5 weeks, 6 days
I had my appointment to talk to my RE about the pregnancy in my rudimentary horn this morning. DH was off work so he got to go with me. First up was an u/s. I had the nice u/s tech but she didn't tell me anything. I could tell she was only focused on my left side where my rudimentary horn is. Even though I knew it was highly unlikely, I knew then that my hope that there just might be a twin was gone. Then it was back to the waiting room. On the way to the waiting room I ran into a woman I know from a play group I take the kids to. I saw her before she saw me and was trying to figure out if there was a way I could jump into a room so she didn't see me. I thought too long and she saw me.
DH and I were taken into a room so we could talk to the RE. He sent his assistant in to talk to us first. Thank goodness I knew what to expect because she was rather heartless in her terminology. She just sat down with barely an introduction and flat out said, "This pregnancy isn't viable." You would have thought she might have lead into it a bit more. DH pointed out after she left that she kept talking about how we needed to "get rid of the pregnancy". Not sure if it is good news or not, but from the u/s it looks like my pregnancy is moving along as normal. They were able to see a fetal pole on the images today.
First doctor lady told us our options. We could do the Methotrexate which may or may not work. The second option would be to have surgery to remove the horn. My RE could actually rearrange his surgeries for tomorrow and they could do the surgery tomorrow afternoon. Although I thought it would be great that I could have surgery tomorrow, I really wasn't expecting them to tell me that would be an option. If there is anything to be excited about at this point in time, I was excited that having surgery tomorrow was a possibility. I asked the first doctor lady a few questions and quickly determined that she really didn't have any idea what she was talking about. She left to tell my RE that I opted for the surgery and send my RE in to talk to me.
While we waited, I called my mom who was watching my boys. I had told my mom that we were going in today to talk to my dr about having surgery in the future. I asked my mom if she would be able to watch the kids tomorrow again so I could have the surgery tomorrow. She asked me how I was able to arrange that and I said, "Luck." I figured that was much better than telling her that my dr felt if I waited too long my rudimentary horn might explode and I could bleed to death. She is still all confused about my anatomy and apparently blames herself for the fact that I wasn't put together right. I told her I would draw her a picture of my uterus when I got home and explain everything. And in case you don't know, this is what my insides look like:
That little pear lying on it's side on the right is my rudimentary horn. That is where Emily the Embryo has taken up residence. The ovaries aren't pictured, but I have two of those too.
Finally, I got to talk to my RE. He seemed glad that I opted for the surgery. He did suggest a third alternative which was we could let nature take its course. That could lead to me having a miscarriage, having a rupture which would endanger my life, or (most unlikely) somehow working out to some extent and I would have to have the baby removed surgically at the end of my pregnancy. I said all that wasn't a risk I was willing to take and he said he was glad we were both on the same page. I asked him if they were just going to remove the horn, or if they were going to remove the fallopian tube as well. He said his philosophy is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I expressed my concern that since I am already a freak of nature and managed to get pregnant in my rudimentary horn, I could also be a freak of nature and later end up getting pregnant in that fallopian tube that isn't connected to it. He said that by the book, they would leave the tube. Then later in the conversation he said, "You know, I think you pretty much have convinced me to remove the tube as well." I commented about how I was glad he took my advice, what with my vast medical knowledge and all. He went over the risks of surgery - typical things like risk of infection, loss of blood, and how I might die. There is also a risk to my tube that runs from my kidney on that side to my bladder and my ureter (tube from bladder to outside world) only because people that have UU's sometimes have other things misplaced in there and those tubes could be in the way instead of where they are supposed to be. Had I been looking at DH when I asked the question, I am sure he probably would have rolled his eyes, but I asked my RE what happens to my rudimentary horn after they take it out. I like to know these things! It is part of my body and I have every right to know what happens to it. More importantly, even though I am trying my best to distance myself from the reality of it, my baby is going to be taken out and I would like to know where he/she goes. The answer is to pathology. Then some of the tissue is saved for medical purposes for something like 10 years. Interesting. They are going to try to do the surgery laparoscopically through by belly button. If that is the case, I should be home tomorrow evening and moving around by next week. They might have to make a larger incision in my abdomen however. If that's the case, I'll have to stay overnight and it will take me about 4 weeks to recover.
Next in was a nurse. She gave me a prescription to have some pre-surgical blood work done in another part of the hospital as soon as I was finished there. Then the lady that does the scheduling came in. Since I had told the first dr lady I was going for the surgery, the scheduler lady was busy getting things set up. Surgery is currently set for 12:30 tomorrow.
Then it was off to get the blood work and give a urine sample. Turns out I couldn't just go to the lab and get stuck with a needle and pee. First I had to go to a place and register. The lady there said I would need a hospital bracelet and I was like, "WTF?? I'm just having blood work!" So maybe I didn't really say that, but I said something similar. I got registered and went back to the lab. The lady in the lab was like, yeah, you didn't need a bracelet. So, I gave blood. I peed in a cup (and missed mostly). Then finally I was able to make it back home.
Just an FYI for anyone that might read this and actually knows me (which is really only you, AK), I don't have a problem with people knowing I am having this surgery. If anyone asks, I'm having surgery to remove that dysfunctional piece of my uterus. No need to mention the contents of that dysfunction uterus.
Must be off. Need to get the house in order so DH has a fighting chance of not letting the kids take it over while I am stuck in bed. Also, I better start practicing answering that question, "What are you allergic to and what happens when you take it?"
P.S. If anyone wants to bring me dinner in the next week or two, that would make me very happy. I'm just saying.
DH and I were taken into a room so we could talk to the RE. He sent his assistant in to talk to us first. Thank goodness I knew what to expect because she was rather heartless in her terminology. She just sat down with barely an introduction and flat out said, "This pregnancy isn't viable." You would have thought she might have lead into it a bit more. DH pointed out after she left that she kept talking about how we needed to "get rid of the pregnancy". Not sure if it is good news or not, but from the u/s it looks like my pregnancy is moving along as normal. They were able to see a fetal pole on the images today.
First doctor lady told us our options. We could do the Methotrexate which may or may not work. The second option would be to have surgery to remove the horn. My RE could actually rearrange his surgeries for tomorrow and they could do the surgery tomorrow afternoon. Although I thought it would be great that I could have surgery tomorrow, I really wasn't expecting them to tell me that would be an option. If there is anything to be excited about at this point in time, I was excited that having surgery tomorrow was a possibility. I asked the first doctor lady a few questions and quickly determined that she really didn't have any idea what she was talking about. She left to tell my RE that I opted for the surgery and send my RE in to talk to me.
While we waited, I called my mom who was watching my boys. I had told my mom that we were going in today to talk to my dr about having surgery in the future. I asked my mom if she would be able to watch the kids tomorrow again so I could have the surgery tomorrow. She asked me how I was able to arrange that and I said, "Luck." I figured that was much better than telling her that my dr felt if I waited too long my rudimentary horn might explode and I could bleed to death. She is still all confused about my anatomy and apparently blames herself for the fact that I wasn't put together right. I told her I would draw her a picture of my uterus when I got home and explain everything. And in case you don't know, this is what my insides look like:
That little pear lying on it's side on the right is my rudimentary horn. That is where Emily the Embryo has taken up residence. The ovaries aren't pictured, but I have two of those too.
Finally, I got to talk to my RE. He seemed glad that I opted for the surgery. He did suggest a third alternative which was we could let nature take its course. That could lead to me having a miscarriage, having a rupture which would endanger my life, or (most unlikely) somehow working out to some extent and I would have to have the baby removed surgically at the end of my pregnancy. I said all that wasn't a risk I was willing to take and he said he was glad we were both on the same page. I asked him if they were just going to remove the horn, or if they were going to remove the fallopian tube as well. He said his philosophy is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I expressed my concern that since I am already a freak of nature and managed to get pregnant in my rudimentary horn, I could also be a freak of nature and later end up getting pregnant in that fallopian tube that isn't connected to it. He said that by the book, they would leave the tube. Then later in the conversation he said, "You know, I think you pretty much have convinced me to remove the tube as well." I commented about how I was glad he took my advice, what with my vast medical knowledge and all. He went over the risks of surgery - typical things like risk of infection, loss of blood, and how I might die. There is also a risk to my tube that runs from my kidney on that side to my bladder and my ureter (tube from bladder to outside world) only because people that have UU's sometimes have other things misplaced in there and those tubes could be in the way instead of where they are supposed to be. Had I been looking at DH when I asked the question, I am sure he probably would have rolled his eyes, but I asked my RE what happens to my rudimentary horn after they take it out. I like to know these things! It is part of my body and I have every right to know what happens to it. More importantly, even though I am trying my best to distance myself from the reality of it, my baby is going to be taken out and I would like to know where he/she goes. The answer is to pathology. Then some of the tissue is saved for medical purposes for something like 10 years. Interesting. They are going to try to do the surgery laparoscopically through by belly button. If that is the case, I should be home tomorrow evening and moving around by next week. They might have to make a larger incision in my abdomen however. If that's the case, I'll have to stay overnight and it will take me about 4 weeks to recover.
Next in was a nurse. She gave me a prescription to have some pre-surgical blood work done in another part of the hospital as soon as I was finished there. Then the lady that does the scheduling came in. Since I had told the first dr lady I was going for the surgery, the scheduler lady was busy getting things set up. Surgery is currently set for 12:30 tomorrow.
Then it was off to get the blood work and give a urine sample. Turns out I couldn't just go to the lab and get stuck with a needle and pee. First I had to go to a place and register. The lady there said I would need a hospital bracelet and I was like, "WTF?? I'm just having blood work!" So maybe I didn't really say that, but I said something similar. I got registered and went back to the lab. The lady in the lab was like, yeah, you didn't need a bracelet. So, I gave blood. I peed in a cup (and missed mostly). Then finally I was able to make it back home.
Just an FYI for anyone that might read this and actually knows me (which is really only you, AK), I don't have a problem with people knowing I am having this surgery. If anyone asks, I'm having surgery to remove that dysfunctional piece of my uterus. No need to mention the contents of that dysfunction uterus.
Must be off. Need to get the house in order so DH has a fighting chance of not letting the kids take it over while I am stuck in bed. Also, I better start practicing answering that question, "What are you allergic to and what happens when you take it?"
P.S. If anyone wants to bring me dinner in the next week or two, that would make me very happy. I'm just saying.
Labels: methotrexate, pregnancy in rudimentary horn, rudimentary horn, unicornuate uterus
posted by AM | 10:24 AM
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