Hi everyone! When I last updated, my beta went from 115 down to 65 only 4 days after my Methotrexate injection. I had another beta 3 days later and that one came back at 26! I was starting to get very nervous that my number was either going back up or staying the same. I had taken a Dollar Tree pregnancy test the morning of my latest beta and got a faint line. After much research, those are supposed to detect levels of 25 or higher so looking back and knowing that my beta was 26...those buggers are sensitive! Anways, that same day, around lunch time I started getting some intense period like cramping (the day before I experienced spotting, but no cramping). By the next morning (6/19) I was getting debilitating cramps and passing a lot of large clots. It was super fun at work because ALL of my co-workers are male so of course I had to act like everything was peachy. I contacted my Dr and he said it all sounded normal...I had to "pass" what he now believed was indeed a new, ectopic pregnancy (this is based on how I responded to the methotrexate and symptoms I had experienced since the shots). Saturday was just as bad, if not worse than Friday as far as bleeding and cramping. I wasn't soaking through pads consistently but between being on my feet hosting a bridal shower, being in the heat/humidity all day and the bleeding, I came SO close to passing out several times. By Sunday things had calmed down to the point that it felt like a regular period. Today is Wednesday and cramps are gone and I'm spotting just a miniscule amount. I go in for another beta tomorrow morning and I'm hoping it'll be my last for a while. I'm ready to put this nightmare behind me. I don't think I've slept more than 6 hours a night in the last three weeks. I just can't seem to shut my mind off at night and I'm so stressed and worried about how this will all turn out. I will keep you all posted after I get my results tomorrow!
Thanks for all the support!
-Ashley
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Short Update
Hey everyone! As promised, I have the results of what my 3rd beta was and what has been done since then. Last update, my beta was 91 (6/3) and 111 (6/5). When I went in on 6/10 it only rose to 115. Clearly, if this was a new pregnancy it's impossible that it's viable, based on those numbers alone. My Doctor decided he wanted to try giving me a Methotrexate (http://www.drugs.com/methotrexate.html) injection before we moved forward with additional surgeries. On Thursday, June 11 I went in and got 2 shots. Other than a mild burning sensation the experience wasn't terrible. I returned to work the next day and the only side effects I really noticed were fatigue, mild/moderate cramping and occasional nausea. By 5 days post injection I experienced VERY light spotting. Overall, it really wasn't bad. The best part about the whole experience was my beta level on 6/15...my Doctor told me not to get discouraged with the first beta too much because for many people the shot doesn't even start working for 3-4 days so he was hoping for a 15% drop at best. My result was 65! My beta dropped by 50 in only 4 days! I have my next beta tomorrow morning and I'm hoping to be around 40. IF I end up plateauing at a certain level, I will most likely have to still go in for a third D&C. I don't know if another methotrexate injection will be an option but I would be willing to try it before going through surgery again. That is all for now, I will be sure to update again in a few days.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Whirlwind
I feel like it's been an eternity since I've posted something other than bad news on my blog. Unfortunately that's just the way things have been the last several months. I keep thinking to myself...who did I piss off so much to get all this bad karma. Things have been overwhelming, to say the least.
So like I mentioned in my last post, I had my post-op appointment on Friday, May 29. We discussed various testing that could be done to determine why we're in the "recurrent miscarriage" category now and also talked about contraceptives. I mentioned to my Doctor that my cycle hadn't returned yet (4w1d post op) and he said we'd give it another 2 weeks or so and I may have to take Provera again. I also decided I wanted to try the Mirena IUD so when my cycle did return, we would make that appointment and get that placed. Fast forward a few days (Wednesday, June 3 to be exact) I had the strongest gut feeling to take an ovulation test, and it was very positive. I thought it was odd but not unheard of to ovulate that late after a D&C and continued with my morning routine and then headed to work. That whole morning at work I kept thinking about that test. I came to the realization that the only times I've ever had THAT positive of an ovulation test, I was pregnant. I rushed home on my lunch break, made a pit stop at the drug store and bought a box of FRER tests. I only had about an hour hold on my urine so I was wondering if anything would come up...and it did. I was freaking the f out. I called my Doctors office about 10 minutes after I took the test and they wanted me to come in for a beta that day. I went in for my beta at 2 pm and by 4 pm they called and said the results came back at 91. I asked the nurse a MILLION questions...Is it safe to be pregnant this soon after a D&C? Would there be any lining for the baby to attach to? Is this even a new pregnancy? She answered what she could and scheduled me to come in 2 days later, Friday June 5, for another beta and said we will know more then. I went in that Friday and also requested to have all my blood clotting/genetic testing done at the same time. I figured if this is a new pregnancy, we will want to know these other results asap! After having SIXTEEN vials of blood taken, I continued on with my day. I actually had the day off work and was spending it with my sister who happens to live in the same town as my Doctors office. That afternoon the nurse called with my results...111. My beta level only went up by 20 in 2 days. She said my Doctor wanted to do an internal ultrasound and asked how quickly I could be there. Fifteen minutes later I was in the Doctors office. I had the ultrasound done and went into an exam room and waited. My Doctor came in and said he doesn't know what is going on...not something that is very comforting to hear! My ultrasound was basically inconclusive. He said we are dealing with one of three options:
1. New pregnancy, that based on the beta numbers will most likely end in miscarriage. (possible blighted ovum or ectopic)
2. Leftover tissue from my last D&C
3. Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (http://www.cancer.org/cancer/gestationaltrophoblasticdisease/detailedguide/gestational-trophoblastic-disease-what-is-g-t-d)
If it is a new pregnancy, it's too early to see much of anything on the ultrasound. If it's leftover tissue, it is such a miniscule amount that the ultrasound isn't really picking up a good image of it. And if it's GTD, it's in the earliest of stages...which is also too difficult to see. So he suggested getting a third beta this Wednesday, June 10. Based on the numbers, that will hopefully give us a better idea as to what is happening. My options will either be Methotrexate to treat both GTD or possible ectopic pregnancy, or another D&C to remove leftover tissue or possible blighted ovum. So these are the cards we've been dealt at this point. I will try my best to update on here after my third beta results. Please keep us in your prayers this week! <3
Here are some of the pictures to sum up this crazy week....
So like I mentioned in my last post, I had my post-op appointment on Friday, May 29. We discussed various testing that could be done to determine why we're in the "recurrent miscarriage" category now and also talked about contraceptives. I mentioned to my Doctor that my cycle hadn't returned yet (4w1d post op) and he said we'd give it another 2 weeks or so and I may have to take Provera again. I also decided I wanted to try the Mirena IUD so when my cycle did return, we would make that appointment and get that placed. Fast forward a few days (Wednesday, June 3 to be exact) I had the strongest gut feeling to take an ovulation test, and it was very positive. I thought it was odd but not unheard of to ovulate that late after a D&C and continued with my morning routine and then headed to work. That whole morning at work I kept thinking about that test. I came to the realization that the only times I've ever had THAT positive of an ovulation test, I was pregnant. I rushed home on my lunch break, made a pit stop at the drug store and bought a box of FRER tests. I only had about an hour hold on my urine so I was wondering if anything would come up...and it did. I was freaking the f out. I called my Doctors office about 10 minutes after I took the test and they wanted me to come in for a beta that day. I went in for my beta at 2 pm and by 4 pm they called and said the results came back at 91. I asked the nurse a MILLION questions...Is it safe to be pregnant this soon after a D&C? Would there be any lining for the baby to attach to? Is this even a new pregnancy? She answered what she could and scheduled me to come in 2 days later, Friday June 5, for another beta and said we will know more then. I went in that Friday and also requested to have all my blood clotting/genetic testing done at the same time. I figured if this is a new pregnancy, we will want to know these other results asap! After having SIXTEEN vials of blood taken, I continued on with my day. I actually had the day off work and was spending it with my sister who happens to live in the same town as my Doctors office. That afternoon the nurse called with my results...111. My beta level only went up by 20 in 2 days. She said my Doctor wanted to do an internal ultrasound and asked how quickly I could be there. Fifteen minutes later I was in the Doctors office. I had the ultrasound done and went into an exam room and waited. My Doctor came in and said he doesn't know what is going on...not something that is very comforting to hear! My ultrasound was basically inconclusive. He said we are dealing with one of three options:
1. New pregnancy, that based on the beta numbers will most likely end in miscarriage. (possible blighted ovum or ectopic)
2. Leftover tissue from my last D&C
3. Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (http://www.cancer.org/cancer/gestationaltrophoblasticdisease/detailedguide/gestational-trophoblastic-disease-what-is-g-t-d)
If it is a new pregnancy, it's too early to see much of anything on the ultrasound. If it's leftover tissue, it is such a miniscule amount that the ultrasound isn't really picking up a good image of it. And if it's GTD, it's in the earliest of stages...which is also too difficult to see. So he suggested getting a third beta this Wednesday, June 10. Based on the numbers, that will hopefully give us a better idea as to what is happening. My options will either be Methotrexate to treat both GTD or possible ectopic pregnancy, or another D&C to remove leftover tissue or possible blighted ovum. So these are the cards we've been dealt at this point. I will try my best to update on here after my third beta results. Please keep us in your prayers this week! <3
Here are some of the pictures to sum up this crazy week....
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| The OPK I took the morning of 6/3 |
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| First FRER taken on my lunch break on 6/3 |
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