MY MISDIAGNOSED MISCARRIAGE STORY

Wow, from my research I now realize this is a little more common than I thought. I truely had a misdiagnosed miscarriage. I beleive my little baby is a healthy late implanter and I feel like now I can really breath a sigh of relief for tomorrow. I will see you my beautiful Olive!!!

Here is my story I posted on the misdiagnosed miscarriage web-site. I almost can't believe that I have and am going through this. This truely blows my mind.

If you are doing ivf please read my story and always ask for a 2nd opinion before you do anything you are not ready to do and ALWAYS listen to YOUR GUT!!!!!!

Helene's story:

We have beautiful 21/2 year old twins by ivf and we were ready for 1 more baby so here we are. LMP: 4/2/12 Transferred 1 beautiful embryo (3 day): 4/17 Started light spotting 4/29

1st beta hcg= 48: 4/30 1st thing nurse said it is positive but with a low number...may not be viable pregnancy.

2nd hcg= 70: 5/2 Not hopeful but we will continue to monitor & she mentioned it could be ectopic with those low numbers. Wow, I thought how could that even be possible but it can happen. Still trying to maintain optimistic.

3rd hcg= 106: 5/4 It is not doubling like it should, shy of 60-66% . At this point I felt devastated & felt like it was over.

4th hcg= 226: 5/6 Went to RE & they did ultrasound. Of course to early to see anything, no fluid or blood near tubes/ovaries -slight chance of ectopic.

Doc still sounded a little hopeful & they will keep monitoring. My mom kept hope & prayers even though I had given up. So I started having hope again & am praying for a miracle baby. That Monday is when I found this web-site on Monday & you gave me hope.

5th hcg=5/8: 294

This time when I got a call from the nurse she said it was a failing pregnancy & they wanted me to start tonight with cervadil to expel contents of uterus & if my numbers rose then it was ectopic & then I would take methotrexate. I asked if we could wait, I wasn't ready to give up yet. So they gave me 1 more day.

I wanted a 2nd opinion & called my OB. At 1st I gave my background....they told me a nurse would call. Didn't hear back soon enough & I called back. I told the nurse my cycle time, positive pregnancy test & I was bleeding & worried about a miscarriage. She said it was normal to bleed early in pregnancy. It is too early for scan but they will do blood hcg. I asked what numbers cou be & she said numbers & also said even in the 200's. Well, I went & got my blood drawn:

6th hcg=5/8: 349

They wanted me to return in 48hrs.

Took hcg @ lunch for RE: The Lord heard our prayers & our little beans number went up to: 434!!!! (7th hcg 5/9)

The RE nurse spoke to doc & they still suspect ectopic (which it is not!!) but want to do an ultrasound that Thursday. On my way to my appointment there was an accident on the road with a 2-3hr delay (Devine intervention: YES!!).

I thought yeay, more time for my little bean to grow. I called my OB to see what my hcg was for the day:

Friday 5/10 = 594(8th hcg).

That made me feel at ease!!!

At 8:30am was my RE appt. & praise the Lord: There is a baby in my womb!!! Dr found a yolk sac with fetal pole...measuring smaller than it should be. He did not sound optomistic and prepared me for miscarriage do to size & my numbers. I told him I understood he has to be pesimistic but I am optomistic & hopeful.

Continued to be monitored by OB and with Friday's result they told me to draw again on Monday.

9th hcg= 5/14: 1300

With that result they said draw again in 48hrs.

10hcg 5/16= result: 1638 The OB called me today around 1pmish and said the OB wanted to me right away and so an ultrasound. Didn't tell me why but I know why: they suspected ectopic which I knew it wasn't.

I thought yeay, this is my chance to see my little bean and see that he/she has grown and maybe I could possible see a heartbeat.

At my scan scheduled for 3:30pm I saw the tech (nice lady I had seen with my twins). Of course I was a little nervous but knew everything would be ok. The scan began and I could immediately see the baby area in my womb. As she got closer (zoomed in) I saw how much my little baby had grown and:

WE SAW A HEARTBEAT!!!!!! THANK YOU GOD!!!!!

That was amazing, the baby is measuring 5w1day, a bit behind since I am 6 weeks according to LMP. I saw the OB and she said it was amazing that we saw the heartbeat this early and to be cautiously optimistic. There is always a risk of miscarriage up tp your 12week. I left feeling happy & relieved. I am soo happy I listened to my GUT!

I know I am not out of the woods but I am thankful I found this site you gave me hope. I pray that this is a miracle baby. To who ever is in the same boat as me. Don't give up, stay Positive & always get a 2nd opinion. Make sure you have clear conscious before you make any decisions. If it in God's plan then it will be. I will continue to update. Still going to RE this Friday for their ultrasound. This little baby will surprise them & I can't wait to see the look on their faces.

Update from my Friday RE visit: We saw our little baby's heart flickering. Dr said baby has had significant growth, still measuring a week behind. I can be cautiously optomistic. I think he was shocked!! I knew that we would see our baby's heart beating...will remain positive & optomistic!!

Next ultrasound is this Friday 5/25. Praying & hopeful to see that our little bean has grown.

What your Doctor may not know about your pregnancy after IVF

Hope by Louise Carey at AllPosters

Because of the growing number of women who realize their miscarriages were misdiagnosed, I like to get any information out there that may help women in determining whether they are going to miscarry or are misdiagnosed.

If you have had IVF and are being told that your gestational sac or baby looks one to two weeks behind in development during the first trimester, this one is for you.

Keep in mind, miscarriage is unfortunately all too common. Reading this study will not magically change the course your pregnancy will take. It will however give you information that may save your pregnancy if you are misdiagnosed.

I believe every woman deserves to have no doubt before having her pregnancy ended.

The Study Gestation sac size in in-vitro fertilization pregnancies Summary: The gestation sac size in pregnancies resulting from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer have been compared with those in spontaneous pregnancies. Small-for-dates gestational sac sizes were found in 36% of the IVF pregnancies. This proportion held for both singleton and multiple pregnancies. With increasing gestation beyond 8 weeks the gestation sac volume increasingly approached normal. In contrast to spontaneous conceptions, IVF pregnancies had a low rate of pregnancy loss once fetal heart movements were demonstrated, when the gestation sac size was small-for-dates. Small sac size in an IVF pregnancy may lead to the misdiagnosis of a failed pregnancy.

What Does This Mean For You? Take this to your doctor If you have had IVF, you are more likely to pushed into D&C earlier than most women based on what I've been told by women online. If you just wandered into a doctor's office pregnant, the doctor knows your dates may be off and there is more room for error in his eyes. However if he is certain of dates due to the IVF procedure, he is definitely more likely to doom your pregnancy earlier. We this see this quite a bit. Take this information to your doctor. Unless there is an immediate necessity to end the pregnancy, ask to wait out the diagnosis. Some doctors really don't like to be second guessed so sometimes it is better to say something like, "I know you are probably right, but for my own peace of mind, I'd like to wait a bit longer and see what happens." Ask for a follow-up ultrasound at least seven days out. You want to give that sac enough time to grow adequately. You stand a much better chance of seeing that baby a week out rather than two days out if you are misdiagnosed. And, yes, sometimes we have to wait a few weeks to find out we're misdiagnosed. We've found most misdiagnosed women see their babies by nine weeks but, yes, some women are even further along amazingly enough.

READ THIS!!!! Misdiagnosed Miscarriage

Misdiagnosed Miscarriage:
How often does this occur? From Charles Lockwood, MD, the Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

"It's a pretty rare event," Dr. Lockwood says, "but we do see it happen. Sperm can remain active and viable in a woman's reproductive tract for up to six days," so conception can be much later than a woman (and her doctor) anticipated.

Dr. Lockwood sees this most often with IVF or other forms of assisted reproductive technology. "Even when we think we know with incredible precision when the date of conception is, we can be three or four days off. Delays in women's ovulation and/or an embryo's implantation can occur. I have seen twins that are both growing at a perfectly normal rate but one of them has been nearly a week off."

So a fertilized egg can take several days to implant and begin growing in a woman's uterus, leading to initial hCG tests and ultrasound results that seem to indicate an embryo that is slow to develop and therefore likely to be miscarried. In fact, the embryo is simply behind schedule due to its later-than-expected implantation.

But usually, if it looks like a miscarriage, it is.

"The vast majority of times that we see blood pregnancy hormone (hCG) levels rising slowly, or a sac in the uterus that isn't doubling in size appropriately, it turns out to be a miscarriage," he says, "It doesn't end happily."

But, he cautions, "If there is no heavy vaginal bleeding, people shouldn't be in a hurry to end the pregnancy until they're confident it's not viable. What I tell my patients is, 'I'm not absolutely certain [this is a miscarriage]. I'm pessimistic, but I'd like you to come back in a week.' Then they are better prepared psychologically for what might happen."

Paul Blumenthal, MD, the director of family planning services and research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, talks about his experience with what he calls "erroneous diagnoses of missed abortions."

Bleeding in the initial stages of pregnancy: "The fact of a pregnancy establishing a foothold in the uterus causes bleeding," "And hormone levels fluctuate, leading the uterus to let go of some of its lining sometimes. Usually, in the case of bleeding, the pregnancy's continuation is tenuous. It's only possible to diagnose a missed abortion if you wait a few days after the bleeding" he said.

If in an ultrasound you see what appears to be blighted ovum:

"This is a new conundrum people face," he said. "We don't want people to get upset by the [ultrasound] technology, because when we're looking at an early pregnancy, we can't be sure which side of the coin we're coming down on-a pregnancy or a missed abortion. That's why we've got to wait a few days and test again." (And, I might add, it's probably a good idea not to break out the Johnny Walker until those second test results are in.)

In the future it may be possible to measure hCG levels more precisely with at-home urine tests, says Dr. Blumenthal. So a woman who is not sure of her diagnosis might be able to test daily and watch if her levels are rising or falling.

Online community of women like me: A completely unscientific source and found more than 250 stories posted online by women who have gathered at a site called Misdiagnosed Miscarriage. These are other women who have been told they are miscarrying, only to discover their embryo is viable.

The reasons for the misdiagnoses chronicled on the site vary, from a tilted uterus preventing an accurate ultrasound to "blighted ovum" diagnoses early in pregnancy, before a potentially late-developing embryo had a chance to appear.

Kay Cilenti founded the site in 2005, after she went through the experience, and subsequently heard similar stories. "Women need to know that they can ask questions of their doctors," she advises.

"They have the right to a second opinion if something feels off with the diagnosis or they feel they are being unnecessarily pushed toward ending the pregnancy quickly. Doctors who bring up the M-word early [in the first few weeks of pregnancy] drive me nuts."

I've lived through two M-words, so I thought I knew everything there was to know about it. It turns out out I was wrong, as was my doctor. Now that M-word for me is miracle.

Will it continue to survive? Will this new baby stop our hearts once again with more drama? For me, every additional day I get with the little being is like a gift. I've already mourned its passing, so this is now a bonus baby as far as I'm concerned.

Miscarriage Misdiagnosed: Surprise, I'm still pregnant! by Erica Kain

Olive give them a show

Tomorrow morning is my next ultrasound. I am talking to Olive and telling him/her to give us another good show. I'm a little nervous but oddly calm too. I am definetly having some pregnancy symptoms. Will post tomorrow as soon as I can.

To clarify a previous post

Was looking at the EHD.org site and realized that they have baby description based on day of fertilization. So when I looked up 4 weeks pregnant and saw their video it was actually a 4 week old embryo heartbeating like a 6th week pregnancy. That makes more sense, I was in awe of the early embryo videio they show. I did not realize how early the relfexes, stimulis begins. Even with little paddles as hands I saw movement from the embryo. That is amazing!! God is GREAT!!

7 weeks today!!

I really feel like I had a late implanter so Olie is where he/she is supposed to be. Even though I should be 7 weeks I am in the 6th week of growth for baby.
6th week embryo development: Your baby, now called an embryo, is clearly visible on ultrasound. He is about 1/8 of an inch long, about the size of a grain of rice. When you're 6 weeks pregnant, his nervous system and all major body organs — heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs — begin to form. Facial features — jaw, cheeks, chin, nose, and eyes — begin to develop around the 6th week of pregnancy. Your baby's heartbeat is beating about 80 times per minute and gets faster each day.

Overdue Picture

This morning I took a long overdue test...my at home hcg test. I also took my 1st belly shots and will add this to my scrap book. I am excited to share that after seeing the heartbeat at OB on Wednesday I went shopping for Maternity cloths!! I have been waiting to shop for awhile.
So little Olive: grow for momma. I know you will and won't cease to amaze us. I love you!!!

Ultrasound pic

Went to RE yesturday and at my appointment what felt like it was forever waiting doc Will finally came in and we started the scan. He zoomed in and we saw the flickering little . I said aloud: THANK YOU JESUS!! Even though I felt confident that we would see the little flicker. The dr said the baby has grown significantly, still measuring on the small side. He told me to be cautiously optimistic and wants to see me next Friday. He said the baby will catch up or not...I am praying for the 1st. He gave me a big hug afterwards...told me he knew this had been an emotional roller coaster. I said yes and I am happy that we have a heartbeat. So until the next ultrasound....

Praise Jesus

Praise the Lord, we have a HEART BEAT!!!
It was miraculous to see the little heart beating. Baby has definitely grown, they said Olie is measuring 5 1/2 weeks.
I am ELATED!!

At OB for ultrasound

Today's hcg= 1638
Good news it is rising (looks like @ 72hr rate). Read today that boys have lower hcg levels, low rates can be normal.

Now I am waiting for for scan. Going to see my little bean. Hoping I can see the heartbeat today. Although may be too early. Hoping my little Olie has grown!
Will update later.

6 week hcg

Today 6 weeks since LMP = 1300!
Slow and steady... I'm happy it is over 1_000. OB said draw blood again in 48hrs. No mention of m/c.
Feeling pregnant!!

Have stopped spotting as of yesturday. Maintaining my positive thought & prayers.

OB blood draw today

Waiting to get my blood drawn @ OB today. I feel fully confident that today will be a good number. Show them my little miracle baby that you are here & are strong, beautiful & healthy. Listen to your momma, show them they were wrong!!!

1st ultrasound of our baby

If you look closely in the uterus you see the circle. To the right lower side you will see another smaller circle (yolk sac) at about 4-5 o'clock and to the left of that that you will see a little line (fetal pole) our baby.

Baby is in womb!!!!!!!!

Thank you Jesus!!!
Baby is right were he/she is supposed to be.
Measuring on the small side, doc Will could see fetal pole & yolk sac.
Praise the Lord, our prayers have been answered. Will give more info later.

Waiting for the miracle

Waiting for my miracle baby to show them he/she is right where he/she is supposed to be. Olive expose yourself I am demanding!!! Listen to your momma that loves you very much. Show them they were Wrong! Jesus confio en ti y se que todo va estra bien! Voy a ver a mi hijito en mi vientre!!!

Your are in my Womb

Today is the day we will prove all the doubters wrong. I feel optomistic and know this baby will be fine (Ok feel a little nervous but that us expected). I feel pregant, yesturday I had several foot cramps, brst tenderness, feeling bloated...pants getting snug around the waist.

I am going to visit a church on my way before my appt. I know the Lord is listening and I have so many people praying for me that if it is in his plan then it will be.

By my mami found a picture of San Gerardo: Patron of pregnant mothers & children. I printed his image and have it next to my belly since last evening. That has made me feel calm. I have a big image I printed and I am going to take it to the room for u/s and put it under me.


5weeks and 6 days today: what is going on in there? Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point, he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues.

The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.

His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.

The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

Blessing in disguise

Wanted to give an update today: Went to go to RE clinic but there was an accident that made me miss my appointment. (Devine intervention?? I believe it is!!) Re-scheduled for 08:45 tomorrow morning. Got my hcg back from the OB= 597!!!!! :)8 B) :P Absolutely doubled from 294 from RE hcg and close to double from my 394 from OB. HCG is just a hormone... OB doctor said that they want to do another on on Monday and if I have any cramping on either side to go to ER ASAP (understood). I am soo happy that my little bean has some more time to grow and prove everyone wrong. Will update tomorrow. I feel very optimistic this little one is right where it is supposed to be.

This will be a miracle!!!

Went to OB for 2nd opinion on Tuesday & they had me draw blood= 341.
Repeat in 48hrs

I started having hope again & am praying for a miracle baby. I also found this web-site misdiagnosed miscarriage on Monday & they gave me hope. They have several stories of low hcg drs thought miscarriage/ectopic. So many were perfectly fine & babies born healthy.

5th hcg=5/8: 294
This time when I got a call from the nurse she said it was a failing pregnancy & they wanted me to start tonight with cervadil to expel contents of uterus & if my numbers rose
then it was ectopic & then I would take methotrexate.
I asked if we could wait, I wasn't ready to give up yet. So they gave me 1 more day.

I wanted a 2nd opinion & called my OB. At 1st I gave my
background....they told me a nurse would call. Didn't hear back soon enough & I called back. I told the nurse my
cycle time, positive pregnancy test & I was bleeding &
worried about a miscarriage. She said it was normal to bleed early in pregnancy. It is too early for scan but they will do blood hcg. I asked what numbers could be & she said numbers & also said even in the 200's. Well,
I went & got my blood drawn=341
They want me to return in 48hrs.

Result from yesturday 5/9 for RE: 434!!
Thank you Lord our prayers have been answered.


Going back to OB today @ lunch for 2nd blood draw & it will be double. (Here now & 11:11am)

RE wants to see me today for scan. Little Olive show them you are there. Surprise them all!!! I am leaving to the Lord I know he has heard our prayers.

Will update with good news today!! I feel calm & know everything will be fine.

294: they said it was most likely ectopic.
And they are ready for me to take meds.
I still want to wait it out...and asked if I could wait a few more days.

Oh my God: This is aweful!!

I mean should I get a 2nd opinion?

I'm sorry for giving up

last week I felt pretty devastaed that my numbers are not rising as they should. It was aweful for me to go to cville. I had several crying spouts in front of the dr & nurses. They asked if I was ok & I said :No! I felt like I juat wanted all this to be over. On my way back I called my mom & we spoke. She has not given up & is still praying....WOW! I had given up but she still hadn't & was praying just as hard. Then the next morning I looked up: ivf low hcg & that came up with healthy pregnancy. I immediately clicked on it & it was a web site caalled: misdiagnosed miscarrage (Thank you Lord for leading to this web-site). 1st story I saw was a lady that did ivf & her initial numbers were very low (lower than mine). They checked her after a week & the hcg hadn't even doubled. Of course they told her it is most likely aa non-viable
pregnancy & to get checked again in a few days. Well her nubers kept going up but were still lower than average. She went to get checked at 7 weeks to rule out ectopic & to everyones biggest surprise there was a healthy hb. WOW! She said eveyone was
in silence & you could hear a pin drop in the room. Her pregnancy progressed normally & she delivered a healty baby boy.

That story gave me hope. My ony difference is that I have been spotting in last Thursday...but I suppose since my numbers continue to steadily rise: I HAVE HOPE!

Sunday doc Bateman called me ans told me my number was 226. I am shy of the 60-66% they like to see. That day they also did an ultrasound. I had my eyes closed that
whole time. They couldn't see anything in my uterus or ovaries, too early. No blood or fluid around tubes so that was promising.

So, my lil Olive you are there, growing at your own rate. Give me a good number today (had hcg drawn this am). You are my little miracle & will prove everyone wrong.