Getting my blood drawn was no biggie and no different than I had expected. However, the ultrasound was quite different. The doctors office had told me to come in with a full bladder so that the ultrasound would bee as clear as possible. And boy did I follow doctors orders. I was very uncomfortable in the waiting room but fortunately I didn't have to wait too long. The technician started with a normal ultrasound on my belly. That wasn't much fun. The wand was pushing on my bladder and I couldn't wait to go to the bathroom.
With the normal ultrasound, the technician did not get the detail she really needed, so she told me to go to the restroom and come back to begin a vaginal ultrasound. I had briefly explained my situation to her and of course she knew what was happening based on my chart. The wand was put in and she did her thing for at least 15 minutes! It seemed to take forever! At one point she turned on the sound and a strange, deep pulsing noise came out. I didn't know what that was but later found out that it was the baby's heartbeat.
Regardless of the issue, I'm usually pretty stoic during a doctor's appointment. I suppose it is because I feel that the health professional should only bee concerned with what is biologically happening with me, not emotionally. I hold back the tears and also the pain almost always. My dad says I'm a "trooper" because of my lack of emotion. This appointment was no different. Before the 15 minutes was up the technician asked if I wanted to see the screen. At this point in my pregnancy, I was still angry, sad, shocked, and just not ready to become attached to something that seemed to bee such a burden. I was also by myself. Josh was working and I knew that I would want him there for any kind of emotional reaction that seeing the ultrasound would produce. So, I simply said, "No, thank you."
The results of the blood tests said that everything was progressing normally and the ultrasound didn't tell anything different. The IUD was still unable to bee removed because it had turned sideways in my uterus pulling the strings up with it.
At my follow-up appointment with Dr. S to review these results I got a few more of my questions answered. I had been wondering what would happen if I wasn't pregnant but wanted the IUD removed. What would they do to get it out? Dr. S said that they would use a camera and other tools to go into my uterus, locate the IUD and it's strings and pull it out. However, they aren't able to do such an invasive procedure in my case because the camera and other tools would almost certainly disrupt the embryonic sac and I would miscarry.
I was also wondering about other possible risks to the baby, like a physical or mental disability, because of the IUD. Dr. S said that the chances of developmental problems were not increased because of the IUD, mainly because the IUD is outside of the embryonic sac and unable to influence the development of the baby.
Lastly, I wanted to know how an IUD pregnancy would affect my future fertility. If Dr. S had told me that I will not bee able to have a baby on my own terms after this one, then Josh and I would need to think more about our options. However, she said that if the IUD caused an infection in my uterus, then my fertility may bee in jeopardy. For example, if an infection occurred, it could possibly bee so severe that it blocks my Fallopian tubes preventing me from releasing an egg every month and the ability to get pregnant. In general, if everything were to go as normal, my fertility would not bee affected.
Upon leaving Dr. S's office, I was referred to Dr. T, a high-risk pregnancy specialist. I was told to see Dr. T to get more information about the risks of my pregnancy for both me and the baby.
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