My misdiagnosed miscarriage story...

[gonetoexplore]

Background information:
LMP : May 18, 2007
Ovulation guesstimate : June 1
Tried to get pregnant : June 1, 2, 3 & 4
Positive home pregnancy test : June 15, 2007 and June 18, 2007
hCG levels : June 20, 2007 - 518, June 27, 2007 - 1949, July 10, 2007 - 52,000
Today's Date : FRIDAY, July 13th, 2007. It has been eight weeks since my LMP, and the gestational age should be six weeks.

After some MINOR spotting a few weeks ago (by minor I mean very little blood noticed after wiping when urinating) my doctor wanted to schedule a vaginal ultrasound to make sure everything was going smoothly. My hCG numbers, while falling well within the range of normal, were not rising as high as they would have liked, so there was some concern. So, this Tuesday, July 10, 2007 I had a vaginal ultrasound.

To our disappointment, the ultrasound showed an empty gestational sac, with no baby or heartbeat present. At all. I remained fairly calm and collected, knowing that this probably meant we had lost the baby and I was going to miscarry. The midwife was certain that the pregnancy was not viable, but scheduled another ultrasound (with a better machine) to confirm, as well as another blood test to read my hCG numbers, but began talking about scheduling a D&C. The blood test results came back high (52,000), but the midwife was again certain I was going to miscarry.

So, today, Friday the 13th, I went to get a second vaginal ultrasound. Expecting the worst, but of course hoping for the best, I expected to see yet another empty sac. The tech IMMEDIATELY saw a sac, WITH a REAL live baby and a REAL live HEARTBEAT and announced, "Well, you're pregnant." Even I could see the baby with the fluttering heart beating at a normal rate of 131 bpm and measured 6 weeks, 4 days.

As you can imagine my husband and I have had a roller coaster of a week and I have decided to post my story because for those few days this site gave me hope. As a realist, I knew that this could be a miscarriage, but of course still felt there might be a possibility that the first ultrasound was wrong, and it was.

My biggest problem with this was how the midwife handled the situation. Clearly, my case is not a historical one. Clearly, this happens quite often. I am somewhat disturbed with how everything transpired. Instead of immediately jumping to conclusions that I was going to have a miscarriage, she should have mentioned that this might be a miscarriage, but we should run some blood work to test your hCG levels and get another ultrasound AND go from there. Instead, she was talking about scheduling a D&C on Friday so I would have the weekend to recoup. She was absolutely convinced this was not a viable pregnancy.

If you are pregnant and diagnosed with a blighted ovum, get a second or third opinion. Get blood work drawn. Have another ultrasound performed with another machine. There are too many people out there misdiagnosed. For me, I was going to keep a ray of hope as long as my hCG numbers rose. If you are in the medical field, please THINK about how you present this information to your patients. Don't sugar coat it, but don't immediately assume the worst until all tests and procedures are exhausted.

Best of luck to all of you who have/are going through similar circumstances.

[bunnys]

Thanks for sharing your recent story. I am so glad to hear that it all worked out for you. I think you are right that your midwife should have handled it better. THe u/s tech was even more blunt (if that's possible) with Dh and I.

We went for u/s Thursday July 5th (my lmp was 3 days before yours). We saw a beautiful baby in the sack but no hb. We are still waiting for a recheck u/s but the docs didn't really want us to have one. They too have been discussing out options. While I knoe that my situation may not turn out as yours has, I am still hoping and praying that it will.

So happy for you and wishing you a healthy and happy rest of your pregnancy.

[gonetoexplore]

I think it is important for all of us to support each other throughout these tough times, whether a positive or negative outcome, we can stay strong and know that there is a support community out there, going through the same emotions. Good luck with your scheduled visit.

[HollyfrmSC]

I can't tell you how wonderful it was to read your post today. My husband and I have been going through a very similiar situation. We go on Wednesday for our 2nd u/s. My LMP was May 18th, and I was doing the ovulatoin kit--so I know my surge was June 3rd or 4th. I took the at home preg test on June 16th and it was positive. My HCG levels were taken on 6/18 and it was 145, 6/35 it was 532 and 6/27 it was 1132. We went for our first u/s on July 6th and all they saw was a gestational sac and I was told it was a blighted ovum. My doctor pretty much told us that I needed to have the D&C---he didn't even suggest a 2nd u/s. I cried--and then he said, well we can come back in a week and do another u/s. Well after reading so many posts on here--my husband and I decided to postpone the u/s to July 18th to give the baby more time to grow. Anyway----I pray our outcome is as wonderful as yours was and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Holly

[Kay]

Yay!!! That is truly wonderful news.

Too many doctors and midwives are much too quick to doom pregnancies. I had babies appear several weeks late with both my pregnancy. With my first though, I didn't even know to worry because they simply said to come back in a few weeks and didn't tell me it could be a blighted ovum. With my second though, the doctor was trying to talk me into the D&C at 7 and 8 weeks. You know this happens a lot. Ugh!

So, do you have a new midwife now?

Please keep us updated on you and this pregnancy

[Ceej]

Thank you so much for sharing your marvelous story here to give us all hope. Here's my new favorite quote: "It’s All God. When we know, absolutely, that all is well, even the bumpiest road is a gift" - Jane Beach. My LMP was also May 18th. We TTC June 2nd. My hCG trail is 4453 on 6/20, 6472 on 6/22, 7132 on 6/27, 7868 on 6/29 and 14574 on 7/5. We did another hCG today and the doc said he'd call me tomorrow afternoon with the results. I previously had to wait 2 days for the results, so this is expeditious. I went for my 4th U/S today. It looks pretty much like the 3rd one, but I'm keeping the faith. At this point though, my wait continues! The sac measured 3 cm which equates to 7 weeks 3 days. The U/S Tech said it can be off give or take 5 days, but their machine is only 2-3 years old and pretty state-of-the-art with 3d and 4d capability. This time the doc said the sac looked good (previously I was told it was abnormally-shaped, meaning oval instead of round) and there was something on one side that could be the start of the fetal pole and the bright white dot was still there that he said could be the start of the yolk sac. He even pointed out what could be the placenta. His stance at this point is to wait and see, he says nature will eventually show itself and which direction we're headed. So, while he says 99 times out of 100 this doesn't end well, I'm holding on to the one time that it does. One time is all I need! I'm keeping the faith and you've helped me to do so. Thank you!

[Ceej]

Here's my update... My doc just called with my hCG and it's over 31,000! That's encouraging! He said the numbers are going way up, there's a nice gestational sac, he wouldn't be surprised to see a fetal pole in there except for the fact that he hasn't yet and we should be about 8 weeks. He went on to say that my hCG is the highest he's seen without there being a fetal pole, yet I read on here that Kay had hCG of 100,000 when her baby was found at 9 weeks, so I'm not giving up. He said the placenta is working good. He's hoping something will change and we'll see the fetal pole so we're going to be patient and see how things go. He wants to do another U/S Monday - my 5th I believe. He also gave me the option of waiting 2 weeks or getting a second opinion ultrasound elsewhere. So, I'll be doing more praying and meditating and keeping the faith. Thanks for everyone's support! It makes a remarkable difference! CJ

[gonetoexplore]

I attempted to delete my story from the message board, as it has an unhappy ending. After finding out that we had a heartbeat, we felt confident that we had a viable pregnancy. This week, at a trip to the doctor's office, an ultrasound showed no heartbeat. After a more specialized ultrasound was performed, it was confirmed. The baby had no heartbeat, and had stopped growing at approximately 8 weeks, 3 days. I am going to have a D&C on Friday and have shown no signs of miscarriage (no spotting, no cramping, no bleeding, etc.). My husband and I are both thinking positive...there was a reason for this to happen...and we will try again.

[Ceej]

I'm so sorry for your loss. My story had an unhappy ending also, but I was never under the misdiagnosed section to start with. Nonetheless, your story is real, your story is valid, your story still belongs. I agree, there are no "accidents". I'm glad you and your husband are on the same page - that makes a huge difference. May your next pregnancy be without complication. Wishing you peace-

Hugs-
CJ

[april1979]

I am so very sorry for your loss...

[Kay]

Oh no, I am so sorry. If you want this deleted, just let me know. You were misdiagnosed though so it will help women. Unfortunately, statistics show that even after the heartbeat is seen about 5% of those babies will be lost. That just breaks my heart.