For those who don't want to read the timeline in paragraph form: May 18th - BFP! May 21st - OB appt, nothing could be seen, but OB also didn't zoom in or anything May 21st - HCG reading of only 119 May 23rd - HCG reading of 167 - didn't double as it should have, but went up May 23rd - Started cramping real bad, but no bleeding May 24th - Started spotting early in the AM, and it was red, fresh blood. Continued to bleed a light/medium until the 28th May 25th - Another HCG test, reading was 206 May 27th (memorial day) May 28th - Dr. said he believed I was miscarrying, did another trans/vag U/S, saw nothing, didn't zoom in but stated it's not ectopic and there's nothing to see.... though he could see uterine lining shedding "a bit." Apparently coded on my paperwork "miscarriage." June 3rd - Went for 1 more HCG test to be sure the levels had gone down. June 4th - called, found out the levels had risen now to over 320(?) Canceled my appt due to exhaustion and sore throat, rescheduled for this upcoming Friday. Nurse/receptionist confirmed I had seen tissue or clotting, and I told her I absolutely had not. I've had bleeding/spotting but no clots or tissue have passed. She seemed shocked and couldn't understand why the doctor coded something as "miscarriage" when I hadn't stated I passed any clots or tissue. The bleeding had tapered down from the 25th, and up until June 1st, was light (only there when I wiped). Between June 2nd and now, it's been back to a light brown, sometimes dark, but only when I wipe. I don't know WHAT to think. My one symptoms, sore boobs, has been persistent this whole time.
Now the paragraphs: This has been such a tumultuous (18 days now?) and I am so confused. My doctor seems like a blundering idiot and I don't say that lightly. I'm feeling very uneasy about all of this. I was a week late from what my predicted period should have been - but it's worth noting that my periods have never been on time. I was told in the past I have PCOS - however, I never had problems conceiving when I was in my 20's.
DH and I weren't trying but we weren't avoiding, either. We're of the opinion "whatever happens, happens." But whatever is happening now - is the last thing I expected to happen. We are in limbo!!
So - "BFP" on the 18th of May. Saw the OB on the 21st. He did a trans-vag ultrasound, but it seemed clear that while he may have a basic knowledge of the U/S machine, he isn't a pro. He didn't know how to zoom in or do anything else, so he saw no gestational sac, he saw nothing, and his ultrasound tech wasn't in. He sent me for blood work that day (21st) and my HCG level was only 119.
48 hours later (23rd) I was sent for another HCG test, it went up, but only to 167, so it hadn't doubled like it's supposed to. On the 23rd, I had cramping so intensely that I could barely stand up straight, but I still managed to get blood work at the lab. With the amount of cramping I felt, I though that I should have been bleeding pretty severely, but I wasn't. The cramping was more intense than menstrual cramping, but it wasn't coming in timed-spurts. My sister, who had a M/C somewhere between 9-12 weeks, told me when she had a MC, it essentially felt like labor, that she was having massive pain every few minutes until she finally passed a "bunch of tissue." I just had constant cramping. At that point, no blood.
By the morning of May 24th, I had started spotting, and just before my OB appointment, the blood was red. It wasn't heavy, but it was there, and it was definitely fresh blood.
The doctor said I may be having an early miscarriage, and that he wanted me to get HCG blood work AGAIN the 25th (Saturday). I was still bleeding Saturday, but no need for a pad at that point. It was just there when I went to wipe.
Dr. ofc. was closed the 27th (Memorial Day) - so I saw him the 28th. Apparently my HCG reading on the 25th was up to 206. By that point, I was bleeding enough that I had to wear a pad. The doctor couldn't/didn't explain why the HCG still rose, but at that point said he believed I was miscarrying. He did another transvaginal ultrasound and again saw no gestational sac, and nothing in my fallopian tube(s) or ovaries to indicate ectopic. This is what he said, and I know I should believe him because he is a doctor - but he never zoomed in. I've had plenty of ultrasounds over the last 16 years, and I know they usually can zoom in, measure, etc. He did mention he could see I was shedding some uterine lining, but that's all. The OB seemed to have SOME knowledge of the machine, but I didn't get the impression he was too familiar with it. Using it almost seemed like it was a novelty for him - at least this was the impression both me and my husband got.
He set me up to get bloodwork "one more time" for June 3rd, almost a week later, to make sure the HCG level had gone down. My follow-up appointment was supposed to be yesterday but I had a sore throat and felt exhausted beyond words so they let me reschedule. I see him again this upcoming Friday at 4. But when I called yesterday and asked the nurse/receptionist what the levels were down to, and she said they had actually gone up, and were now at 320(?)! (I could be off by 10 points, give or take). But still. They went up!?!? She was astonished too.
Since I wasn't feeling well, I got off the phone and slept. And slept. I slept through the day and most of the night. I am no longer bleeding, but I do still have spotting... back to a very light brown though. I've been keeping track, and the bleeding was at it's heaviest (which was still at most, "light/medium" flow) the 28th. From the 29th-June 1st, it was very light, and on June 2nd, it was back to being brown spotting (sometimes light, sometimes a little darker) only when wiping. Only needing a pantyliner and it's clear.
I called the nurse again today, because this just doesn't seem right. She "confirmed" with me that I had passed tissue last week. But I never said I passed tissue, I was never even asked! And no, I never did pass any tissue - I was on the lookout, and all I ever had was bleeding. "Any clots?" No, no clots either. Just bleeding. Red blood. It never filled a pad - I wore "light" pads and there was never much on it. But what WAS on it, was red. But never any clot. Never tissue at all. There was an awkward silence and she said that the doctor had "coded" me as a miscarriage, but she said she'd never heard of him coding a miscarriage if no clots or tissue had been passed, regardless of gestation.
For what it's worth, I never had any morning sickness with any of my previous pregnancies. The only sign I had was a sort of "bubble" feeling in my uterine area, and sore boobs. A few days after initially finding out, I felt the familiar "bubble" sensation, but I haven't felt that in a week. But now I'm questioning, maybe I do still feel it!? One thing that hasn't gone away though, is sore boobs. They are still extremely sore to the touch.
I'm sorry this is lengthy but I am so confused right now. I never had a miscarriage before, nor even a threatened miscarriage. I had 3 pregnancies and 3 babies. My first, I remember getting that HCG test, and seeing him on ultrasound before his little heart even started beating! I was SO early, all they saw was the gestational sac and fetal pole. My # was something like 900, and 48 hours later it was like 3,500... more than doubled, whatever the # was. And the next week we could see his little heart fluttering away at 180 or so bpm. I've never had to deal with low HCG. Bleeding. Nothing showing up on ultrasound (and a dr. who doing the ultrasound, not bothering to zoom in at all)....
I know none of you are doctors, and yes I have googled... but I guess I am looking for any advice, if anyone may have gone through something similar? I can handle the news either way, but at this point, it's the uncertainty that is so upsetting! I fully expected they would say the HCG level dropped. And then, for some stupid reason, I took another pregnancy test (I always keep them on hand from the dollar store) and the "test" line is just as dark as the control line. So yeah, obviously the HCG is higher than what it was the 18th. But what is going on!? And for the dr. to claim it's not ectopic... I hope he is sure of that! He didn't zoom in at all, and I will be devastated if I have to lose a fallopian tube or an ovary because he made assumptions.
One other thing, the nurse/receptionist did say that when I canceled yesterday, he told her to be certain I reschedule as soon as possible (which, with his schedule, is Friday).
What would you think? I don't know what to think. Why would my HCG go up!? Has anyone ever had a similar experience? How did it turn out? I can take "it turned out a miscarriage" or "turned out great" - at this point I just want something definitive! The not being sure is upsetting!! Since I haven't seen a sac, or a heartbeat, I can accept if this is or was a miscarriage. But wouldn't the HCG levels go down if that is the case? I just don't understand. And unless pregnancy tests now pick up HCG like, 2 days after conception, I couldn't have been any less than 4 weeks pregnant??
Please... someone.... any similar experiences, any thoughts, anything at all? I'm pretty certain if this OB doesn't set me up for an U/S with a technician this week, I am going to another dr. for another opinion. I just want to know either way. Sorry so long.
I don’t go here but wanted to see babies! My second pregnancy was like this. Betas were rising but not doubling. I had spotting, but no tissue. No one was doing anything to figure it out Until I doubled over with cramps and what felt like a gush. The dr sent me to a specialist in ultrasound, where it was determined to be a non viable pregnancy. During the D And C, a big placentawaz found. Not a molar pregnancy, just a placenta that didn’t get the memo. I hope you get answers soon. It sounds like you need a better ultrasound tech. Ectopics can be hard to find.
Post by farfalla2011 on Jun 5, 2019 19:52:07 GMT -5
As much as I would love to give you some encouraging words, this sounds very much like my previous pregnancies that resulted in losses. I hope you get some answers soon! Being in limbo is not a fun place to be.
The fact that your HCG is rising but nothing was seen in the uterus is concerning to me for ectopic. I don’t like that it’s just your doctor doing the ultrasounds, offices really need to have a board certified ultrasound technologist in my opinion (as an US tech). It could have been to early to see much, but if you are having any pelvic pain at all, please go to an ER to get a real ultrasound.
The fact that your HCG is rising but nothing was seen in the uterus is concerning to me for ectopic. I don’t like that it’s just your doctor doing the ultrasounds, offices really need to have a board certified ultrasound technologist in my opinion (as an US tech). It could have been to early to see much, but if you are having any pelvic pain at all, please go to an ER to get a real ultrasound.
Thank you to all 3 of you who responded - I know it's a lot to read. If this was, or by some miracle is, a viable pregnancy, DH and I would be happy. We never had that "We're absolutely done" feeling after my youngest was born (over 8.5 years ago!). It's always been something that, if having another was in the cards, great, if not, that's ok too. So when I took a test and it came back positive, I was pretty speechless. I can't say I was jumping for joy, but I wasn't disappointed, either. I felt more "Wow! Ok! Didn't get to lose as much weight as I would've liked to first, but ok." This whole time, but especially initially, I was hesitant to acknowledge this was "real." I wanted to be sure everything was fine with blood tests, etc. So when the first hcg test came back SO low, it was concerning. When the 2nd came back and hadn't doubled or even close to doubled, I felt this probably wasn't viable. Emotionally I've been okay. I've never had a M/C before and I knew if I was/am having one now, it's probably due to a problem and to be thankful for an early M/C as opposed to MC's later in the first trimester or even in the 2nd - my heart breaks for women who experience(d) those, they are terrible and devastating. I feel more emotional about being in a limbo state.
If I don't hear from my OB office 1st thing, I think I'll contact my GP and ask to get an US done by a tech at an imaging center. It's the limbo that's most distressing. I'm praying it's not ectopic (my cousin, a perinatologist!, had an ectopic and needed her ovary and Fallopian tube removed years ago) - given her line of work, I can only imagine her grief then. She has 2 beautiful babies now but had to go via IVF route. Some may question why don't I contact her but we were never very close and the only reason I even found out about her 2nd baby born a few months ago was my aunt emailing the baby had been born! Hadn't even known she was pregnant. So not a close relationship.
If the dr/tech find its a growing placenta or non-viable but isn't "going" anywhere, is a D&C absolutely necessary, or can they give me a medication or just wait for me to pass it on my own?? I've had 3 c sections, yet the thought of being dilated freaks me out. My first born was induced and my cervix never dilated more than 2 cm in 12 hours! Cryosurgery 20 years ago apparently made my cervix thicker than usual apparently? Idk. I just hope for some resolution soon. Being in a state of limbo is the worst.
Two disclosures 1) I did not read 100% of the OP. 2) my mind is particularly sensitive to the idea of ectopic pregnancies.
I had an ectopic in dec. 2016. My betas were low for gestational age (700 or so around 7ish weeks) and rising but not doubling. I had bleeding that started around 6 weeks, and was just like another period except it didn't stop. I had an ultrasound around 8 weeks and as soon as my uterus was empty it was assumed ectopic. We had an idea of where it was based on a sensitive area and even then could never confirm 100% where the pregnancy was even by 10-12 weeks. I never had pain, even tthougher suspect I was close to rupturing a tube.
The fact that you have pain, bleeding and an empty uterus is very troubling. I would absolutely find another doctor and tomorrow at that.
Are you temping by chance? My BBT was funky as well (I cant recall how). Did they check your progesterone? It's not a guarantee but an ectopic will have almost certainly have low progesterone.
I'm so sorry you are going through this and hope I'm just being paranoid.
I’m sorry- that’s so frustrating that you don’t have any answers (and the doc doesn’t seem very proactive about finding them). The not knowing is awful.
I’m sorry your in limbo. I have a very similar experience with low and rising but not doubling betas. Also with the spotting of fresh blood and pain. This is what happened with my ectopic. They couldn’t see anything in any of my first few ultrasounds but finally saw in almost 3 weeks after my initial positive beta.
i'm so sorry. no experience with this situation, but know that the worry of the unknown is so tough. hoping that you can get to see someone with some expertise who can help you figure out what exactly is going on.
I don't want to give you false hope but with my second pregnancy it took a really long time to see anything. I got a BFP end of October but it wasn't until Mid to end of November before they could see the baby. I also had an anterior placenta so it made finding a heart beat near impossible until I got further along in my pregnancy. It also muffled movement until almost 6 months along. He's now a healthy 6 year old.
I'm really sorry. Do you know what your conception date was? I'm guessing you're somewhere between 6 and 7 weeks? I think all things considered, mainly the numbers not doubling, this is a loss and I'm really sorry. I do think you need some more thorough after care. For sure, they need to continue testing until your numbers drop to the non-pregnant range. If that isn't happening, you may need a dose of the pills to help pass everything. Also, I thought that rising numbers could mean a molar pregnancy?
I don't go here but I was lurking and saw this. To echo what a few other posters said, this sounds very familiar to the circumstances surrounding my ectopic in 2013. My doctor's office blew me off because my betas were rising but not doubling, and insisted that I was just very, very early in my pregnancy. Long story short, my tube ended up rupturing and I had life-threatening internal bleeding as a result. My husband rushed me to the ER and I needed emergency surgery. I wound up losing the tube. I would not wait and go to the ER. That might be overkill, but I wouldn't take the risk. I'm so sorry this is happening to you.
Not to be a downer, but that sounds a lot like my ectopic pregnancy. Please make sure you go in immediately if you experience any pain. Fingers crossed yours is viable!
ETA: like Blue Moon, I was rushed to emergency surgery as soon as mine was discovered.
I haven't read all the replies but if I'm being honest, this sounds a lot like the m/c I had last year. Its a very long and not overly encouraging story so feel free to skip reading haha.
Went to the ER the day of my BFP with HEAVY bleeding. U/S showed only a sac I think, and betas were too low for even the 5 weeks that I was. Followed up with my dr and when he did my betas they had gone up. We did betas 2x/wk fro a month and they kept crawling up. FINALLY after a month they started going down but slloowwllyyy. He gave me a shot of.. some yellow horrible stuff that was supposed to help my body expel it, didn't work. One more shot. Betas stayed the same. Went back to the ER the Monday after Memorial day last year and begged him to do a D&C and THEN it was finally over.
I really hope you get some answers soon, I remember just wanting it to be over. I am so very sorry you are dealing with this.
Your responses mean a lot. This has been so frustrating and upsetting. And not sure if I clarified, but I saw my HCG # from Mon (online access to all blood work) and it was 374. Up from 200-something about 6 days prior. I just know this isn't viable. Yesterday I called the OB office insisting, begging even, to have the OB write me a script to go to a radiology center so I could get a Transvag ultrasound by a technician who knows what they are doing, and knows what to look for, zoom in, etc. The nurse/receptionist said the OB was at his other office until Friday, but she would ask him and get back to me today. Of course I heard nothing. Instead, I contacted my regular family dr. to tell him what's been going on and my very real concern this could be ectopic, and requested he sign off on a script/referral for an ultrasound at one of the many radiology and ultrasound centers we have nearby. He has access to all of my blood work and charts since it's all one big huge interconnected network. Ultimately I received a call back around 2 from my GP's nurse saying the GP said if it was ectopic, the numbers would usually be much higher, especially after this long since my initial hcg, and I'd be showing symptoms by now. So the nurse assured me that my GP said it's unlikely that it's an ectopic. He recommends I see my OB at the appointment tomorrow. If, for some reason, the OB does nothing or I leave there feeling just as in limbo as I do right now, they said to call and make an appt and my GP would get in to see me right away. Of course, my luck that my appt isn't until 4pm with the OB! So even if I get in at 4pm and I'm done in 5 minutes, my GP will have already closed. I never imagined this kind of limbo. I'm sorry to every woman who has ever had to deal with this and to those who have endured much, much worse.
lolc I am so sorry you are going through this limbo and your doctor is unwilling to do anything about it. Asking for an us from an actual us tech is not unreasonable at all, you shouldn’t even have to ask! I had a similar mc experience about 5 years ago and I ultimately left the practice due to their inability to handle it appropriately. I hope you get some answers tomorrow.
Oh man, I think I would be looking for a new practice after this! My Dr was right there with me the whole time, listening to my concerns and explaining everything. We didn't really do U/s (One in the ER and that was it) just because it was so early we wouldn't have seen much anyway but he at least explained that to me each time and we talked on the phone twice a week when he called with beta numbers. I also had thought maybe ectopic, I think that was what the shots he gave me were for. I really hope you can get some answers today.
I’m so sorry you’re being given the run around. I disagree that betas would be higher with an ectopic. One of the signs I was taught about an ectopic was irregularly rising HCG. It doesn’t have to be high. If you don’t get an ultrasound today or scheduled for one by Monday, I really urge you to go to the ER at any sign of pelvic pain. If taken early enough, there is a pill they can give you to induce miscarriage, even if ectopic. Ectopics are serious and I hope you can get someone to take you seriously.
I’m sorry I haven’t updated, but it’s been bad all around. For anyone who sees this and thinks TL;DR - the quick version is, I miscarried on the 10th of June. The longer version:
My OB had finally agreed to SEND ME OUT for an ultrasound for June 10th (in my original post I stated the OB himself used the U/S machine in his office, but I swear it felt more like he was playing with a toy, a novelty, than looking for a gestational sac or otherwise!! Complete joke and he didn’t even know how to zoom in, so of course claimed he saw nothing).
Going back to June, I was to go 6/10 to a certified center (that does ultrasounds, mri’s, etc) and get blood drawn at my regular lab. The US tech was wonderful, a sweet woman. By that point I was emotionally numb, and knew that this was not a viable pregnancy. Nonetheless, I asked her if I could look at the screen and she was extremely sympathetic but said “No honey, you don’t want to see this...” and I knew than that any developing embryo had no heartbeat. But out of the corner of my eye I could at least see she was doing her job correctly and not using the machine like it was the toy like the doctor!
I then had my blood drawn — AGAIN. My veins hurt by that point. Then I went home (Days later looked at my patient portal and saw the HCG number had gone down, which made perfect sense.)
Not even two hours later (still 6/10), I felt the urge to use the bathroom. As I was sitting on the toilet I could feel that something was coming out of the birth canal. I caught it with toilet tissue. It was, what would have been, my baby. I will never know if that precious thing had a heartbeat, but I could most certainly make out a placenta, a head, I think eyes (black dots symmetrical) and generally just pink tissue. Pink tissue that wasn’t mine. I mean yes, mine, but not say, part of an organ. This “tissue” was from a whole separate being, and fit in the palm of my hand from top to bottom. I wasn’t sure what to do with it!? I didn’t want to flush it, that didn’t feel right, and I didn’t want to just throw it away either. But I knew burial wouldn’t work too well (animals digging things up). I had my husband take it after I wrapped it so he could decide. I told him i didn’t want to know. I was crying then, but then was numb for another week or so. And then I finally got hit with a tsunami of hormones.
Oh, and to add insult to injury: Apparently, with my particular insurance, when you find you are pregnant, you are supposed to pay 1 copay, and then all visits are 100% covered up until delivery. At the point of delivery, any extras, such as C-section, hospital stays, are billed separately and I’m already aware of the costs . HOWEVER — if a woman has a miscarriage at 20 weeks or below, she is responsible for each and every prenatal visit and must pay a co-pay for each visit retroactively. It makes me SICK!!!! I only found that out after I had called the receptionist to state that they should not have been collecting co-pays from me from the very beginning when I came to them because I was pregnant (over $200 in under a month!). She basically said she was doing me a favor by charging each time because it was not a viable pregnancy. I couldn’t believe it but I was too upset to deal with it so I had my husband call the insurance company. Unfortunately, the receptionist was actually right!! So, anyone with United Healthcare EPO (not a ppo, but not an hmo, it’s in between where you don’t need referrals but must stay within network to be covered) — BEWARE that you could be 19.5 weeks along, lose your precious baby, and can then expect a retroactive bill for all the prenatal visits you’ve had.
It’s been such a whirlwind and I still have not gotten a period yet. I’m not sure where my cycles are at. Part of me hopes that I end up pregnant again right away, because now I feel like I’m missing something… But the other part of me is terrified. I don’t ever want to have a miscarriage again. I have always felt the strongest empathy for anyone who suffers a miscarriage at any stage. But to now have gone through one myself, I don’t want to go through it again. I’m not particularly religious but I have prayed to God - prayed that IF having another baby is in the “plans” - let it be, and let it be healthy and the pregnancy uneve — but that if it’s not in the plans — please just not let me conceive at all. I already have children, so not conceiving at all is far preferred over another miscarriage.
I never went went back to the OB after the tissue passed. Sorry, not paying another copay when I knew my body would shed the rest naturally. I gauged my HCG levels with dollar tree pregnancy tests. It took just over a month and a week for my pregnancy tests to finally be completely negative. I’m not sure at what level those dollar store tests detect HCG, but it must be very low considering how long it took to be undoubtedly negative.
To finish: Can anyone recommend a super simple cycle tracker?? I’m talking bare bones, practically. I used a website called femilia.com for a long time, and their site keeps going down. Ovia app is wayyy too much and complicated for my liking. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.
For cycle tracking I use fertility friend. It lets you track as much or little as you’d like; my first time TTC I used it to temp, track OPKs, cervical mucus, etc. This time I only tracked my period start and when we had sex.
lolc I'm so sorry for your last, and the extra trauma you had to endure. A miscarriage is never easy, but you had an experience nightmares are made of.
I use fertility friend for tracking cycles for conception. You could put in as much or as little data as you wanted. I have not figured out what I will use once my period returns now that we are done with kids.
I am so sorry OP. We’ve had a long, emotional road to pregnancy with two losses, one of which was a questionable ectopic. It is so painful. I would definitely get a new doctor when you get pregnant again, any OB should know how to use an US, what a joke. I used fertility friend and OPKs but we needed IVFx3 before ultimately getting pregnant, so my advice is probably useless. Wishing you success in the near future but give yourself time to grieve and take care of yourself in the mean time. <3
I'm so sorry for everything you've gone through. Internet hugs to you.
I've used Fertility Friend since TTC my first, for TTC both kids and TTA in between. I usually had some variation in the front half of my cycle with fairly consistent luteal phase, so being able to track both total cycle length and when I was ovulating was helpful (not just for TTC).