Mirror Syndrome from Hydrops
Hi Everyone,
I lost my first baby at 21 weeks to Fetal Hydrops on October, 12 2011. All of my ultrasounds looked great according to the doctors until they put me in the hospital because I was retaining Fluid. For months the doctors told me the swelling was normal until I panicked and said, something isn't right! They wanted to rule out any blood clots in my legs and once that came back normal, they said, "since your here, lets do your level 2". Me and my husband were so excited to find out the sex of the baby! As soon as the ultrasound Tech started my ultrasound, she wasn't saying anything and then walked out of the room to get a doctor. We knew right then and there, something was terribly wrong. The high risk doctor came in and said, "you have a very, very, very sick baby, and should not go forward with the pregnancy. After an Amnio was done, we found out the baby had turner syndrome and the baby would pass away from the fetal hydrops. I was in danger because i was mirroring what the baby was going through. I was completely filled with Fluid. I had a D&E, and my swelling went down, but not totally. It is now Jan 1, and I am still retaining fluid. My lower legs and ankles still haven't gone down. I went to my family doctor and they are sending me for all kinds of testing Thursday to make sure it isn't anything with my heart or liver. My question to you is, did any of you retain fluid, and how long did it take to go away? I am in a panic because, I feel to get over this devastation of loosing my baby girl, is to have another real soon, but I'm still filled with fluid! I was told to wait 3 months to start trying again, and next month will be here before you know it. I am happy I found this site to talk everyone that is going, or has been through the same thing. Thank you:))
2 May 2010
3 days 8 hours
Hi Liliana,
I've heard of this before but not cases where it got very severe. How are you now? Let's see if more people can respond here with advice :)
Dan
6 February 2012
8 weeks 5 days
Hey Liliana,
I too had mirror syndrome. I had a terrific pregnancy until I went into the hospital at 26 weeks with kidney stones. While in the hospital, I gained 16 lbs of fluid in two days. I became very anemic, my liver enzymes were very bad, and I had to be put on oxygen. My doctor decided that I had to deliver. They still didn't know that Ava had hydrops so they diagnosed my with preeclampsia. They did an emergency c-section on October 2, 2011 and had to intubate me. They wouldn't allow my husband to come back with me because there was a chance I wouldn't make it. They were talking about congestive heart failure. When the doctor made my incision they found excessive amniotic fluid and found that Ava had severe hydrops. Ava lived until October 5, 2011 and then her lungs could no longer take the fluid. They diagnosed her with non-immune hydrops with no found cause. After Ava passed, they then told me that I actually had mirror syndrome, not preeclampsia. I recovered physically very quickly. I did not retain fluid at all. I am still trying to recover emotionally. I want a child so badly, but I'm so afraid to try again. I have an appointment with a high risk specialist this Wednesday and I'm hoping they can find an answer as to why this happened. I also want a cure. My doctor told me not to get pregnant again for 9 - 12 months since I was so sick. That's probably best since I'm still recovering emotionally. My husband still isn't sure if he ever wants to try again. I'm just praying that one day we find the strength to have another baby and that God blesses us with a healthy one. I'll pray that the doctors find out why you are still retaining fluid and that it is something that can be easily fixed. Please let me know what they say. I wish you all the best in your next pregnancy and I pray for you to have a healthy child as well.
28 January 2011
5 weeks 2 days
Hi Liliana,
We lost our baby girl, Hope Noel, on 12/25/10. Around 22 weeks I started getting very sick - not able to keep any food down, bloody noses, severe shortness of breath, weird pee and swelling/unexplained weight gain. I finally switched doctors because my old doctor kept telling me everything was normal and those were normal pregnancy symptoms. It was my first pregnancy...but I knew something was wrong.
My new doctor did an ultrasound and saw the hydrops. I was sent immediately to a specialist where we were told on a scale from 1 to 10 our little girl was a 9. I was then admitted to the hospital where I continued to swell and my liver and kidneys began to shut down. They had to induce me and our little Christmas angel passed away during delivery. I was 25 weeks pregnant. They never determined the cause of the hydrops.
I had significant swelling, I weighed 145 lbs before pregnancy and over 200 lbs when I was swollen - They gave me pills that I took for a week after to help get rid of the fluid and after about a week and a half I was down to 160 lbs...I know it's been a while since your post but if you are still retaining fluid I would ask about the pills to help shed the water weight.
On a more positive note, I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and so far so good. I have an ultrasound about every other week now with the specialist and have not experienced any of the horrible symptoms I did in my first pregnancy. We are very optimistic and hope to welcome our healthy little girl this June.
~Sarah