Long story... about 3 years ago I was diagnosed with Grave's disease and multinodular thyroid. I had to have a total thyroidectomy. I was referred to MFM due to the Graves and early gestational diabetes. He decided to pull labs to test for antithyroid antibodies since that could harm baby. Turns out I have an underlying autoimmune disease (either Sjogren's or lupus). While it isn't currently effecting me, it is possible for my body to decide to attack baby's heart which could be fatal for him. So I have to go in for weekly PR intervals and monthly growth scans. And while we can't know for sure, they believe it is a strong possibility that this is what led to our previous loss as he had a low heart rate at 12 weeks.
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
@leannechristina Maternal Fetal Medicine, also known as a neonatologist. Basically an OBGYN that specializes in high risk pregnancies.
Current pregnancy - First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
Four prior losses, no living children - 1 first trimester miscarriage, 1 blighted ovum, 1 chemical, and one extreme premature live birth daughter who died at 15 days old.
That sounds so tough @ashley35209. I hope things continue to go well for you If you don't mind me asking, how do you know you have an underlying autoimmune disorder? I have had a lot of health issues over the last couple of years and late last year returned a speckled ANA result which may or may not mean I have lupus or sjörgens as well.. I'd never given it much thought but maybe I should bring it up today at my appointment...
@wiseh honestly I didn't know I did. MFM pulled labs to see if I had antithyroid antibodies (which is one cause of Grave's dz) since that could attack baby's thyroid. He decided to pull a whole panel because a few years back I had a terrible reaction to my antithyroid meds. I had antithyroid arthritis syndrome. They pulled labs when that happened and it was positive for lupus which they believed to be medication induced. So I think he just wanted to see if anything else was going on because I have had past evidence of an autoimmune issue. My titer is high (1:80) but I exhibit no symptoms currently.
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
@lalarose22 thank you! Ultrasound today was fine, though I think the OBGYN forgot something that we were supposed to look at, sigh. I realized it when I got home and just sent her a message. Also, today's appointment was flagged as a standard prenatal appointment, which means the front desk gave me a hard time about wanting my husband with me for the entire appointment. My initial blood pressure reading was (to quote my doctor) "dangerously high" after they insisted that he wait outside for the start of my appointment. The OBGYN agrees that we ought to be a temporary exception to standard procedures and she'll try to remember to speak with front desk staff and the medical assistants before future appointments, sigh.
Amnio and high-res ultrasound on Wednesday. It's possible they'll spot something worrying on the ultrasound, but it's more likely that we'll have another 2 week wait before results come back. This absolutely, positively sucks. I honestly keep expecting someone to tell me I have miscarried due to stress and near-daily crying. I feel heartless saying this, and I don't ever want to sound disrespectful of the pain and suffering that miscarriage has brought to others in this community, but in this particular case it would almost be a relief - sad and hard, but an end to long waits and no more scary potential procedures hanging over my head.
First time mom-to-be, due 9/25/22
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
@lilienne I understand where you are right now. I was hoping I'd miscarry because I figured if my ob was right I'd rather deal with that than a d&c then waiting between each US (thankfully we were given the I don't think there's anything wrong talk at the 18 week US so we didn't have to wait as long as you) to find out if it was viable was terrible. Hopefully you get the answers you need sooner than later.
Thanks you for sharing, @ashley35209. I have similar results so I will definitely bring it up today.
Sending you creepy internet hugs @lilienne. I can't imagine how hard this has been for you and your husband. I am keeping my fingers crossed for positive news tomorrow and again in 2 weeks
Saw the GP today. She didn’t really do anything pregnancy, just spoke to me about how I’m doing. I asked about the ANA results and she said it’s definitely something I need further testing for but because I wasn’t in town for long she wouldn’t do the testing 😩 bit of a waste of an appointment but oh well
Saw the OB this morning and was told to eat more! Never been told I don’t weigh enough at a doctors appointment 😂
by my records, Ive gained 10 lbs (measuring from pre-pregnancy) , but by theirs I’ve gained 4lbs (measuring from 6 wk appt). I was told clearly that the expectation from 26 weeks forward is a pound a week. I just feel full quicker at meals now. She said to start grazing all day instead of eating big meals.
@laj0217 I was told the same thing. Early pregnancy I actually lost 4 lbs due to morning sickness and I would like to say eating less junk when I can so I started out at a deficit. And now any time they ask I’m told to eat more. I hate grazing and honestly don’t have time and I get full really fast so it’s a struggle. I was recommended to start drinking smoothies with a scoop of protein added if I was having trouble keeping up. 🙄
I’ve definitely also never had the problem of not gaining enough weight so it’s strange to me 😂
@dsmith211 my anatomy scan is on Friday. If the baby looks okay/is measuring okay, I’ve decided I’m not going to worry about it and just keep doing what I’m doing.
Had my appointment with the MFM today. Finally, a male OB-type person I don't hate. I really liked this guy. He still recommends for a planned C-section, obviously, but he also listened to and understood my rationale for considering a TOLAC (especially given my history) and gave me some proactive suggestions for if I *do* choose to proceed with that. He also stated quite clearly that my previous C-section scar is a butcher job (which I knew) and told me something I did not know, which is that a planned C-section would allow for the possibility of a scar revision.
And my cervix is at 4.1 cm, which, while somewhat shorter than previously (4.5), is still longer than normal and thus not of concern ("concern" does not start until 3 cm or less).
So all in all, a good visit.
Current pregnancy - First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
Four prior losses, no living children - 1 first trimester miscarriage, 1 blighted ovum, 1 chemical, and one extreme premature live birth daughter who died at 15 days old.
@kboydbowman sounds like a good appt and a good OB. I like that he's leaving the decision up to you and not forcing a c-section even though that's what he'd be most comfortable with. Would it be him that would be there for the birth or your other OB?
@babywiik No, he is the maternal fetal medicine guy. My OB wanted me to do a consult with him. If I end up having a scheduled c-section, it will almost certainly be my OB. If I choose to go the TOLAC route, it will be whoever happens to be on call that day.
Current pregnancy - First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
Four prior losses, no living children - 1 first trimester miscarriage, 1 blighted ovum, 1 chemical, and one extreme premature live birth daughter who died at 15 days old.
So at my 20 week ultrasound, the doctor described my placenta like this: “usually the umbilical cord attaches to the Center of the placenta. Yours is off to the side. We will bring you back at 30 weeks to see that baby is growing properly”. I don’t know the term for this but that’s how he described it. Also my placenta is a little low but he said 90% of those resolve!
Does anyone have any experience with this? I’m feeling stressed.
@melyrae I do not have any experience with that, but I did have funny shaped placenta with my last and was told it was molar, then perhaps and acardiac twin then it resolved its self. The MFM I saw said we've only been looking into the early uterus for about 30-40 years and there are so much we don't know that works just fine but is not "typical" she said my placenta worked just fine but because it wasn't typical it caused alarm, because the OB I saw hadn't seen it look like that before. In history there have likely been many many placentas that look like mine, but we haven't been able to see them. That made some sense to me when they had no idea what was going on.
Yesterday's amnio went smoothly. It definitely hurt, but not all that badly. I'm muscle sore and feeling a little twinge-y today, but nothing terrible. If anyone else here ends up opting in for an amnio, it isn't as scary as I thought it might be. They didn't see any soft markers for a chromosomal abnormality, but that isn't quite as exciting as it sounds - the presence of soft markers would have been cause for concern, but at 16w4d their absence doesn't mean a whole lot. Still, it gives us one less thing to worry about.
They say we should have results in 10-14 days, and the geneticist says she'll call the lab early next week just to make sure everything is going smoothly with the culture. I'm a little curious to see if they'll disclose anything specific about what they're seeing so far, but I'm not holding my breath!
First time mom-to-be, due 9/25/22
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
@lilienne I'm so glad it wasn't as terrible as it sounds. It sounds like it would be incredibly painful. The wait will be awful, I'm sorry about that, but I hope they get it done by the 10 day mark.
@jhysmath it hurt, for sure - but it was tolerable and didn't take very long. Details in a spoiler below, so I don't accidentally squick anyone out! It's certainly worth avoiding if you aren't a high-risk pregnancy, but I have to admit that after my current experience I'm leery of trusting NIPS again. I would certainly be willing to do an amnio again with a subsequent pregnancy, it wasn't too painful or too scary for me to go through it again. Since we've already been in limbo for over a month, another 10-14 days sounds doable - but that's just an indication that you can get used to anything, if you don't have any other choice.
Obviously everyone's experience will be different, but in case it's helpful these are my notes on the amnio. The surprise for me was that it didn't just hurt when the needle went in - it hurt twice, once when it first went in and once a split second later, I'm guessing when it went through the uterus. I didn't feel a ton of period-like cramping (what I was warned about), but my right leg tensed hard and then cramped, and I felt the muscle tension across the right side of my rib cage and arm, too.
The sonographer was really good about reminding me to breathe, and the perinatologist talked me through how it was going, when I was at the half-way mark, and when I was almost done. Those were really helpful. They also let my husband sit right next to me and hold my hand, though they said they were taking a slight risk - sometimes the partner faints and disrupts the procedure!
I made a point of a) not looking at the needle, and b) not looking at the ultrasound while the needle was inserted. I know everyone's threshold is different, but I felt like both of those would be too scary. My husband commented later that the needle was pretty scary looking, so I think I made the right decision - though he did look at it, and he watched on ultrasound, and he found it fascinating.
I felt really sore for the first 10 minutes or so after the procedure - the needle went in slightly on the right side of my abdomen, and if I tried to carry my purse or water bottle in my right hand it felt like something was going to go wrong. That went away really quickly, though, and after that I mostly felt sore from the muscles that had cramped. Today if I walk around or stay standing for too long the injection site starts to feel a little twinge-y, but sitting and resting fixes that. I think I'm recovering a little more slowly than expected, but without anything really dramatic - it just feels like I should probably wait longer before doing anything really active.
First time mom-to-be, due 9/25/22
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
@lilienne Thank you for that detailed description. I still can't imagine everything you're going through, but seeing explanations of things you don't commonly hear about is always helpful for understanding the big picture. I hope you get some answers soon, and hopefully they're the ones you want. 💛
@trapperkeeper87 if I'm going to have to go through this, I hope it can at least do someone some good as far as learning more about this stuff. They said they would check in early this coming week to let me know how the culture looks. I'm guessing that's more of a, "the culture process is working and we think we'll have answers by x date," update rather than a "here's what we're seeing so far," update. After weeks of being impatient with the wait, I'm starting to dread the call.
First time mom-to-be, due 9/25/22
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
Current pregnancy - First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
Four prior losses, no living children - 1 first trimester miscarriage, 1 blighted ovum, 1 chemical, and one extreme premature live birth daughter who died at 15 days old.
@pangolindrome as someone who donated blood a lot pre children, there's a difference between nice iron rich blood and when you're lacking. I could always tell if I'd fail the iron test just looking the drop off blood. I'm sure you have nice iron levels!
@kboydbowman I am awkward with praise, so I was all “Oh thank you! ^_^” @jhysmath That’s good to hear. She called it beautiful and very well-hydrated too 😆 I am finally eligible to donate as of the pandemic (been in Europe for more than 5 years since 1980. Duh I was born there) and they lifted the restrictions on Europeans. I’m excited to help out after pregnancy.
We heard back! Not the very best possible news, but we're feeling relieved and excited nonetheless. Our amnio showed low percentage mosaicism (15% abnormal cells). Not the best outcome we could have hoped for, but far from the worst. We're going to proceed and hope for the best. Some people with 15% mosaicism go undiagnosed their entire lives, while others have significant delays and some medical issues. We don't have a good way of predicting which side of the scale we will fall on, but the odds feel good enough for us to want to take the chance.
We probably won't make any big announcements until after our anatomy ultrasound in a few weeks, and when we make our big announcement to friends/family I think we won't mention the mosaicism at all. I don't want to risk stigmatizing a child who may not have any visible or diagnosable signs of her genetics. If she does have visible "tells," we'll talk to folks about it then. So, we're trying to make the transition from "our hands are tied until we know more" into "oh my gosh we're having a baby!" I know some part of me should be disappointed that the results weren't 100% normal, but to be honest all I feel right now is relief.
First time mom-to-be, due 9/25/22
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
@lilienne Such good news! I hope you feel proud of yourself. You've been strong and courageous in the face of incredible uncertainty, and your daughter is lucky she'll have you as her mom!
Thank you all! This was an insane thing to go through, I can't believe it took so long for us to get real answers. As for being "strong and courageous," I feel like I should point out that I have spent a ton of this waiting time crying and having panic attacks...still, I think that would probably have been true of anyone in my situation, so I'll take the compliment! I'm just so glad to have answers, and so relieved not to feel like I need to terminate this pregnancy.
First time mom-to-be, due 9/25/22
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
@lilienne what great news! I’m so happy that you not only got results back faster than expected, but that they are fairly positive, all things considered. You’ve been an absolute rockstar through this. 💚
@lilienne Remember, strength and courage isn't the absence of stress/fear in tough situations - it's wading through it until you come out the other side! So glad you have answers!
obviously we talk regularly so you already know this, but I'm still so very happy for you.
Current pregnancy - First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
Four prior losses, no living children - 1 first trimester miscarriage, 1 blighted ovum, 1 chemical, and one extreme premature live birth daughter who died at 15 days old.
@lilienne that's such great news! I hope now you can take a breath for a bit and really start enjoying the little human you're growing. I would choose to announce the same way you chose to.
Re: April Appointments Thread
Maternal Fetal Medicine, also known as a neonatologist. Basically an OBGYN that specializes in high risk pregnancies.
First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
ANA screen: positive
ANA titer: 1:80 high
ANA pattern: nuclear, speckled
Sjogren's antibody (SS-A): 8.0 positive
Sjogren's antibody (SS-B): <1 negative
They pulled a bunch of other things which were normal.
Amnio and high-res ultrasound on Wednesday. It's possible they'll spot something worrying on the ultrasound, but it's more likely that we'll have another 2 week wait before results come back. This absolutely, positively sucks. I honestly keep expecting someone to tell me I have miscarried due to stress and near-daily crying. I feel heartless saying this, and I don't ever want to sound disrespectful of the pain and suffering that miscarriage has brought to others in this community, but in this particular case it would almost be a relief - sad and hard, but an end to long waits and no more scary potential procedures hanging over my head.
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
Sending you creepy internet hugs @lilienne. I can't imagine how hard this has been for you and your husband. I am keeping my fingers crossed for positive news tomorrow and again in 2 weeks
by my records, Ive gained 10 lbs (measuring from pre-pregnancy) , but by theirs I’ve gained 4lbs (measuring from 6 wk appt). I was told clearly that the expectation from 26 weeks forward is a pound a week. I just feel full quicker at meals now. She said to start grazing all day instead of eating big meals.
I’ve definitely also never had the problem of not gaining enough weight so it’s strange to me 😂
And my cervix is at 4.1 cm, which, while somewhat shorter than previously (4.5), is still longer than normal and thus not of concern ("concern" does not start until 3 cm or less).
So all in all, a good visit.
First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
Obviously everyone's experience will be different, but in case it's helpful these are my notes on the amnio. The surprise for me was that it didn't just hurt when the needle went in - it hurt twice, once when it first went in and once a split second later, I'm guessing when it went through the uterus. I didn't feel a ton of period-like cramping (what I was warned about), but my right leg tensed hard and then cramped, and I felt the muscle tension across the right side of my rib cage and arm, too.
The sonographer was really good about reminding me to breathe, and the perinatologist talked me through how it was going, when I was at the half-way mark, and when I was almost done. Those were really helpful. They also let my husband sit right next to me and hold my hand, though they said they were taking a slight risk - sometimes the partner faints and disrupts the procedure!
I made a point of a) not looking at the needle, and b) not looking at the ultrasound while the needle was inserted. I know everyone's threshold is different, but I felt like both of those would be too scary. My husband commented later that the needle was pretty scary looking, so I think I made the right decision - though he did look at it, and he watched on ultrasound, and he found it fascinating.
I felt really sore for the first 10 minutes or so after the procedure - the needle went in slightly on the right side of my abdomen, and if I tried to carry my purse or water bottle in my right hand it felt like something was going to go wrong. That went away really quickly, though, and after that I mostly felt sore from the muscles that had cramped. Today if I walk around or stay standing for too long the injection site starts to feel a little twinge-y, but sitting and resting fixes that. I think I'm recovering a little more slowly than expected, but without anything really dramatic - it just feels like I should probably wait longer before doing anything really active.
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
I would be like, "err....thanks?"
First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.
@jhysmath That’s good to hear. She called it beautiful and very well-hydrated too 😆 I am finally eligible to donate as of the pandemic (been in Europe for more than 5 years since 1980. Duh I was born there) and they lifted the restrictions on Europeans. I’m excited to help out after pregnancy.
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
Some complicated chromosomal stuff going on - our fingers are crossed, but this may not go according to plan!
First BFP on 1/4/22. Due date 9/13/22.