I had my 6 week post-op appointment with my gyn today and I thought you all might be interested in my final pathology diagnosis. When I was first admitted to the hospital, via emergency, on April 5th for severe bleeding, they were intending to do a D & C. After asking whether I might be pregnant (which I said was unlikely due to blocked fallopian tubes from years of severe endometriosis) they tested me and indicated that yes, I actually was pregnant, and my HCG levels were 55,000. The plan for a D and C was changed...I was admitted, given an ultrasound, which showed no normal fetus, and then waited three days for a MRI. The MRI showed what looked like an invasive molar pregnancy and within a couple of hours I was off to surgery. My doc told me afterwards, that my uterus was completely adhered to my bowels and that I had a thick band of endometriosis around my bladder, and the uterus was also adhered to the bladder. She brought in a colo-rectal surgeon who slowly cut my uterus away from my bowels and then she removed my ovaries, uterus, cervix and so on... I was also given four units of blood during surgery as my hemoglobin was only 88 going in, and I lost a fair amount of blood during surgery.
Because of the suspicion of an invasive molar pregnancy, I had to go for weekly blood tests for the last 6 weeks. My hormone levels dropped quickly, which was a relief and by week six I had the recommended three normal results in a row.
At my 2 week post op visit, my doc told me that the pathologist was still unable to make a conclusive diagnosis about the molar as it did not present all of the typical characteristics that it should. Apparently, after consulting with other pathologists in my city, doing 3 DNA tests on the specimin, my slides were sent to Vancouver, BC and then on to a doctor in Boston at the Women's Health Center. The doctor in Boston determined that I did not have a molar pregnancy...but rather I had adenomyosis and a gland had burrowed into the wall of my uterus. When I became pregnant, the egg actually implanted in the exact same spot and attached itself to the gland, thus looking like the egg itself was behaving like a mole. Had the egg continued to develop it would likely have caused my uterus to rupture. The doctor in Boston indicated that she knows of only THREE other documented cases, like mine, in the world!
My gyn is going to write my case up for doctors locally, and her resident is going to write up the case and submit it for possible publishing in a medical journal. If it does get published, she promises me a copy lol.
Anyways, I am feeling like I am on the road to recovery and am hoping that endometriosis is a thing of the past for me.
I wish all of you the best of luck in your recoveries...now my DH is looking at me with that look in his eyes as the doc has given the green light for sexual relations...I'm nervous as H - E - double hockey sticks!
Chris in Calgary
3 in 5 billion pathology result
