Stop the ride, I want to get off!

Yes, we are back in town and had tons of fun! We did experience some struggles along the way and to keep everyone who knows updated in one shot I thought I'd post the story and an update.

I found out I was pregnant a little over two weeks ago. I was excited for two days before some bleeding started. It was just some dark spotting which I have had with all my kids so I wasn't too concerned until it lasted longer then 3 days and started getting heavier and bright red. On Monday, the day before we left for Arizona, I started bleeding even more. I tried to get into a doctor but because I am Rh negative and needed a RhoGAM shot they referred me to the ER. So off to the ER I went. They checked me and took some blood and gave me the shot. They wanted me to come back in two days to take blood again to make sure my hcg level (pregnancy hormone) was doubling. Because I was going to be in Arizona they just rechecked it the next day. My hcg level went up only 20%. Because I was still bleeding and the level was not going up as it was supposed to, I figured I was in for a great time on my trip meaning I thought I was going to miscarry. We fly out to Arizona late Tuesday and on Wednesday, I started really bleeding, passing clots and a little tissue. I was cramping pretty bad and figured I had miscarried, especially since the cramping and bleeding died down that evening. Because I thought the miscarriage had happened and because I was on vacation, I decided to enjoy myself and not rest like I probably should have. I played volleyball Friday morning with my old gang in Goodyear. I played around the world ping pong with Mark's siblings and spouses Friday night. And of course Saturday was a busy day with Kenny's baptism and it being my birthday and all. So when Sunday (Mother's Day) came around things got considerably worse. I started passing quarter size clots and was bleeding heavily. I started feeling dizzy and told Mark it was time to take me in so off to the ER we go. We went to the new Banner hospital on Higley which is really nice. By the time we got there and in a room I thought I was going to die. The cramps were bad and I was flowing like a faucet. My blood pressure was high as well. They take me in the back and do an ultrasound (which the technician was not going to give me any clues) and took some more blood. My doctor came in as soon as she received the results from the ultrasound. She said I had not miscarried. The sac was still there but because I was so early in the pregnancy, they could not see anything else meaning, no heartbeat or fetal pole. Which is normal for being only 5 weeks. I should probably mention that the doctor did an exam and found my cervix closed/no dilation. I of course start crying and she asked if this was a planned pregnancy. I told her it was a planned pregnancy, that we had been trying for 17 months. I just had it in my mind that I had already miscarried and I figured I was there because there was some left over tissue which was causing problems. I thought I was going in to get things taken care of and then I could move on from this whole ordeal. Instead I find I'm back on the roller coaster still not knowing if I was going to miscarry. I still have a high chance that it is an ectopic pregnancy or a blighted ovum (which is when the sac forms but an embryo doesn't) because my hcg levels are going up only slightly. She told me that for some reason some women bleed like I am and still have a healthy baby. The ultrasound ruled out any hemorrhaging. She said we will know more when we get the hcg results. If the level is the same or has dropped then we will know that it is not a viable pregnancy and we can take it from there. A little later she came in with the results. My levels went up 20% again instead of doubling. So now I'm playing the waiting game. Still not knowing if all will be well. I got the OK to fly back home the next day. No heavy lifting, take it easy, lay down and rest for the bleeding and go back in if it gets worse, yadda, yadda, yadda.

So now for the update. I still know nothing! My doctor here does not want to repeat a blood test because hcg levels can be so unreliable. I have an ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday and will know more then. So stay tuned!

P.S. I'm still bleeding but it is not as bad when I stay down and do nothing which is not an easy thing to do.