15-11-2009 - My amnio prodedure

My mood while writing this blog: tired

Thought I would put my experience with my amnio in writing for anyone, like me, that wants to know what it was for me and how it felt.

I was very nervous before I went in for the test. My dh and I were walked into a room where the amnio doc had a talk with us about what to expect. I asked loads of questions after reading so many things on the internet about it. I need to tell you all though, I have done many many days worth of research on the topic and more so looking for people that acutally lost a baby due to amnio. I found one. Only one and the percentage is so low for it to happen it just confirmed with me that death of a fetus from amnio is NOT the biggest thing. It is a concern but not a concern that can ever be taken as gospel. Fetus death occurs more often in women that are not having an amnio than on women that have one. Stillbirth death happens no matter what, but you just have something to blame if it happens to your baby after an amnio.

I had my amnio in a military hospital. I was very concerned about that. I have little trust for military. I have to say though, military doctors lack bedside manners because the major amount of people they see. They are through with the procedures but unless you ask them questions they will seem standoffish. Standoffish and not being able to do their jobs are two different things. If you are looking for compassion from your doctor while doing this procedure you need to make sure that you have voiced your concerns about that prior to the actual procedure. That goes with all doctors not just military.

I was put on a bed in the ultrasound room. The doctor took out all of the equipement that needed to be used for the procedure and placed them on my tummy. You may not have this and another person may be present when this is done. If only one doctor will be in the room he will need to have his things within his reach. Try not to move too much... LOL.. Once he got his things together he checked for the best location for the amnio needle to go in. With me I had an anterior placenta so he had to go in at the very top of my uterus. He still had to go through a little placenta but he could not help that. He found a good spot to place the needle at. I turned my head and would not look at that at all so I can not tell you what he did exactly, I can just tell you how it felt.

The needle going into my tummy was nothing. Ifelt nothing at all, no prick on puncture, nothing. I watched the u/s monitor and saw the needle going into my belly. When the needle got to my uterus and he poked through it, that is when I felt it. My entire uterus cramped up and I felt it at the bottom of my uterus. Not where the needle went in, just the bottom. The whole time the needle was in my tummy my uterus cramped up. This is where slow breathing works. I took in deep breaths and let them out slowly. The same breathing used in labor is what I used to manage my pain at this moment. On a pain level scale of one to ten I would say this was a 7. No tears but if I could breath I may have actually cried a little bit. It is not a pain free procedure. At about the same time as he was taking the needle out is when my back cramped up. He got his stuff and I rolled into a ball. I felt my back pop back into place. I think the cramping from the procedure actually pushed my back out of place. Make sure you are comfortable on that table. I was laying flat but you may be able to ask to have your knees elevated a bit. I think that would have helped me out a bit and it never hurts to ask.

It took about 12 hours for the cramping to finally stop. It was not constant but because he had to go through a major muscle on top of the uterus I was sore a bit longer than most people. The actual procedure is very fast. I got a good giggle out of the doctor after the whole thing was done and over with. I was looking at the fluid in the tube and asked him how long till the baby gets the fluid back. He looked at me and said, "It's just pee, she'll do that on her own soon." I have never in my life looked at it like that. LMAO.. told you that military doctors have no bedside manners, but he was being honest with me... LOL

If anyone has any questions about this feel free to contact me and I will answer them the best I can. Goodluck to all how have this done.

Peace