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Original poster

Molar Pregnancy

14 replies

chickenrice · 20/09/2005 10:40

. The doctors now suspect that I may have a partial molar pregnancy. Has anyone experienced this?

Can you have a partial molar pregnancy without an embryo? The last scan showed an empty sac. I thought I was suffering from a missed miscarriage (since I have had no bleeding etc )which in itself I find so hard to deal with but now this.

OP posts:
fqueenzebra · 20/09/2005 10:54

no experience but sorry 2 hear of yours.

frogs · 20/09/2005 11:18

CR, I had a molar pregnancy between dd1 and ds. It was a horrid experience, but did go on to have two healthy pregnancies afterwards.

As far as I understand it, you can have a full molar pregancy or a partial molar preganancy. In the latter case there is some of what the surgeons call 'foetal tissue' but nothing that will or would ever have grown into a baby (which may be why there was an empty sac).

There is a nationally-agreed protocol for treatment for molar preganancies based at your nearest specialist centre (Charing Cross hospital London, Sheffield or Dundee). You have to do regular urine samples and occasional blood samples and send them off to the centre in a little box. There are also guidelines about when it's safe to try for another pregnancy. It's a pain, but at least there's no question of not getting the best possible medical treatment.

I've written this very neutrally as you don't say much about what's happening for you. I was gutted when it happened to me, but it does get better. CAT me or post again if you need more info. The staff at the specialist centres are also fantastic and give lots of support.

KBear · 20/09/2005 11:46

There was a thread about this last week - have a search - you might find someone on there that can share this experience with you. Sorry to hear this has happened to you.

bannana · 20/09/2005 13:28

i have just finished chemo after suffering from a complete molar pregnancy. what have they told you to do are they going to do scan you again to make sure.they where able to pick up mine with a ultra sound scan. on first scan they just thought i had my dates mixed up then 1 week later after a heavy bleed they said i had this molar pregnacy. i had a d and c to remove every thing then regular blood test that where sent to charing cross hospital. was given all clear in april then levels went up again was told it had developed into cancerus tissue and was admitted to charing cross on 30th june to start chemo that i finished last thursday . i hope you are felling ok i know what you r going through losing a pregnancy then the worry about you health. this is a totally cureable condition even in the worst cases

KBear · 20/09/2005 15:52

There you are bannana - how are you now?

bannana · 20/09/2005 16:01

fine thanks

bannana · 20/09/2005 16:09

chickenrice
how r u feeling?
feel free to ask me for more info if you want
you can have a partial molar without a baby partial means only part of the placenta is growing abnormally sometime there is a embryo but in most cases not

Original poster
chickenrice · 20/09/2005 21:12

Thank you all for your information. I am really glad that things worked out for you 'frogs.' Does the 'foetal tissue ' you refer to something other than the sac? They could not see anything other than the sac. No yolk sac, no embryo. It's good to hear that if it is indeed a molar pregnancy, I would get the right treatment.

Bannana, I am sorry you are going through this too.Is It 6 months or 1 year that you have to wait before TTC? Did they do anything other than testing HCG levels and the ultrasound scans to make the diagnosis?

I think I would have been 9 weeks today. I have had a few scans already. The first and scan were inconclusive, the second scan showing a gestational sac too small for the dates and HCG levels. I am sure of my dates. I was told by the consultant who did the next scan that he was very certain that I had an ectopic pregnancy for which I underwent a laparoscopy the next day. This was just over a week ago. He said the sac was a false sac as it was irregular in shape and in the endometrial cavity. Turned out it was not an ectopic. The night before I could not sleep at all as I was told that not only was my pregnancy lost but that I would have to lose a tube. I was naturally relieved to not have lost the tube but now am feeling the loss of my baby. My heart feels heavy and time seems to pass so slowly. I feel very low. I was told the HCG levels should have come down but they keep rising. However they are not doubling. The latest scan shows the sac to be a gestational sac after all (according to the sonographer) but I was told at the size it is now, they would have expected to see a yolk sac. I saw the consultant yesterday and was told that he now believes it is a molar pregnancy and he will scan again next week to confirm the diagnosis.

OP posts:
bannana · 21/09/2005 21:14

its noramlly 6 months after your levels are 4 or under but its a year for me because i had to have the chemo

soapbox · 21/09/2005 21:28

I had a complete molar 3.5 years ago.

All teh info on here is correct- you will be monitored very closely by your specialist centre. The service is remote, so you go to your local hospital for the blood tests and then send them onto the specialist unit. This was a bit of a pain because the hospital has no idea wbat to do with the sample - I used to take mine myself up to pathology and speak to the manager to make sure that they treated it correctly before it was sent off.

Then you ahve to phone in for your results. My HCG levels didn't go down fast enough so I was monitored for 2 years, if they go down quickly in teh first few weeks you may only be monitored for 6 months.

I focused so much on the health aspect of the molar while I was being monitored that I didn't dwell too much on the loss of the pregnancy. I still feel odd, that there was never any baby to miss, but in a partial that may be different!

inglis · 22/09/2005 14:36

Just sending you so much love, chickenrice. I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

Original poster
chickenrice · 26/09/2005 13:52

Just an update.

Went for my sacn today. The sac has only grown a bit since my scan 10 days ago and there is bleeding around the sac. Consultant still unable to rule out a molar because of the way the sac had developed over the course of the pregnancy. He is doing an ERPC on Wednesday.

I feel terrible about the loss but have come to accept it as there is nothing I can do to change things.

Thanks to all of you for your posts and kind thoughts. I am sorry Soapbox that you had to go through a molar pregnancy. I hope things have worked out for you since.

OP posts:
Posey · 30/09/2005 20:10

Only just seen this thread.

When I had mine, it was just thought to be a missed miscarriage. It wasn't until they sent the products to the lab that it was diagnosed.
I then got referred to Charing Cross although I never attended there. I had a blood test then monthly urine samples which I sent off in the post. They want to check for pregnancy hormones. If the levels fail to drop quickly enough or indeed rise, they need to monitor you more closely. Fortunately mine dropped very fast to zero. When they've been negative for pregnancy hormones for a certain length of time (I think it was 6 months in my case) I was allowed to ttc again.

This was my 2nd pregnancy, I already had a normal pregnancy before. I have since had another healthy pregnancy and baby.

Hope you're feeling okay. Get in touch if you need or want to.

grazia11 · 02/10/2005 17:22

Hi - wishing you well, chickenrice. All the very, very best to you.

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