On my 24th week, I had a check-up with my OB to make sure that I'm ready to go back to work by the following Monday. Two weeks prior, she already saw that my cervix was funneling a bit. Bed rest was advised to give way to my cervix hopefully closing.
When Dra. Manalo did the customary ultrasound, she said that I'm giving her a heart attack because the cervix is now not only funneling, but opening from inside out in addition to already having contractions of an early labor. She immediately discussed that she wanted to do a surgery to close my cervix as soon as she is able to stop the contractions. Uh oh. Major dilemna again and no one was with me at that medical appointment.
Thankfully, Noel arrived to bring me to the Genesis Birthing Center at Asian Hospital at once. I was immediately hooked up to a fetal monitor and an IV line for more drugs. We barely slept inside Genesis, with the other laboring moms, the extremely cold air con and the constant monitoring of nurses waking you every few mins. Very much appreciated also that my parents and in laws helped my husband keep an eye on me while inside. Buti na lang Genesis wasn't really crowded that time so they were not strict with us. We were able to sneak in a laptop to entertain us with our downloaded movies while waiting.
The cerclage surgery was scheduled 11pm the following day. It's a surgical procedure to save an incompetent cervix by stitching the opening area of the cervix. Anyone who knows me would be aware how terrified I am of needles, hence, the thought of a spinal anesthesia was seriously freaking the hell out of me. I kept on picturing it on my mind the whole day. May countdown pa akong nalalaman. Noel made me watch Tagalog films at the laptop to relax me, but my countdown to Zero hour continued.
As they wheeled me inside the operating room, I saw my OB in pink scrubs and the anesthesiologist in dark blue. I was in a panic mode, but Dr. Gui assured me that everything will be fine. They can't give me sedatives because they need to keep the baby awake, hence to expect chills after the spinal. They can also only give me paracetamol and no painkillers after the operation to protect the baby. I must admit, ang galing ng Anes ko!!! I barely felt the spinal! The skin test for allergies before the operation was 10x more painful than the spinal! Yey!
The cerclage only took 15 minutes. I felt that I was in good hands as my OB was even belting out songs during the surgery. Super happy to see my husband, mom, dad & mother in law at the recovery room afterwards :)
The stitch didn't really hurt, but I had honest to goodness regular contractions 12 hours post surgery. Maybe this was a dry run for things to happen when I actually give birth in a few months time.
This whole unforseen scenario really changed all our plans for the last trimester. It derailed my back to work plans. It would also mean tightening up a bit on finances since our one income household will be staying put for a year from the start of my work leave of absence.The scary pre-term labor also attached me to the bed indefinitely, most probably until I give birth.
It also opened my eyes that anything can happen at any given time. Months ago, both my husband and I decided that our priority for the next few months will be having a baby. Maybe it's a reminder that God gave us this baby as a blessing and we are all supposed to guard it with our lives (especially me). The whole ordeal also taught me that my life is not entirely in my hands, unlike before wherein all decisions are by me alone, ngayon hindi na pwede. It hasn't been an easy ride the past 6 months from fertility treatments, subchorionic hemorrhage, low-lying placenta, and now incompetent cervix + pre-term labor. Still considering ourselves lucky because not many doctors can detect an incompetent cervix before the miscarriage ensues. Lucky me, lucky baby :) We are blessed.
Really hoping and praying that the next couple of weeks will be better.
We're currently staying at my parents' house for the time-being or until my condition is more stable.
Hope we get past 28 weeks, then 32 weeks and really crossing my fingers we reach 36 weeks <3
PS Super thankful to all my relatives, lola, titos, titas, cousins, friends, officemates, etc who visited & called and to my family who were with me throughout
When Dra. Manalo did the customary ultrasound, she said that I'm giving her a heart attack because the cervix is now not only funneling, but opening from inside out in addition to already having contractions of an early labor. She immediately discussed that she wanted to do a surgery to close my cervix as soon as she is able to stop the contractions. Uh oh. Major dilemna again and no one was with me at that medical appointment.
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| Asian Hospital |
Thankfully, Noel arrived to bring me to the Genesis Birthing Center at Asian Hospital at once. I was immediately hooked up to a fetal monitor and an IV line for more drugs. We barely slept inside Genesis, with the other laboring moms, the extremely cold air con and the constant monitoring of nurses waking you every few mins. Very much appreciated also that my parents and in laws helped my husband keep an eye on me while inside. Buti na lang Genesis wasn't really crowded that time so they were not strict with us. We were able to sneak in a laptop to entertain us with our downloaded movies while waiting.
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| Fetal Monitor to measure baby's hb and my contractions |
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| Labor Room |
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| Noel slept in this single bangko, really appreciate it! |
The cerclage surgery was scheduled 11pm the following day. It's a surgical procedure to save an incompetent cervix by stitching the opening area of the cervix. Anyone who knows me would be aware how terrified I am of needles, hence, the thought of a spinal anesthesia was seriously freaking the hell out of me. I kept on picturing it on my mind the whole day. May countdown pa akong nalalaman. Noel made me watch Tagalog films at the laptop to relax me, but my countdown to Zero hour continued.
As they wheeled me inside the operating room, I saw my OB in pink scrubs and the anesthesiologist in dark blue. I was in a panic mode, but Dr. Gui assured me that everything will be fine. They can't give me sedatives because they need to keep the baby awake, hence to expect chills after the spinal. They can also only give me paracetamol and no painkillers after the operation to protect the baby. I must admit, ang galing ng Anes ko!!! I barely felt the spinal! The skin test for allergies before the operation was 10x more painful than the spinal! Yey!
The cerclage only took 15 minutes. I felt that I was in good hands as my OB was even belting out songs during the surgery. Super happy to see my husband, mom, dad & mother in law at the recovery room afterwards :)
The stitch didn't really hurt, but I had honest to goodness regular contractions 12 hours post surgery. Maybe this was a dry run for things to happen when I actually give birth in a few months time.
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| You get to bring home the pillows in your room too! Hello outside world* |
This whole unforseen scenario really changed all our plans for the last trimester. It derailed my back to work plans. It would also mean tightening up a bit on finances since our one income household will be staying put for a year from the start of my work leave of absence.The scary pre-term labor also attached me to the bed indefinitely, most probably until I give birth.
It also opened my eyes that anything can happen at any given time. Months ago, both my husband and I decided that our priority for the next few months will be having a baby. Maybe it's a reminder that God gave us this baby as a blessing and we are all supposed to guard it with our lives (especially me). The whole ordeal also taught me that my life is not entirely in my hands, unlike before wherein all decisions are by me alone, ngayon hindi na pwede. It hasn't been an easy ride the past 6 months from fertility treatments, subchorionic hemorrhage, low-lying placenta, and now incompetent cervix + pre-term labor. Still considering ourselves lucky because not many doctors can detect an incompetent cervix before the miscarriage ensues. Lucky me, lucky baby :) We are blessed.
Really hoping and praying that the next couple of weeks will be better.
We're currently staying at my parents' house for the time-being or until my condition is more stable.
Hope we get past 28 weeks, then 32 weeks and really crossing my fingers we reach 36 weeks <3
PS Super thankful to all my relatives, lola, titos, titas, cousins, friends, officemates, etc who visited & called and to my family who were with me throughout
hi. I was just browsing around for a topic like this... I'm Mj and I have a case of suspected incompetent cervix, sadly... I lost our first baby boy 2 weeks ago at 23 weeks coz my cervix dilated at 5cm without any pain! We had been going to Medical City, my OB told me that when we try again for another baby on Feb. 2014, I would get a cerclage at 16 weeks. I'm so frustrated at how I didnt get the chance to have a cerclage early on... we had been trying to get pregnant for 4 years with hormone therapy and clomid. hmp. How many weeks did you spend on bed rest? were you allowed to use the bathroom, sit for dinners? I'm wary of being stuck in bed after a cerclage. Thanks for writing about this :)
ReplyDeleteHi MJ! First of all sorry for the loss of your baby :( I know how's difficult it is to have a hard time conceiving and then have all of these complications. You are lucky that clomid worked for you. I was resistant to clomid. I had to take injections for hormones na ka level ng IVF just to make one egg cell every month. Ever since I got pregnant, I was already advised bed rest due to hemorrhage in my uterus. I also had heavy bleeding during my 12th week. My OB always wanted to be on the safe side. I had to take crinone from day 1 of pregnancy until I was 4 months pregnant, pampakapit. I was only free from bed rest for two weeks and then I funneled so badly and then na-cerclage na.
ReplyDeleteAfter the cerclage, I thought I was already on the safe side kasi my cervix closed. I was still on bed rest but allowed bathroom privileges and I would still sit on the bed. However, after a month, I was funneling again. I was confined again to stop it. After about three weeks after that, I was funneling again at a faster rate and my water level went down and the baby didn't grow as much. My OB detected APAS so I was treated for it. (I was negative for APAS but I had all the symptoms so I was still treated for it. The meds worked naman) I had to inject heparin twice a day, progesterone shot every other day, a patch in my tummy for the water, etc. para kaming mercury drug sa bahay sa dami ng gamot. I was on strict bed rest already, had to pee in a bed pan na, allowed short shower for five mins once a day. Nakakasira ng ulo ang bed rest plus I had to be on a long leave from work (halos 8 mos na ako on leave) Pero,The baby grew better and my water went back to normal. A month after, I was dilating again and my OB decided to already take out the cerclage for fear that my cervix will fully open na. I already reached 33 weeks. At 35 weeks, we decided to stop all medication and get ready for delivery already. My baby was born premature and developed pneumonia and had to stay at the NICU for ten days.
Pero you can see from my photos that he is now so healthy and happy :)
Totoo pala na it was all worth it. I'm sharing my story to you because not a lot of people have cervical insufficiency. I had it and I chose to fight it, do everything I can just to keep the baby safe. Maraming sacrifices and gastos but always think that the baby is super worth every tear and heartache.
I also want to let you know na kaya mo yan!
Kaya to make a baby and to keep it.
I recommend my OB si dra manalo....she treated my case very well.
She is aggressive in her treatments and some might say na OA sa medicines and confinement but she would always say ang Hirap na mabuntis ka so she will do everything in her capacity to make sure you deliver your baby talaga.
She said Medyo valedictorian ang case ko kasi super Hirap at laging Hindi nagwowork ang medicine. She kept me hopeful and in fighting spirit until the very end.
She would always tell me na basta lakasan ang loob and positive attitude...
It works better than any medicine.
PS
in the end, the cerclage helped me keep my baby inside for an additional two months. It bought me time. So please have a cerclage!!! Take all the shots, don't move :)
It's safe to deliver even as early as 32 weeks for cervical insufficiency. That was my deadline so my 35th week delivery was already a bonus!
Also, save money na, truthfully, magastos talaga :)
I'll pray for you MJ, hope it'll be better :)
That's a lot to go through and I thought I did a lot already, you're very brave :) It was a difficult pregnancy for me too, just a few weeks after we found out I was pregnant I already had spotting but progesterone worked for me, I had it until my 5th month of pregnancy. I stopped from working a month before we tried conceiving and he was my miracle baby, sadly it wasnt the ending we hoped for. I've never heard of Incompetent Cervix until I had it and was too late. It's very difficult to cope with the loss, as of the moment I'm in the DENIAL stage... hoping this is just a bad dream I could wake up to. We are back to zero :) hayy, it's a struggle everyday for me, I'm just blessed to have a very supportive husband....coz I'm losing my mind sobra :) the expenses pa, true! all those medicines and visits and confinements... I now came to a point that I dont want to see my hospital na! My first visit after my loss was last week and was very difficult to go to my OB with all those pregnant women doing well and looking as if it's a breeze (bitter) I will have that cerclage next time and stay in bed without complaints. You're an inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteHey MJ! Basta fight lang ng fight! Me too, I took a leave from work to conceive and after a month, we did. I decided to take a leave because the first 6 months of fertility treatments may have not worked due to stress from work. I know you will be a mom...it's just a matter of time :) in the meantime, relax and save up (hehe)! Plus, yes, get a cerclage agad and do not move in bed
ReplyDeleteHi. May I know how much the procedure? Cervical cerclage/stitching
ReplyDeleteTaga Lipa Batangas ako at sa private hospital ako nagpa-cerclage. Di Alo eligible sa philhealth gears a hulog..45k binayaran namin if my philhealth daw ay 30k lng.
DeleteAugust 21,2019 ako nacerclage..at cerclage removal q sa January 22 of this year at 37 weeks and 1 day gestation na ko nun...99% na lalabas na SI baby pagkatagtag ng cerclage. Alam nyo ba Kung magkano ung cerclage removal?
Hi! The cerclage removal did not cost as much as the cerclage, 25% of the cost if I remember.
DeleteIt was about 50k
DeleteHi. May I know how much it cost? Si Dra. Manalo din ang ob ko,she suggest cerclage pag nag 12weeks na ko
ReplyDeleteHi mam, may i know where hospital and what schedule of dra.manalo?my wife needs a doctor like her to have a cerclage..thank you
DeleteSt.Luke's BGC, i had the cerclage last Dec.2019. Nasa 130k din nagastos namin including pf ng doctor na po
Delete30-45k
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen! Not that expensive. Nasa 50k i think.
ReplyDeleteIm looking at this post and i am having a panic attack again, last august 2019 i lost my baby at 5months due to my cervix dilating. this january we found out i am pregnant again, now i am 11 weeks pregnant and i think this may be an option for me as i dont want history repeating itself.. really hard to think of as i am only a callcenter agent and my hubby is a delivery boy in foodpanda, we are trying to make ends meet. we are also bread winners but we have been trying to conceive for 8 years already as my eldest is 8 years old na. hayyy, praying nalang.
ReplyDelete