Has anyone here had a molar pregnancy?

KelliLynee · June 2011

Hi ladies, First, I am so sorry for your previous loss(es) and happy that you find yourself with another pregnancy. I posted this question on the Secondary IF board and was referred over here. I hope you dont mind. I'm not currently pregnant, but am eternally grateful to have a 2 year old daughter. (Pic in siggy). Here is my question/story-

I had a D&C on 4/29 for my third miscarriage, as listed in my siggy. All of the products of conception were consistent with a typical missed miscarriage, and all was fine at my 2 week follow up. I went in yesterday for a saline ultrasound and to review my bloodwork (clotting factors, antibodies, chromosomes, etc). A pregnancy test tested positive so they did a regular ultrasound first (I knew I wasn't pregnant, I just had really high hcg levels before my m/c). On u/s they saw that I had the typical "bunch of grapes" type picture, consistent with a molar pregnancy. Whats bazarre is that they didnt see this on my 3 ultrasounds during the pregnancy, we just saw a slow developing (but normal) fetus,whose heart eventually stopped, and the tissue samples didnt indicate a molar pregnancy at all. Certainly my high hcg is consistent with it, but thats about it (and thats only in retrospect). I have to go in tomorrow for an urgent repeat D&C (FVCK!) and then have my hcg followed closely to be sure it doesnt grow back. Common reccomendations include waiting a year to TTC, though that is actually in question at this point & there are some studies to support a shorter waiting period being safe, but thats if everything is resolved. Also, I dont plan to get pregnant again without a solid plan because its not like I just miscarry naturally and I can try again in a month or two, my body never lets go of the pregnancy, I wait it out & need a D&C and then have to wait longer (not to mention that fact that I am not at increased risk of future molar pregnancies).

Does anyone have a history of a molar pregnancy, or know someone with it. Can you share your story? I know there is a small risk that it can become malignant, which is scary as sh!t as well. I went in to this appointment thinking we were going to talk about my plan for TTC, or getting a recommendation for a good RE in the area, and instead we just slapped on an even worse scenario and a years wait to TTC. Turned my whole world upside down.

Thank you for any stories you can share.

chanteltbarrett · June 2011

***Lurking from TTCAL***

Hi Kelli. I am so sorry for your loss. I had a complete molar pregnancy that was diagnosed in March of this year. My betas initially dropped appropriately after my D&C, but eventually they started to plateau. I had an u/s which showed retained product. I was treatment with actinomycin-D chemotherapy for it as the piece was too small to retrieve with a second D&C and they did not want to run the risk of damaging my uterus with scar tissue. I just had my last treatment today.

The guideline of one year for TTC is very outdated. You have had a partial molar pregnancy since a fetus was present. If your beta falls to o within 7 weeks from your D&C then you only need to wait three months after getting three consecutive weekly negatives. If you take longer than that, the wait is six months post first negative blood draw.

The risk of cancer is very scary, but that only happens in 5% of partial molar pregnancies (whereas the risk is 20% for complete moles). If you do fall into this small group it is a condition that is very successfully treated with a 99% cure rate. If you do end up needing chemo the wait time is again 6 months post first negative blood draw.

There is an excellent board on BabyCenter for women with moles. Here is the link:

https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a113685/molar_and_partial_molar_pregnancies?

Please let me know if you have any other questions and best of luck!

Mom2Cinderella · June 2011

Hi I am sorry for your recent loss. I had a partial molar pregnancy about 5 years ago. Mine was somewhat similar to yours. I had a missed miscarriage at about 11 weeks and had a D&C. After the D&C my ob told me that there was a chance it was molar even though he didn't think it looked like one to him. It is a partial molar if a fetus develops. A complete molar is no fetus, just grape like cluster. It took sending slides to three pathology departments to confirm that mine was a partial molar so it was not cut and dry and easy to confirm. I was monitored with monthly blood work to make sure that my HCG went down to 0 and remained down for several months before being given permission to ttc again. When you had your D&C it is possible that some of the molar cells were left in your uterus and those are the cells that continued to grow. So the repeat D&C is to get the rest out of there. Then they will draw blood monthly. If your numbers don't go down or go back up, they will give you a shot of a chemotherapy drug to kill the cells. Other than that, I don't have much else to say about it. I did go on to have a healthy DD and am pregnant again. I met with the National Cancer Center or whatever in North Jersey and I wasn't given much more information than the necessity to monitor the blood work and wait for a year to TTC and that it isn't likely to be a genetic problem as far as probability that it will happen again. Good luck. I know how hard this type of situation is and how hard it is to wait not knowing what the future holds.

KelliLynee · June 2011

Thank you both for sharing your stories with me. I did some research today and did read that the medical community is questioning the need to wait a year. Once this is all said and done, I plan to transfer my care to an RE, so hopefully they will be up to date in they recommendations. I am really scared for the D&C tomorrow, even though it's going to be my third, I know there is a higher risk of hemorrhaging. I'm also scared at what they'll find as it's been 7 weeks since my D&C, thats an awfully long time to allow things to grow. Thank you both again, both of your stories have given me some inspiration. So sorry that you've been through this.

buckeyebaby814 · June 2011

I have not experienced a molar pregnancy, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss and I will say a T&P for you tomorrow! I hope everything goes well and your recovery is quick!

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