Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Scare

So, we had our first little pregnancy scare. Fun times (EXTREME sarcasm).

On Saturday I noticed what looked like 'yellowy/brown, possibly bordering on orangey? cervical mucous'. I immediately of course, suspected blood, but hoped that maybe I just wasn't drinking enough water and I might be dehydrated and therefore the CM might be a little thicker and darker than normal? Sounds plausible right? So Saturday goes by, Sunday arrives, and even with drinking water, no change. Monday I'm at work and trying not to think about it, but when I visit the bathroom I decide to take one of the urine dip sticks. You know the ones...they look like this:

Anyway, one of those little squares (4 away from the blue square at the top) tests for the presence or absence of blood in fluid. And, of course the square immediately goes DARK GREEN when I test my mucous. Positive for blood.

Shit.

So, I'm at work, and will be for another 3 hours, but I decide to phone the high risk OB on call. I finally get a call back and it's Dr. R., the same guy who gave us the original bad news about Aidan. He remembers me. Oh joy.

He advises me that while bleeding is never a 'great' sign, it doesn't always mean anything bad is happening and, while on the phone he calls up the photos from my 12 week ultrasound. He confirms the images look good and that I should just keep an eye on it over the next few days. If the bleeding continues I should call the nurse at my doctor's office and try to get an appointment.

This reassurance is fleeting, however...so I decide the next morning I'm calling to make an appointment. I got to see my OB at 2:30pm this afternoon...well that was our appointment time...I actually got to see him at around 4pm.

I asked them do a Pap test and vaginal C&S (culture) just in case I have an infection, but the nurse doing the test said that she could see a small 'blistery' type thing right on my cervix. She also said the area looked a little 'raw'. (I have no idea the reasons for this...I have not done anything to piss my cervix off lately, including intercourse. Of course, maybe that's why my cervix is upset?) They put it down to a 'pregnancy thing'. Bonus was that we also got a 'quick peek' on the portable ultrasound machine to make sure there was no blood coming from anywhere else. The OB spent some time pointing out the arms, legs, face, heart, nose, eyes etc. and stated he didn't see any blood coming from anywhere. My husband, of course, got a better view because they never seem to be able to tilt that ultrasound screen properly so that I, as the person lying down, can see. So I'll have to take my husband's word on it.

All in all, I'm glad we went. Even though it meant my husband missing a day of work (for which he doesn't get paid) and me having to take a personal day (for which I do).

So, total for today:

Parking: $12. Tea & Coffee while we were waiting: $3. Fast-food dinner afterwards because we were starving: $16. Lost wages: quite a bit.

Piece of mind so I can sleep tonight: PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!

Did you have any scares during your pregnancy, either the one(s) that didn't work out or one(s) that did? What was your decision making process about either seeking medical advice or not?

4 comments:

  1. Lots of little scares with Angus, too many too count. I probably had similar scares with Hope, but downplayed them as I wasn't babylost then and I didn't know how bad it could get. If she was a bit quiet one day, I'd just shrug it off and hope she moved more the next day. If Angus was a bit quiet for an hour - full blown panic, overuse of the doppler and often a visit to emergency. I may have been going over the top, but in a pregnancy after loss, you gotta do what you gotta do.
    Love to you mama.
    xo

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  2. So glad to hear you & baby are okay. The reassurance is definitely worth it; good for you for going and ensuring that all is well!
    No scares yet this pregnancy thankfully. The only scare we had with my last was the day we lost the baby...it was terrifying and I hope a situation I never experience again!

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  3. So glad to hear that everything is okay. Pregnancy after loss is hard enough without a pissed off cervix! So far with this pregnancy no scares, thankfully! With Harper's pregnancy everything was golden until the week I officially went into my first bout of preterm labor (happened twice) I was bleeding, contracting and lost my mucous plug. It was the most terrified I think I have ever been in my life. Like Rebecca said, I pray to never have to experience that again and hope that you don't either!

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  4. So glad you are both well mamma... hold tight.

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