There's not just a fetus in my uterus...

Just shy of 16 weeks I started having sharp pains in my lower left side. It was a Wednesday and I was at work - started early afternoon as a stabbing pinch that would last for a few seconds, then slowly disappear. It seemed to happen mostly when I moved - like getting up from my desk, walking to the bathroom, sitting down to pee, getting back up, and going back to my office. It would calm back down after sitting for a while, but then start up again when (inevitably) I got back up. Google was leading me to believe it was "round ligament" pain, so I trusted their diagnosis... I was also having some stomach "issues" that afternoon, so I wasn't sure if it was just gas. But the pain intensified as the afternoon went on, and by 6 I was OVER it, soI left work a little early to go home. My best friend from college just happens to be an OBGYN so I text her. I'm sure I wasn't doing a good job of describing it, but basically it was agreed - gas or round ligament pain. Take some Tylenol, go to bed, and if it still hurts in the morning call the doctor...

Well as the night went on, not only did the pain get worse, I also realized this was happening like clockwork. A sharp, shooting pain that would last for maybe 30 seconds, starts in the front and would move to my back, would ease up over the next 30 seconds, and then be fine for maybe 5 minutes before happening again. It kept me up half the night (until the next dose of Tylenol would kick in!). When I woke up, it wasn't any better, so I called the doctor right at 8:30 when the nurses are there to start answering the phones (I tried earlier but it was an automated system and my only option was to page the on-call doctor, who I didn't want to bother). I described the pain and was again told round ligaments, to take some tylenol, and call back if it got worse... 

Around 11:30 my friend text me to see how I was doing, at which point I came clean and told her it was happening every 3 minutes... I think I felt her panic come through the phone. Or maybe it was her reply that it could be contractions? Yeah, that was it! So I called my doctor back and told the nurse that my OBGYN friend thinks I'm having contractions and says I need to come in right away! They could squeeze me in at 1:50. 

 

Brian had taken off work (or maybe was "working from home"?) that day since he knew I wasn't feeling well. I never asked him if he was panicked about this... To be honest, I wasn't sure how I was feeling about it. I think I was too focused on the pain and hopefully finding relief to care if something more serious was going on.... So we drive to the doctor, wait forever, finally go in... And good news - not contractions! Bad news - she has no clue what it is! Might be an ovary, possibly a UTI, so she's sending me for an ultrasound to see if they can see anything. 

So off to the next doctor for an ultrasound. More good news -baby is fine. She was moving around quite a bit, looked to be sucking her thumb at one point, and the tech confirmed it is most definitely a girl (as if the blood test wasn't enough). And she also took quite a long look at my left side where I was complaining of the pain - and ding, ding! That's where my fibroid is! Yes, a fibroid - something I had only learned about at my 12 week ultrasound. At which point they were VERY vague about it. The doctor was like, "So yeah, you have a fibroid, but it shouldn't be a problem. We'll watch it. Sometimes they grow and can impede on the baby's growth, but usually it's fine." Welll as it turns out, they grow very quickly, and at points can outgrow their blood supply, and when that happens, it gets angry and causes a lot of pain. Well sure enough, that was what was happening. (And side note, I'm super angry at myself for not asking for a picture of said fibroid. It was basically a random circle, about the same size as the baby's head. When we go back for the 20 week ultrasound I'm going to ask for some pictures - so stay posted!). And basically there isn't anything they can do for it. They gave me a prescription for an NSAID (like an Advil), which usually you're not allowed to take when pregnant. But in this case, and STRICTLY for 48 hours, it was allowed. Went to CVS, got my drugs, and literally as soon as it kicked in, I felt human again! Ohhhh joy!  

  

The next 48 hours were fine - pain would start to come back right before it was time for another pill, but for the most part I was able to function.... but the relief was only temporary, and as soon as the drugs ran out, I was back in horrible pain! In fact, I think it was even worse than it had been prior to getting drugs. Saturday night and all day Sunday were horrible. Curled up in a ball on the couch all day, borderline in tears kinda pain. Tylenol helped, but didn't completely get rid of it like the other drugs did. Luckily by Monday it started to ease up on its own. By Thursday I think I was just about back to normal. We hosted our annual Thanksgiving party the following Saturday and I was having little flare ups, but it was mostly due to over-exerting myself and being on my feet for 12+ hours. And for the next (almost) 3 weeks I was totally fine***.... 

Also, come to find out at my next appointment with my usual doctor, the fibroid was 6cm (about 2.5 inches), which at the time was about 1/2 the size of the baby (so my guess of "the size of the baby's head" wasn't doing it justice! haha). And it had grown - it was only 4cm at the 12 week ultrasound! So now I'm super curious to see how big this thing is on Monday! 

*** (just shy of 20 weeks I had 1 day with a flare up, but luckily it went away quickly, and still wasn't as bad as it was previously). 

20 week ultrasound update! The fibroid is down to 5cm! And I got pictures :)