Quad screen anxiety vent
missbrooklyn1
member
Hi ladies, I just need to get this off my chest so, sorry in advance for the rant/vent...
I had GREAT results for my NT and all of the anxiety started to subside after I got the blood work results and FINALLY told my parents and my sister (we hadn't told a soul until then). Then I saw the OB for a follow up and she was super, super happy with the results also and told me that I'm "lucky" and how good everything looked. But then she said, "okay, so we'll do the quad screen and then you can relax and just enjoy the rest of the pregnancy." I didn't say: Wait, am I not supposed to relax now??! I just said, OK. But now it's driving me crazy and I'm having anxiety about "the other shoe dropping" with the Quad screen. I even posted on 2nd Tri to see how things went for other ladies- whether quad results were better or worse than NT results. I'm going out West to visit family next week and I am afraid to share the news to the extended family until after 12/12 when I have the quad screen done. And I'm starting to show which is stressful to cover up. Am I being crazy?? My FI says to "let go of the fear" and start sharing the good news. I just don't feel convinced that it's all good news yet. I put a call in to the OB's office and a nurse will call me back to talk a little more about the test. I just want to relax, enjoy, and share this miracle with my loved ones!!
Thank you for listening, I feel better for having gotten that off my chest. Hope you're all having a wonderful day!
Re: Quad screen anxiety vent
Honestly with being PGAL, I don't think there is ever a time you finally relax. I know I haven't. Even with DS (which was before my loss when I was supposed to be naive) I would get a little knot in my stomach before each appointment thinking they would find something wrong or the h/b wouldn't be there anymore. I think it's completely natural to be scared.
As far as the quad screen goes, I didn't have an NT scan (insurance doesn't cover it) but did do the quad screen and the numbers came back good. I think you should share your news and be happy about it. It is very unlikely that your quad screen will come back poorly.
DD#1 9-4-04 *** DD#2 10-15-07
BFP#3 10-25-10 *EDD 7/1/11 * missed m/c @ 13w3d
BFP#4 7-30-11 *EDD 4/8/12 ~ DD#3 born 4/4/12
Hmm, wih my DS I did the NT scan INSTEAD of the quad screen. My doc said the NT was much more accurate and you didn't need to do both.
Btw, you are not being crazy at all. I think we all feel that exact same way -- so nervous about everything!
I am going to be blatantly honest and tell you if I could do it all over again, I 5000% would NOT do the quad screen (that is the test that gave me my results that have led to the amnio and all the issues we are currently dealing with). After the NT scan and 12 week blood work, everything looked great, and after the quad screen, that all went to sh!t. Now, having read up on it more (I know, brilliant, wait until after the blood work to read up on it), I have learned that it is basically undisputed that the 12 week blood work and NT scan result sare more accurate, and that the quad screen results have so many false positives. I told DH if everything turns out fine, I will NEVER EVER in a million years do the quad screen again. EVER. Period.
That being said, you have to do what is right for you. A lot of people, myself included at this point, would consider possibly terminating a baby that had DS or some other genetic disorder. If you are in that group (and if you are there's nothing to be ashamed of), then you need all the information possible so you can allow yourself to make an educated decision. BUT, from what I have started to learn, the quad screen results does not equal good information much of the time.
I just wanted to share my personal (jaded) experience with you about the quad screen. If I hadn't had it done I'd be blissfully happy right now instead of waiting for amnio results...
BFP #1 6/28/11 ~ EDD 3/7/12 ~ m/c 7/15/11 at 6w2d
BFP #2 8/29/11 ~ EDD 5/12/12. 4/25/12: Our take home baby is here!
BFP #3 8/27/13 ~ EDD 5/11/14. 4/27/14: Our second take home baby is here!
I had a quad screen in place of an a/s. They are essentially the same thing. The only difference as far as I could tell was that it took a little longer and we got way more detailed pictures. Plus I went to MFM to have it done instead of my regular OB.
I know it is hard, but your FI has the right idea. GL with whatever you decide to tell family!
I think I'm going to refuse it. According to the paperwork my doctor gave me at my 1st appointment the NT scan/bloodwork is 91% accurate and the Quad screen is 80% accurate in finding genetic problems (DS, etc.)