I am a Unicorn
Prior to my follow-up to my OB/GYN, the results of my HSG were posted by the radiologist to my online health profile. I took a look at it, and it basically restated what he told me in the proper medical terminology. I didn't think much of it at first, and would search online for statistics of pregnancies with only one Fallopian tube. The results were pretty good, and I was hopeful. Then I read it again. There was a term... "unicornuate uterus". What is that? Google will solve this mystery.
That's when the hope turned to confusion and anxiety. R gave a laugh and said, "Babe, you're a unicorn. That's funny." If only.
The more I researched, the more confused I got. Thankfully, work saved me from myself and took my mind off things until my appointment. R & I waited for an eternity it seemed for the doc. I was super freaked out, as noted by the nurse taking my high blood pressure. 142/88. Yikes. It's never been that high.
The doc came in and gave us the low down. R's results were good. Great! What about me? Where shall I begin. She said that I do have hormone deficiencies, but didn't go into the details. "I can fix that. That's easy." She said. R asked if progesterone was one of them, since it was on my list and what I had suspected all along. Affirmative. Okay. Her biggest concern, however, was my anatomy. She confirmed the radiologist's suspicion.
I was a unicorn.
Unicornuate Uterus is a Mullerian anomaly, which is an abnormal formation of the uterus. This happens when the patient is a fetus. The cells making a baby come together as two halves (split down the middle). The Unicornuate Uterus (UU) anomaly happens when one half of the cells forming the uterus (one side) fail to form properly or sometimes at all. This leaves the patient with an undersized uterus, sometimes only 1/2 the size of a normal uterus, and only 1 functional Fallopian tube or "horn". UU patients can also be missing the ovary and/or kidney from the underdeveloped side. One way to find out what I have or don't have is to get an MRI.
Once home, I scoured the internet for more information on my newly diagnosed condition. Here are a couple tidbits.
*Mullerian anomalies occur in approximately 2-3% of all fertile women; 3% in infertile women.
*Unicornuate Uterus can account for ~10% of uterine anomalies, and infertility is seen in ~12.5% (range 5-20%) of cases.
*Spontaneous abortion rates are reported to range from 41-62%. Reported premature birth rates range from 10-20%. Fetal survival rate is ~40% (range 38-57%).
*Renal (kidney) abnormalities are more commonly associated with a UU than with other anomalies and are present in 40% of cases.
*UU seems to occur in 1 of every 4,000 women. (Apparently, this is extremely rare.)
This is when I really lost my mind. She said I would be considered high risk with this. I was finding that most UU women have to go in every other week. My miscarriage rate will be pretty high throughout, and pre-term delivery is usually estimated at 32-35 weeks. Not only that, but because there typically isn't any room for the baby to turn, they almost always present as breech and a C-Section is needed. Holy crap. I didn't sign up for this. This is too much. If I get pregnant, I will probably have trouble staying that way, and even if I do, I won't get to deliver naturally. That's even rarer than my condition!
We went to bed and I ugly cried until I couldn't cry anymore. R hugged me until I decided I was okay to lay down and not drown myself. This was not a good day. Not a good day at all.