Worried About Upcoming Test

J

joneshockey

Guest
Hello!
I just wanted to update everyone on the latest news on easy child... I got the results from my quad-screen test for downsyndrome and it came back with a 1 to 97 chance of her having down syndrome (just over a 1% chance). They still reccommended that I have the amnio test done so I go in this morning at 9:00 and I am TOTALLY freaked out about it! I don't do well with needles to begin with and this just adds to all my nerves! The doctor told me that I should have partial results within 24 hours (this just includes the down syndrome part not all the other birth defects that it tests - those others can takeup to 2 weeks)
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Hang in there. It's not that bad. I had amniocentesis with difficult child 3 and I was very apprehensive but it was OK. I was a bit shaky afterwards, but I think that was the aftermath of being so nervous. It was interesting watching my baby on the screen, dashing here, there and everywhere. He was moving so fast...

The other thing they will probably order is an anomaly scan. It's a very detailed ultrasound. I had it done at about 26 weeks. It was fascinating to see my baby's facial features. But we also were able to check out his kidneys (there is a congenital problem in the family) and follow the ureter from the kidney down to the bladder to make sure it was not malformed or duplicated. And that ureter would have been thinner than a cotton thread! They checked the chambers of his heart, made sure it was working properly and the valves were all doing what they should... the detail was impressive. And of course, we could see for certain that he was a boy. I had mother in law with me so she could see it all, too. I remember when the scan was being done, the sonographer was talking to me about the various things you would expect to see in Downs.

Don't let it freak you out too much. Even if the tests are positive for Downs, you don't know how affected the child is, until she's born. There are degrees of Downs and some live normal lives.

A lot of the tests err on the false positive side rather than false negative. Also, friends of ours from church had problems like this with their daughter's baby. The baby girl was diagnosed, in utero, with some sort of trisomy problem (not Downs but something else) plus she had all her intestines and liver growing outside her body. There were also bands of tissue around her wrists which were threatening to cut off the blood supply. Left unchecked, she would have died within hours of birth and would also have been born with hands gangrenous. But with the trisomy, they felt that she wouldn't have quality of life anyway and were going to let the baby die. Then they discovered she didn't have the trisomy after all. So they operated on her, in utero. The bands of tissue were released, the intestines were put back inside (not easy - there wasn't enough room for them because her body hadn't been growing properly).

When the baby was born, she was perfect. Except for a trace of problem with one wrist. She's grown up well, still favours one hand but only slightly. Otherwise - a blonde-haired moppet, a bright spark.

That case featured on an Aussie hospital show, a reality TV that was showing success stories. Then later on we met the family and could see the great result for ourselves.

So you never know!

Marg
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
I think the anticipation of this test is far worse than the actual test. Good thing is that you'll have a local anesthetic which will reduce discomfort greatly. I totally understand the worry though. But most people I've talked to that have had it have said it's not really bad at all.

(((hugs)))
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I had amnio with both of my kids and they are now 26 and 23. At that time, it was a very easy-on-me procedure and I imagine they have improved it greatly in all of those years so don't worry about the test. I do understand that you are probably worried about the results but just try to relax and get through it. A 1% chance is very small and we all here will be praying and rattling beads and crossing everything we have that it will all come out OK. Take a deep breath; it's going to be OK.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Good luck! I hope everything went smoothly and you were able to grin and bear it through the procedure!
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
I am VERY glad that it is over now... It was a little bit more difficult than the average amnio I think though. When the dr. started it and got the needle into the sack he said that it would be about 60 second more and it would be done, well the poke put my uterus into a contraction and caused us to have to wait before extracting the fluid... The contraction wouldn't let up so the dr. had to withdraw the needle from the sack and poke it in a different spot (so imagine now how worried I am that I have twice the change of being put into labor! with 2 holes in the sack now!) This part was MUCH more painful than the first attempt! The dr. did finally get the amount of fluid he needed but it was 10 minute LONGER than it was supposed to take! I should get the FISH results tomorrow afternoon, so I will let everyone know how things turn out... I am just pretty crampy now and am planning on taking it easy for the rest of the day. Thanks for everyone's support - it is GREATLY appreciated!
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Take it easy and basically stay down for today and even tomorrow if you're still feeling crampy. Glad it wasn't too horrible and now it's over with and you've just got to wait for results. Keeping good thoughts that there is nothing wrong with the wee one.
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
I am still feeling VERY crampy and she has not been happy with me at all today... It has felt like she has been tumbling summersaults and doing cheerleading kicks all day - I think she realizes that her space has been violated! I just hope I feel MUCH better in the morning because I haven't been able to do much at all today due to the pain and pressure I have been feeling internally (nothing hurts externally). I will continue to keep everyone posted tomorrow as I hear of any more developments.
 
H

HaoZi

Guest
Rest for as long as you and her need the rest, nothing is more important than y'all's health. Hoping the best for y'all!
 

Marguerite

Active Member
Take it easy and keep your bladder empty.

I speak from experience - I have an "irritable uterus" and had strong contractions with every pregnancy, starting earlier each time. With easy child (first pregnancy) they were described as strong Braxton-Hicks and started at about week 20. They were not painful, but they did slow me down a lot. Every time I got out of a chair, I had to pause until the contraction passed. While walking, I would get a contraction every ten steps or so. At 34 weeks I was admitted to hospital with placenta problems (a totally separate issue) and spent the rest of the pregnancy on bed rest, before she had to be induced at 37 weeks.

difficult child 1 - the contractions were a lot worse and threatened to put me into labour. I was put on salbutamol tablets from 16 weeks when the contractions began. I also spent some time in hospital - I was there when Australia won the America's Cup for the first time! I stayed on the tablets until 38 weeks pregnancy, stopping them was expected to give me a week to ten days before going into labour. It was only a few hours. But during this pregnancy I was resting, and that meant not getting up to go to the toilet until I really had to go. The contractions were at times very strong.

Next pregnancy, I noticed that if I kept my bladder empty, the contractions were far less strong. I managed to stay at work for this pregnancy, until 6 weeks before (when the boss insisted I begin maternity leave). I was taking an anti-prostaglandin to damp down the contractions, though.

difficult child 3 (fourth pregnancy) - contractions began at about 9 weeks (as with easy child 2/difficult child 2) but I didn't start the salbutamol tablets until I had the amniocentesis. The doctor knew of my history and knew the test could trigger contractions, so told me to start the tablets then if the contractions got hot.
Over the next month or so, the doctor doubled the dose of salbutamol. I was shaky, resting pulse was 95, also increasingly anaemic. I had a crud doctor who didn't do what he should, but at least we had our boy at the end of it all. Again I found that an empty bladder cooled the contraction strength. I was contracting every five minutes for the duration of the pregnancy. Resting in bed quietened them down too. Being vertical (sitting, standing, walking) really stepped up the action.

So - rest. Lie down. On your side. Read lots of books. Drink plenty of fluids, but keep your bladder empty. It's always OK to get up if you're going to the loo! Otherwise - there are some good knitting patterns online!

Marg
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
I am feeling a little bit better this morning... Not as crampy as yesterday, just a bit sore on the inside still. The baby also seems to be alot calmer today, she isn't moving around as much, just every once in awhile to let me know that she is still doing ok. I have a few errands to run this morning before the doctors. office calls with the test results. I will add anew post once I hear the news - Let's keep our fingers crossed that her chromasomes come back normal.
 
J

joneshockey

Guest
I'm STILL waiting for the results... it is just about killing me that the dr. hasn't called yet. I have to wait until 3:00 to call the office if I haven't heard anything by then...
 
Top