Life Lately {05.06.22}

Happy Friday friends! I hope you all have had a wonderful week so far and are looking forward to a fun Mother's Day weekend ahead.  We will be heading to brunch on Sunday with our parents and I am so excited.  The place we go has the most delicious food and this is the first time since before the pandemic that we've been able to go.  Fingers crossed the weather is beautiful and we have a nice time with our parents.

Today I thought I would give you all a little update about our life lately.  I haven't necessarily been keeping a secret from you all; rather I've been working up the courage to sit down and write this post as it will be a bit painful for me. 

As those of you that have been around for the last year or so know, we had a miscarriage in 2021 around this time.  There was no explanation other than the baby had stopped developing and it was spontaneous.  That time in our lives was very difficult and I had a hard time processing everything but ended 2021 with my head back on "straight" ready to start trying again.

Imagine our surprise when we found out we were pregnant almost a year to the day that we found out about our pregnancy in 2021.  We were very surprised as it had only been a few months of trying and we figured it would take a while to actually work.  Of course we were nervous that this pregnancy would take the route as the last one and I am sad to report that it went the same route.... well kind of. 

We had our first ultrasound on March 21st and during that ultrasound everything seemed normal, but it was just a bit too early to see/hear the heartbeat.  So they scheduled us for a second ultrasound on March 31st to check up on everything.  

So on March 31st we went to the appointment expecting to see the baby and hear the heartbeat, but instead we were met with a distraught look on the technicians face and a meeting scheduled with our OB the next day. As it turns out, we ended up having what's called a molar pregnancy.  The simplest definition of a molar pregnancy is that there is too much DNA and it develops a bunch of cysts.  During our meeting the doctor told us that I would need to have a D&C and everything would need to be sent for testing to confirm if we did, in fact have an ultra sound.

So on April 7th, we made our way to our local surgical center to for my procedure.  I'll be honest, the procedure itself was not bad at all.  I was asleep then awake and everything was done.  The pre-op on the other hand was rough.  I was very dehydrated and kept trying to pass out every time they drew blood.  Ultimately I ended up getting sick and having to have a tube for the procedure which resulted in a sore throat afterward.  But I will say all of the doctors and nurses were amazing and made me feel so safe and loved while I was there.  

A few days after the procedure we were told that the pathology report showed it to not be a molar pregnancy.  My OB was relieved and said that we'd be able to try as soon as my body was ready to try again, but less than a week later the genetic testing determined that the path report was wrong and we did have a complete molar pregnancy (CMP).  This means that there was 2 sets of Justin's DNA and 0 of mine.  And it also means that I will have to do regular blood draws to monitor my levels to make sure that not only do my levels get to negative for pregnancy, but that I stay that way.

The unfortunate thing with a CMP is that it causes "tumors" that can grow back after the D&C so monitoring the levels afterward is important to make sure that they were successful in removing everything during the procedure.  If it were to start growing back, there are more steps to take as it could turn into cancer.  Thankfully, my numbers greatly dropped after the procedure and I should be getting my first negative result this week.  What I am not sure is how long my doctor will want to monitor my bloodwork until I am cleared to try again. 

In the mean time we have scheduled an appointment with a genetic counselor to discuss the results of Justin and I's bloodwork.  I'm hoping they can give us insight into everything and potentially give us some guidance going forward.  I have also requested that our doctor send us to a fertility specialist so we can make sure that everything is working as it should be. 

What I will say is that mentally, I am not quite ready to start trying again.  I'm thinking once I go through my first cycle post D&C I will feel better, but right now I am just working through processing what's going on.  I'm sure I will be ready sooner rather than later, but both of our health comes first so that will be our main priority. 

I will say I have been able to find some really great resources and support over the last month.  If you, or someone you know, is going through this and needs more insight check out the below information:

• My Molar Pregnancy Facebook Group. This is a group for women who are going through a molar pregnancy and is a safe place for people to chat about what they're going through and ask questions too.
• Charing Cross Info. Charing Cross in the UK has done extensive research around Molar Pregnancies and has some awesome resources that you can read to better understand what is happening.
• Molar Pregnancy Info from Cleveland Clinic. This was the first article I read after the doctor told me it was potentially a molar pregnancy.  It helped me wrap my head around what was happening and made things a little bit clearer for me. 

I know this is not my normal happy-go-lucky posts, but I thought it important to share as this has  impacted my life. It's hard to find motivation to do the things I love and feel like every day is a bit different.  As I go through more of my journey I will be sure to share what's going on but overall I am very positive of things and how they are progressing. 

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