Blood Work

When I was pregnant the first time, by the time I finally got blood work done for the first time I was already at the beginning of a miscarriage. My progesterone levels were really low and my doc said the next time I get a bfp, I need to let them know ASAP so that I could get blood work done and they could determine whether or not I need to be put on progesterone supplements.
As previously stated I got my bfp on Friday morning an called my doc to let her know. I didn’t hear back until just before work so I couldn’t get my blood drawn until Saturday. Well Saturday rolled around and I forgot that the lab closed at noon. I missed it.
For those of you who don’t understand the process, I was to be tested the first time for two things. First and foremost for hcg (the pregnancy hormone as they call it) and second for progesterone. Then, 48 hours later I am to be tested again, this time just for hcg. They want to make sure that my levels of hcg are doubling like they should every 48 hours.
So I was supposed to be tested once on Saturday an again on Monday. As I said I missed Saturday so I got up early this morning and took myself to get poked with a needle in the hopes that the test results might be back early enough to get them today. It worked. My docs office called me this afternoon and let me know that my hcg levels are in line with what they should be at this point and my progesterone levels are also good.
I still have to wait until Wednesday to see if my hcg levels are doubling like they should, but it’s nice to have a little peace of mind for now amid all the cramping I have been feeling. (the cramping has been mild but apparent and luckily, not combined with any spotting)
So for now I breath a sigh of relief and remind myself still that the little zen baby will be what it is. One way or the other.

Are you my Chicken?

I don’t know what to think.

I spoke with the Dr. yesterday morning and she asked me to go into the diagnostics lab and get some blood work done.  She wanted to check my HcG levels.  I had to get one test done yesterday (hopefully I will know results of that one today) and one more on Saturday morning.  The idea is that as your pregnancy progresses, your HcG levels should increase.  Hopefully, the levels from tomorrows test are higher that from yesterdays.  That will tell me that I haven’t miscarried and the pregnancy is still progressing.  If they are lower it means I have or am in the process of a miscarriage.

I went and got the blood drawn then came back home to crawl back into bed ( the Dr. wrote me a note asking that I be excused from work for the weekend as she recommended bed-rest).  Throughout the day my bleeding and cramping continued to worsen.  It peaked yesterday evening and started to ease off after I had passed a number of quarter sized clots.  What that me miscarrying?  Was it some other easily explained cramping and spotting?  Do we still have a chicken?  I was convinced yesterday that it could only be a miscarriage.  Now, who knows?

If i stand up for a while, it feels like I start to cramp a little again, so here in bed I lay.  The bleeding has all but stopped which is an exciting prospect.  I read a lot about miscarriages last night and it seems like if that’s what that was, there maybe should have been more blood.  Maybe even more pain with my cramps.  That being said, every woman and pregnancy -and presumably loss of pregnancy- is different.

The only symptom I have really had so far in this pregnancy is sore breasts.  Yesterday it seemed that the soreness was all but gone.  Today they do feel sore.  As sore as they were? I don’t think so, but they are sore.  I may be grasping at straws.

So here we are.  I don’t know what to think.  I don’t want to be too hopeful as I don’t want to be so let down.  I also don’t want to assume that it’s all over.  I guess I am prepared for it to not have been our little chick and I’ll be so excited if it is our little chick.  I’m still taking care of myself.  In bed, lots of water, healthy foods, prenatal vitamins.

Won’t know anything for sure until we get the results on Monday.

edit: Just spoke with the Dr.  She said that my test from yesterday showed nice healthy numbers for HcG levels (2100 I think) but if I’m experiencing a miscarriage, that number won’t mean anything until we can compare it to tomorrows number.  She noted that my progesterone level was low and if this pregnancy is progressing, I will need to be put on progesterone until the placenta picks up the slack and can take over on its own.  Basically she said I should keep feeling what I’m feeling.  She said it could very likely have been a miscarriage, and she also said that it just as easily could have been some random early pregnancy bleeding.  Won’t know anything until Monday.

Wish us luck.