you a better answer.

pshaortao

I have not seen you around here before but I will tell you a few things:
- If you're not tracking ovulation, you could be off by several days
- In addition to not knowing ovulation date, you could have implanted a little late. It takes 6-12 days for the egg to implant.
- Your doctor wants you to come back on Monday. You will have a better idea then if there's been any growth. They should be drawing your blood and checking your HCG levels too, if they haven't already. If you're not satisfied with whatever the outcome is on Monday, I would request this.
- There is no telling when the blighted ovums would pass, if that's what they end up being, so that's not something for us to be able to answer. It could happen quickly or it could take a long time.

Best of luck and I hope this weekend flies by quickly for you.

starphish18

As some of the other ladies mentioned, ovulation days can vary from the norm, even with a regular cycle. My cycle has been a consistent 28 days, but I always ovulated later than the average 14 day mark. Based on my LMP, I would have been 7w4d at my ultrasound, but I measured 6w4d...which is close to what I expected knowing that I ovulate later in my cycle. If they did measure you close to 6 weeks, it's not uncommon for it to be hard to see much in an ultrasound yet. 

JoAnneKA

Thank you everyone for your insight. I go again on Monday, I will keep you all posted 

kat81

starphish18 said:

As some of the other ladies mentioned, ovulation days can vary from the norm, even with a regular cycle. My cycle has been a consistent 28 days, but I always ovulated later than the average 14 day mark. Based on my LMP, I would have been 7w4d at my ultrasound, but I measured 6w4d...which is close to what I expected knowing that I ovulate later in my cycle. If they did measure you close to 6 weeks, it's not uncommon for it to be hard to see much in an ultrasound yet. 

Ditto to this. I think this could be me this time around. With my prior pregnancies, I was tracking ovulation, but this time, I only knew my LMP and that my cycles tended to be about 28 days. But I'm pretty sure I might have had a short luteal phase previously (back when I tracked all of that stuff for my other pregnancies), which would mean ovulating later than the 14 day mark for a 28 day cycle. Sure enough, my ultrasound (that I got because of bleeding) measured me 6 days behind where I would have been according to my LMP. So my EDD might be a few days later than what is stated here. Like you, I didn't like measuring behind, but in my case it worked out. I REALLY hope it works out for you as well.