Internal dating ultrasound

Hi,

I was hoping to get some advice - I have booked in for my dating u/s this friday and was not told about having to drink lots of water beforehand, then after speaking with a friend got curious as to what type of u/s it was. After ringing the receptionist back and asking if I had to drink water etc she said no as it was an internal u/s. I am 8wks pg and from what I have read you should be able to see and hear all you need to via an external u/s - so is it normal and safe to have an internal dating u/s?

I am a bit apprehensive about it and not sure if I should be asking them to try an external one first and then if they can't see anything try an internal???

Any thoughts???:confused:

hey bella,

Being a clomid girl, i have had soooooooooooooo many internal including the one i had this morning.

i am 8 weeks too and it's to early to hear the heartbeart ( i think) but you could see it clearly.

It may be internal because it's easier. more accurate and clearer at this stage. You could ask them though- but it doesn't feel that bad to me a pap smear is worse.

anyways i don't know if this helped you

I had an internal done with DS at 6wks as they couldn't see the baby (was even difficult with internal) however I had an ordinary u/s at 7wks with this one without a problem got to see the heartbeat and everything. A friend of mine had a dating scan by internal and was told it was more accurate and meant that there was less chance of not seeing anything = extra stress. I would ask for an external if you feel really uncomfortable about it but they aren't that bad

This is a bit of side question but for what ultrasounds do you need to drink a lot of water. I've booked in for my 12 wk scan and was not told to drink lots of water. I also had a scan done at 8wks by my OB and he commented how full my bladder was - sounded like it was a bad thing.

Thanks princess and saram - I guess the thought of it is a bit off putting but if it really isn't that bad then I guess it will be fine. And you make a good point of not going through the stress of not seeing anything the first time - as I am likely to freak out!!:rolleyes:

Bridee - I am going off my friend who recently had twins and she was always told to drink water beforehand as it seems to have something to do with pushing the baby into a better position to see from an external u/s.....but this was just one person - I don't know any of the hard facts etc.

I had my dating scan at 6 weeks, we started off with an external and found the sack, but did an internal so we could see bubs (all 2.8mm of him :lol:). I had to go back at 8 weeks as a HB wasn't present yet, and for the 8 week scan we had an external. Maybe they just feel it easier to start off with an internal? Don't be too scared - it doesn't hurt, and you're able to cover your bits with a sheet.

And may I ask where on the south coast of NSW you are? I was born in Pambula :D

I had an 8w u/s with this pg because of my previous mc. It was an internal scan (dildo cam!) but that didn't bother me at all. It is apparently much more accurate to do an internal at this stage, esp. if you're worried about getting dates right etc.

I figure that giving birth is going to be a lot more intrusive (der!) so it's good practice LOL. And as someone else said, it's alot easier than a pap smear.

There are many things in life worse than an internal scan, please don't stress about it. The lights are dimmed, you should have a sheet or something over your legs, you'll hardly know what they are doing! And you'll be so excited to see your little pulsating blob on the screen, you'll be very distracted!

ETA I heard that they prefer your bladder to not be too full for pg u/s? I know I have never been told to drink water for any of my four. Mind you, when you're pg it feels like your bladder is always full anyway LOL!

Hello, I had an internal ultrasound (to get a better look at an ovarian cyst) when I was 18 and still a virgin. I freaked right out when I saw how long the probe thingy was, but they don't really put very much of it in. Really, it's not that bad. You might like to speak to the Sonographer about it when you first see them, but I'm sure they will be very gentle and it will be ok.
:-)

Thanks so much girls - you have really put my mind at ease about this. As you say - my bits are going to be overexposed over the next 7mths so I may as well get used to it!!

We are really looking to get the dates pretty accurate as we have some issues with being o/s when I am due to have the NT scan and so need to be sure that I have it at the right time and maybe be able to have it back here when we return if the dates are slightly out from what we think presently - so in saying all that, from what you all have said the internal ones are more accurate and so that should be better for our purposes.

ashamalee - I am from Wollongong - so not so far south as Pambula but we often go down that way for hols - loverly place.

Thanks again

Bella,I had to have a dating scan done after I had a previous miscarriage and they wanted to do an internal but I refused nicely and asked them to do the normal one and then if that didn't work could they do the internal and they said that was fine.
I had the normal one done and I was 6w6d and he could see everything he needed to see.
I didn't want an internal one done as it brought back bad memories of the last one I had done when I had my miscarriage but if I had to have it I would have.

Its entirely up to you what you want done as it is your body.
All the Best
Michelle

I've had two internal u/s with this pregnancy and they aren't too bad. The only problem I find is relaxing to get it in there, once I asked if I could insert it myself which was fine. At the early stages of pregnancy it is the easiest way to get the heart beat, as externally it can be more difficult if not impossible.

I have had a few too, with previous loss & the to make sure all was gone...

I have a dating scan this Friday (but I'm around 12wks already) so it will be external, I initially saw the probe & thought OMG, but it's really painless & everything is covered so it's not like they can see anything...

You'll be fine & I'm sure they'll do external first & then if they cant see anything they will recommend an internal each time they have tried externally with me when i was losing blood etc & ended up then saying to be sure we'd like to do an internal etc...

Bella - I had the internal done at 7wks and it was fine, they could see my little blob and the heartbeat. It is safe and you have nothing to worry about sweets, as Sez said its like a DildoCam!! Really not scary at all or painful.

So your from the Gong?? We have rellies there and go down at least 2 times a year ;)

Bella -
I have had 2 internal scans done... a dating scan whilst pregnant with Noah... and the other was at 10w with this baby due to unexplained bleeding. Both times I was offered to insert the probe myself... and both times it was painless. I was covered over and there was nothing that anyone could see (trust me, DH tried to look!!! lol)
I liked the internal ultrasounds as they do give a much clearer picture.

Hi, I just had my first ultrasound last week to determine the due date. I was told to drink a litre of water before coming to the ultrasound so I had a full bladder. The dr tried doing an external but could only see the gestational sac so told me to go empty my bladder (thank god - pressing on the tum is not good when you've got a full bladder) and then he did an internal ultrasound - it was awesome (not the dildo cam lol), I got to see my little one's heart beat and everything. He/She was 5 weeks, 3 days and this is my first child.

i had an internal at 5w 6 days as they couldn't see anything on an abdo scan as the lady said that i was to big i'm a size 16 and i then had 1 at 7w 1 day and we could see it all and hear the heart beat and all just tell them if it hurts i sure did ... lol

you need to drink like 3 cups of water or something in the hour before the ultrasound and not go to the toilet!!! but during the us if the bladder is too full then there is normally a toilet inside the us room that you can go to.

Well just came back from the scan today and as you all assurred me it was fine after all. Completely right - nowhere near as bad as a pap smear. We got to see everything - heartbeat, little bean with it's back to us, in the right spot, the right size.....so we were so exctied. I have not been able to take the smile of my face since.

So thanks again for all the support in this thread - I definately went in to the apt alot calmer than I would have without talking to you all here first!!!:lol:

yay!! bella!!