Update - Part 2

On the afternoon of 11/30/16, I was sitting in my colleague's office and I started getting sharp abdominal (period-like) cramps. I didn't think much of it, as I had had occasional cramping here and there. When I got home a couple hours later, I was devastated to see blood. I knew that spotting was ok, but this to me seemed to be way more than spotting. With shaking hands, I texted David: "I think I'm having a miscarriage." He thought I was just worrying, and told me not to worry, but all I could manage to get out was "No. You need to come home now." The on-call nurse at the fertility clinic was very kind and asked me how much blood I saw, what it looked like, and said that I should try to schedule an U/S with the OBGYN in the morning. She said if I felt like I couldn't relax, I could go to the ER, but that they may or may not have the means to do much. I decided I couldn't wait, and as soon as David got home, we immediately drove to the ER.

When I was waiting to be triaged, I realized I had left some notes (my medication information) at home, so David kindly went back home to retrieve them (as well as my injection). I had just been triaged when he returned. My coworker was so kind and came to see me while I was waiting. I was not expecting to see her, and immediately burst into tears when she gave me a hug. It meant so much to me to know that she cared about me and my well-being. Not long after, I was called back to a hospital bed where the nurse took down my information, took my vitals, and inserted an IV catheter into my arm to draw blood. Awhile later, the doctor came in and spoke to me. By this time, it was nearly 10pm. He ordered an ultrasound. The U/S technician wheeled me away and first did an abdominal U/S and then a transvaginal U/S. It was killing me because I couldn't see the screen, and she didn't say what she saw or what she was taking measurements of. When I got back to the hospital bed, I was so tired, and got a little bit of sleep. A little bit after midnight, the doctor came back in and told me that the cause of my bleed was from a small subchorionic hematoma (SCH), which was one of the better things I could have hoped for. He said that they were able to see the fetal pole and a yolk sac, but no heartbeat, which was ok, since it was still early. He said I was measuring at exactly 5 weeks, 6 days gestation (2 days more than I was expecting). I was just so glad to hear that I hadn't miscarried, and that the baby was developing as expected. My first U/S was not scheduled until 12/8/16, so it was great news to hear this. My HCG had also increased to 9,177 which was more good news. While the SCH was (and is) scary to me, I know it's something that happens more often with IVF patients, and I know that it is something that can often times resolve on its own. However, a SCH could possibly cause the placenta to separate from the uterine wall, and may be linked to an elevated risk of miscarriage and pre-term labor...so I was advised to be cautiously optimistic. The doctor told me to take it easy for the next few days and try to get into the OBGYN for another U/S. We were at the ER for 6+ hours that night!

After speaking to the OBGYN office the next day, we decided to keep my U/S appointment scheduled for 12/8/16. I took the day off and rested the entire weekend. On Monday, I went back to work (cautiously) and made a point to sit down, take the elevator, and rest as much as I could. Thankfully, this week was Reading Week (and next week is Finals), so my schedule has allowed for me to take it pretty easy.

U/S from 12/8/16: Fetal pole, yolk sac, & heartbeat (132 bpm) seen,
small SCH superior to (above) fetus; measuring at 6 weeks, 5 days; 
CRL: 7.6 mm, Yolk Sac: 2.1 mm; SCH: 1.3 x 0.4 x 1.2 CM

Yesterday (12/8/16), the entire day dragged as I waited for my U/S appointment at 2:40pm. When it was finally time, David met me in the waiting room. We were then led back to the U/S technician's office where I gave her a brief history of our IVF story as well as the ER visit. I was so nervous when she started the U/S. What if there's no heartbeat? What if the baby stopped developing? What if there's no baby and just an empty sac? What if the SCH has gotten bigger? What if I've miscarried? Every possible thought ran through my head. I got nervous when David stood up to look at the screen, and suddenly, the tech turned it to show us, and she said "There's the heartbeat." 

I was immediately flooded with an overwhelming amount of emotions and started crying. I wasn't even expecting to see the heartbeat flicker, and here it was beating away at 132 beats per minute, right in the expected range! She showed us the womb, the fetal pole, and the yolk sac. It was an amazing site and I'm still on cloud nine thinking about it!

Our next U/S is scheduled for Monday, 12/19/16. I will be finished with the semester by then, and if it's good news, hopefully my doctor will release me into the care of my OBGYN! I have my first prenatal appointment scheduled for 12/28/16. David and I told his family the good news today (Sunday, 12/11/16). It was bittersweet, as we were planning to drive up to Coeur d'Alene, ID this year to celebrate Christmas in a beautiful rented lake house. However, with it being so early in the pregnancy, and now with the higher risks attributed to the SCH, it is best for us to stay in town should anything go wrong. We were bummed to break the news that we couldn't join them for Christmas after all, but we were also so excited to share the news that we're pregnant!