First Trimester Low Progesterone

The first trimester can be a stressful time because it's considered the highest risk period for miscarriage so you may find yourself questioning if every little thing is normal or not. If that isn't overwhelming enough you might be trying to keep the news secret, so you're going through all of these changes and trying to act totally normal! I've kept track of every week of pregnancy so far but let's start with the day I found out I was pregnant!

 On Friday, February 13th (what a lucky day!) I woke up and immediately had the thought to get up and take a pregnancy test. I was 3 days late at this point, but I had stopped taking pregnancy tests many months ago because it was too hard for me mentally to see the negative results (if you haven't read about my journey of TTC - read it here). I personally felt it was easier to just wait until my period came but we were leaving for vacation the next day so I really needed to know if I was truly pregnant. By this point I had some cramping that felt similar to period cramps and I had 3 days of very light spotting a week or so prior (which I now know was implantation bleeding). As soon as I saw the word "pregnant" on the test I immediately started bawling and was in total shock. Even though it was obviously a possibility since I was late, I was just starting to think I would never see a positive pregnancy test result. I woke Kevin up to tell him the news and we were just so incredibly happy and in pure bliss the entire day! We went to breakfast and ran errands to get ready for vacation and just kept saying all day how happy we were and Kevin kept telling me I was "glowing" LOL!  

The first thing I did was call my doctor and the second thing I did was download the app What to Expect When You're Expecting. I assumed I was 2 weeks pregnant when I found out based on my ovulation day, but once I put my info into the app I realized I was actually considered 4 weeks pregnant since they count it from the first day of your last period. The doctor's office and I were playing phone tag, so I didn't actually get to talk to anyone until a few days later. Once I finally got ahold of them they recommended that I come in for blood work to have my progesterone and HCG levels tested to confirm the pregnancy. I explained that I was on vacation so I wouldn't be able to do this until the following week and they suggested that I start taking progesterone pills due to my history of infertility. This made me really nervous and of course I started to spiral that something was wrong. I honestly wanted to fly home that day from our trip because I just wanted to go to the doctor immediately to make sure everything was ok. The nurse assured me that since I wasn't having any bleeding I didn't need to worry and the progesterone pills were just a precautionary measure. 

Since we were on vacation with my sister-in-law and her boyfriend, Kevin and I decided to tell them the news. It was exciting being able to tell someone but at the same time I just felt so uneasy about the entire situation, like it didn't feel real yet and wasn't confirmed. We knew they would keep the news private and would be so supportive if anything were to happen. Plus, I was avoiding hot tubs, alcohol, and rides at Disney so it was kind of obvious!

During week 4 (the week I found out) my symptoms were were mostly emotional. I had a lot of anxiety and mood swings and I would cry SO easily. I also had sore boobs, lots of cramping, and was really tired. Oh, how could I forget - I was also SO cold! I seriously could not get warm. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend actually picked up on this before we told them and started to wonder if it was a pregnancy symptom haha! 

Week 5 I was finally able to get my hormones checked! My HCG level came back normal but my progesterone was low. I had to return in 48 hours to have my HCG retested to make sure it was rising and to begin progesterone injections. I was so disappointed that the progesterone supplement wasn't getting my levels to the point they needed to be because it was making me feel awful and I actually hoped that I could stop taking it. I hate needles and was so worried about how the pain that would come with the injections. I was also freaking out about the risk of miscarrying and just wished that my body would naturally do what it needed to do!  At this point my anxiety and emotions were out of control and I'm not sure if it was because of the pregnancy hormones, progesterone supplement, or just with all of the stress of my levels being low. I also started feeling nauseous mostly if I went too long without eating or if I ate too much at once. 

At week 6 I knew my HCG levels were on the rise (thank goodness!) and I had an appointment for an early ultrasound and to meet with the doctor. I was so nervous leading up to the appointment and felt like I could just burst into tears at any moment whether we got good news or bad news. Thankfully everything was normal with the ultrasound and we couldn't believe we could see and hear the heartbeat this early! We learned more about the importance of progesterone in early pregnancy so we were thankful that I started treatment for this before it was too late. The nurse taught Kevin how to administer the injections and we were instructed to do them twice a week. 

By week 7 we had already done 3 injections all of which were EXTREMELY painful. If you'd like to hear more about my experience with this you can watch my YouTube video. I actually asked the nurse if there was anything else I could do because I could barely walk and was having trouble sleeping. She suggested that I take the break from the injections for a week and use the vaginal pills instead until the soreness was gone.

At 8 weeks we had another ultrasound to confirm the viability of the pregnancy and thankfully the baby was growing normally! It's crazy how much he grew in just 2 weeks! He went from looking like a tic tac to actually seeing the head, arms, and legs! 

By 9 weeks I was feeling pretty good except for some mild cramping! I always had cramping on my lower left side and it seems like this is where the baby likes to hang out according to the ultrasounds. From what I've read you can also have cramping here due to digestive issues since pregnancy tends to slow down this process. 

At 10 weeks I had my progesterone rechecked and I found out my level had dropped to zone 1. I had a full on panic attack (which I actually included in my YouTube vlog.... I thought about deleting it because I'm an ugly crier lol). I seriously thought I was going to loose the pregnancy especially since I was having cramping the week before and it almost seemed like my pregnancy symptoms were gone. The nurse explained this drop is common when your placenta starts to grow and start taking over the role of producing progesterone. 

Week 11 I started to get some of my energy back and felt like I was getting over the worst parts of the first trimester!

At 12 weeks I had another freak out because I noticed a little bit of spotting. I took a picture of it to show the nurse and was so relieved that she thought it was totally normal! I also started feeling very achy legs that would keep me up at night. Apparently this is also common in pregnancy because of changes in blood flow. Oh speaking of changes in blood flow... I forgot to mention that I would get bloody noses all of the time! So weird! 

PHEW we made it through the first trimester! As awful as I felt just being tired, nauseous, and bloated the biggest challenge for me was the intense anxiety I felt around my progesterone levels and also the pain that came with the injections. 

As much as I hate that I have to do these progesterone injections, I'm just so thankful that I learned I had low progesterone early enough to start supplementing before it was too late. I don't personally know anyone who has also struggled with this, but I've read several stories online from women who didn't find out they had low progesterone until they had one or more losses. Now that my doctors have decreased the amount of medicine we have to inject each time, the pain is sooo much more tolerable! I'd say it's like 90% better now. I'm really hoping that soon my levels will increase to the point where I don't have to do them anymore, but I'm also prepared to continue doing them throughout the rest of my pregnancy.

I'm planning on sharing another post soon of the products and resources I used throughout the first trimester, so make sure to check back for that one if you haven't seen it yet! 

Thanks for reading!

Other posts you might like: