how pregnant am I????

[littlestar27]

First of all im new to this but wanted some advice on how far on I could be! Ill start from the beginning. I was taking the pill cerazete starting in may, This was all fine to begin with but started feeling unwell headaches and things I struggled on but when I was on holiday in June I missed a few pills. I was due to have my period on 17th June and it didn't arrive at this time I had decided to stop taking thew pill and go back on the depo injection so I was awaiting my period to do this. I did a pregnancy test on the 2nd July and this was negative (although it was out of date) My period still hadn't arrived so I repeated the test on 7th July and again was negative. On 12th of July (nearly a full month late) I had a very light period this was the followed by another heavy bleed on 19th July followed by another on 2nd aug. I thought this very odd so went to the doctords who advised that this would have been due to me stopping the pill and weren't real periods but just my body returning to normal advised to wait till this passed and when my real period arrived to make app for the injection. By this time I was feeling very tired moody and had gained weight I assumed this was due to my eating habits (you know what its like back from holiday bikini put away till next year) so didn't worry to much about what i was eating. However as my jeans were getting tighter I decided to go on a diet but couldn't understand that after 2 weeks of cutting down and eating only 1400 cals a day I was still gaining weight!! I had a suspision at the back of my mind am I pregnant after all but just kept ignoring my intuition. However the day I thought my period was due 30th sept (calculating from last bleed) I was feeling queasy and tired decided on thr off chance to do a test. What do you know it was positive and not just a faint positive! The problem I have now is I have no Idea if Im just 5 weeks pregnant or more as I don't know which bleed I should take as my last period? Any ideas anyone??

[madmarriedNika]

I would just go straight to your GP, explain what's happened and he/she should refer you to the Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) at your local hospital where they can do an early dating scan- that is the only way to work out how far along you are. Your GP may also take a blood test to check on your level of HcG- the "pregnancy hormone"- as this increases steadily up until around 12 weeks I think.

Ovulation can occur any time after coming off cerazette so it's very hard to know when it happened- one of your bleeds may have actually been an implantation bleed where the conceived egg (embryo) buries into your womb lining.

In the meantime start taking folic acid and/or an antenatal vitamin/mineral supplement such as sanatogen pregnacare (available from any chemist), and obviously quit alcohol etc. if applicable.

Congrats and good luck - hope it isn't too much of an awful shock!

[madmarriedNika]

PS. Personally I suspect if you had a negative test on 2nd august- which means the HcG hormone wasn't yet at high enough levels in your urine to be detected by the test- you may have just conceived though- you probably won't be more than 8 weeks pregnant- but I might be wrong!

[jollyjoanne]

I would definitely go to the doctor and explain the situation. I had a similar problem, having got pregnant after coming off the pill, and not really knowing when my periods had started or not, and having done a test which gave a false negative and then having waited another two weeks getting a very strong positive. The doctors are generally very understanding, and may indeed send you for an early scan. Although they can still be as much as 2 weeks out and can be quite nerve wracking as the baby is still in its very early development.

[littlestar27]

Lasyt negative test was 2nd of July. Have been to my GP who advised that they would refer me to a midwife that was last tues 2nd sept. Have heard nothing yet. Im not best pleased no-one has been in touch as my previous 2 children were delivered at 32 weeks by emergency c-section due to preeclampsia so I thought they would have been in touch to discuss my options. The doctor didn't even ask my dates and advised thatmp bp was high 159/101 although that could have been with the shock I still thought I would have heard something??

[littlestar27]

sorry last neg test was 7th July this is all so confusing!!!!

[madmarriedNika]

oooh littlestar, i know where you're coming from (both my DCs have been delivered by c-section too due to PE, one at 30wks at one at 36wks). I would call your GP first thing tomorrow or go down to the surgery and explain the urgency again. plus a midwife won't help hugely- she may feel your tummy and have a rough guess at how far along you are but she will then need to refer you to the hospital regarding your risk of PE which will take time too.

Your GP can "bypass" the usual sequence of referrals and refer you to an obstetric consultant at your hospital directly- in fact he should do this with your history asap. I would keep on at him until he does this.

The PRECOG guidelines for care of patients at risk of PE stat that consultant-led care is required from the first trimester in those at high risk of developing PE (you) as you could well be a candidate for low-dose aspirin that is usually started before 12 weeks but can only be prescribed by an obstetrician. Plus you will need lots of extra monitoring and a care plan.

do you know the name of the obstetrician who looked after you last time? You could call the hospital and ask to be put through to the obstetrician's secretary and explain what's happened & your history- they can sometimes organise an early appt quicker than waiting on letters from GPs etc etc. Alternatively you could call the early pregnancy unit at the hospital (just phone the main contact no and ask to be put through) and chat to a midwife there...

Regarding the PE I really recommend this website- the ladies on this forum are great and have lots of very sound advice:

pesupport.friendhood.net/index.htm

Good luck- keep at the medics until you get taken seriously xx

[madmarriedNika]

PS. If your last negative test was 7th July you could already be 10 weeks pregnant (max...I think). But you may be less.
All the same it is urgent you're seen by an obs consultant as if you are to start on aspirin etc. you need to possibly within 2 weeks for it to be effective at helping prevent PE or at least in my case it seemed to delay the onset and severity of my PE. Just keep badgering your GP explaining about the PE, aspirin etc- the idea is that aspirin helps as the placenta forms- which occurs around 12 weeks. And call the hospital for advice too if your GP is not forthcoming.

[jollyjoanne]

I am really surpirsed it has taken so long, literally the day after I'd seen the doctor I had a letter inviting me to see the midwife and then I went for a scan a couple of weeks later as the midwife was certain I was still only about 6weeks pg, and one of the other ladies who went to see the midwife on the same day as me, was in exactly the same situation (but she had a bump) so her scan was booked their and then!

And with your medical history I think I'd go with Madmarriednika on this.

[littlestar27]

I don't know why they seem so laid back about all this I just called the antenatel clinic at the hospital where I was admitted with PE before and they just said don't worry your in the early stages if it PE does develop it won't be till 30 weeks + I know this isn't the case as my last pregnancy it developed at around 26 weeks. I am concerned that I feel I am being dismissed or fobbed off by the Health authority in my area. When i had PE 1st ime my son was born at 32 wks weighing only 2LB 4Oz and my second same gestation 2LB 12OZ. I don't know if maybe this is because I have changed medical practices since then and they don' have my full history. I just don't jnow where to go from here. I have the number for my community midwife but the doctors advised me not to call her and that she will call me. I think I should call her??

[littlestar27]

jollyjoanne can I ask how far on you actually were ahen you went for your scan?

[madmarriedNika]

That is most definitely not acceptable- especially with your history. You need to speak with a consultant not a midwife. Below are the links to the national guidelines which they are currently in breach of- read these and quote them at any medics until they take you seriously!

www.apec.org.uk/precog.htm

pesupport.friendhood.net/health-guidelines-nice-precog-f2/pre-eclampsia-community-obstetric-guidelin e-precog-t6.htm

PRECOG states that women who have had previous PE require specialist input BEFORE 20 WEEKS from an obstetric team.

Ideally this should be before 12 weeks so suitability for aspirin therapy can be considered.

Unfortunately midwives (both community and hospital ones) don't encounter enough people in your situation to be aware of the current research and treatment- and always assume that there's nothing to be done until PE symptoms appear- which is wrong!

It sounds like both your DCs suffered with some intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) and were quite small for their gestation- this agrees with PE starting some time before their delivery- which certainly makes you a good candidate for aspirin.

If you moved between their births you can request a copy of your medical notes (from both hospitals) by phoning the hospital and asking to be put through to medical records. They will charge you something for photocopying/admin fees but you can get them and then have them ready for any new doctors. Your current hospital should also be able to request your previous notes too and they should do this.

print out PRECOG, take it to your GP or the hospital- and don't leave until you have an appt/quick referral with the appropriate obstetrician.

If the appropriate specialists aren't available in your local hospital you should be referred to a larger hospital- this is what happened to me with DD.

There are a number of medical experts in the UK who specialise in PE and I really recommend you also ask to be referred to one asap. I ended up travelling a long way to see one but it was well worth it- they oversaw my care with DD even though it wasn't in the same hospital. APEC (Action on Pre-Eclampsia) have a list which isn't currently on the web but if you call their helpline they will be able to advise- the no is 020 8863 3271 but sadly it's only open mon-fri 9am-5pm. If the line's busy do leave a message as they will get back to you. They can also advise on how best to proceed if you're still having probs seeing an obstetrician urgently.

Good luck.

[madmarriedNika]

Sorry also meant to add that a good explanation of the various sections of PRECOG is available at:

pesupport.friendhood.net/health-guidelines-nice-precog-f2/