Special September

A note of my personal experience, for my future reference.

Please do not share this openly, in FB especially.

It has been 9 days post operation on 20th September 2013. I have never imagined myself going through a surgery; what more related to pregnancy - ectopic pregnancy. Alhamdulillah, I am recovering well and look forward to resume work earlier than my 2 weeks MC.

I still remember the moment when I found out about the pregnancy. I had a bad sickness a day before, on 11th September 2013. Felt dizzy all day and vomitted 8 times that day which lead to an MC leave the next day.  Still, a day rest did not help to drive the dizziness away. I felt strange about the signals. So I took the UPT that night, 12th September 2013...and it was positive. I cried. I could not believe it at that moment. I called the husband to break the news anyway. And we somehow came into a conclusion that this is a blessing and began to feel happy about it. Being the third pregnancy in my 3 years and 6 months journey of motherhood, I knew that the first thing I must do is to confirm the pregnancy status.

13th September 2013. I went to the medical centre first thing in the morning. It was Friday. And yes, the urine test result from the lab confirmed positive. But one major situation bothers me. I had an IUCD in my uterus! By all means the fact that I was pregnant regardless is all His blessing. But now, what should I do about it? And to add the worry, I started to experience spotting that day, which I had never experienced during my previous 2 pregnancies.  I was distracted, big time. Thought of arranging a quick appointment with my gynae that day but her schedule was tight as always. I was adviced to meet her during the 9th week of pregnancy and not to remove the IUCD. Boy, I was not satisfied with the proposals - more reason for me to feel so as they were not coming from an expert anyway!

The proposals got into me really bad. I was confused and the spotting was heavier by the day. I became emotional and I refused to get out from the bed the next morning. (I even contacted a friend through Facebook for second opinion (she is a doctor - thanks Ehan), a-pregnant-with-IUCD friend from uni days and an 1-fallopian-lady survivor for a clearer insights. Alhamdulillah people around me were helpful and resourceful. They were among the contributors to my next actions of this episode.) Gave myself couples of hours before I decided to move on and have a great weekend with my loved ones. We went to Malacca to visit the husband - the kids, my parents, sister and I rocked the road. Part of the emotions turned positive just by seeing the husband face to face. I knew I had to be strong and deep down inside I felt that this pregnancy was different :(

15th September 2013. Although from my readings, there are cases that IUCD was left in the uterus until labor and with close monitoring, I made up my mind that I wanted to get rid of the copper in my body system. I did not buy the idea of further complications that might occur along the way. But the procedure was a tragic. As I did not expect that someone is coming near my labor-area for atleast 4 years! It was horrible! I guess I was not ready for another pregnancy experience what more of getting a faulty-copper (faulty because I managed to get pregnant haha) out of my uterus. There was no pain, I was just not mentally prepared to face the situation, alone :( Once again I cried on my way home and mentioned that I will never agree to another IUCD to the husband. Hehe see what the hormones turned me to? Drama-queen.

17th September 2013. I went to the medical centre again. This time I already experienced bleeding :( Dr Ferial adviced me to see other lady gynae, someone who can attend to my situation. I agreed with her. But I chose to stick to PCMC, at least I am familiar to the procedures and the environment/ambiance factor.

18th September 2013. I was the ugliest person at PCMC. Haha I rushed myself to the Emergency Department that morning. The bleeding continued to worry me. So doctor called for Beta HCG blood test. And I was referred to Dr Tan Ay Eeng, a sweet Chinese lady gynae. Blood test result was ready after 2 hours and I got to meet her at 11.30am. The blood test was positive. But doctor did not manage to locate the sac; not through ultrasound, and not through vaginal scan. From that day the idea of ectopic pregnancy haunted me, until the next follow up appointment on 20th September 2013 at 12.00 noon.

20th September 2013. Today the husband and daughter accompanied me during the appointment. The blood test result today still showed that I am pregnant. However, through ultrasound doctor found a sac at my left fallopian. It has already swollen. So my worry was valid. Doctor called for a surgery to remove my 5 weeks old pregnancy at 5.30pm that day. Doctor refused to take any risk and I was not allowed to leave the hospital. All happened really fast. I was thankful - imagine what could have happen if I waited until week 9? Would I make it to week 9 at the first place? Further development of an ectopic could lead to rupture which then brings pain to another level and also different procedures... Of course I cried (again) when the doctor told me about the news. I just did not know what to expect; scared of the possibilities for it to end up at the unfavourable route Nauzubillah. But then again, I considered myself blessed for not having to endure the pain of a rupture. The ectopic pregnancy was discovered at an early stage - with His blessing, we managed to escape the painful part. Alhamdulillah...

If you are wondering what type of procedures that I gone through, it is called salpingectomy via a technique call laparascopy (to remove the sac and the effected fallopian) and dilation & curretage (D&C) to clear the blood lining in the uterus which is where the embrio should build up and eventually become the precious baby. You can read more about the procedure here: http://www.ectopic.org.uk/index.php/patients/treatment/surgical-treatment/
Obviously, I am still 'busy' coping with my emotion and far then ready to attend to questions, I am sorry...

Now to touch a bit on contraception. I would advice you to consult your gynae before you commit to any of the methods. Consider the pros and cons - different people got different experience, really. So mine is one of the '6 in 1000' cases reported for copper IUCD. I had it in December 2011 and got pregnant in September 2013 - I considered it as an achievement. I do not blame anyone for the decision I made back then. The grass was just not 'green' enough in my case. After this experience, I opt to go for natural plan. Although I loss one of my fallopian tube, I must not lost track of the blessings I have around me :) Alhamdulillah...

Just another adventure of my motherhood journey. May the experience makes me a better mother and wife to my kids and husband. ZI, RAZ & UFZ... I love all of you so much and I hope you feel it too :') And I could not thank my parents and sister enough for being the strong support system of my life!, my parents in law for their blessing, family and friends for the visit, doa and warm wishes through Facebook and Whatsapp. I was admitted for only one night but the number of visitors were just overwhelming. Thanks BFF Fatin & family, for accompanying me and the husband to the operation theatre - I miss darling baby Irfan already. Shasha & Zura for the visit and delicious LeVain breads. Shaz brought along her adorable kids and bibik, chocolates for me and balloons for my kids. And Kak Mila & officemates for the flower baskets & fruits. Thank you, thank you... 

Alhamdulillah, segala puji buatMu Ya Allah :')

P/s: The lesson learned;

1) You have the right to know about your health condition.
2) Do not feel comfortable accepting thoughts from just anybody until you hear it from the specialist.
3) Seek for 2nd opinion if necessary.
4) If you did not manage to meet the 'usual' specialist, find other specialist that can attend to your condition there and then. Do not just wait and do nothing.