5WK5D, Part Deux - Threatened Miscarriage

The bleeding and cramps got so bad tonight that I decided to go to the ER. Kaitlin had to drive me there, in the middle of a snowfall, with the roads so bad that her car got stuck in our cul-de-sac and we had to take mine instead.

We made it to the ER, where everybody was very nice, and we were there for about three hours. They put an IV in my elbow (ow, ow, OW) and asked a ton of questions and were pretty confused by the whole IVF-in-Greece thing. But they did a pelvic exam, and took urine and blood samples, and did an ultrasound. All the while I am bleeding, and cramping, and crying.

Bottom line is, they can't say for sure what's happening. They sent me home with a diagnosis of a "threatened miscarriage."



They did an HCG test, and the results came back at 7900ish. Given that I was at 425 on 12/26, and doing the math thereafter, that's actually in the right range... which is a bit of a comfort, at least.



And the ultrasound was tough... they kept saying everything was too small and it was too early to really see much. It does appear that there's only one sac in there. But, it looks like they did see the hint of a fetal pole, and both Kaitlin and the ultrasound tech were pretty sure they saw a heartbeat (though at this stage it could also have been my heartbeat, so no guarantees.)





So the bad news is, we could be miscarrying and won't know for a while, until the next few ultrasounds. I am still cramping and bleeding right now, and scared... really scared. Also I am not looking forward to the emergency room bill when it arrives and am a little worried how much it's going to cost. And my arm hurts from that stupid IV.

The good news is, my HcG levels are where they should be, and there's definitely a sac in there, with something in it, that may have a heartbeat. Looks like there's only one, which I am perfectly content with. So whatever this bleeding is, it hasn't flushed the baby out, at least not yet. Maybe there's still a chance that things will be okay.

It could be that there was a second embryo that didn't make it, and that's what this bleeding is all about. It could be that the heparin I'm on is making too much blood in my uterus and my uterus is just flushing it so there's room for the baby. Or it could still turn into miscarriage. This is literally a glass half full vs. half empty situation, because apparently 50% of the women who bleed like this miscarry, while 50% of them go on to have normal pregnancies.

Meanwhile the cramps are still coming, though less frequently now. The blood is still coming... though maybe a little less of it?? I can't quite tell. I'm staying in bed all day tomorrow and toying with the idea of staying home from work on Monday... though there is a really important interview I'm supposed to do on Monday and I would hate to miss it. I would hate miscarrying even more, though, so I'm going to do what my gut tells me to do once I see how the bleeding behaves tomorrow.

So far, pregnancy has been kind of fun, but also the most scary and stressful thing I've been through. That doesn't mean I don't want to stay pregnant, little bean, you hear me? Stay in there and hang on, okay? Please?