6w 6d...apparently empty sac...UPDATE: MISDIAGNOSED

[amyceleste]

Hi all,

Last Friday I went to have my first ultrasound. According to the date of my last period, I was 6w 6days. When the doctor did the ultrasound she saw an empty sac and told me to come back in one week (this Friday) and to repeat my HCG before leaving. She said the results were inconclusive.

Here's some background info...

First, I was diagnosed with PCOS at 18 (14 years ago) and went on the pill. In Feb 2006 I was off for 2 weeks and conceived. My son was born 10/06 at 35 weeks. I had a low implantation which caused first trimester bleeding but otherwise my pregnancy was basically uneventful until I developed prenatal hypertension at 32 weeks and had my early c-section at 35w 4d. My son is a healthy and perfect almost 2 year old.

In May 08, we were not trying but had a chemical pregnancy. I found out I was pregnant, HCG was only 14, started bleeding the next day and levels dropped to nothing.

I went on metformin and off the pill in June 08. I also started charting ovulation through BBT. Nothing happened in June. However, in July, I did not get my period as expected. I ovulated on or about July 14th, which was day 17 of the cycle (late). On August 5th I called the doctor and got an HCG of 928. 3 days later we repeated and it was 2445.

Seven days later I had my ultrasound where they just saw a sac. At this time the doctor said my uterus was tilted back. They did a transvaginal which showed nothing, she said, because of the tilted uterus. They tried to do an abdominal but that also showed nothing because I have a lot of scar tissue from the c-section. When I repeated my levels last Friday, they were 20,000.

I have another ultrasound in 2 days (Friday). I am going in tomorrow to repeat the HCG again. I'm having a ton of pregnancy symptoms (stomach issues, heartburn, sore breasts, fatigue, leukorrhea, etc.)

My doctor called on Monday and told me to prepare that this might be a blighted ovum. I told her I am not giving up yet because of what I read here. I think the fact that I ovulated late probably means the date of my LMP would not accurrately predict how far along I am, and that is how they were measuring. Further, the tilted uterus makes me wonder if that is the issue.

Any thoughts on the subject are appreciated. I wonder if my HCG would have gone up so much in one week's time if this were a blighted ovum. I know it can continue to rise but I wonder how much. I also wonder if I would be so sick, tired, etc. if the pregnancy were not there. And, how much does the tilted uterus really play into all of this? I have already decided to wait and let nature run its course, regardless of what happens Friday, but, how long might I be waiting to figure all this out? I will, according to LMP, be 7w 6d on Friday at the ultrasound, but I think it may be closer to 7w based on the ovulation date.

Prayers, please! I've already been on the case to St. Gianna, patron saint of unborn children, and Mary. But the more prayers I can get the better, and the more info I can get, the better. My doctor does not like to discuss all the possibilities right now because she said there's not enough information. Please help!

[amyceleste]

PS - this might not have been clear from reading my post above:

The results of the ultrasound were inconclusive.

and...

My HCG levels went from 2445 to 20,000 in 7 days time (Friday to Friday).

[amyceleste]

Ultrasound is tomorrow. Any words of advice, encouragement, responses??? Thanks.

[amyceleste]

I am just back from my ultrasound and we saw my baby today. The heartbeat was strong. I measured 7w 4d.

Thanks for all your...support. Unfortunately no one replied to me but at least I saw something today.

[nervous1]

I'm at 5 wk 5 days gestation and I went in for an u/s today. A few days ago they only saw a small sac, and they wanted to rule out an ectopic pregnancy. Today's u/s showed nothing! No sac or anything. They couldn't find anything in the uterus, in the tubes, or anywhere else! How could this be? My beta yesterday was 1961.1 so they're saying they should see something. I have no pain, cramps, or bleeding. No symptoms. They told me to repeat the blood on Monday and come in for a repeat sono next week. I'm holding out hope that maybe it's just a late show like yours. I'm so happy for you that you finally saw something today. Wish me luck that I see something next week. Keep me posted on how you progress. God bless!

[amyceleste]

Nervous,
Keep the faith. That is all I can say. It is still early. My uterus is high and tilted which made seeing anything hard transvaginally, and I have scar tissue from my c-section, which made an abdominal read difficult, too. I think the baby had to get big enough so that it could be seen through the abdomen, which is how we saw baby today.

There are a number of reasons that could be the reason why you didn't see your baby right away. Please keep the faith. I will be praying for you. Let me know how it goes.

Amy

[CINC]

Amy- I'm sorry no one replied to your post earlier... I am REALLY glad you saw your baby. Congratulations on your great outcome!

[amyceleste]

CINC - Thanks. It was helpful and gave me hope to just be here and read the stories of others.

I also wanted to say...my HCG was repeated yesterday and went from 20,000 last Friday to 71,000 yesterday.

When I was in the shower this morning, I was not really thinking, but suddenly realized that there was something running through my head. When I stopped to think about what it was, I realized that it was the song "Be Not Afraid" (I go before you always, come, follow me, and I will give you rest). One of my favorite "church songs" of all time. I knew at that moment that no matter what, God was with me, and it would be OK.

My prayers are with each of you. Please continue to pray for me, too.

Amy

[Kay]

Amy, you really are going to help so many women just by sharing your story here. Thank you. I am so happy for you!!!

[amyceleste]

Thanks Kay. What a great resource this is. I've appreciated having these stories to read during this very long week of waiting.

Amy

[Legislady]

Amy:

That's such great news. Congratulations. I also got good news at my ultrasound today. Just a little background:

Ten days ago I got good news and bad news. The good news was that they saw a yolk sack in my uterus (rather than in my tube) and the bad news was that I was measuring approx. 10 days behind what I should be according to the ultrasound (measured at 5 weeks rather than 6 weeks +/- days). My doctor gave us a 50/50 chance of this being a viable pregnancy and he scheduled a repeat ultrasound 10 days later (which was today, Friday - 8/22) to see if there had been any growth, if not, then it would have been considered a non-viable pregnancy and we probably would have had to terminate.

I do want to mention that at the time of that ultrasound, the tech mentioned that my uterus was tilted? Fast forward to today...

I'm back from the doctor, and God has given us the sign we needed to know that all will be well. Although, for whatever reason (I'm convinced that it's due to my tilted uterus though) I am still measuring approx. 2 weeks behind, my doctor does not seemed overly concerned by that since we saw a baby and a heartbeat today. Small of course, but with the breath of life in it. I know that I am just a vessel for this child of God, and today gave me the assurance of believing and trusting in him. Of course, we are not out of the woodwork yet, but we went from a 50/50 chance to a 90/10 chance (in my favor). God is good. We go back for another ultrasound on Sept. 5. Yes, I have hope and I am believing and trusting in the Lord to watch over me and this baby.

Tracey

[amyceleste]

Tracey,

That is great news! I will continue to pray for you. I am sure the titled uterus is causing some of your issues; mine is tilted and sits high and that makes accuracy very difficult, according to the doctor.

From things I have read here, it seems that things will even out once you get closer to the middle of the second trimester.

Hang in there and keep the faith!!!

Amy

[Legislady]

Thanks Amy. I will continue to keep you in my prayers as well. Things are sounding so good for you.

Yes, I think things will "even" themselves out after the first trimester for me too.

Let's stay in touch. God Bless!

Tracey

[cheer]

Great news for Amy and Tracey. I hope I will be joining you with good news of my own next week.
We are so lucky to have stories like yours to help us keep strong. I know I am so deflated these stories are the only things keeping me moving during this waiting period!

[Legislady]

SAD UPDATE: Unfortunately, our joy was very short lived, one day after seeing baby and heartbeat, we LOST the baby yesterday (Saturday, 8/23). I had to have an emergency D & C. I have no words to describe what I am feeling right now. I am numb.

God Bless and Good Luck to you all!

Tracey