I know I have posted here before about the same subject, but as the scheduled cerclage is getting closer, I am getting more and more nervous. My peri wants me to have a preventive cerclage done and I am going crazy. One day I decide, okay, Im gona have it done and the next day, I am totally confused then refuse to do it. I am supposed to have it done on Jan. 22nd. I am now 12 weeks pregnant. I am so scared to have it done and yet so scared NOT to have it done in case something goes wrong and there's nothing there to support my babies. Please help me in trying to figure out what to do. I am so anxious and depressed about this whole issue. Also, my cervix is measuring at 4.2 after doing an u/s 2 days ago.
Thank you all for your support and always being there to answer my questions.





Eman (33)
DH (32)
DD Leya (22 months)
EDD 7/22/2004 (Expecting triplets)

http://www.myspace.com/princessplus3


Eman (36)
DH (35)
DD Leya ....... Jan 10, 2002
GBG @ 32 weeks 5 day

I had a cerclage at 10 weeks(the Tuesday before Christmas.) It is very fresh in my mind. My only advice is to have the doctor knock you out before you go in the surgery room. I was awake in order to do a reassuring ultrasound. I think I got more nervous seeing all the equipment.
i slept and took it easy the rest of the day and felt O.K. the next but still took it easy.

I did have soreness in the abdomen area, kind of like I had done 500 sit-ups. I also had gas. I believe that they fill you with air or blow up to magnify things. That was truly my only complaints.
Best wishes

Meli
Elijah-4yrs. old
Spontaneous BBB triplets born at 34.3 weeks 6-8-04
Adam- 5lbs 11 oz. 18.5 inches
Ryan- 4lbs 6 oz. 17.75 inches
Joshua- 5lbs 17 inches

I am an adamant supporter of cerclages. A quick synopsis -- I went in for a preventative cerclage at 14 and a half weeks and discovered I was bleeding at the hospital because my cervix had started funneling. It had measured 3.8cm the week before and was down to 1.3 at the hospital. I was very grateful to already be in the care of doctors and nurses when this ordeal hit and more grateful that we were already en route to a remedy.

I too had a spinal, but the anethesiologist also gave me something to make me "loopy" (I know it was through the IV, but I don't know what it was). I slept through pretty much the whole thing -- I remember little parts like when the anesthesiologist gave me something really sour to drink (really sour) -- it was an antacid or something.

Stephanie
West Rogers ^i^ b
Keaton Edward ^i^ b
Rebecca Joy ^i^ g
1/6/04 19w5d

hi eman

how was your Christmas? did leya race around the house? sebastian still hasn't figured out that underneath a wrapped parcel is a gift, but he sure loves the lights and ribbons.

about the cerclage, as of yet, i have not had one done. at my last vaginal u/s my cervix was 4cm and he said there was no need. all drs are different, and it seems that yours is being very proactive.

sorry i am not more assistance, i just thought i would let you know about my particular situation. xo tess

tess
mummy to 7yr old ds & the triumverate born 2004

Hi, I know how you feel, I can only tell you that I had one done at 16-17 weeks and delivered to 35 weeks, after taking out my cerclage my peri told me I was dilated to a 3! Now if I didn't have that in I would never of carried so long...thats how I feel.

I had a spinal block and was awake the whole time, I don't regret that at all, I spent the nite in the hospital because of antibiotics and felt good after that...I was told to take a few days off work to lay around and to not lift anything! I really rec. having it done, but wish you the best on your decision.

Carol, Mom to Rex, Owen and Macy, 4 months old!

it is scary going in for surgery, but when we made decisions we tried to focus on what might regret not doing. our doctor told us it was much safer to do one early in a pregnancy instead of waiting until later when the babies are closer to the cervix. we had ours done at 15 weeks as a preventative measure. i had a spinal, so i was awake during the procedure. i didn't have any pain at all, and they did an ultra sound immediatly after so i could see that my babies were okay, and another one later in the day before i went home. the only probem i had was waiting for the spinal to wear off that took several hours.
i actually had a pretty smooth pregnancy, until i went into labor at 28 weeks. the contractions weren't bad, but when my doctor did an exam just to check me out, he discovered that i was dialated even with the cerclage. he did a ceasarean right away.my girls were early and little but now they are almost to their first birthday and completely healthy. 17lbs, 18lbs, and 27lbs!
what ever happens during your pregnancy, just love your babies and do what you feel is best for your family,

jen

jen- mom to
leah,lynnette and lorraine 28w2d

ray 30w5d

<[/img>

Here's my experience with cerclages. I had an emergency cerclage at 20 wks. I was so fortunate to have had it done barely in time. If it had been even one hour later, it would have been too late !!! I insisted that I be seen that afternoon, and will always be grateful for that voice telling me to be seen. I am obviously very pro cerclage and know it saved my babies. I would not recommend the emergency kind though - VERY stressful. My ceclage was very difficult to do because I have a z shaped cervix, and took much longer than normal. I was terrified during it, because it was so close to losing my babies. I was fortunate enough to deliver at 33 wks, and could have gone longer, if it hadn't been for HELLP syndrome.

I don't see any down side to very consevative/careful/preventative treatments. Things can change very dramatically and very quickly. Just because some women are fortunate enough to have relatively smooth and lengthy pregnancies and without conservative treatment, does not mean that everyone will be ok without it !!! As far as I am concerned there is no way you can be too informed or too careful. Listen to your body and if something 'just doesn't feel right'or you just want some reassurance that things are ok, talk to your dr, or go in to be be seen. You will never regret anything you do to help lengthen your pregnancy Good luck !!!

Lorraine

Lorraine

Reach for the heart of God and not just His hands.
Organ donation saves lives!
Life happens when love is given.


http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradenwild

Hi,

I just want to throw in my two cents as well. I can only wish in hindsight that I had really pushed to have the cerclage done. At 12 weeks of my pregnancy, my cervix was long and the doctor didn't even mention a cerclage. Right at 22 weeks, however, my cervix had funneled down below 1.0 and Baby C's (Sarah) bag had been exposed. I was given an emergency cerclage, but still developed an infection and ongoing contractions (which I could not feel when admitted to the hospital). My husband and I lost our three babies at 23weeks. We are now hoping to do another IVF cycle and you can bet that if I get pregnant, even with one, I will all but demand the cerclage.

I wish you all the best--I know it is a tough decision and every situation is different. The advice on TC is invaluable!

Take care,
Joy
Mom to ^Sarah^, ^Rachel^ and ^Noah^ (2-11-03)

Mom to ^Sarah^, ^Rachel^ & ^Noah^ (2-11-03)
also identical twins ^Ember^ and ^Emily^ (6-10-04)
Lost But Never Forgotten

Waiting on Gabriel Benjamin, due October 27,2005

Eman, if you've made the decision, and your peri thinks it's in your best interest, then I suggest you be your own best friend and try to stop second-guessing yourself. A preventative cerclage has fewer adverse side-effects than one done on an emergency basis. YES, you are going very close to the pregnancy and having surgery, and YES, sometimes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a philosophy many people follow. HOWEVER, a triplet pregnancy is a high-risk pregnancy, and when things start to go wrong they can and often do go wrong very quickly, sometimes with tragic results. If you wait until things are "broke", you may not be able to "fix" them.

My cervix was one of those long ones, usually measuring 4.5 to 5.0. But in the space of a week or so it funneled & shortened to 1.5!!! I barely felt anything, and could have easily ignored or explained away what I was feeling down there as "nothing". Thank goodness I had a scheduled appointment to go to so we could catch what was happening and give me an emergency cerclage. Trust me, an emergency cerclage at 23+ weeks is not pleasant or easy on the mother, and it is far more risky than a preventative cerclage! After the procedure I felt an enormous sense of relief to have something in place to help hold my babies in.

Best of luck to you, Eman. It seems there's always something to worry about, huh?

Tulip & The Three Amigos
Born at 35w5d on December 31, 2002 - Happy New Year's Eve!!!
Aimee, Let's bump heads!
Edward, Rollin' Rollin' Rollin', Got to keep on rollin'!
Hope, Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

YES! You *can* breastfeed triplets!!!
http://www.tripletconnection.org/dcforum/forum1/14349.html

Tulip & The Three Amigos
GBG born at 35w5d on December 31, 2002 - Happy New Year's Eve!!!

YES! You *can* breastfeed triplets!!!

I am a Velveteen Rabbit, and the birth, love, kisses & magic that are my children has made me Real.

Hi Eman,

I had a cerclage done at 17 weeks after my cervix went from 3.1 to 2.9 over a 5-day period. To top it all off it was on my 14th wedding anniversary! Anyway, my advice to you is to trust your peri and stop worrying yourself. Surgery, for most of us, is scary. It is especially so if you can't see or feel the "problem." I don't regret having mine put in and was actually relieved to have it done. It has brought me great peace of mind to know that it is there just in case. Things could still go wrong of course but I'd rather have it than not.

Best wishes to you,

julie
___________________________

1st IVF with ICSI - success, BBB triplets

32 weeks, 2 days - February 23, 2004

Truitt Curtis - 3lbs. 15 oz.
Porter Thomas - 3 lbs. 14 oz.
Jonas Taylor - 2 lbs. 8 0z.

My cerclage was recommended for 2 reasons: I had incompetent cervix with my previous twin pg, and I was carrying quads. It turned out that I didn't really need the cerclage (my cervix measured 4 cm with no funneling two days before I delivered at 32w0d). While the babies never even put pressure on the stitch, I did have peace of mind knowing it was there. I had it done at 14 weeks and I was awake through the whole thing. The atmosphere in the OR was quite relaxed and we were all just having conversation and bantering about a bit. I did not have anything to make me loopy. I think I might be in the minority and if you are a bit uncomfortable, ask for something to help you relax that won't affect the babies too much.

Mine went well, although it was strange to feel him tugging on me. I thought he was going to remove my entire uterus through my vagina, but I felt no pain, just strange tugging. In recovery I got sick, but that was the only real issue. I almost passed out, then puked on the nurse. I also peed all over her too. I had some pain as the spinal wore off and I couldn't tell if I was contracting, but they determined it was from my very full bladder. So they started to put in a straight catheter just to drain my bladder (I still had very little sensation so I didn't even know that I had peed all over the bed). Well, I had a cold at the time and had to cough. I started to cough just as she was inserting the cath and I sent it flying across the room, along with a bunch of pee. We all had a good laugh over it and of course I wet some more from the laughter. Because I got sick I spent an extra hour in recovery, but then went home to sit on my couch. The stitch was removed during the c-section.

The only side affect I had was a bit of urine leaking for a couple of days. I wore incontinence pads and after a week I was back to peeing like a normal pg person.

I have read that new information supports that cerclages in triplet pg's are not necessary in most cases. I don't know if the article is on TC, but MOST has some info on it.

My doc's view was that it was better to do a planned cerclage rather than do it on an emergent basis.

MonsterMom6
10 year old ^b^ b twins @ 30w5d (1 survivor) and
8 year old gggg quads @ 32w0d

MonsterMom, your pee story is HILARIOUS!!!!!!!

Tulip & The Three Amigos
Born at 35w5d on December 31, 2002 - Happy New Year's Eve!!!
Aimee, Let's bump heads!
Edward, Rollin' Rollin' Rollin', Got to keep on rollin'!
Hope, Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

YES! You *can* breastfeed triplets!!!
http://www.tripletconnection.org/dcforum/forum1/14349.html

Tulip & The Three Amigos
GBG born at 35w5d on December 31, 2002 - Happy New Year's Eve!!!

YES! You *can* breastfeed triplets!!!

I am a Velveteen Rabbit, and the birth, love, kisses & magic that are my children has made me Real.

Ditto! I am a very adamint about cerclages! My cerclage SAVED my babies lives! I had a preventative one done at 12 weeks, while my cervix was nice and long. It stayed that way until 22 weeks when it shortened 50% and I was in PTL with drugs controlling my constant contractions until delivery day at almost 34 weeks! Through all those contractions the stitch is what kept my babies in! Do it and feel confident about it! If you don't, God forbid you would regret it if something happened down the line! Good Luck!



Karen,Paul
Ethan,Dylan,& Parker
3/24/03
33weeks, 4 day

Karen - blessed wife to Paul,
Proud mom to spontaneous boys
3/24/03
God is soooo good!

Oh my God! Thank you so so very much girls. You have actually helped me make a decision. I am going to have that cerclage done on the 22nd I really don't know how to thank you all for being so great and supportive. I hope that by June, I can see you guys on TC and let you know that you guys helped me go through with this pregnancy and helped me make important decisions when i was so confused. THANK YOU




Eman (33)
DH (32)
DD Leya (24 months):-)
EDD 7/22/2004 (Expecting triplets)

http://www.myspace.com/princessplus3


Eman (36)
DH (35)
DD Leya ....... Jan 10, 2002
GBG @ 32 weeks 5 day