The Good News is that I did manage to get pregnant naturally and would have been 6 weeks gone yesterday. This was absolutely huge news for us and we just couldnt believe it. I got pregnant on the first month after we decided that we would not be going back for more IVF treatment, I still have weekly acupuncture appointments with Gordon, but apart from that... no other assistance.
The Bad News is that I 'would have been' six weeks gone yesterday... unfortunately this pregnancy was also ectopic and I had to have emergency surgery yesterday.
The Answers.... FINALLY....... The surgeon was finally able to offer us some answers as to why I keep either miscarrying or having ectopic pregnancies. My left fallopian tube was swollen from the ectopic but was also twisted which would have caused the ectopic pregnancy, the surgeon was able to untwist the tube and save it and hopefully the swelling will go down by itself.
He also found out what is causing the recurring miscarriages..... both of my ovaries were covered in hundreds of tiny little cysts... too small to be detected on a scan, and the pain and 'popping' sensation I was experiencing was due to the cysts bursting. He was able to blast the cysts and burnt them at the roots so as to prevent them from coming back for at least 6 months, and has informed me that if I was to get pregnant in the coming months, I would have a much better chance of carrying to full term as my ovaries are now cyst-free. He has also put me on a 3 month course of medication to help regulate my ovaries and to help them to heal from the presence of all the cysts.
So... a mixture of hope and heartbreak but mostly relief that we finally have some answers.
I just got home from hospital this evening and am very sore and stiff, I have four incisions in my abdomen but hopefully they wont take too long to heal.
I guess we've not really got past the shock of finding out that I actually got pregnant naturally... never mind everything that has followed in the past few days, its all happened so fast so I guess it will take some time for it all to sink in.......
Showing posts with label Ectopic pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ectopic pregnancy. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Ectopic Pregnancy, Emergency Surgery and Chemotherapy...!!!
So...we were on our way to Clonmel on Sunday to do some shopping and I knew I was having some cramps as we were in the car. When we got to the shopping centre I just went to the bathroom where I was bleeding very heavily and then felt a ripping sensation in my left side.
We went straight to the hospital and thirty minutes later I was on the way to theatre for emergency surgery.
One of the embryos had made its way into my left fallopian tube, causing an ectopic pregnancy.
The Dr. did not remove the tube as the swelling in the tube at that time was quite small and he said that they do not like to take tubes from young women unless it is absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile, the results of Saturday's blood test came back and the levels were 811 which is a good number. The levels were checked again on Monday morning, and we got the results back yesterday morning; 356.
Initially this looked like both embryos were failing and it would just be a matter of time, however it turned out that the embryo in the womb was failing fast but the one in the tube was still developping and the pain was getting more and more intense, until it became more like a popping, throbbing sensation.
At this point the Dr. came in to tell us that we need to do something and we need to do it fast. There were 2 options; open surgery to remove the tube or Methotrexate, a course of low-dose chemotherapy (yes, the same drugs that they give to cancer patients). The purpose of the Methotrexate is to kill fast-developping cells, so it would instantly attack both embryos, however the list of side-effects appeared to be endless.
The Dr. told us that the risks involved in taking a course of Methotrexate are much less than the risks involved in open surgery, especially at Midnight.
They had to send a courier to Waterford hospital to collect the drugs as they had not used them previously in Clonmel, they arrived just after Midnight. A little while later 2 Drs and 3 nurses enter my room, covered from head to toe, the drugs were very carefully unwrapped and were then injected into my body through two needles, one in each hip. This was the scariest part of the whole experience for me, knowing that those drugs are so powerful that the Medical staff can not risk any contact with them, but yet they were being injected straight into my body!
I was very sick after this and spent most of the night vomiting, until they gave me an injection to stop the sickness.
I slept most of the day today, until the Dr. came in at 5 o'clock to say that the methotrexate had worked well and I was out of the danger zone as the levels were down to 66.
First Question: "Can I go home?"
He was happy enough to let me go home on the condition that I do absolutely nothing and I go back down to the hospital every day to continue to have my levels monitored.
So...to recap; Emergency Surgery is no fun, Ectopic pregnancies are no fun, having three incisions and lots of stitches, not to mention the bruising and pain...is no fun, Morphine on demand is kinda fun but that only lasts so long...and Chemotherapy is definitely no fun...!!!
So...This whole experience has been a whole pile of NO FUN, and we have decided that we need to give IVF a break for a while. I am going to get better, I know it will take a while but I will get better and then we will go away on a holiday and just take a break from this thing that has consumed our lives for the past 2 years.
My brother Liam rang me last night when he heard about the Chemotherapy and he said 'Anne-Marie, I know how much you want to have a baby, but you are going to kill yourself in the process' and last night compounded that for me.....ectopic pregnancies, emergency surgery, chemotherapy...these are all scary terms and they are even scarier when you have no choice but to have your body cut open and then a little while later, lay there while Dr.s pump your body full of dangerous chemicals, and all for the purpose of saving my life and saving my fertility.
We went straight to the hospital and thirty minutes later I was on the way to theatre for emergency surgery.
One of the embryos had made its way into my left fallopian tube, causing an ectopic pregnancy.
The Dr. did not remove the tube as the swelling in the tube at that time was quite small and he said that they do not like to take tubes from young women unless it is absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile, the results of Saturday's blood test came back and the levels were 811 which is a good number. The levels were checked again on Monday morning, and we got the results back yesterday morning; 356.
Initially this looked like both embryos were failing and it would just be a matter of time, however it turned out that the embryo in the womb was failing fast but the one in the tube was still developping and the pain was getting more and more intense, until it became more like a popping, throbbing sensation.
At this point the Dr. came in to tell us that we need to do something and we need to do it fast. There were 2 options; open surgery to remove the tube or Methotrexate, a course of low-dose chemotherapy (yes, the same drugs that they give to cancer patients). The purpose of the Methotrexate is to kill fast-developping cells, so it would instantly attack both embryos, however the list of side-effects appeared to be endless.
The Dr. told us that the risks involved in taking a course of Methotrexate are much less than the risks involved in open surgery, especially at Midnight.
They had to send a courier to Waterford hospital to collect the drugs as they had not used them previously in Clonmel, they arrived just after Midnight. A little while later 2 Drs and 3 nurses enter my room, covered from head to toe, the drugs were very carefully unwrapped and were then injected into my body through two needles, one in each hip. This was the scariest part of the whole experience for me, knowing that those drugs are so powerful that the Medical staff can not risk any contact with them, but yet they were being injected straight into my body!
I was very sick after this and spent most of the night vomiting, until they gave me an injection to stop the sickness.
I slept most of the day today, until the Dr. came in at 5 o'clock to say that the methotrexate had worked well and I was out of the danger zone as the levels were down to 66.
First Question: "Can I go home?"
He was happy enough to let me go home on the condition that I do absolutely nothing and I go back down to the hospital every day to continue to have my levels monitored.
So...to recap; Emergency Surgery is no fun, Ectopic pregnancies are no fun, having three incisions and lots of stitches, not to mention the bruising and pain...is no fun, Morphine on demand is kinda fun but that only lasts so long...and Chemotherapy is definitely no fun...!!!
So...This whole experience has been a whole pile of NO FUN, and we have decided that we need to give IVF a break for a while. I am going to get better, I know it will take a while but I will get better and then we will go away on a holiday and just take a break from this thing that has consumed our lives for the past 2 years.
My brother Liam rang me last night when he heard about the Chemotherapy and he said 'Anne-Marie, I know how much you want to have a baby, but you are going to kill yourself in the process' and last night compounded that for me.....ectopic pregnancies, emergency surgery, chemotherapy...these are all scary terms and they are even scarier when you have no choice but to have your body cut open and then a little while later, lay there while Dr.s pump your body full of dangerous chemicals, and all for the purpose of saving my life and saving my fertility.
It is time for us to just stop now.
On the up side, I am just home now and even though I am very sore and in a lot of pain...I have gotten so many kisses and cuddles from Lulu, the excitement when she saw me...Oh I missed that puppy so much...!!!
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