Today's ultrasound showed our little nugget nestled on the right side of my heart-shaped uter-house, measuring at 6 weeks 1 day...right on target. Based upon the CRL (42 mm) my due date is June 11th. I couldn't actually see it on the US yet, but they were able to measure that our little one already has cardiac activity! It sounds like next Monday we will (probably) be able to see the little "flicker" of its heartbeat. Amazing.
And because nothing about my pregnancies can ever be simple, my progesterone levels have continued to decline. My serum (blood) progesterone is now measuring at 16.7. Down from 24.5 last Monday. Dr. RE noted that the progesterone supplement I'm on isn't reflected in the serum level because it's absorbed locally in the uterus/lining. Gaarrrrrhhhh. So my afternoon at "work" consisted of goog.ling every combination of rising HcG/falling progesterone I could think of. (Not a good idea by the way.) I read here that levels vary greatly in the first trimester, but somehow, that didn't do much to comfort me. My HcG was at 23,826...meaning it has a doubling time of about 66 hours which also appears to be right on-track. Again, if anyone has advice about fluctuating progesterone levels or experience with using Cri.none and measuring levels, I'd be happy to hear what you have to say!
Hep.arin shots are still going smoothly. I've only experienced one additional brush with near-fainting and it occurred this weekend. C. was doing my injection and we were mid-shot (seated) when I began to feel the head-rush/nausea sensation that accompanied my other pass-out episode. I asked C. to hold the needle in place while I completely reclined. He freaked out and took the needle out with about half of my shot left to go. Thanks babe. I really wanted to put yet another hole in my tummy! Oops! Needless to say, for the remainder of the weekend, my shots were administered lying down.
In other news, my sister is about to have her little guy any day now. I scolded her for wanting him to come early so she could skip doing parent-teacher conferences for 15 students this week. I gently reminded her that there are many, many women that beg to be pregnant just one more day...sigh.
And because nothing about my pregnancies can ever be simple, my progesterone levels have continued to decline. My serum (blood) progesterone is now measuring at 16.7. Down from 24.5 last Monday. Dr. RE noted that the progesterone supplement I'm on isn't reflected in the serum level because it's absorbed locally in the uterus/lining. Gaarrrrrhhhh. So my afternoon at "work" consisted of goog.ling every combination of rising HcG/falling progesterone I could think of. (Not a good idea by the way.) I read here that levels vary greatly in the first trimester, but somehow, that didn't do much to comfort me. My HcG was at 23,826...meaning it has a doubling time of about 66 hours which also appears to be right on-track. Again, if anyone has advice about fluctuating progesterone levels or experience with using Cri.none and measuring levels, I'd be happy to hear what you have to say!
Hep.arin shots are still going smoothly. I've only experienced one additional brush with near-fainting and it occurred this weekend. C. was doing my injection and we were mid-shot (seated) when I began to feel the head-rush/nausea sensation that accompanied my other pass-out episode. I asked C. to hold the needle in place while I completely reclined. He freaked out and took the needle out with about half of my shot left to go. Thanks babe. I really wanted to put yet another hole in my tummy! Oops! Needless to say, for the remainder of the weekend, my shots were administered lying down.
In other news, my sister is about to have her little guy any day now. I scolded her for wanting him to come early so she could skip doing parent-teacher conferences for 15 students this week. I gently reminded her that there are many, many women that beg to be pregnant just one more day...sigh.
On that note, go give Sara and M (two of my fellow Mullerian Anomaly sisters!) some love as they fight the brave fight for their precious babies!
10 comments:
My doctor told me that once I switched to Crinone instead of the PIO shots, we would no longer be able to effectively measure the progesterone through blood draws, which he felt was one of the down side to Crinone. Sounds like your doc and my doc are on the same page.
The ultrasound looks so fun! I can't wait for you to hear the heartbeat!You'll have to make sure and describe it in detail when you do hear it! We'll live vicariously through you until our day comes. LOL!
You are too sweet! Thanks so much for being such a good support system for me- you have no idea how much that means to me. Congrats on a great ultrasound! I'm sorry that you have to deal with the added stress of progesterone levels, I'm hoping it's nothing and I'm sure things are going to continue to go very well for you. I keep you in my thoughts daily as well and am always wishing the best for you! Sometimes it seems like there are a lot of bumps in the road, doesn't it? But you are such a strong woman- you're going to blow right past all of them...I just know it! ((hugs))
What great news!! Sorry about the progesterone drop. Does that mean you have to go back to blood progesterone?
Praying for you friend.
***HUGS***
Before I had my son I had a m/c that was prog. related. When I was pregnant with my son my prog. level went from the low 20's down to 11 in a few days and I was put on bed rest and supps.
Supps don't show up in blood levels so as long as you are taking enough you should really be fine.
I was on 300-400 a day depending which was 3-4 supps per day.
The most important thing with supps is to take them every 12 hours because levels will fall with longer periods.
I took them every 8 hours usually to feel more comfortable. The other thing is you really can't take too much prog. so if upping your dose helps you mentally then do it.
This preg. I took PIO 200mg and 200 more in supps for a while then lowered the supps. Even with PIO my levels still staying in the low 20's for the first 10 weeks or so.
Good luck, I know how scary it can be.
My Progesterone levels never went any higher than around 22. At one point they were at 18. I was on PIO and suppositories. I'm now 12weeks.
Yay :) I am so happy for you!!! Glad to hear everything is moving right along. Wish I could give you something about the progesterone levels... Hang in there! :)
***Hugs***
Popping in from L&F.
I had a Progesterone issue also. It REALLY concerned ME, but not so much my RE. Here are my P4 stats:
7DPIUI (on 400 mg Prometrium/day): 29
12DPIUI: 38 (beta was 30)
14DPIUI: 27 (beta was 60)
20DPIUI: 28 (beta was 1100.. woah!)
5w5d: empty sac, hemorrhagic cysts
6w3d: sac with heartbeat!
7w5d: 22
8w5d: 17
8w6d: SEVERE bleeding.. thought it was all over, turned out to be a very early Placenta Previa
I was released to my OB and continued to beg for P4 checks, which she thought was unnecessary. So we just held our breath for 8 long months, instead.
And on 7/16, a very beautiful M was born. Hang in there, girly.
I am happy for you! As far as the progesterone my fluctuated the whole first trimester. It really freaked me out the first time they dropped, my Dr. reassured me that everything was OK. I did notice mine was always higher if checked early 7am than later 10am.
Also here from LFCA.
My clinic doesn't even measure P4, but I've been in IFland (now also in mothering-after-IFland) for a long time, and everything I've ever read says that b/w results are not meaningful if you are using Crinone or suppositories. Honestly, I think you should just ignore them -- easier said than done, I know. Hang in there.
Uter-house... That is a new one for me:) Funny...
Don't have any particular advise on the prog levels, but i am glad to hear your measuring right on target and managing the shots better.
Hang in there and keep us posted. Thanks for being so attentive following my blog. It feels so good to have that extra support.
m
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