Problem when converting .pdf to word from adobe reader dc

I'm in a bit of a pickle here.  When converting .pdf documents to word docs, anything that would qualify as an image (like a checkbox with a mark in it or a signature) is instead replaced with seemingly random letters or numbers.  Other items in the pdf that would qualify as regular typing or text boxes go through perfectly fine.  Has anyone encountered this before?  Is there a setting that I need to check?