Emergency Room

So, ever since I found out I was pregnant, I've been having this on and off cramping on my left pelvic area. Some days, there's none, some days, there it is. But it was minor, though uncomfortable, that I just ignored it. Come to think of it, even when I was still just ovulating this cycle, I woud feel ovulation pain (mittelshmerz) on the same side.

Yesterday, it would come and go again, stabbing me on my left ovary. But when I woke up at 11pm, there it was, sharper than ever, and it wouldn't go away. Bondi decided to call Kaiser and describe the situation. The nurse adviser on the other line suggested it's important we go to the ER to have the doctor check me.

At 12:30am, we arrived at Kaiser Redwood City and they confined me in one of those tiny rooms, complete with IV and blood draws, and a pelvic examination. The resident doctor was very busy tending to a lot of other ER patients, so she would just come and go to check on me. At one point, the nurse tried to see if she could hear the baby's heartbeat on the portable fetal doppler, but could only get my own pulse. The resident doctor tried to scan me abdominally but the machine wasn't clear enough (though she could see my uterus and a baby growing in it) and couldn't pick up a doppler as well (though she could see signals that looks like the baby's heartbeat). She looks like an intern, and isn't really trained to do sonograms. They were actually trying to rule out a tubal pregnancy, since I was having this sharp pain on one side. She did a pelvic examination, also palpated my abdomen, and true enough, my lower left side was indeed tender. She waited for all my blood test results and then called the OBGYN on duty.

It took a long time so we napped in between. I was so hungry and thirsty, but I couldn't eat or drink anything yet, I have the IV anyway. Finally, the OB came and brought her own sonogram and scanned me transvaginally. It was such a beautiful picture. Our little bean has grown to be a peanut! He/She loooked literally like a peanut (see picture). She is about the right size, and we saw the heartbeat! It was fluttering furiously like there's no tomorrow. So we can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing the baby is safe. Now on to my ovaries. The culprit was the corpus luteum (which is what's left of the burst follicle that released my egg). It was a bit sore, and it looked big on the ultrasound. But it's nothing, and the doctor says it's normal for some pregnant women, specially those with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), to feel some sort of pain on the side she ovulated from. This is actually a good thing, meaning, the corpus luteum is really doing it's job to produce the much needed progesterone to sustain the pregnancy. Looking at my right ovary, there's no problem at all. Just my regular cysts (it's just regular fluid-filled sacs that hold the eggs) which is quite common with PCO patients. [**Polycystic ovaries. The eggs mature within the follicles, or sacs, but the sac doesn't break open to release the egg. The cycle repeats, follicles continue to grow inside the ovary, and cysts form.**]

I didn't get a chance to ask how my blood test results were, but I have my prenatal appointment set for Thursday anyway, so I'll probably just ask my OB. At least we know the baby is safe, and I am safe. Bondi was so cute, looking at the picture of his baby for the first time. If only I had a camera, I would have loved to capture that amazed look in his face.

And so we were free to go home. We finally left the hospital at 4:30am, at peace, and thanking God for His answers to our prayers. The soreness still comes and goes, but at least we know it's normal, and the doctor said I might have a little spotting at one point, but not to worry about it if it happens.

Thank you for all your prayers. Prayers really work!

PS: I forgot to inlude, my beta-HCG results at this time as 46,500 mIU/mL and my progesterone level was at 31 ng/mL. These are really good numbers. :D