Can you get ANY testing done by GP after 2nd miscarriage?

[homemummy]

I am wondering if I should press my GP for this or whether I'll get a NO and then end up feeling more upset.

I have a healthy DD who is nearly two. I had a miscarriage this year in Feb and then another one in June. The first one I seemed to get over quickly but the second one brought my world crashing down around me.

Now all my friends, with children the same age as my dd, are pregnant or have had their second baby.

I got pregnant first time trying with my dd and then the two pregnancies which miscarried. Now I am struggling to get pregnant. After 4 cycles it is not happening. I have been charting my temperatures and fear I have a short luteal phase and hormonal imbalance.

Will a GP refer me for hormonal tests based on this? I know all about two miscarriages being deemed bad luck and that testing won't occur until I have a third, so, what should I do? Is it likely a GP will just turn me away?

I find it strange that I am having problems ttc now. I am the healthiest I have been in a long time. No cafeine, no midweek drinking and only moderate drinking on weekends, lots of walking and swimming, good carb good fat diet being followed ensuring good consumption of trace minerals and fatty acids. I've given up work and eliminated all work stress out of my life. It doesn't make sense.

[yoyo]

I don't know of any friends who have managed to get tested after 2 miscarriages but I suspect it depends on your relationhip with your GP. As the last one was in June they may say it's too soon to go down that route. Is there a natural family planning specialist at your local clinic? They may be of help in reading your chart. Are you also recording your fertile mucous throughout your cycle and also aware of the changes in your cervix? All of this can get too scientific and can take over so perhaps you could plan a break around your fertile phase and just relax and enjoy making love instead of "making babies".

You sound as though you're doing all you can. Lots of luck - this might be the month after all.

P.s. Is your husband/partner stressed? What about upping his zinc intake?

[hana]

hi homemummy,
sorry to hear about your m/cs. It sounds really familiar to me last year - I lost a baby last June and had a m/c in October. I also had one before dd was born. she's 3 now. Most referrals will only happen after you've had 3 m/c in a row , the cold fact is that they are surprisingly common and if everyone was accepted for referrals the system couldn't cope.
BUT
If you've got a supportive and understanding GP they may do the tests for you - I had a smattering of tests done throughout Nov 03 - Feb 04 all requested by my GP and carried out at my local hospital. Nothing ever came back conclusive. I really wanted answers and was quite disappointed when nothing came back.

And it doesn't make sense. It's a complete lottery homemummy - I hope you have lots of luck really soon, and some answers too. I found that there wasn't enough time between June and Oct last year - I was still grieving in Oct for the one lost in June....it was an awful time.
Good luck too with your GP, I hope they'll do the tests for you.

[bundle]

homemummy, i believe 3 is the rule, but know someone whose husband kicked up an enormous stink at the hospital after their 2nd miscarriage (saying he wasn't going to get her b**y pregnant again just so they could get a hospital appt) and they were referred straight away(went on to have triplets!)

[hana]

my brother and SIL also had testing done after 2 - she had some sort of bacterial ( or viral?) infection causing her to miscarry which was cleared up with antibiotics. We're both pregnant now - I'm due in 8 weeks and she is 8 weeks along!

[bunny2]

I got some testing after 2 miscarriages. To do so, I saw an Ob/Gyn as a private patient which worked out at around £90. He agreed to test me and did so under the NHS so it didnt cost me any more than the initial consulation fee. My reasons for pressing for tests were that both my miscarriages had happened fairly late (12 and 14 weeks) which, according to the Leslie Regan book about miscarriage, can suggest certain problems that need to be ruled out. The tests all came back neg and I am now 35 weeks pregnant - I hope you get as fortunate as me!

[homemummy]

Thanks for your responses ladies. It helps to know that I am not alone with this. It's great to read some positive responses too. On the most part I remain optimistic, it's only when I get my period and realise I'm not pregnant another month that I get a bit down, then I pick myself up and think 'this will be the month'

I am not charting cp or cm. I keep an eye on my cm and chart it if it seems significant. I am just temping so that I know when I have ovulated... I don't think that it is getting me any more stressed than if I wasn't charting.

If I have another short luteal phase this month then I like the suggestion of visiting a natural family planning expert to read my chart. Would they be attached to a Family Planning Clinic?

[bunny2]

have you tried the fertilityfriend website? I think it is fertilityfriend.com. You can chart, free of charge, on there and it will interpret your cycle, luteal phase length etc. I found it brilliant and conceived 2nd month of charting there.

[yoyo]

Yes the natural family planning specialists are linked to the Family Planning Clinic. Ring around as I doubt all will offer them - there was an excellent lady linked with the Clinic in Cowley Rd. in Oxford but that was ~6 years ago. Maybe a Google search would throw up some names?

Best of luck.