Part I
To follow up on my last post, the second IUI did work. Doug and I finally conceived. We went back to the fertility clinic at 6 weeks (4 weeks after the IUI) and we got to see a heartbeat and a litty bitty spec they said was the fetus. Needless to say, we were ecstatic. After trying for so long, it was finally our turn. At this point I had to find an OB/GYN to go to, so I called the local hospital (that I wanted to deliver at) and asked them for some names of doctors. I found one, and made an appointment at about my 9 week mark. Things were going good, I was nauseous and tired but that was the worst of it.
I went to my OB/GYN on Sept. 5th, for my first appointment. We got to the point of the ultrasound, and that's when things took a turn for the worse. The doctor was really quiet, but I could feel her moving the ultrasound thing all around so I wondered why it was taking her so long to find it. After a minute or so she told me she couldn't find a heartbeat. The baby measured 8 weeks 6 days, which is exactly where it should be. But there was no heartbeat at all. She told me she wanted to get a second opinion, just to be sure. So she ordered an ultrasound from the hospital's imaging center that I went to the following day. The diagnosis was the same. Baby was 8 weeks 6 days, but no heart tone and no flutter where a heart should be. The term is "missed miscarriage."
The doctor said we basically had 3 options.
1. Wait for the miscarriage to happen naturally. It could take days or weeks for my body to realize the fetus is no longer viable, and it would abort on its own.
2. Take a medication that induces contractions and forces the body to shed the uterine lining.
3. Surgically remove the tissue with a D&C (dilation and curettage).
After getting the news, Doug and I were in complete shock. We held out a little hope that maybe the machines just weren't picking it up, since it measured the right size. We decided to wait a week and go back to check again. So I made another appointment on Sept. 13th with my OB/GYN to do another ultrasound. We figured that would give it a week to happen naturally (which was the option we were most in favor of). When we went in for the next appointment, the tissue had already started to break down. The baby was less formed and it was clear that it was really gone.
I decided that I didn't want to keep waiting. I hated having this dead thing inside me, and not knowing when it would happen. I still didn't want to do the D&C since there is a chance of scar tissue forming, making it harder to get pregnant in the future, and since my cervix has never been stretched out, the procedure could cause an incompetent cervix with future pregnancies. I decided to take the medication. The doctor said it would cause contractions about 4 hours after taking it. I would take two doses of 800 mg 12 hours apart.
I took the first dose on Sunday Sept. 15th and sure enough, 4 hours later it had kicked in, but not with contractions. The drug is called Cytotec and its main use is to treat stomach ulcers, when taken at a low dose. At higher doses it causes contractions in the uterus, leading to abortion if you're pregnant. I read through the paperwork the pharmacy gave with the prescription to see what side effects there could be. A major side effect is nausea and diarrhea. And that's what I got. It felt like having food poisoning. I was miserable. It started to wear off at about the 8 hour mark after taking the first dose. I dreaded having to take it again in another 4 hours. I started bleeding a little bit, but only enough to be considered "spotting". By Tuesday, the spotting had almost stopped and I knew this dose didn't work. I called my doctor, and she called in another dose to my pharmacy to have me take again on Wednesday. Oh joy. I took it again on Wednesday with the same results, no contractions, just food poisoning-like sickness. By this time, I had had it. Enough is enough.
I called my doctor again and we scheduled a D&C for Monday Sept. 22nd. My mom took me to the hospital early that morning. The worst part was getting the IV in my wrist. Since I couldn't eat or drink anything from the night before, I was clearly dehydrated and they had a hard time finding a vein. They put me under general anesthesia so it was just like taking a nap, except when I woke up I was very nauseous. I guess I don't do well with anesthesia. The doctor told my mom that there was a lot more tissue than she had expected, and I lost quite a bit of blood. I can only imagine my face looked like a ghost, since I'm pale anyways blood loss and nausea really gave me that Snow White complexion - minus the ruby red lips, since mine where white as well.
Typically they have you stay in post-op for about an hour, where they give you juice and cookies (Lorna Doone - yum). I really wasn't doing well, I didn't want to eat or drink anything. They gave me a pill for the nausea about an hour in to the wait, and I went home about an hour and a half after that. I spent the rest of the day on the couch, grateful that my mom is so sweet to wait on me and take care of me until Doug got home.
I've felt the effects of the surgery, and up until today I haven't left the house or really gotten out of bed. It left me feeling really weak, tired, and lightheaded. Oh, and now I'm feeling the contractions/cramps if I forget to take pain medication. I won't go into detail, but they didn't warn me of the nastiness post-D&C, eww. I guess I can have spotting/bleeding for 5 days to 2 weeks after the surgery. Then my normal period will probably be late, since I have to grow a brand new lining before I can shed it again. The doctors have said we need to wait at least 3 cycles before trying to get pregnant again. I'm grateful this part is finally done. It's taken almost a month since the time we found out the baby was gone, and that whole time we were in a state of limbo because we couldn't move on just yet. We're taking a vacation back to San Diego next week, and I think that will be a good fresh start to move forward.
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