Messages

1

Pregnancy Complications / Re: Progesterone side effects

« on: Today at 03:18 AM »

Hi Charlotte,
I am also on progesterone suppositories (200mg), but I have not experienced shortness of breath. Bloating in the first trimester and an increase in discharge.
My doctors didn’t test my progesterone levels, either.
I would definitely bring this up at your next appointment!

2

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Back for round 3

« on: Today at 03:16 AM »

Glad to hear that your little girl is doing well!
Wishing you the shortest possible stay in the NICU!

3

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: 1cm at 19 weeks and terrified - previous PTL at 23+1

« on: Today at 03:15 AM »

Wow, I’ve never heard of such a dynamic cervix!

Glad you were able to run through all of your options with your doctor. Hopefully the progesterone and bed rest helps alleviate some of the contractions.

I’ve also been experiencing contractions/tightenings throughout this pregnancy. To our knowledge, they are only Braxton Hicks, although they started so early, who knows what influence they’ve had on my cervix.

Anyways, glad to hear you’ve reached the 20 week mark! Keep us posted on your progress!

4

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Back for round 3

« on: June 17, 2018 at 02:56 PM »

Sending so much love!!! You’ve got this!!!

5

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Back for round 3

« on: June 16, 2018 at 03:31 PM »

So sorry to hear that you will be in the hospital. It’s so hard to be away from family and the comforts of home.
When we spent a week in hospital last year, I found that fresh fruit and real cheese and proper bread/crackers ended up being the best thing for people to bring. Hospital food is the worst!!

Hoping the bleeding settles down so that baby can stay a little longer and so that your nerves can settle

6

Pregnancy Complications / Re: Sludge/Contraction/Short Cervix/Preventative Cerclage - 16 weeks

« on: June 15, 2018 at 01:00 AM »

Well... we've made it to 30 weeks!
Baby looks ridiculously healthy on ultrasound and is in the 75% percentile for growth.  We have a great chance of our baby surviving and thriving!
Went to an OB visit today and was told that there's a good chance of making it to term, or close to it, pending infection.
Feeling good!

7

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Back for round 3

« on: June 14, 2018 at 02:23 PM »

Congratulations on making it to 30+3!! Your baby has an excellent chance of surviving and thriving!

Crossing my fingers for you that the bleed and contractions slow down so you can keep on cooking for a while longer, but wishing you the best either way!

Sending lots of love ??

8

Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Keeping entertained!

« on: June 13, 2018 at 04:30 PM »

I love, love, love listening to podcasts while I play the various games that I've downloaded.
I wish I could narrow my list down to my top 3, but I love too many of them.

Criminal
99% Invisible
Serial
This is Love
Stuff You Should Know
Under the Influence

They're all so good and have so many episodes that it will take me forever to get through all of them!

9

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Emergent Cercalge at 19 weeks

« on: June 12, 2018 at 03:02 AM »

Welcome to the group!

I can completely relate to your situation. A little background about me: we had a previous loss at 24 weeks due to undiagnosed incompetent cervix. It all started when I had a gush of greenish mucusy discharge. We immediately drove to the hospital.  When I was examined at the hospital, I was 2cm dilated with bulging membranes and no measurable cervix. I had absolutely no contractions or indications of labour. For this reason, they confidently diagnosed me with incompetent cervix. They transferred me to another hospital where there was a doctor who was comfortable doing a cerclage under those conditions. By the time I reached the second hospital, there was a trace amount of amniotic fluid in my discharge. We were unable to proceed with the cerclage due to that. My cervix continued to dilate over the next few days and we delivered 5 days later. We provided compassionate care to our beautiful boy and he passed away in my arms 5 hours later.

I’m currently on my second pregnancy. I received a preventative cerclage at 13+5. By 16 weeks, my cervix had shortened to 2.4cm with funneling and evidence of amniotic sludge. By 18 weeks I was around 1cm and funnelled to the stitch. At this point I demanded another intervention. I felt that I needed to do whatever possible to keep this little one in. After much deliberation, my OBs agreed to place a pessary ring. I have not received any vaginal ultrasounds to measure my cervix since the placement of the pessary - the information was making me way too anxious and wouldn’t change our course of action anyways. Instead, I have asked the ultrasound tech to let me know if I am stable or not stable. I’m happy to say that I have been stable since the placement of the pessary and will be 30 weeks on Thursday!! We certainly didn’t think we’d make it this far and are completely ecstatic.

Like you, I am also on progesterone. I find that I have several different types of discharge. First, I often have white flakes in my urine. I also often get milky discharge throughout the day. Sometimes my discharge is more chalky and dry. I sometimes find that when I insert the progesterone that I get a gush of liquid that will saturate a liner. Always, this liquid has a chalky residue in the center. I ended up in L&D several times due to uncertainty, worried that it was amniotic fluid. Tests have been negative every time. I ended up purchasing some PH strips to help ease my mind - amniotic fluid has a much higher PH than regular vaginal discharge. I know my baseline having tested after a visit to L&D, so it helps to ease my mind. Word of caution, if you decide to use PH strips, they’re not 100% accurate, so you need to use them with caution, looking for other signs of labour and leaking. When in doubt, head to the hospital!

If you are leaking amniotic fluid, it will either come as a gush or will gradually saturate a pad several times a day, or will wet your leg. It will be watery, but not milky.

There is a group chat on this website tomorrow at 2pm EST. Since I’m also on bedrest, I’m there every week! Would be a great place to connect if you’d like to talk!

Lastly, there is also a Facebook group for incompetent cervix. Alongside this forum, this has been a wonderful source of support.

Hope to see you on tomorrow’s chat!

10

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: 1cm at 19 weeks and terrified - previous PTL at 23+1

« on: June 10, 2018 at 11:21 PM »

Wahoo! Fellow Canadian!

If you’re on Facebook, you should also check out the incompetent cervix group. Along with this forum, it’s been a great source of support and information.

11

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: 1cm at 19 weeks and terrified - previous PTL at 23+1

« on: June 10, 2018 at 10:19 PM »

A fellow sludge pal! We are few and far between! Not that it’s a club that either of us want to belong to. They discovered my sludge just over 2 weeks after the placement of my preventative cerclage.

I have been on progesterone suppositories since 6 weeks of pregnancy, with a brief break of about 3 weeks in and around the time of the placement of my cerclage. I’m not sure if they have had any impact, other than creating more discharge and putting flakes in my urine. That being said, my OB has ensured me that they help with contractions and strengthening the cervix, so I’m not willing to stop!

I’m in Calgary, Canada. Where are you located?

12

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: 1cm at 19 weeks and terrified - previous PTL at 23+1

« on: June 10, 2018 at 12:42 PM »

Welcome to the group!
We had a loss at 24+3 in September, and like you, were totally blindsided by it. We had no evidence of cervical shortening at our anatomy scan, and when I went to the hospital for unusual discharge, I had no measurable cervix and was 2cm dilated with bulging membranes. Before we could undergo a cerclage, they found trace evidence of amniotic fluid. It was absolutely devastating and we miss our little guy so so so much.

We got pregnant easily right after our first cycle post partum. Although we had the blessing to do so from our OB, I can’t help but wonder if all of the complications of this pregnancy are related to being pregnant again before my body was really ready (quickly shortening cervix to 1cm post preventative cerclage and funneling to the stitch at 18 weeks, intra amniotic sludge, and irritable uterus).

After my cervix shortened to 1cm, I insisted on another intervention. After much deliberation, my OBs agreed to insert a pessary ring. Basically, this is a doughnut shaped rubber ring that they insert vaginally. It helps to disperse the weight of your uterus on your cervix. It is safe to insert at any time during pregnancy as long as you don’t have exposed/bulging membranes. It takes less than a minute to insert with minimal pain. It has similar rates of effectiveness as a cerclage without the risk of infection (very unlikely) or of rupturing the membranes.

For whatever reason, many doctors in North America have an aversion to pessaries, although they are commonly used in the EU. This really upsets me because it’s such a low-grade and easy intervention, and one that both my OBs and I agree is likely the only reason I’m still pregnant today at 29+3.

Check out this info to learn more.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4282542/

If you think this might be for you, push, push, push for it! Many hospitals have a pelvic floor/pessary clinic and you should be able to get one with the support of your OB.

Best of luck with your pregnancy, keep us posted on your progress!

Also, if you’re on bedrest, like me, there is a chat on Tuesdays at 2pm EST. Would love to see you and swap stories there!

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What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Pregnant again after early loss

« on: June 06, 2018 at 02:36 PM »

Sorry to hear about the MRI results, what a journey this has been for you.  Hoping your bubs can cook for as long as possible!

14

Making the Best of Bed Rest / Re: Monday Roll Call for June 4, 2018

« on: June 04, 2018 at 03:02 PM »

Hi all!
Still cookin’ at 28+4. Can’t believe we’ve made it this far!!
We’ve had incredible weather this spring. My husband and I have taken advantage by eating meals outside. I’m allowed to sit as tolerated, so I haven’t been concerned about the 10 minutes it takes to shovel in food.
We also have a giant beanbag that we drag outside to the patio and I can lie down on that and enjoy the sunshine.
We had a very busy weekend with a 60th surprise birthday for my mom, an art sale in our front yard, and the celebration of my nephews’ first birthday. My doctor gave me the thumbs up to attend all events, saying that I’m more likely to develop blood clots by sitting around than I am to go into labour by rupturing my membranes through movement. This perplexed me a little bit since she is the one that signed off on my restrictions, but I was elated to get out of the house.
I spent most of the time sitting, not standing, and have had no increased contractions or any signs of labour. So happy for this development!
I’ll take the rest of the week easy by spending it lying down, but it’s nice to know that I can leave the house now and then.
See you on the chat tomorrow!

15

What's Your Story? Tell us. / Re: Back for round 3

« on: June 01, 2018 at 02:25 PM »

Hey EnglishRose!
Too bad about the GD and the transition to insulin shots. I can imagine that it’s frustrating to deal with that on top of everything else.
So cute about your little girl doing somersaults. I think mine changes position frequently, too. This morning, baby is in just the right position to feel ALL the hiccups. So cute.
Wishing you all the best with the 39 week goal! It seems impossible some days, but I keep repeating my mantra, “this baby will be happy, healthy, thriving, and full term!”