The OB appointment was a bit of a false start last week. We were shunted into the endocrine team after waiting over an hour, then shortly after saw an obstetric registrar. Who was nice, but the OB we will be seeing was still on holidays. And it was kind of a meet and greet and "here's a form for more tests" appointment.
We went ahead with the nuchal translucency scan, I was pretty happy to pass on it, since we wouldn't be doing CVS or amniocentesis, but K was fairly keen. I was pretty much expecting to get results at our next appointment, but K nearly had a fit when I suggested that! I don't think it helped his blood pressure. Thankfully the ultrasonographer intervened and said we'd get a call if there were problems.
I was suspicous during the scan, as we didn't get a huge amount pointed out, and she spent a lot of time getting multiple measurements of bub. Not overly concerned though, there was no "OH MY STARS THIS CHILD IS A LIZARD!!" Pretty good start. Moving ok, heartbeat ok, there were 5 fingers, 2 arms, 2 legs, a brain......getting better.
The bloods finally came through on Tuesday (took their darned time!), and since we didn't get a phone call then, we thought we might be ok. I figured if we didn't get one by the end of the week, and certainly by next tuesday, we'd probably be out of the woods. Wednesday morning the phone call comes. We got your results, and you're high risk for chromosomal abnormalities. 1:100. 1% chance. Not horrendous odds, but still not what we wanted to hear, especially considering the risk for age is only 1:900. Next step would be CVS, which would need to be done in the next week. I've already decided I'm not prepared for that risk, a 1-2 % increase in miscarriage? No way. The OB was great, briefly went through our history and the multiple IVF cycles, and was completely understanding of us not being prepared for that risk.
I don't know how I'd manage if we did the test, lost the baby and it came back normal. Especially when the risk of abnormalities is lower than the risk of the test.
So K and I talked a lot yesterday, and we have moved our appointment with the OB forward to next week. Mostly so Kieran can be there for it. It was supposed to be the "big one" with booking in and the like, meeting midwives and stuff. I guess we'll discuss what to expect, the real risks, and the next ultrasound. We'll just wait until then to make any decisions, if there are problems, we'll deal with them then.
Now the initial kick in the guts has worn off, I'm feeling more positive. 1% is not so bad. The odds are actually on our side for a change. I'm frustrated that we're not able to just enjoy this pregnancy though, and look forward to scans rather than wish away the next 6 weeks to get clearer answers.
Well we can save some more and stash it away for when I'm off work I guess, but there won't be any baby shopping for at least another 2 months I think.
About Me
- Tricia
- Married my best friend in 2001, which was the smartest thing I ever did. I work as a veterinarian, while my husband is an intensive care nurse. We've been dealing with infertility for over 3 years, TTC our first child just over 4 years. We've been faced with some challenges, too many decisions and a measure of heartbreak and frustration. The story so far: IVF 1-5 all BFN FET 1-3 embryo's failed to survive the thaw FET 4 we transferred two lovely blastocysts, and had a chemical pregnancy. Onward and....well, onward. We've switched clinics, and are in the process of moving our donor sperm to the new clinic. Who'd have thought it would be such a nightmare??
Nov 2008, IVF 6
October:
15- Start Lucrin 10IU
27- Bloods to check supressed: all ok
29- Start 150 IU FSH
31- E2 173, LH and P4 good - continue 150 FSH
November:
3- Bloods and scan locally
4- Flying to Sydney - Melbourne Cup day
5- Bloods and scan at City clinic
10- Egg retrieval: 27 retrieved, 19 mature, 10 fertilised
K had surgical sperm retrieval same day, and yes it was as nasty as it sounds
15- Transferred AA blastocyst, froze AA and AB blasts
26- bHCG due, cheated and doing it early
15- Start Lucrin 10IU
27- Bloods to check supressed: all ok
29- Start 150 IU FSH
31- E2 173, LH and P4 good - continue 150 FSH
November:
3- Bloods and scan locally
4- Flying to Sydney - Melbourne Cup day
5- Bloods and scan at City clinic
10- Egg retrieval: 27 retrieved, 19 mature, 10 fertilised
K had surgical sperm retrieval same day, and yes it was as nasty as it sounds
15- Transferred AA blastocyst, froze AA and AB blasts
26- bHCG due, cheated and doing it early
1 comment:
Blah. I'm sorry it wasn't smooth sailing. I hate that situation where your emotions get jiggled up again, just when you get them all sorted out.
This is exactly why (if I'm ever that lucky to get that far) I don't want the test. Because I'm certainly not going to have the amnio and therefore I'd just rather not know, if I'm not going to take action. DH, on the other hand, would want it done. It's not worth arguing about at THIS stage of the game, but if it ever came to it, I would stand my ground. I just know I wouldn't be able to handle the stress of one more 'what if'. The strain of having to 'let it go' would be enormous. And my argument would be that the increase in cortisol levels from that stress would be way worse for the baby.
Anyway, totally moot point, so whatever.
Now having said all that, 1% is very low, and therefore potentially easily dismissed if you have that ability [rather than the tendency, like me, to whip things up into a drama :-)]. So I hope you are able to ignore it and carry on your merry and totally optimistic way. 2 arms, 2 legs, a brain, a heartbeat: sounds good to me!!
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