I am putting this out there to see if anyone else has experience with the return of a uavm. I am 22 weeks pregnant. The avm was treated in September 2017. All through the beginning of the pregnancy I asked every visit and every ultrasound tech if they could see it, for fear of it coming back. It only makes sense that it would. Over and over again I was reassured they couldnt see it. Until the end of July I went golfing and the next night had a major bleed putting me in the ER. I live in a rural community where the doctors are not experienced with avms bu any means, especially uterine ones. An emergency ultrasound revealed complete placenta previa and right above that the pesky AVM. A visit to my high risk gyno later and she still told me its not a concern. I have been on bed rest since then. Last week I visited the maternal fetal medicine clinic in Calgary Alberta , where the AVM lit up like a Christmas tree on that screen. My heart sank… it looked like the first time it was discovered large and out of control. It is right where they would open me up during a c section which it has to be because of the placenta previa. the risk of hemmoraging and losing my uterus is so high during delivery I am terrified . And so annoyed that I wasnt warned that this would happen… of course it would come back with the extra blood flow and stretching of the uterus. How the hell do I stay calm and try not to think about the terrifying ordeal about to go down in January… I am almost three hours from Calgary and the thought of hemmoraging here is terrifying relying on doctors who are not experienced with my case.
Viva, I have no experience with your type of AVM, but I do have experience in compassion! Your post broke my heart, and I just want you to know that I will be praying for you and your baby. I know that you are scared and I would be as well. P&P (Prayer & Patience) has been my “go-to” for a long time. It has relieved my mind and my body over and over again. I invite you to try it over & over again. Wishing you all the best.
Sharon D…
Viva, I just wondered how it all went. If we can be a source of solace, please reach out.
Thankyou for asking for a follow up. I tell ya life really got away from me ! I have a healthy 1 year old (on the 27th of this month) baby boy. The entire pregnancy was scary and exhausting full of doctors appointments and ultrasounds. I had an incredibly talented smart surgeon who decided to do a “classical c section” because of the way the vascular structure in my uterus was presenting itself on the scans. It turned out to be placenta accreta(where the placenta attaches itself to the uterus). They only discovered this on the operating table , Lucky for me I had a good surgeon who was able to repair and save my uterus from a hysterectomy. It was a very intense and traumatic c section, but we both survived.
Honestly the whole process was very confusing and I feel like nobody (doctors, specialists etc.) Could give me concrete answers throughout the whole pregnancy. No one could say for sure if it was an avm and every doctor that saw my ultrasounds and even an MRI ( which I have to say was awful to have done at 25 weeks pregnant) were only able to provide me with scenarios . I don’t know If that’s because UAVMs are so rare or what, but everything happened the way it was supposed to or the way god planned and we came out the other side .
I hope now I can be an example for other women or even shed some light on this confusing diagnosis by sharing my experience so please If anyone has questions, dont hesitate to ask !!
Eva
Wonderful
I just read your experience and had a similar one and was going to comment and state it may not be the UAVM back… embolization in 2011 and when I was about 13wks preg with my son in 2017 I was at wrk on night shift (CNA and already had restrictions on myself regarding lifting the patients bc of high risk from UAVM, IC, and already being in preterm labor) I started to hemorrhage and drove to the hospital right away. Panicked that my UAVM was back. They checked for baby heart beat first and it was there. Then sent me for an ultrasound and they said it was a subchronic hemorrhage