A Brief History

Updated November 2015:

Surgery #1 (October 2001): Just six weeks before my wedding, a large mass was discovered.  Laparoscopy to remove a 10" paratubal cyst (benign serous cystadenoma).  Nothing's been the same since!

Pregnancy #1: David born April 2003 at 39 weeks

• First noticed slightly lagging growth at 20 week ultrasound; more serious by 30 weeks
• IUGR (5 pounds even at term) APGAR scores 2 / 7
• Meconium and Nuchal cord x1
• We were told he had a "thin cord" and "small placenta", but it was not sent to the lab
• 5 days in NICU
• Has heart murmur, which we're told is "innocent" (not problematic)

Pregnancy #2: Tania born March 2005 at 39 weeks

• 6 pounds 3 oz. APGAR scores 9 / 9
• We were told the placenta appeared to have "two sacs", but it was not sent to the lab
• Diagnosed with hole in heart (atria) @ 3 weeks; resolved on its own by 3 years

Pregnancy #3: Jeremiah lost January 2007 at 21 weeks

• Normal chromosomes (except a pericentric inversion of chromosome 9 [inv(9)(p12q13)] inherited from mom - we're told this is insignificant
• Pathology report notes the cord was hypercoiled
• All labs on mom normal, except "moderate positive" result on anticardiolipin antibody IgG, which we're told is not significant; after six weeks this was retested and the level was "inconclusive"

Pregnancy #4: Miles lost July 2007 at 19 weeks

• Normal chromosomes
• I took baby aspirin from 6 weeks onward
• All labs normal, including anticardiolipin
• There had been a fetal-maternal bleed (2.5 cc) and the amniotic fluid was brown with old blood
• Cord showed stricture in mid-umbilical cord; we noticed after he was delivered that there were also a couple of less dramatic areas of narrowing
• Additional testing on me showed I am heterozygous for MTHFT mutation C677T, which we're told is "not clinically significant"

Surgery #2 (January 2008): Exploratory laparoscopy. I lost my right tube (had been badly damaged by previous 10" cyst) and right ovary, though I think it should have been saved as it only had a small endometrioma. I ended up in the emergency room six days post-surgery for a hematoma.  I'll spare you the gross picture.  You're welcome. After recovering from surgery, we started trying to conceive again only to find that I'm now infertile.


Pregnancy #5: Miscarried February 2009 at 5 weeks
This time conceived on first cycle of Clomid and IUI (We had no trouble getting pregnant the first four times)

April 2009 - Cycle 2 with Clomid/IUI = Negative
May through July - on the Pill because of large painful cyst!
August 2009 - Cycle 3 with Clomid/IUI = Negative
September 2009 - Cycle 4 with Clomid/IUI = Negative
October through December - on the Pill because of large painful cyst!
January 2010 - Cycle 1 with Follistim/IUI = Negative
February 2010 - Cycle 2 with Follistim/IUI = Negative
March 2010 - Cycle 3 with Follistim/IUI = Negative
April to July 2010 - on the Pill because of a small stubborn cyst and planning IVF
July/August 2010 - IVF #1: 12 eggs retrieved, 6 mature, 4 fertilized, 2 transferred on Day 3 (8 cell and 5 cell), none to freeze - Negative
September to November 2010 - on The Pill because at least one endometrioma has developed ; IVF #2 delayed
November 2010 - IVF #2: 11 eggs retrieved, 4 mature, 3 fertilized, 2 transferred on Day 5 (1 blastocyst, 1 morula), none to freeze - Positive!

Pregnancy #6:  Anastasia born August 2011 at 40 weeks!!
        Cord and placenta look normal; Apgars 9/9; she's perfect!


Epilogue!

Pregnancy #7:  In March 2015, I was shocked and terrified to find that I've gotten pregnant naturally.  After reliving the terror that is high-risk pregnancy, I had a healthy girl at term.  We found out only after she was born that she had cord stricture as well.

2015-present: We are DONE with this whole business!  Q got a vasectomy.  The kids are all healthy and growing well.  Since getting pregnant in 2010, I've been 95% free of the endometriosis pain I'd endured for a decade ... a wonderful and unexpected bonus!