Help: Unusual ultrasound - failed pregnancy.

[Labyrinth86]

Hi all,

I am roughly 8 weeks pregnant with what I now know is a non-viable pregnancy.

I had an early scan this morning at my EPU after being referred by a private clinic. I was scanned (abdominal and internal) by two sonographers and both said they didn't know what my scan was showing. They found the gestational sac but rather than being largely fluid filled, it was filled with solid tissue all the way around it with a thin slither of the typical black fluid filled area in the middle. A consultant and a doctor had a look and neither were any the wiser. They said it could be a failed pregnancy, a molar pregnancy (but they said it doesn't look like one), or an unknown mass. One of the sonographers thought it could be placenta gone wild. I panicked that it was cancer but one sonographer said it didn't look like a cancerous growth due to the uniformity of it.

They have asked me to go back for a blood test tomorrow because they took one last night and want to monitor HCG 48 hours apart. I just want them to get rid of whatever is inside me.

Has anyone had anything like this? I'm so scared.

OP, I have no idea but I'm here to hold your hand

Sorry about your pregnancy loss.
Have they mentioned any further imaging like MRI or CT or even follow up ultrasound to define the ‘abnormal mass’? That would usually be the next step if unable to define nature of a growth. best of luck x

They haven't. All they have said so far is that if my HCG levels drop, they might be able to treat it like a failed pregnancy and offer me D&C. If not, I will probably need another US scan but done by a consultant gynaecologist rather than a sonographer.

Hope your ok the wait must be horrid x

Thank you. I've been consulting Google because I'm someone who doesn't cope well with answers. Part of me wonders if it could be scarring in my uterus from my c-section in Oct 21. I think I maybe misspoke and perhaps the tissue isn't in the gestational sac but it's around the outside. Definitely some kind of pregnancy going on too though because my HCG is 1500.

That should say I'm someone who doesn't cope well without answers.

Luckily I have my gorgeous 1 year old to take my mind off things a bit and cheer me up.

Oh op this sounds very confusing! I hope you get some answers very soon x

I don't know anything about this but I hope you get some answers soon

Thanks all. I have my blood test around 7pm so hopefully this evening I know a bit more. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for scarring and/or a (very) irregularly shaped gestational sac. It's horrible because when I was first told I was going to have a miscarriage, I was devastated about that. Now I'm not bothered about that because I'm terrified there's something wrong with me and I have my little girl to think about 😢

Keeping my fingers crossed for you @Labyrinth86 - have lots of cuddles with your little one and hope it's over soon for you x

When I had my D&C they did ultrasound over the top. So I guess they’ll be able to see if they are removing it, and if it removes like pregnancy tissue should maybe it’s just abnormal pregnancy tissues/ scarring like you said. Also, don’t know if they could maybe send off your tissue for histology testing if it’s something they’re worried about whilst they’re down there? Also a chance you might get to D&C and it’s degraded to look more like more like normal failed pregnancy tissue than it did before and it was just an odd presentation previously. I work in this field, please know that the fact it is very uniform is usually a really good thing! Hope you can start to feel less anxious X

So sorry to hear this. Hope you get some answers soon.

Thank you so much @Lilpop90 That's reassuring!

I asked for D&C yesterday and they said I have to have another blood test to check my HCG levels have fallen first. It seems very unfair because in the same breath they say the pregnancy isn't going to progress, so they know it's not going to become a baby. I feel they should just scrape it all out and then run some tests on a biopsy sample. I'm not a medical doctor though, I'm a psychologist 🙃

@Labyrinth86 I totally sympathise! I remember hating that I had to wait two weeks for a second EPAU scan to double check their was no heart beat, eventhough that would now be the third scan and things weren’t viable from the first really. All I wanted was a juicy glass of red wine as a treat but was in this weird half pregnant half not limbo!

It’s so bizarre how different trusts respond differently to these things. I had a D&C today for a failed pregnancy, they refused to do my HCG levels at any point during my appointments with EPAU, saying it would t change the outcome, but I would have known after the first scan whether the pregnancy was progressing or not and would have an idea prior to the follow up scan in two weeks. They used to do HCG levels as routine, as my previous miscarriage 10 years ago they monitored them closely.

I hope you get the answers you need, and good luck, it’s not easy, but you will get there xxx

Update: Still none the wiser. They've taken my blood and asked me to go back in tomorrow to wait and see if they can squeeze me in for a scan with a consultant gynaecologist. The doctor I saw today talked a lot about molar pregnancy, and they also said that they need to make sure that the tissue hasn't infiltrated other organs before they remove it in case it causes complications.

Hi @Labyrinth86 I'm very sorry you are going through this and that you have this uncertainty. I had a molar pregnancy last year and they very quickly identified it as one. Let me know if you want to ask any questions.

Thanks everyone who has commented and offered support 😊

Thanks @AnotherStory23 I'll see what the consultant says tomorrow. If it is a molar pregnancy, then a chat would be very helpful 😊

@Labyrinth86 how did it go? 💐

I hope things are a bit clearer now @Labyrinth86

How are you getting on op?

@rainbowstardrops @Lilpop90 and @Beach11 Thanks for your comments.

I didn't have my scan on Thursday because apparently our expert in the field decided it wasn't urgent enough (trying to see that as a good thing I guess). I did speak to a lot of people in hospital and their best guess is molar pregnancy. One of the sonographers in the early pregnancy unit said there are only certain things it can be due to my high bHCG levels - I misquoted them, my first blood test was 159,400 at 8+1 weeks and it went up in 48 hours despite no evidence of a pregnancy in my uterus - and that despite my scan being atypical (not the classic snowstorm that Google brings up on images), that is their working diagnosis atm.

They booked me for a scan with the expert and a D&C immediately afterwards, both on Thurs 3rd August. Then they will have to test what they've removed and monitor my HCG levels to determine if a) it was a molar pregnancy and b) if it needs further treatment. I am feeling scared that it will be a complete molar and I will end up needing chemo. Even more scary for me is the thought of being hospitalised in London for 8 days when I have a 1 (almost 2) year old and we live in the Midlands. I suppose I'll cross the bridge if it comes to it. I still can't really believe this is happening tbh.

@Labyrinth86 So sorry to hear this. I'll be thinking of you on the 3rd.

Thank you @Un7breakable 😊

Hi @Labyrinth86 I'm sorry to hear all this. It sounds like a lot. I know it's hard not to panic when you read about a molar pregnancy, but I had a complete molar and did not have to have chemo. There are also other hospitals outside of London (there's another place in Sheffield) that deal with molars and even if you end up referred you don't need to go in (I'm happy to tell you about the process). Anyway, as you say, try to focus on the immediate and not too far ahead in the future. Sending you lots of strength