Friday, June 8, 2012

Not what we were expecting.

Well everyone, its time for a story. On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, I found out that I was pregnant! Yay, I was so excited!! I immediately called my Dr to tell him! I told him I was so surprised because I had been spotting for the last week and a half, which was so weird, and that morning I just woke up thinking.. hmm I wonder what would happen if I took a test today. Well obviously it was positive, however my Dr. was concerned about all of the spotting I had had, and he also wanted to make sure that it wasnt a false positive. So he ordered a blood test for the next day, and then one 48hrs after that. They tested my HCG and my progesterone. On Wednesday my HCG was 189 (definitely pregnant.. but probably only a few weeks along!) and my progesterone was 1.5. In case you dont know, a normal, healthy pregnancy should double or triple the HCG level every other day, and have a progesterone level of 10. WHAT?! Yep. So basically my body doesnt produce progesterone by its self. This is a bad thing. For the first few weeks your body produces progesterone so that they baby will stay in and grow. Once the uterus is fully formed, then it takes over producing the progesterone. So basically... no progesterone.. no baby. This is also another reason why I havent been ovulating! Good to know! So my Dr gave me some progesterone pills to take every night. Anyway, back to baby. Friday my HCG was 332 (not quite doubled) and my progesterone was 2.3. Bad. The following Tuesday my HCG was 775 (barely doubled in 4 days) and my progesterone was 3.7. Still bad. We double my progesterone. Hopefully that will help. I get a call from my Dr. and he said that because my HCG levels arent raising high enough fast enough that means that Im probably going to miscarry. Soon. Im crushed. He says that if I dont miscarry (which he thinks I definitely will) by the weekend, then in one week we'll do another blood test to see whats going on. I went home bawling, and asked Spencer for a blessing. He gave me one before he went to class, and then we called my dad and he and Spencer gave me another blessing that night. I was told that my Heavenly Father was aware of what was going on, and that everything would be in His hands. I would recover to full health, and the baby would also recover to full health. On which side of the veil, we're not sure. But it still comforts me a little. Every day I wait and wait for the signs of a miscarriage, they never come. Tuesday I take another blood test. Wednesday morning my Dr. calls me and my HCG is 1375 (it didnt even double in one whole week!) on the plus side, my progesterone is finally at a 10. Not that it matters, because my Dr doesnt think that there is a baby in there. Its most likely just tissue growing, he tells me. They wanted to do an ultrasound the next day to find out how much tissue there is, and where its at, but we were leaving that night for California! I was told that everything should be fine, we'll do the ultrasound the following Tuesday. However, if I start having pain while we're there, then go immediately to the ER because that means it was probably an ectopic pregnancy. The chances of that are very low, but he just wanted to cover all the bases. We go to California, we have a wonderful time (post below). We got back Monday night and Tuesday at 3:00 I went in for my ultrasound. I had to drink 42oz of water one hour before, and hold it! So at about 2:30, I was uncomfortable. By 2:40, Im in pain. By 3:00 Im telling them to go fast before my bladder explodes! They started out with a normal ultrasound, taking pictures, moving around, squeezing more goop onto my belly, calling other tech's to look at the screen. All the while the pain is getting worse, and worse, as they push and move all over the place. Then we take a break, I go pee.. when I come back I realize Im still in pain. It wasnt the full bladder that was making me uncomfortable like I thought it was. Then they do a vaginal ultrasound, take more pictures, move around, call people. I asked them to move the screen a little so that I could see it too, not that I know anything about ultrasounds, or what I would be looking at.. but I just wanted to look. They did, and as Im chanting in my head its almost over, its almost over I see it. The heartbeat. I hear it too, which just confirms what I know to be true. That baby is alive, and growing. It has a heart beat! I cant believe it! When they're finally done they tell me to get dressed and wait in the waiting room for my Dr to call me. (I knew this would happen because ultrasound tech's never tell you what is going on) Finally, I get the call. My Dr tells me he is so sorry, but that tiny small nearly impossible chance of the ectopic pregnancy.. was exactly what I had going on. I was 10 weeks along and the baby was stuck in my left Fallopian tube, not only that but it was already starting to rip. The pain that I started getting at 2:40, was exactly that. My tube starting to tear. He told me that I would have to have immediate surgery, they would take the baby, and my tube, and it was going to happen in a few hours. I frantically called Spencer (who never answers his phone) while waiting for a nurse to take me upstairs. I finally had to call my mom and ask her to pick him up and bring him to the Hospital! (I had our only car!) Spencer, and my parents met me upstairs in my room. Many tears were shed before we were able to talk to the Dr who would be operating on me. He told me that recovery time is 4-6 weeks, and we have to wait 3 months before we start trying again. However, I am very lucky because if we would have waited and scheduled the ultrasound for Wednesday, it would have been too late. My tube would have burst, and if I didnt get to the hospital in time, then I would have died. They took me into surgery around 8ish, the surgery went just as planned, they took the baby, and my left tube. We stayed the night at the hospital and went home the next morning. I was bed ridden for about 3 days, moving slowly and trying to stay entertained. Each day I feel a little bit better than the last, which is good, and although this is a horrible thing that has happened, I know we'll get past it. I have Spencer by my side, and one day we will get to raise this baby in the Millennium. That one thought keeps me going.

4 comments:

Whitney said...

I'm so sorry for your struggles Nicole! They really do only make us stronger though. You will be a better mom for having gone through this. My thoughts & prayers are with you! xoxo

Dacia said...

What a sweet perspective, Nic. I'm sorry for that, but it is humbling to me the way you two are handling it. :) Isn't eternity such a beautiful blessing? Love you! Thanks for posting!

LC said...

I love you. So glad we know families are forever and that life is eternal. Gives us hope during sad times. We love you so much.

Kayla said...

I am so happy you decided to post this! I love you so much and think you and Spencer are amazing and have amazing things in store for you! You are such a strength to me Nicole! Thanks for letting me be apart of your journey! I hope your feeling good! Love you lots. you Really are one of my best friends!