Ultrasounds??

[Primrose83]

Today  i  had  my  1st vaginal u/s and they  could only see the gestational sac(measuring 6 1/2wks) no baby....I'm pose to be 8 wks 2 days .I'm  told i  will  probably  misscary here soon ? They wanted to  schedule me a  D-C  but told them  i  want to  wait it  out rather.... Anyone else have this happen  to  them  ever and have a  complete HAPPY  turnout and later found  a  baby in the sac?

[no5no5]

  Is there any way you could be off on your dates?  When did you get your first BFP?

[MarineWife]

Something similar to this happened to me when I was pg with ds2. I had some bleeding at what the docs thought was about 8w. I went to the ER and had an u/s. We saw only a gestational sac and fetal pole, no yolk sac, no heartbeat and nothing more of a formed baby. At 8w you would expect to see the entire body of the baby with a heartbeat relatively easily. The ER doc told me I had an anembryonic sac, aka blighted ovum, and would need a D&C. He did at least tell me to follow up in 4 days at the OB clinic for confirmation. When I went to the OB clinic for a follow-up u/s, we saw the heartbeat right away. DS is now almost 7 years old.

The thing was that I was really only 5w4d when I went to the ER, 6w on the dot when I had the follow-up at the OB clinic. I knew that because I had been charting and knew when I Oed. I Oed on cd30, at which time the docs already considered me 4w2d pg based on my lmp. I tried to tell the ER doc that but he wouldn't listen. He couldn't accept that I could know something like that.

They calculate gestation age by assuming a 28 day cycle with O on cd14 and start counting on the first day of your lmp. That means you are considered 2w pg on cd14 when you O (before you've even conceived) and 4w on cd28. It's very possible to O much later than cd14, which means your dates will all be off.

[Primrose83]

 thanks for  replying ....i'm feeling  so  depressed now about all  this  just  praying  everything  turns out  okay  with a  healthy  baby .....My  (BETA) test results show normal for for 8 weeks 2days just  my sac is  measuring   6 1/2 wks ...not sure what  could  be  going  on .....waiting is no fun!!!

[Jenne]

One beta doesn't indicate anything other than pregnancy. You need to have a follow up beta 48 hours (or so) after the first. The change between the two numbers (you want it to be increasing at around double) indicates what is happening hormonaly. I'd call your doctor/midwife and request a follow up beta. I wish you a healthy 40 weeks!

Jenne

[MarineWife]

I'm so sorry. I've been through that and know how horrible it is. I hope it was just too early. I know that docs expect to see certain things at a certain times based on beta numbers as well as timing but there is a lot of variation, a wide range of normal betas for any given time.

[tzs]

ugh! wishing you luck.

why do they even do ultrasounds that early if nothing else is going on? it seems like nothing but stress from what i've read on these boards.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by tzs 

why do they even do ultrasounds that early if nothing else is going on? it seems like nothing but stress from what i've read on these boards.

I've had an ultrasound every week from 5 1/2 to 9 1/2 weeks this time. They have relieved my stress. After several early losses, one of which my body didn't register for weeks so I thought everything was fine, the weekly knowing that everything is ok, at least for now, really helped me. Also after my experiences with losses, I'd rather know asap if something is wrong than humming along thinking everything is fine just to be suddenly hit with a loss. My situation is probably different from most, though, because I've had more losses than successful pgs.

[Primrose83]

only reason  i  had one done is i  spotted a  tiny  bit  and it has  now stopped .....not sure what i  going  on ....will  hopfully  go  in  for  more tests next week

[MarineWife]

Spotting and bleeding are quite common in early pg and a lot of the time neither is a sign of anything bad.

[tzs]

my friend also had spotting early on followed by a not-so-conclusive ultrasound. the next one went a-ok and the spotting eventually stopped. her son is 15 months. keep us updated!

[callieollie]

I am so sorry you are going through this. I saw you post on mine as well, so as you know, I'm going through the same thing.  My OB didn't express any outward concerns yet, just "retest in a week."  The nurse I spoke to kept reassuring me that my dates could be off but I KNOW they aren't (we didn't have sex a week after we conceived so I couldn't be a week behind).  The only thing that is giving me a little bit of hope is stories I've read from others where they saw nothing and things turned out OK.  I hear a lot of that from women who have retroverted/tilted uteruses.  I have one so I'm hoping that is the reason for the problem. I've heard that makes viewing the baby harder and often leads to measuring 1 to 2 weeks behind at the early part of the pregnancy. Any chance you have a tilted uterus?  

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by callieollie 

The nurse I spoke to kept reassuring me that my dates could be off but I KNOW they aren't (we didn't have sex a week after we conceived so I couldn't be a week behind).

There is a 6 day fertile window for getting pg, O day and the 5 days before. It is possible that you Oed several days after the last time you had sex and still got pg. Sperm can live in fertile cervical fluid, the uterus and the fallopian tubes for up to 6 days.

[callieollie]

True, but 6 days is EXTREMELY rare.  1-3 days is more the norm for in fertile mucus. My CM had already dried up on the last day we had sex and my temperature had also already risen.  Plus, my cervix was low, closed, and firm. So I am almost positive I ovulated when I think I did, given all my signs. If there is any leeway at all, it would only be maybe a 2 day difference.  

[WifeofAnt]

I had EWCM for 6 days the cycle I got pregnant and I've run across women Trying-to-avoid who have had that unlucky streak and got pregnant with 'sticky' mucus 6 days before.  Its crazy but it does happen.

[MarineWife]

Originally Posted by callieollie 

True, but 6 days is EXTREMELY rare.  1-3 days is more the norm for in fertile mucus. My CM had already dried up on the last day we had sex and my temperature had also already risen.  Plus, my cervix was low, closed, and firm. So I am almost positive I ovulated when I think I did, given all my signs. If there is any leeway at all, it would only be maybe a 2 day difference.  

If you were charting your basal body temperature and had a clear and sustained thermal shift sooner, then, yeah, it's not likely your dates are off. You didn't mention that before, though, so I didn't know you had more info than just the last time you had sex.

While I agree that it doesn't happen a lot, I don't know how rare it really is to get pg from intercourse 6 days before O. I have heard of it happening, like the PP said, to women who didn't have what most consider fertile CF at the time they dtd.

[callieollie]

Sorry, I didn't give a lot of info on my charts or stuff like that.  I have been charting for 7 years (both to achieve and avoid pregnancy) and have had training in 2 different forms of NFP.  I have be trained in how to specifically differentiate the different kinds of CM and I know that based on the form of NFP I've been using, there is only a 1.5% chance of ovulating 3 days past peak day, and that is when you are only using CM to calculate peak day (which is theoretically the day of ovulation). When you use other fertility markers (BBT and cervix position), the chance would be even smaller, particularly if all of the fertility signs coincide, which mine did.  

I found this online, which is consistent with what I've learned in my studies as well:

The longest that sperm can survive in fertile (eggwhite) cervical fluid is five days. All pregnancies can be attributed to intercourse that takes place within the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation.

Sperm, however, do not typically survive for five days, even in fertile cervical fluid. A life span of 2-3 days is much more typical for sperm, even in fertile cervical fluid- less if there is no fertile cervical fluid.

[MarineWife]

Yes, I've read that. One thing that has always confused me, though, is that I also read that sperm pretty quickly travels through the cervix, into the uterus and up into the tubes and can hang out in the tubes for a while. CF wouldn't be an issue in the tubes so I wonder how long sperm could survive there.

[callieollie]

My understanding is that when you don't have fertile mucus, your cervix and vagina create a hostile environment toward the sperm so it seems to kill off the sperm so that not much is going to pass through into the uterus. When there is a lot of EWCM, it is a favorable environment for the sperm so some swim on into the uterus and then some stay in the cervix and can live there for awhile in the fertile mucus and then they move into the uterus and tubes later, almost like in shifts! 

[callieollie]

Primrose, I'm sorry to have hijacked your post with the ins and outs of sperm and mucus!  Any updates? Are you planning for a follow-up u/s?