Ultrasounds, XRays and Cat Scans and Lots of Tears (Long)
MLS0630
member
Starting 2:00 Friday afternoon I was having horrible pain under my right breast every time I took a breath and it increased tenfold if I tried taking a deep breath or yawned. Basically feeling like I wasn't getting enough air, but just thought I'd monitor it and try sleeping it off. Went to bed at 6:30 feeling sluggish, winded and overtired.
Woke up at 3:00 AM this morning from these chest pains and decided to call the triage nurse. She recommended I got to L&D and ER immediately, so off I went, leaving my DH at home with our two babies. He would come join me once it wasn't the crack of dawn and could call a grandparent to come watch the babies.
Upon arriving I was sent to L&D first to make sure the baby was getting enough oxygen from my altered breathing, heartrate was good and no contractions so I was sent back down to ER. The ER physician said it could be gallbladder or a bloodclot and recommended bloodtests, ultrasound of my upper abdomen/chest and both legs, xray of my chest, then cat scan of my chest.
Had to do some of these tests waiting alone, which was the worst, DH was finally able to come down after I had been at the hospital for 3 hours. Needless to say I have been a mess all morning trying to do what was recommended by the physicians knowing that some of these tests put the baby at risk.
Thankfully they were able to rule out gallbladder and bloodclots, and inconclusively guessed that a muscle by my lungs is inflammed for whatever reason, but regardless of the outcome I cannot help but feel horrible for putting the baby through these tests.
I've been doing lots of reading and the scientific and health reports I have read said after 20 weeks baby is developed enough to avoid risk of miscarriage and deformation but I am still worried. I also have an anterior placenta this time and am hardly feeling the baby move which doesn't help. I just want to fastforward to February and hold my sweet baby in my arms and know everything is okay. 
Has anyone else been through severe testing like this and had a good outcome?
Re: Ultrasounds, XRays and Cat Scans and Lots of Tears (Long)
Oh goodness, I am so sorry you had such a crazy, emotional night. I know somewhat what you are going through, & hope I can relieve some worries...
I found out I was pregnant at 4wks, which somehow magically happened even after taking the morning after pill (condom broke). Not only had I taken the morning after pill, but I had been on 6mg Xanax, 200mg Lamictal, & 90mg Adderall daily for that entire duration (which is the highest dose of each medication). I called the OB immediately & told her exactly what had happened, & she scheduled me for an emergency ultrasound a few hours later. They couldn't see anything yet, so had me come back for blood tests & an ultrasound a week later.
That was an entire week of laying in bed crying, imagining what I had done to this poor, innocent life inside of me. I Googled the risks of the medicines, & nothing looked promising. I also couldn't quit the medicines cold turkey, which made me feel even worse with each dose I took.
I later found out I was indeed pregnant, & they monitored me closely for several weeks. I had a high risk A/S last Thursday (for this & hemophilia risks) and I have a perfectly healthy baby measuring exactly with my pre-determined due date.
I think as moms we stress ourselves out more than we should. Just take some deep breaths & know that a lot of women have to undergo chemo, surgery, & anesthesia throughout pregnancies & have perfect, healthy babies. HTH
I haven't, but I do know people who have and think you will be just fine!
My grandmother even said that they used to xray to confirm pregnancy back in the day! These little ones are tougher than we give them credit for, I'm sure that the doctor's wouldn't have done it unless it was necessary and the risk to baby was minimal.
My husband is an x-ray tech so I asked him for you. He said that if the doctors had ordered those tests on me when I was pregnant, he would have said HELL NO. X-ray that close to the baby isn't good.. CT even worse. I would be pissed if I were you. I'm sure you were informed of the risks and agreed to it though.
If they were worried about blood clots, I can see why they ordered it. It's because you could have died, and they were looking out for YOUR health. However, the risk to the baby is NOT minimal as other people have said.
Did they at least double shield you?
so sorry you went through this!
it's not the same thing, but i had a CXR when i was 6wks with DD, and she is fine. they shielded my abdomen. (actually, very similar presentation to yours, terrible chest pain behind my R breast with inspiration and mild shortness of breath). the CT scan is a different story- it's like getting 1000 x-rays. the good news is a fetus is much more radiosensitive very early in pregnancy (1st tri), so you have that on your side, and also, the radiation is very directed- yes there is still a risk that your pelvis got a small amount of exposure ("scatter"), but it's not like the beams were shooting straight into your uterus.
and of course you know the ultrasound is not a risk.
try to relax, i know hearing that probably makes you want to punch a wall, but i bet everything is fine in there!
(oh and btw, they never gave me a diagnosis either- they said i had a "mild" version of pancreatitis, but really i think they had no clue)
My Wedding Bio!
Yes there is a risk that the tests could have affected the baby. However, the doctors wouldn't have ordered them if the risk out weighed the benefit. And given the choice of both of you dying- cause at this point if you do pass on the baby's chance of surviving is minimal- or having a minor chance of something happening to the baby I'd have all the same test done if I was in your shoes.
And look at it this way: Pregnant women used to be told smoking and drinking were ok- some docs even told women to have a drink daily, women used to get x-rays and all other sorts of now unsafe tests done, a lot of us slept in drop-side cribs on our stomachs, we were not in rear-facing car seats till we were 2, we (or at least myself, brother, cousins, friends) were not in booster seats as long as kids are now... the list can really go on for ages the point is we all made it till adulthood. And the safety standards we have in this country are not the same as the rest of the world's. Depending on the country you're in they tests/treatments/drugs/diets that are allowed are not 100% the same as they are here and those babies are born and also making to adulthood ok.
So relax and try not to worry too much- you may start hyperventilating and strain you chest/near lung muscle even more... and that wold suck.
I just wanted to let you know, the amount of rads per xray is very minimal it's around 10 rads, and they cover your uterus area AND it takes at least 50 rads to have even the smallest effect. Legally, your doctors would not have given them to you if it caused harm. They were very necessary because you were having trouble breathing. I almost went through the same thing and the doctor reassured me, that a few scans in a pregnancy are not extremely harmful. You were in the hands of EXPERIENCED doctors. I know it will be hard not to worry, but just trust the medical field. They wanted to ensure your baby was getting enough oxygen. They would not of given you these tests if they weren't 100% necessary. I didn't get mine because it was just joint pain and it was my hips. If it persisted for another week I would have had to go, but luckily it went away. Anyways, they checked your baby and you and at least you have peace of mind. Panicking about what it could be if you would not have had the testing would have worsened your breathing. So you can breathe easy knowing everything is okay with you and your LO. If you're extremely concerned, call your OB. Doctor Google is famous for extreme malpractice :P Trust a Doctor with a degree, not just a search engine.
I hop you feel better soon
Good luck, and I hope you are feeling better :-)
Your husband is an X-Ray tech....not a doctor....don't spout his advice as if it is actual medical advice from a doctor (who went to medical school and through countless residencies to learn his craft) and scare the crap out of her.
I had a scare at 21 weeks, they thought my appendix might be rupturing and were going to do a CT scan, then tried an ultrasound first. They couldn't find my appendix with the ultrasound due to the size of my uterus, and after 2 bags of IV fluid I felt much better so they determined I was just dehydrated, and didnt end up doing the CT scan, but everything that this post I quoted was what my doctor told me when we were considering doing the CT scan. Basically if the situation is life threatening it is much better to do the test than not do it. The main risk they told me was a SLIGHT chance of childhood cancer/leukemia but again, they said that risk was VERY small and a life threatening situation for mom outweighs that risk. I wish you well and please try not to worry, I know its hard but I bet your little one will be just fine!!
This- OP your doctors made what they felt were the best decisions for diagnosing you. Don't let someone who was not there evaluating you, or a trained MD, scare you that you have harmed the baby in some way.
Yes there is a risk but it's not like you have these tests on a regular/routine basis. And remember you having major, possibly un-diagnosed, health problems is much more problematic for the baby than the risks from radiation. And at least now you know what's going on.
I'm not trying to scare her, I'm telling the truth. I did say that she could have died from a blood clot, so the doctor felt the tests were necessary. I also said that those before me who said the risk was incredibly minimal and totally fine didn't know what they were talking about.
She probably is fine, but the risk is real. Contrary to popular belief, some doctors are idiots. Do you know how often DH has to question doctors' orders about double and triple exposing people for no reason? Yes, he's not a doctor, but he knows a heck of a lot more than doctors do ABOUT RADIATION.
OP, as I said before, I'm sure you're probably fine. Telling you the risk was not real though would be a lie.
When I was pregnant with my second daughter, I was admitted into the hospital for severe pain. They didn't know what it was, and thought that it could be gallbladder, appendicitis, or kidney stones. An ultrasound didn't show anything. They were going to do exploratory surgery and treating it like it was appendicitis. After talking extensively to the radiologist, my dr and the radiologist decided that the radiation risk to the baby was minimal, and they did a CT scan on my abdomen. I was SO nervous, because nothing was shielded at all. Thankfully, my daughter has had no problems. She does wear glasses, but so does my other daughter, as well as myself. Try not to worry about it, I know how hard it is, though.
Oh, btw, it ended up being kidney stones.
Cambria, Keira, and Bonnie Quinn
I'm sorry I had the suckiest reply in here.. I know you did what was best for your health in a scary situation, and nobody is looking down on you for that at all. I told it like it is, but I absolutely could have been more sympathetic and I apologize. Try not to stress out.
Yeah no he doesn't and it's comical to assert this. A radiologist, as the PP is would be the expert. As a surgeon, if I have a questions about radiation in any test I order, I speak to a radiologist, not a tech lol. If a tech refused to perform a scan on a patient I was concerned had a life threatening illness, I would document in the chart their name and they were preventing me from properly treating my patient. Let me tell you they wouldn't have a job for much longer.....OP I'm glad you are fine and it sounds like your physicians performed the appropriate work-up. I completely agree with the excellent information given to you by the PP who is a radiologist.
Agree with almost all the PP's- a PE (pulmonary embolism) caused by a blood clot can be fatal, and pregnancy absolutely increases your chances of this occurring. The symptoms you had were very characteristic of a possible PE (I'm not a doctor, but am an RN and work with pts at risk for PE).
It sounds like you received the care you needed- even though you feel like the tests were kind of "all for nothing" you should be happy relieved that you didn't have a PE! So the tests were very necessary to rule this out, and you and your care providers did the BEST thing for you and your baby. I'm so sorry about your traumatizing day and hope your pain gets better.
I was sent to ER for the exact same thing. I also ended up being diagnosed with the exact same thing. It tool about 4 days for the pain to completely go away and I was very short of breath for a few days. But relieved to know it wasn't a PE.
My ER doc did the bloodwork, ultrasound and x-rays. Because those tests showed nothing, and because when I was in a reclined position for those few hours, the extreme pain subsided, he decided to forego the CT scan. He said a PE would have caused me to have much more difficulty breathing than I was having after being rested for the 3 hours. It only got worse when standing, moving, bending, etc.
Try not to worry.
Layla 01.08.12
Chloe and Vivian 07.23.13
My Gang. Halloween 2013
I'm glad you'd be proactive if a tech refused a scan you thought was necessary. You're probably a great surgeon and know what you're talking about... I'm sure you wouldn't order 3 seperate x-rays of the SAME EXACT body part, same view, and expect the patient to be triple exposed either, as my DH has to question all the time with the idiot doctors at our hospital. Honestly if he did expose the patient too much, as the doctors ORDER sometimes, he would lose his license. That's totally not the point of the post... I just don't trust all doctors.
Wow! Sorry you had to go through all of that. I hope they are able to solve your breathing problem.
I'm sure your beautiful baby is just fine. To ease your worry, call your nurse. It would be good to make sure your OB knows all the tests you went through.
(((Hugs)))
| <a href="http://www.fertilityfriend.com" style="font-size:smaller;" >Ovulation Tracker</a>[url=http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/43ff7d]
[img]http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ticker/43ff7d/ttc.png[/img]
[/RA with Sjogren's Syndrome. Risk of heart block in newborn. Age: DH and I are both 38.
BFP #1: 11/25/2007, EDD 7/28/2008 - Missed m/c (blighted ovum) 12/6/2007 6w3d, D&C 1/3/2008.
BFP #2: 4/2008 - Natural m/c at 6w.
Met with RE in 5/2008 full cycle analysis and SA normal. Not considered high risk for blood clots but prescribed 1 baby aspirin a day precautionary during TTC and Progesterone suppositories during 1st trimester of pregnancy.
BFP #3: 10/17/2008. EDD 6/23/2009, Third time's the charm! Healthy baby boy born 6/27/2009 via emergency c-section.
BFP #4: 6/14/2011. Healthy baby boy born 2/16/2012 via elective c-section.
BFP #5: 1/15/2014. EDD 9/22/2014. 2/17/14:.We have a BABY!!! Heart rate 167 and measuring on time. 3/10/14 u/s #2 baby measuring perfectly at 12 weeks at heart rate of 166. NT u/s was normal. Maternit21 blood draw on 3/5/14. Results back on 3/19 - Normal. It's a BOY!!! 4/10/14 at 16 weeks, 3 days discovered baby's heart stopped at 15 weeks, 6 days. D&C 4/11/14. Pathology results were all normal. New information on 8/11/14 - blood test revealed 1/3 of babys blood was in mine caused, most likely, by a tear in the placenta from extreme coughing. Doctor believes this to be the cause of death. Repeat D&C and Hysteroscopy scheduled for 8/19/14. My Chart