Subject: misc.kids FAQ on Miscarriage, Part 2/3
Supersedes: <misc-kids/miscarriage/part2_825451240@rtfm.mit.edu>
Date: 28 Mar 1996 22:02:33 GMT
References: <misc-kids/miscarriage/part1_828050394@rtfm.mit.edu>
Summary: The miscarriage FAQ is a compilation of people's
         experiences, words of sympathy, and some technical
         information.
X-Last-Updated: 1995/03/25

Posting-Frequency: monthly

                    Misc.kids Frequently Asked Questions
                            Miscarriage

                            Part 2 of 3

=====================================================================
Collection maintained by: Laura Brooks (brook006@mc.duke.edu)
Last updated: March 23, 1994

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=====================================================================
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=====================================================================
The FAQ continues with people's experiences...
=====================================================================

I had spotting with both my pregnancies (one ended with a lovely girl,
the other was a miscarriage at around 6 weeks) and the only difference
I could see was that the spotting was a little heavier for the one that
miscarried.  So spotting may not be a definite indicator of an impending
miscarriage.

I also disagree with the doctor who said to keep on with normal activities
even with the spotting.  My doctor recommended taking it easy the first
trimester (the spotting ended after that) because that's the time when you
are most likely to miscarry and a little extra care (no heavy lifting, no
athletic exercise beyond walking, etc.) would go a long way to prevent any
sad endings.

Joanne Petersen (joanne@hpcc01.corp.hp.com)

=====================================================================

I myself miscarried last November. Initially, I tried
very hard to block it off my mind but every so often would break down
in a fit of depression.

I have learnt to accept that our bodies is remarkably capable of handling
situations for us through some kind of miracle. When I 1st became pregnant
with my 1st child, I was drinking and smoking. I was not aware that I was
pregnant but somehow my body sent me the right signals (like turning my
cigarette smoking into a really bad tasting experience. So much so that
I automatically gave it up). I have also heard of cases where the umbilical
cord is wrapped around the baby's neck and somehow, the woman is inhibited
from progressing far enough into labour to actually deliver. In fact, my
husband was 1 of many such cases I have heard of). I also believe that my
2nd pregnancy ended in a miscarriage in the 1st trimester because my body
just knew there was something abnormal about the foetus.

Learning to accept that it was probably for the better really helped me cope
a lot better. But what really helped me through it, was the resolve that as
soon as my body was ready, I would try for another 2nd child. Well, I'm
glad to share that I am now 6 1/2 months along and believe me, a miscarriage
really isn't the end of the world. Just give your body time to heal, then try
again.

Good luck.

Christine Orita

=====================================================================
Here is a long version of my story.  By all means go ahead and include
my name and address.  If I can help someone else get through their
losses it will be both our gains.

I forgot to add to the article about grieving the loss of the baby.
My husband is one to internalize his grief and myself, the complete
opposite, I verbalize, cry at anything, would wonder if my husband
was grieving at all for the loss of our babies.  It wasn't until the
death of my husband's aunt did I realize that he does not show his
emotions very well.  Some advice for those grieving, remeber that
not everyone shows their emotions as you.  Some need to cry, shout,
pout, contemplate on the loss others, like my husband feel they have
to be strong and not show loss.

My husband and I wanted to start a family right after we got married.
I stopped taking The Pill the day of our wedding and we anxiously waited
for the day.... I got pregnant in March (6 mos) after ending The Pill.
Blood tests were positive.  My husband and I went to the first appointment
and the Nurse Practitioner felt that my uterus was very small for how many
weeks that I was pregnant.  She ordered a sonogram the following week.
We went to the sonogram and they could not find a baby.  They found a mass
of "something" but there was no baby.... they told me I would ultimately
miscarry.  I miscarried two days before my brothers wedding.  I was nearly
three months pregnant.  We ended up going to the emergency room and the
first thing that the Doctor said was "How are you doing not physically
but .... mentally?"  I was given Valium in an IV drip and was given
a D & C.  We were told to wait for three months before trying again.

I got pregnant again in July, blood tests positive but started bleeding
and cramping.  I was about six weeks pregnant. We went to the
Emergency room and was sent home.  I hadn't passed any clots and my
cervix was still closed.  Went back to the emergency room at 12:00
midnight and brought with me what I thought was "my baby" in a little
container that my husband fished out of the toilet.  The doctor came
in to give me a D & C and with no medication proceeded to perform
the procedure.  Now that I know what childbirth feels like the D & C
was worse!!!  The doctor told me it would only hurt for a little bit.
I have never screamed so loud or so hard in my life.  Like I said,
childbirth was a breeze.  I didn't scream while having a 9lb 4.5 oz baby.
The nurses came in and asked how I was.  I was crying, shaking and
swearing at the doctor.  We were told again to wait three months.

Well, I got pregnant again in October, again blood tests were positive.
My regular OB had a close eye on me.  I had to go to her office every
week.  I started spotting and I had to go for blood tests for a
quantitative HCG count.  The HCG count should double every day.  Well,
mine would go up and drop or go up just a little.  I ultimately miscarried
on December 23. Another D & C, this time I made them give me something.
This time the doctor gave me a cervical block.  Christmas was rough. By
this time all my Aunts and Uncles had found out that I was pregnant again
and I had to tell them that I miscarried.  There was lots of crying that
Christmas.

My doctor had suggested that my husband and I go for genetic counseling.
Because I had so many first trimester miscarriages, she felt that it
could be caused by a genetic factor rather than a physical factor (ie.
incompetant cervix, etc.)  Our HMO faciltiy near the house does not offer
genetic counseling so we had to go to another branch about 25 miles away.
The initial meeting was just basic questions.  How old we both are?
She asked about the pregnancies, length of them all, asked if my mother
had any miscarriages. (This is important because my mom had about 7
miscarriages.  There is a 6 year difference between my sister and I.
And in those days, "miscarriages was just nature's way of saying that
the fetus was not correct".  So my parents did not have any testing done
to see why my mom had so many.) Just regular family history information.
We gave blood and was told that they would have results in about a week.

Lisa Lordes was our genetic counsler and she was wonderful. She explained
to us all the possibilities.  She had mentioned a percentage of chance that
one of us had translocated chromosomes.  She explained to us the possibilities
of a normal child vs. a child with abnormalities.  We went home and
waited.  It was the longest week.... Lisa called me at work about
5 minutes to 5 and told me that yes, infact, it was me who had the
translocated chromosomes. I was soooooo upset..... I cried when she told
me.  I was wondering if I would ever have a baby we so much wanted.
She said that she would send me a letter telling me exactly what they
had found.  She said that this is an explanation for the miscarriages
that my mom had.  My particular situation was that part of my 13th
chromosome was on my 18th.  All the information was there so I was
"normal" but I would have the same problem as my mom had in keeping
a pregnancy.  Lisa felt very bad that I had gotten so upset. She
called me at home later to see if I was okay.  She called about a
week later to see if I wanted to come in and talk with her again.
I didn't really feel it was necessary but now that I look back on
it I think we should have.  It would have helped me deal with it a
little better.

Anyway, I got pregnant again in May and was advised
by my doctor to go to an Amnio/CVS (Chorionic Villi Sampling) Class.
Lisa's asscociate gave the class and had all my information already.
My husband and I felt that if there was something wrong with the
baby that we would not have ended the pregnancy so we did not go
through the Amnio or CVS.  I was sick about three months into (the
flu) but I called my ob/gyn and was told to come in to get checked.
That was one of the happiest moments of our married life.... we heard
a strong heart beat.  We both cried we were sooooo happy and we prayed
and thanked God that we FINALLY were going to have a baby.

Well, Zachary Matthew Faimeaso'o was born on Febuary 1, 1991, 9 lbs. 4.5 oz.
24 1/2 inches long.  Everything went on schedule throughout my whole
pregnancy.  I had no problems to speak of.  I ended up having a C-Section
because the little, I mean big, guy didn't want to come out after 2 1/2
hours of pushing.  I was almost two weeks late.

I miscarried again just two weeks ago.   This last one
I was in Hawaii and started to spot.  I ended up going to emergency
in Hawaii and the doctor told me my cervix was still closed and that
it was a threatened pregnancy but to go ahead and fly home.  I got
home and miscarried about 4 hours later.  I just knew the baby was
the girl my husband and I so much want.  I was 8 weeks pregnant.
I think having Zachary to hug and hold and kiss made this last
miscarriage alot easier than the first three.  Just to hear him laugh!!!!

I thank God for Zachary everyday and am glad I found out why I had so
many miscarriages.  It'll be a hit and miss thing for Zachary's
brothers and sisters but children are worth the waiting and the pain.
We will keep trying to have children.  We both would like to have
4-5 children.  It may take us a little longer than most couples but
that's just the way it'll have to be.

Thanks again
Lynn (lynnf@informix.com or seidc.sei.com!informix!lynnf)


Two years ago I had a similar problem as you but with my first pregnancey.

I was 11 weeks pregnant and over the moon, until one Saturday night I went
to the toilet and wiped away a small amount of blood.  For the next few days
I had scans etc and spoke to the gyno who told me there was nothing positive
he could say about this pregnancy.  He felt the best solution was to have a
D & C before I actually miscarried (the baby had died - no heartbeat) which
would be considerable pain.

Having the D & C was traumatic as I always kept thinking in the back of my
head that the baby was ok, and they had made a mistake.

I kept blaming myself for doing something to harm the baby and even worse
still would I ever have a healthy baby (was there something genetically wrong).

After 4 long months I was pregnant again and at 6 weeks I started
to spot, devastated the same thing was about to occur.  I had an ultrasound
and was overjoyed to see the heartbeat.  I rested for 6 weeks then carried
on with life as usual.

At 32 weeks pregnant I broke my ankle after falling down the back stairs,
worried again about my baby but everything was ok (except my ankle)

Happily at 41 weeks (overdue) I gave birth to a healthy 8lb little boy.

Now I am thinking of having another baby the thought of miscarriage remains
in my mind, it is said that if all women were to be pregnant five times they
would miscarry once.

Many of my friends have had miscarriages and now have one or two healthy
children.

I wish you the best be positive miscarriage is natures way for something which
is not quite right. I am sure that all will work out in the end if you
do miscarry you have to get on with life and don't be afraid to start
trying again.

cccno@wombat.newcastle.edu.au

=====================================================================

I also gave birth to a healthy baby boy 9lbs 4oz after spotting during my
7th through 13th week.  When I described my symptoms over the phone (also
on a weekend when it first happened) the OB on call told me I was probably
having a miscarriage, and not a whole lot could be done about it.  After
13 weeks I stopped spotting, until about 5 months along, when I got in
a relatively minor auto accident, but since I was pregnant and my ligaments
were loose, I was rather seriously injured (but it wasn't obvious at the
time)  I started spotting again, which I continued through my 7th month,
and suffered compression fractures in 2 vertabrae (sp?).  That was 4 years
ago, and since then I had another pregnancy that seemed abnormal at first
and resulted in a 9 lb 7 oz baby boy who is now healthy but had some
problems at first.

It seems I skipped a period so to speak, and rather than being the 9 weeks
pregnant that was calculated, I was actually 5 and a half weeks pregnant.
So again, I spent a few weeks fearing the loss of my unborn child.

=====================================================================
Add to your list of books

``Coping with Miscarriage''

Unfortunately, I don't have the author's name, and it was a library
book, but I found it very reassuring after my miscarriage.

                                          Lynn

                                          las@ai.mit.edu
=====================================================================


In article <20426@darkstar.ucsc.edu> you write:
>The question came up about bleeding during pregnancy and whether or
>not that indicates pregnancy.  The summary of what I have to say is
>that I have been told that more than half of the women who bleed
>during pregnancy go on to deliver a full-term child, but pay attention
>and don't take it lightly if you find yourself bleeding...

Tracy, thank you for a very informative article on bleeding in
pregnancy, however, I would like to point out one thing about the
statistic above.  The fact that over 50% of women who bleed during
pregnancy go on to deliver a full-term child doesn't mean (and you
didn't imply this, either, but I'm sure someone will read this
this way) that if you do bleed you have a 50% chance of miscarriage.

I am currently 24 weeks pregnant with my second child, and with both
pregnancies I bled and had cramps at the beginning.  The first one
was worse and I spent three months thinking a miscarriage was
imminent.  I had intermittent, heavy, bright red bleeding accompanied
by sometimes severe cramps.  Fortunately, everything turned out fine, and
I delivered a big healthy baby boy.  If I had read this article during
those first three months, however, I would have freaked out.

Anyway, maybe you could add a note to your FAQ article pointing out
that every pregnancy is different and that although bleeding is a
signal that you should get checked by the doctor, it doesn't necessarily
mean miscarriage is likely, or even indicate a 50% chance of miscarriage
for any particular woman.

BTW, in my case it turned out that I wasn't bleeding from the uterus
after all, but that I have what they call a "friable cervix," which
means that it has a lot of blood vessels in it that bleed easily.  So
despite all my worrying, I probably wasn't in any more danger of
miscarriage than in any non-bleeding first-trimester pregnancy.

Anyway, this is just my experience.

Thanks,
Judy Drake (judy@pendragon.cna.tek.com)

=====================================================================

I first want to preface this by telling you that I had a perfectly healthy baby
boy - 8 lbs 11 oz, 23 1/2 " long!  At 7 weeks, before my first Dr.'s visit, I
had spotting of the dark brown kind.  This was over the weekend, so the Dr.
told me to schedule an ultrasound on monday morning to see if everything looked
normal.  The baby's heartbeat and growth all looked perfectly normal, so he
said I could continue all regular exercise.  Don't take up a new sport, but he
specifically said my horseback riding was perfectly fine, just no jumping.  At
10 weeks, I tried out a friend's horse for only 10-15 minutes, but when I got
off the horse, I had floods of blood running down my legs.  I was hysterical,
and my friend rushed me to the emergency room.  I assumed I had miscarried
because I couldn't believe there could be so much blood and the baby could
live.  They called in an ultrasound tech, and the ultrasound showed a healthy
baby with a normal heartbeat.  10 weeks is before the placenta is completely
formed, but they guessed that I had a low lying placenta and had torn off a
piece of it.  I was given strict orders for bedrest for a week, but before the
week was out, I had hemorrhaged again.  This heavy bleeding continued off and
on until 14 weeks even with bedrest.  For no apparent reason, I would stand up
and the floods would just start.  It went away on its own.  Later sonograms
confirmed that I had a small piece of placenta that had torn off.  They
explained that the danger passed because as I got bigger, the placenta moved
up with my expanding uterus.  At the time, all they could tell me as a
diagnosis was "threatening to miscarry".  Any unexplained vaginal bleeding
during a pregnancy gets this label.  I carried my pregnancy to term, but the
next time I am pregnant, I will not ride a horse regardless of what the Dr.
says!
                       Michelle Schott (MBS4@psuvm.psu.edu)

=====================================================================

The best book I found on pregnancy loss was "Ended Beginnings".  There are
2 authors, one of which is Cathy Romeo, the other I can't remember now.
It was stronger in terms of posative possabilities for emothional
healing than other books I read.

              Jan Stetson              jstetson@bbn.com

=====================================================================

I am sorry for your loss.  It probably will take longer to
heal emotionally rather than physically.  I miscarried at 6 weeks
last winter and was in a similar situation whereas I hadn't told
anyone outside my parents and sister.  I didn't tell anyone at work
after I went back after missing one day of work.  Several people
knew there must be something wrong because they commented on how
terrible I looked.  However, for me, I had to deal with the loss
myself before anyone else could know.

After the miscarriage you'll be depressed because your hormone levels
drop so don't be surprised.  What got me through was knowing that
we would try again after 2 months.  I also had a son that was 2 years
old and I spent a lot of time appreciating him.  I did get pregnant
6 months later (now at the end of the 4th. month!) which was the
thing that helped me pass it.  This may not happen to you, but don't
be surprise if you find yourself thinking I would be 5 months pregnant
now, 7 months etc.  When I did talk with some friends about it (you
should talk to someone eventually besides your husband), they said
they had experienced similar thoughts.

Hang in there and remember that you can still have a healthy pregnancy
eventually.  Time will heal the wounds.

Donna J. Dixon ( donna@spock.att.com )

=====================================================================

I think when you start to bleed in the first trimester, this is not
good, but not always bad.  My doctor had me check the color (bright
red is bad), as well as the amount of bleeding.  I was in my 8th week
when I started to spot.
My doctor told me that if bed rest doesnt slow down my bleeding they
would have me take a quanitative pregnancy test.  The test showed that
my HCG level was down very low and this is why I was bleeding and if
it continued to drop that meant that I was miscarrying.  I miscarried
after 1 1/2 days of bed rest.  I got pregnant 4 months later and gave
birth to a healthy baby boy in May.  I feel that my first pregnancy
that ended in miscarraige was not meant to be.  It took some time to
get over, but I did.  I do think about it, I did all through my second
pregnancy, and I thank God for giving me Zachary.

I think its important that women who are pregnant be aware of what may
or may not happen.  I went into my first pregnancy thinking that every
thing would be perfect, I had no worries, then boom it happened.  With
my second pregnancy I knew what could happen, so I took it one step
at a time.  I didnt tell anyone until I was well into my third month.
Then when I started to show and I heard the baby's heartbeat I just
sat back and enjoyed being pregnant.

=====================================================================

OK, here's my contribution.

Our experience with miscarriage isn't particularly useful in itself
since we never got a diagnosis or treatment, but we did hear some
interesting statistics from our doctors. The infertility specialist
we went to told us in the first appointment that:

        1. about 50% of infertility cases don't result in a
        definitive diagnosis, and
        2. about 50% of the diagnosable conditions don't have
        a definitive treatment.

In other words, we shouldn't get our hopes up too high.

On the positive side, folks with infertility problems might be
interested in joining the adoption mailing list (adoption@think.com)
which I've set up. To join, send your e-mail address to
adoption-request@think.com.
--
Ephraim Vishniac    ephraim@think.com   ThinkingCorp@applelink.apple.com

=====================================================================

I have a book on preventing miscarriage that tells stories of women
who had up to 8 miscarriages before giving birth to healthy babies.
In case you care, the name of the book is "Preventing Miscarriage: the
Good News."  It details all sorts of things.  One thing the book
mentioned that I had never thought of was that sometimes the same
problems that make it hard for a couple to conceive also make it hard
for the mother to carry to term.  I found it interesting reading, but
sometimes the words that were meant to be encouraging did not
encourage me.

=====================================================================

My wife had a son with her first husband in 1978, and we had a son together
in 1985.  No real problems getting pregnant.  She was 35 in 1985.

Then we decided to try for a third, when our youngest was almost three.
We had three miscarriages -- at 10-12 weeks -- over a period of 18 months,
and finally got one to catch, right after the third miscarriage.  Sometimes
it just takes persistence.
--

John Hawkes (hawkes@sgi.com)

=====================================================================

This is what I know, for starters:

Most miscarriages are of the types "fetal demise" (where the fetus
dies) or "blighted ovum" (an egg is fertilized, and a placenta
starts growing, but the fetus fails to grow, so there is only a
placenta and an amniotic sac).  Much rarer are molar pregnancies,
which are a type of blighted ovum where an abnormal spongy mass
grows on the placenta.  Partial moles much rarer than full moles.

When a molar pregnancy has been diagnosed (the tissue extracted
during the D&C is sent to a pathology lab), the first course of
action is to make sure all the growth has been removed.  This is
done by doing weekly, then monthly pregnancy blood tests.  This is
cruel test to do to a woman who is dealing with the aftermath of
a miscarriage (personal opinion).  Three negative weeks in a row
means going to monthly tests.  Three negative months is a row means
the patient is "cured".  If the test do not go to negative, this
indicates that the growth mastesised (spelling?) and that there is
tissue growing elsewhere in the body.  According to my doctor, the
usual course of treatment is then chemotherapy.  It is therefore
imperative that the patient not become pregnant again until declared
"cured" (since obviously a subsequent pregnancy would make it
impossible to determine if there was any other growth).  It is
usually recommended that you wait at least a year before attempting
another pregnancy.

I am hoping that someone out there has gone on to have a successful
pregnancy after a molar pregnancy, since I could use some encourage-
ment when we get around to trying again.

Thanks for your sympathy.  As many people are aware, a miscarriage
is certainly a painful loss.  Dealing with a non-viable pregnancy
is hard, too (I often felt like I had no right to cry over a baby
that never was).  Dealing with the additional issue of whether
chemo will become necessary while dealing with the other parts is
hard, too.  Especially when a lab technician just knows you need a
pregnancy test and starts making small talk on the assumtion that
you are hoping for a positive.

Maureen   (mbb@keps.com)

=====================================================================

You mentioned that you were flying and it made me want to place this
warning to everyone who has trouble carrying pregnancies to term.
Don't fly.

Both my first and second pregnancies ended with lost fetuses (slightly
different and not both miscarriages).  In both cases I lost the baby
immediately after flights.  I did some research and flight attendants
have a higher than normal incidence of miscarriage.

While a normal, low risk pregnant woman is probably perfectly safe in
an airplane, I found that the correlation was too great and refused to
fly in either of my two subsequent pregnancies, both of which resulted
in living babies.  I don't KNOW that this is the cause.  But the
increased rate of miscarriage in flight attendants is spooky.

First, cabin pressures are not always maintained as they should be.
Second, the air is not always fully oxygenated.  If you are at risk in
your pregnancy, why take the additional risk.  If everything is normal
and you have no problems this probably won't be one.

Judy Leedom Tyrer (judy@locus.com)

=====================================================================

I've had a couple of D&C's.  One after a miscarriage during the 1st
trimester (I was 11 weeks pregnant), and the other after a miscarriage
in the 2nd trimester (I was 20 weeks that time).  The good news is
that I have four children, including twins...

Both D&C's were done under a general anesthetic.They were not painful
and there was very little effect from the GA, as I was only
anthesitised for a short time.  Afterwards there was a little
bleeding, for a couple of days, but nothing much in the way of pain.
I was in hospital for 24 hrs.  The Doctors suggested that we wait 3
months before trying again.

Karen Hayward (karen@madhouse.cavebbs.gen.nz)

======================================================================
Date: 4 Feb 92

I am still overwhelmed by the support and reassuring words of all of you
that responded to my post.  It's very comforting to know that there are
people out their kind enough to share their experiences with a stranger in
need of reassurance.

Now to update you all on the status.  I tried to respond to most of you
individually, however I was out of the office Wednesday-Friday last week
so am somewhat behind.  I want to make it very clear to those in early
pregnancy that this type of cramping (unoccompanied by bleeding) is
*perfectly normal* and is generally attributed to a stretching uterus and
ligaments.  However, in my case it was not quite so innocuous (sp?).  I
left the office on Tuesday feeling somewhat reassured by all the
"don't worry", "its normal", "I had it happen to me with both my
pregnancies and have 2 perfectly healthy children" emails.  In case I
need to refresh someone out there, I had been having mild cramps
off and on since the time I should have started my period.  They were
short in duration (30 min to 2 hrs max) and I experienced no bleeding. I was
just starting my 6th week of pregnancy.  I had been cramping all day Tuesday
when I posted to the net for advice/reassurance.


Well, I began to lightly bleed at about 6:30 pm Tuesday and of course
became quite upset.  I called my Dr. and the nurse told me that their
wasn't much they could do, to go to bed and call them if anything changed.
In my mind, I knew that I was miscarrying as all the secondary symptoms I
had been experiencing due to the pregnancy had been diminishing since
Sunday.  Well, indeed this is what happened.  I awoke at approx. 4:00 am
in the morning from a pretty strong cramp and when I went to the
bathroom I had begun bleeding fairly heavily.  (as heavy as any period I
have experienced, however the cramping that had lasted from 10:00 am
the morning before had disappeared).  I don't know whether I did the
right thing at this point or not, but I went back to bed as I did not
feel that anything at this point would stop what was happening and I did
not feel that my health was in danger.  However, I did not sleep, I
cried.  (and cried, and cried....)  I finally got up again at 8:00 am
and still bleeding called my Dr.  They scheduled me to come in for a
sonogram at 12:00 pm.  They did the sonogram and discovered that
my uterus was not enlarged at all.  The Dr. said that the pregnancy did
not implant properly and that this is *not* likely to happen in future
pregnancy attempts.  However, I can't help but still feel a little
worrisome.  After doing the sonogram, the Dr. had to do a serum blood
test to check the level of HCG in my blood to make sure that I was
not experiencing a tubal pregnancy. That test came back with very low levels
of HCG detected, so the risk of tubal was eliminated.  I have pretty
much fully recovered physically and emotionally after a long couple of
days crying and worrying that this may happen again if I try to get
pregnant again.  This has been a very long year and a half of trying to
get pregnant, getting pregnant and then miscarrying.  I think my husband
and I have decided at this time to put off getting pregnant again for
about 6 mo.  We live in Kansas and really do not want to have a baby in
the middle of the winter months.  We both agree that spring would be a
better time.

As I look back at the events of the last 2 weeks, I know I have grown
as a person.  Incidentally, on Friday I was promoted to a better
position in my company that offers the potential to make quite a bit
more money.  I guess as ironic as life is, there is a reason for
everything.  Although sometimes it is very hard to see the reason. And
the *VERY* good news is that I can actually get pregnant, which had
been a big concern.

Stacey Morse (stacy@informix.com)

======================================================================
Date: March 26 1992

[a response to an article posted to the net, where the responder gave
permission to have her response included in this file, but the original
writer did not (so she is unnamed).]

>I had surgery three weeks ago for a tubal pregnancy.  I had no symptoms,
>no pain, just some strange HCG numbers.  The doctor thought I was
>just going to miscarry, but left the option of a tubal open.  Well,
>that is exactly what it turned out to be.  At 6 weeks, I was already
>hemorraging when they went to look for a possible tubal.  I was really
>lucky- I kept my tube.  They cut it open to remove the pregnancy and
>apparently it heals itself without stitches.  I had no tubal scarring,
>nothing to indicate why this happened.  It was kinda a freak thing.
>
>So, now I want to hear happy stories.  I have heard lots of sad
>stories of the difficulties entailed with tubals and getting pregnant
>again.  I'd like to hear some "there is hope, and this is what happened
>to me" stories.  Are there any out there?
>
>Thanks

My experience with tubal pregnancy was nearly identical to
yours, except my fallopian tube was left in two pieces
afterwards  with the idea that it might be repaired later if
necessary.  Sounds like the state of the art has improved quite
a lot in the last 6 years!!  Anyway, I had the ectopic in
July 1985 (4th of July weekend)  and my daughter Laura was born
in July 1986.  There *is* plenty of hope, especially if your
tubes don't seem to be scarred or otherwise damaged.

It's very scary and disappointing to have an ectopic, especially
since so many books on infertility and/or pregnancy loss seem
to give the subject somewhat short shrift.  As it was, I had tried
to become pregnant for well over a year, only to have it end
in surgery and with the fear that I was incapable of getting pregnant
again.  Yet I was in my obstretrician's office 4.5 months later with
a temperature chart that indicated that I was pregnant.

Keep a good outlook and try not to despair, the odds are probably
very good that you will be pregnant very soon.

Sue Miller (sue@netcom.com)
=====================================================================
Date: June 30, 1992

I will begin with a little history.  After 10 months of trying to get
pregnant, I decided in January to see an infertility specialist. After
several preliminary tests, we discovered that my progesterone level
was insufficient.  I had been charting for a year and a half so we
knew I was ovulating, however my cycles were a little irregular. My OB
prescribed Serophene (clomid) in order to increase the progesterone
level.  After the first post-coital test we discovered there was very
little motility and most of the sperm were dead.  She explained that a
side effect of the serophene is decreased mucus, thus the sperm
problem. (My husband passed his sperm count test with flying colors).
On to the next prescription, estrogen days 6-14 to increase my mucus.
On the fourth cycle, April my period was late and after 14 months we
were finally pregnant.  We were so excited we couldn't stand it.  We
told the family and a few close friends when I was seven weeks.

However, our happiness was short lived, I miscarried the next week.  I
didn't have any problems prior to that.  I had already had my first OB
appointment and all of the blood work.  Everything looked great.  I
was using progesterone suppositories as a precautionary measure. While
putting my morning suppository in I noticed some very faint blood
stains. I immediately called the doctor and she told me to go in for
an ultrasound.  Being somewhat exposed to the medical field and a lot
of pregnant women, I knew there something wrong when I was looking at
the screen.  There was no clear sac.  They sent me over to my OB's
office and she confirmed what I already suspected.  We did a D&C and I
left the office in utter shock.  It all happened so fast.  My husband
was able to make it to the office to be with me for the procedure and
take me home.

That was on June 3, 1992, a day I'll never forget.  But, I have to
move forward so we can begin trying to conceive again.  My questions
for all of you are related to both my infertility and miscarriages.
Has anyone had a similar infertility problem in combination with
miscarriage?  In reading the infertility FAQ there didn't seem to be
much on low progesterone.  I guess I need some encouragement at this
point.  I also read the miscarraige FAQ and that helped some, but
again nothing that combined the two experiences.  My doctor seems to
be extremely optomistic.  She keeps saying "At least we know that you
CAN get pregnant".  She also feels that the miscarriage and
progesterone are not related.  Her opinion is that the miscarriage was
one of those 80% that occur due to chromosomal abnormalities.  I am
not so convinced.  I want to believe that it was just one of the many
miscarriages that just happens, but I'm having a hard time being
optomistic.

Any information anyone has on the medical side, as well as the
emotional side will be greatly appreciated.  We will begin the
serophene and estrogen routine as soon as I have my first regular
cycle (probably next week).

Many thanks in advance.

Marcia Patino     (marciap@informix.com) 

.

