a little upset and nervouse with afp result

[toni106]

hi ladies me again, little upset right now, the doc just called me to tell me the results of my afp  quad screen just came back positive for downs, so i decided to go ahead and schedule the amnio that i canceled on tuesday. i know the results of the bloodwork are not diagnostic, and only sort of a red flag, but i am still concerned. when he called it made my heart sink, i still know i wouldn't terminate, but now it is a need to know thing, i am scared, but i feel i have the strength to handle the outcome no matter what it is. even the doc said, he's seen positive results before and the baby was healty, and i've read a little about it and it has calmed me down a bit too. basically just needed to get my feelings out there and ask for all of your prayers..

[adgal]

My first trimester screen also came back 1/13 for trisonomy...just it was trisonomy 21 not 18.  I am the mom of a completely typical 20 month old.  Remember, 1:13 is still really great odds that all is fine.  All the best to you, and congrats on your pregnancy.

[number6omg]

Well Im on baby numer 6! im 32 years old and my triple screen came back 1/13 for trisomy 18...my heart fell to my feet....my first daughter 12 years ago was born with turner syndrome...and they painted this horrible picture of a badly deformed child....they told me my best bet was to terminate...i set the date to terminate...then changed my mind.I thought what if I abort a perfect baby? well my daughter is so smart...taller than m ore than half the turner syndrome girls....im glad I have her ion my life....and with this triple screen test....i just wanna get the level 2 ultra sound and move on. i didnt see anything wrong in the regular ultrasound. his hands look good to me..he has big lips like his father. so already im hopeing for a false screening test! I know at least 3 other  girls that have some percentage of downs,trisomy,and so on.....this test ***** and they need to come up with a batter waY...Maybe level2 before the triple screen. or 3d before. this stress is to much to handle....good luck to anyone and all that have that triple screen test done!

[adgal]

I'm glad it helped a bit.  And your feeling towards amnio are mine exactly.  I needed to know for certain and after asking lots of questions, chose to have the procedure.  I will tell you that my experience with it was a good one.  It was pretty easy, almost painless (and I am the world's biggest baby) and put my mind at ease.  I too had FISH and after getting that phone call that all was fine was able to relax and enjoy my pregnancy. I just try really hard not to encourage anyone to have or not have it as it is such a personal decision, and there is a bit of a risk associated.  After spending 2 years on this forum I have seen so many scary first trimester screen numbers.  More women then I can count terrified by that number.  And I have only ever seen one who's baby actually had a chromosonal problem.  Remember that even with increased risk factors, things like Down's are still very rare.  Most babies with a chromosonal abnormality naturally miscarry in the very early weeks of pregnancy.  The odds are actually in your favour and I do look forward to reading your happy update!!  

[rockermom13]

Thank you so much for your response, I really appreciate the kind words. I will start a new thread I think and hopefully get some more thoughts. I'm having the amnio Wed and hoping to have the results this weekend but because Fri is a holiday it might take longer. The hospital I go to has a very high rate of success with amnio and in fact the doctor told me that the rate of miscarriage from the procedure is actually based on very old data and is much lower now, something like 1 in 1600 even, so I'm not as concerned with the amnio as I am with the diagnosis. I will keep you posted on my results.

[adgal]

Hello there and welcome.  You may want to post this as a new thread in order to get more answers.  At the top of the page you will see a tab marked "Post Question".  Lots of times members will skip by old questions.

I am sorry you are so stressed out about the first trimester screen.  The first thing to remember is that it is not in anyway, shape or form diagnostic.  It is simply a tool to help you determine whether or not you want to do further testing such as amnio.  Let's put it in perspective a bit.  It is telling you that you have an 80% chance that all is well with your little one....pretty good odds.  4:5 that everything is just fine.  As for others with results like this?  My first trimester screen came back 1:13.  I opted for amnio and my little boy is perfectly healthy.  Another women on here had her odds come back 1:2.  Again, she had amnio and her little boy is normal and healthy.  This happens more often then you can imagine and causes so much worry.  You have some options here, and one is amnio.  I am not an advocate for the procedure as it is not risk free.  However, it is the best way to know for certain.  I know hearing that number is scary, but try to calm down and really look at what it is telling you.  Chances are still pretty high that your baby is fine.  Please let us know what you decide and how you are doing.  Take care.

[rockermom13]

I am so scared. I know that most of these comments are pretty old but I found this site looking for ANY reassurance after getting heartbreaking results from my first trimester screening. I had gone in for the NT test and the doctor told me that it looked slightly elevated, measuring 2.6 at 13 wks and 4 days. I was still somewhat calm at that point but then I got a call from genetics and the result is that combined with the AFP and my age of 36, I have a 1 in 5 chance of having a baby with Downs Syndrome. I can't believe this is happening to me. I keep reading all these posts looking for some comfort, but the odds are so bad that I don't really have a lot of hope. I know these are just risk assessments but has anyone ever heard of someone getting this high of a reading and everything turning out ok? I'm having an amnio in a few days and hoping the preliminary FISH results will be ready a few days after, but I can't even figure out how I'm going to get through the next few days. I've never been in so much pain in my life, my heart literally hurts. Yesterday was Christmas and I have a 14 mos old daughter that doesn't understand why her Mommy keeps crying.

[rubyinparadise]

So glad your test came back fine. What a huge relief for you! Seems like there are lots of false positives on the quad screen. :/

[itsaboy413]

Im 36 yrs old having my fourth child(last one). The nurse called yesterday and told me my quad testing results for my baby were abnormal. Luckily, we had already scheduled a level 2 ultrasound for today because my dr recommended it due to my age. I spent the whole night crying because to be honest, I cant say what I would do. I already love this baby so much, but I wouldnt want it to suffer. When I got to the specialist's office, they sent me to a genetic counselor where I found out the risk was for spina bifoda. Luckily, that they can tell on the ultrasound itself through measurements of the brain and by looking at the spinal cord. EVERYTHING WAS COMPLETELY NORMAL. I was informed that the rise in afp can also be a marker for pre eclampsia, or my baby might just produce more, which in that case its totally harmless. But they assured me not to worry about it anymore. If I had known the quad test could be so stressful and full of false positives, I wouldnt have had it done.

[prevatt77]

Did you get the NT test done, where they measure the fluid behind the babies neck and they also check to see if they can see a nasal bone on the ultrasound.  

I read the other day that more Downs babies are born to mothers that are under the age of 35 because they don't do any testing like they do on women that are over the age of 35.  I though that was pretty interesting...

I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, stay positive.  You might also want to go to the Downs form on here and get some input from some of the ladies on there as well.

[alikat1205]

i had a risk of 1:39 downs in my last term pregnancy, dr. said it didn't look good.  i declined amnio and my little girl is a first grader today! there is absolutely nothing wrong with her -- these tests have a high false positive, try not to worry.

[azqtpies]

As all the others post say... your baby will be fine, there are soo many false positives! I will surely keep you in my thoughts and prayers! Good luck

[toni106]

thanks again for the comments, and i just found out that y neice, who just had a beautiful healty baby girl this june, also had a positive result and did not do the amnio, but she is 25, so that did put my mind at ease a little more. i scheduled the amnio for this coming tuesday, so i will definately keep everyone updated. thanks!!!!

[PamelaBee]

I concur with all the posts!  Alot of these prescreening/bloodtests reveal false positives...very misleading and can reek havoc on you.  Do the amnio, and in the meantime try not to think the worse!   Thoughts are with you, and think positive! Keep us posted!  Pam

[rdh1981]

I have heard so many times that women get positive results and their babies come out perfectly healthy. I am so happy to hear that this is not making you want to terminate. It seems like so many women today are finding that the quick fix.

Please believe that everything will work out for the best. Even if your baby does have downs it sounds like you have so much love to give and your baby will have a great mommy!

I will keep you in my prayers and I truly believe that everything will turn out great!!!

[Helen72]

Positive afp is just a marker for RISK, not a conclusive results.  Chances are, your baby is OK.

[adgal]

HI Toni,

I havent had this experience personally, but my sister in law had the same thing happen with one of her screening tests.  I am happy to tell you I have a perfectly healthy little nephew that was born in April.  She told me that false positives are extremely common.  I hope the amnio puts your mind to rest, and you have the same results as she did.

Take care, and all the best to you.

[pcarsey]

Hi Toni- I understand what you are going through..kinda.. I had TWO AFP tests come back positive for spina bifida and we had a level ll ultrasound done and the findings were great!! There were no markers for ANYTHING! I know it is hard, but try to relax as much as possible, because like it was explained to me, age is a HUGE factor! Also a lot of times it is just that your due date isn't accurate! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!! Hope all turns out well for you! And also- try not to read up on it too much on the net because that a lone can give us worthless false hope! Your little one is going to be just fine!!

Patty