Bed rest?

M

mommyinhk

Banned
Hi everyone,

I am about 7 weeks preg and had spotted at 5 weeks and then heavy bleeding (with major cramps) two days ago. Thankfully, the u/s showed the baby was growing fine and had a good heartbeat. Have had one successful pregnancy and two failed ones previously. So the ups and downs of this one have been tough on me. Now I'm confined to bed rest and been prescribed progesterone (injections and suppositories) and hCg injections as well. Is anyone in a similar situation?

Bed rest is killing me--the boredom! I've discovered three things:
1. Being confined to bed rest is like being in prison. You finally have all this time off?but there?s nothing fun you can do!
2. Meals are really not meant to be taken in bed. Whoever invented the bed tray was out of his mind. How could you possible retire to a place of serenity and calm when in that same place you?ve just stuffed yourself full of vegetable samosas and chicken curries?
3. There is no "rest" because of the construction noise upstairs. Our neighbor is apparently renovating his apartment. As a result, he is having a field day with his hammer, saw, and drill. Wonderful! So, I lie in my bed plotting my revenge. I dream of the various lines I would say if I were ever to muster up the strength to march up there. I?ll show him what to do with that hammer. I don?t think the people upstairs have any idea what they?re up against. A bored pregnant lady jacked up on hormones stuck at home. The possibilities are endless!

Write back if you're in a similar predicament. The bleeding has stopped...for now. But every moment of every day I am filled with fear... *sigh* I hope, I hope, all I can do is hope...
 
Hi Mommyinhk,
I'm in a similar - though not quite as serious position. I'm currently close to 10 weeks. Though I haven't had any spotting or bleeding, I had major cramps around week 4-5. I had a miscarriage recently (Feb) so I've been seeing my doctor weekly since confirming my pregnancy. My problem seems to be that I never developed a proper corpus luteum after the egg was released therefore my hormone levels are very low. I also have only one ovary (had to have one removed a couple years ago) so in general my progesterone level is low. I've had bi-weekly hCg injections and have been on progesterone since ovulation. Although my doctor never formally confined me to bed rest, I was told that I had to rest as much as possible.

I've been living in fear from the very beginning. Sounds crazy but the only daily comfort I have is my horrible morning sickness. Even though it's a daily struggle to keep food down and to get myself out of bed to take care of my 2 year old son, at least I know it's a sign that my baby is still doing okay. Hang in there! I think things are finally stable enough where my doctor might start cutting down on the extra hormones I need to take.
 
Hi Wenyi,

Thanks for the reply. I understand how you feel. I also have a 2 year old son! Anyway, the strange part is that my doctor (Alex Doo) never even tested my progesterone levels. I actually got it tested recently through another doctor and the results came back normal. So why am I on all this progesterone? I ask my doctor and all I get is this watered-down, simplistic answer..."oh it will help the baby with implantation." But as we are now in the 8th week, aren't we past implantation?

My other great fear is that I'm carrying a baby which might have problems and the only reason it is surviving is due to the drugs. Did not have any problems with my first one, so never had to do an amnio. I guess we'll have to see about this one. As you say, hopefully things will stabilize.
 
I am 9 weeks pregnant with our 2nd child as well. I never had any bleeding or cramps and my progestrone level was normal but at the lower end of the range. Still my doc told me to take progestrone orally and it gives me the worst nausea EVER!!! I have no appetite, my head feels like a tonne and I just want to lie in bed all day. My sleep is all disrupted I wake up 2- 3 times in the night for no reason. My first preganancy was a breeze compared to this one.
Mummyinhk my sister had 2 miscarriages very early into her pregnancies even though she was on a high dose of hormones. So it means that its not just hormones alone that are helping you along it means your baby is doing just fine :)
 
Oh i totally understands how to feel,but everything is forth for after 3 months,Hang on I'm sure you can make it!!!When i had my bedrest I can never rest because of the loud noise outside,and my back is killing me after 3month lyng in bed,so try to ask your doctor if you could do little stratching in bed or walk a little bit everyday.Try to rent some dvd at home and move your computer near your bed and tone of magazine and look for your phone book and contact some long lost friend.Time flys...how this will help you along.Good luck.
 
I was only tested early in my pregnancy. But what I was told by my doctor is that the results of the test don't really tell you that much. A certain level of progesterone might be enough for one person but not enough for another. Just based on what he sees from the ultrasound, a corpus luteum never formed so therefore technically speaking it's most likely not producing enough hormones to help sustain my pregnancy. It's also my understanding that there is no harm to the baby by giving extra hCg and progesterone. Therefore if it means that if it could be just even a little of extra help during this time, I don't have a problem. I was told that once there's a placenta, then I can stop taking all the hormones.

Please try not to worry yourself too much. When I found out about my miscarriage in Feb (miscarried around week 6), I was already on progesterone. It didn't matter how much extra hormones I was taking, she still didn't make it. The baby just stopped developing. The fact that your baby is growing fine and has a good heartbeat are very encouraging signs. Try to be optimistic, okay?
 
HI, I had 10 weeks in bed from 22 weeks onwards due to my waters breaking on one of my twins. I know about being on bed rest and dealing with the stress.
As I was in the Queen Mary hospital I found it quite noisy and confining as well.
A few things that helped me.
In the morning I wouyld get up and make my bed and sit on top of the covers for the day so that I wasn't "in bed" all day.
Work out a routine- make your bed, eat some brekky, read the paper (I did the crossword and the sudoku every day), etc
Find some really good series like 24 or Lost etc as these are often addctive and easier to watch than movies.

As for the stress, just try to stay positive (i know its hard but it does help)

And try to get a lot of friends around to visit. Get them to bring lunch and have a picnic on your bed.

And hopefully you will only have to wait a while until things settle down.

Good luck with it and if you would like to talk about it you can send me a message, as I am also studying to become a doula and this is the sort of thing I would like to be able to help other women deal with.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. I've stopped bleeding for 48 hours now so I'm going back to the office tomorrow. Have another scan scheduled for Thurs. Keeping my fingers crossed! Hope positive news awaits...
 
Hi all--

I had major bleeding on Friday, right after my doctor's visit. I was told to go on rest in bed. But the cramps and the pain was so severe (like contractions and shooting pain), I finally checked into Matilda so they could give me some shots for the pain. Was released today and now back on bed rest. The baby survived and is doing very well actually. She's (I'm really hoping it's a girl) grown a lot and has a strong heartbeat. However, the latest scan shows that the hematoma/blood clot is still there. It's right next to the baby and it's pretty large (bigger than the baby). So it looks like it's going to be bed rest for me for a while. Sigh.
 
Mommyinhk I am glad you are doing better now and your baby is doing great. Just a few more weeks to go before you'll be on your feet again, hope you are able to find entertaining ways to keep busy.
 
Hi

Poor you - it is so stressful. I had a serious bleed after my 12 week scan (apparently unrelated to the scan itself) and was admitted to hospital for monitoring for the night then a week of bed rest. All seems to have calmed down now (now 17 weeks this week) but am so stressed about it happening again. Mine was also a clot but they could not tell why it had happened and therefore whether or not it would happen again.

Try to stay calm, take care and I am pleased that baby is doing well despite all the scares.

SB2
 
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