Immune/NK issues - aka Pred Thread no.20!

Drttc - I completely get where you are coming from and I really hope this is a good egg for you and does work out ok. My nk cells were borderline so I really don't think the miscarriages were down to nk cells, just old eggs. Started ttc again when 34 and feel very angry this has happened so early on but very grateful that we have DS.

I am doing ok thanks justla. I have decided that we will try superovulation, but am not really holding out much hope. I am going to stop temping, will still track ovulation for super ovulation, but then we will admit defeat and just focus enjoying what we have. Will definitely do the cliche thing and get a dog next year.

I think I am going to take a bit of a break from mumsnet- will be checking in ladies to see how you're all getting on. Really hope these are sticky beans for you justla, seeking, drttc and Harriet! Poppy I hope hat the timings have been right for you whilst away and that you are having a lovely break!

Will check in soonish ladies- thank you for all your support xx

I'm so sorry Drttc, I had no idea it was such a rough time for you both and I understand why you feel the way you do. I bet you treasure your little miracle x
I will be 9 weeks tomorrow, it's a long road ahead if I'm fortunate enough to make it all the way 🍀

Star, I hope you're doing ok?

Xx

So excited for you Harriet! Fx all goes well x

Harriet- 5+4 would be in about 2 weeks. So roughly the equivalent of about a millions years or so away? Oh wow how exciting to tell DH tomorrow! Can you remind me of your history? As for symptoms they're sooo unrealiable. With DS I had zero symptoms until nearly 6 weeks- then the morning sickness hit! And I had several bad bleeding episodes. Also pred is known to mask symptoms. With my other chemicals I never made it to morning sickness but varied from no symptoms to sore boobs/fatigue.

Justla- we're traumatized by what we went through for DS. It was without a doubt the darkest time in our lives. We just aren't mentally prepared to go through that and drag DS through it too. It's been a surprise pregnancy, and considering we feel it's too late to fix it if it's a bad egg, we aren't going to let this hurt what we already have. We gave everything for DS and will never take him for granted. I completely understand giving your all when ttc #1. That said, we are willing to go guns blazing for #2 when we can do it from the start.

How far along are you btw?

This is all sounding very promising Harriet! Symptoms wise I definitely wouldn't worry. I didn't have much with DS until 12 weeks. The first minor thing I noticed was beyond 4 weeks (after missed period); my skin was slightly hot to the touch. The timescales on testing is very tight isn't it? Can take 7-10 days to implant, and what if you ovulate a day later than you thought?
First lipids are at 4 weeks, so I would ring first thing tomorrow if I were you!

DrTTC, totally understand your thinking there. What did you really object to about going through the plan? Did you get crappy side effects from the Pred?
I feel for you, that you're re-living memories. I'm not coping brilliantly at the moment as keep thinking it's gone wrong and I'm going through the bad stuff again every single day at some point, which is exhausting- I'm so happy you have your DS, so at least you know you can totally do it and it's worth it ❤️

Harriet the intralipids are asap, ideally 4 weeks- I had mine st 5. I'm in with Mr S again tomorrow for my mayonnaise drip, I'm like you, throwing myself at his mercy and just getting as much free stuff from NHS as possible to make me feel better about the money I'm burning lol x

Harriet- Just saw your post! Congrats on the lines this morning. What's your game plan from here?

If I make it that far- I'll book a scan for 5 weeks+4 days to see if there's anything in there. That's when I saw DS' heartbeat last time. However, the time before I went in at 6 weeks and it was completely empty in there! They feared an ectopic and I almost had to have a tube removed (just in case), but then I miscarried naturally. I hate this process and all the bad memories...

Justla- I go back and forth but I do think I that have an egg quality issue. 1. poor FSH numbers 2. lower than normal for my age follicle count 3. Chemical pregnancies are pregnancies/eggs that never take off (theoretically because they don't have what's necessary to progress after implantation). I was dealing with terrible hives and had a bout of stress related alopecia at the time I met Dr S. These are both autoimmune related diseases which would explain why I had high NK cells. I've not had these issues for a while now so I feel like my NK cell activity has gone down. Lots of 'ifs' and 'feels' and 'believes' I know... But there's just something telling me I'm doing that right thing.

Harriet- hope you've had a wonderful time at the wedding!

DrTTC - If you have a feeling or belief, sometimes you have to just roll with it. Like you said, we know our bodies and if you feel in tune with yours then do what you feel is right.
Is it NK cells you suffer from? My only thought is that you talk about your danger point being there right from conception, like that's when your NK's attack. Could they also attack later on down the line in a Healthy preg (I think they are active in general for first 12-16 weeks, then can't affect baby) or do you feel certain that it's only in the beginning for you?

Harriet- have you caved in and tested again?? I could def see a line in the cheapy test you did... looking forward to a big fat line!

Xxx

Harriet- congrats! That is without a doubt, a BFP!! Hopefully the wedding has served as a good distraction today and no one has paid too much attention to your drink intake!

Ah Seeking I can really relate to you. I completely understand the need to protect yourself by disconnection. We've now been on both sides of this (the miracle versus the sad ending). It's such a battle not only physically but psychologically.

You know, it's been hard for me to put in to words exactly why I don't want treatment- but I've thought about it and it's clear now. I believe that there can be different reasons for recurrent miscarriages. And with mine (recurrent chemicals) I firmly believe it starts at conception. I've jumped in a car for hcg testing the moment the strip turned blue so many times now. And when my numbers were rubbish from the start it always ended the same. Only one time (with my DS) did those numbers start out the way they should. And honestly, I think that by the time I was doing hcg testing I was on my way to a healthy pregnancy. So basically, I'm too late to do anything for this BFP. No steroid or intralipid is going to undo a chemical pregnancy. If by some miracle this is a strong pregnancy it'll work out. I wish I'd been on treatment from the start! Also, I think this only really applies to my type of 'issues' and it's not the same as it is for those who have recurrent miscarriages after making it to scan. I think we all know our bodies well enough that we have suspicions about what may be our key issues. So I'm not going to put myself and son through everything when I know it's out of my hands at this point :-(

Harriet! I can also see lines on both! So agree with the tentative congratulations! Looking forward to seeing it confirmed shortly. Yeah dont drink at the wedding, not worth it. The risk is probably low with one glass but you will beat yourself up. Your note about never drinking again just choked me up, I know you've got your whole heart and soul in this. Can you drink soda water and if you get caught just say, yeah I will have one in a bit, or something?! Being vague can help!

Harriet, I can see a line on both! Eeekkkk!
So will you keep taking pred now? I was so surprised to hear that the protocol is to test at 10dpo and if bfn abandon until next ovulation... surely lots of people won't get a bfp at this stage even if they were successful. I already know I'll be reluctant to stop the pred at 11dpo, 'just in case' 🤔

I can see the line on that one Harriet. So I'll whisper tentative congratulations 😊 fingers crossed this is your lucky, sticky one. X

Seeking, yes I understand. The scan you had that put you in limbo would totally do that. I don't have a gut feeling I'll be ok, I used to be so positive but lost it a bit since my losses. Hoping it comes surging back when I have a success. And hoping yours does too x

Harriett, this must be driving you insane! I don't want to give false hope but 2 tests with faint lines doesn't seem like a test glitch! Try to relax if you can, I like your idea of waiting 2 days Star, that would be sensible but I def wouldn't be able to resist retesting tomorrow morning - heck I'd probably test again tonight but I'm a bad example lol

Harriet...fingers crossed!! I can't work out if I can see something or not. But really hope it is. Maybe just have one drink... it really won't make any difference at this point and if you hadn't tested you'd be none the wiser.

Just with Tallulah I had a gut feeling it was going to be ok. This time round I don't, maybe if I'd had good news last week I may have been different. I'm naturally a very positive person so this isn't a natural feeling for me but yeah it's a definitely a preservation thing. I felt really positive before my scan last week.

Are you going with DH Harriet? Or someone you can confide in? Just keeping switching drinks- of course with them knowing. Sadly I have done this on many a night out/hen do/wedding thanks to the joys of miscarriages. Reckon some people think I am a really boring drunk and others think my DH really can't handle his alcohol. Good luck!

I can def see a faint line Harriet! Agree with justla- I wouldn't drink anything today and hold off re-testing until 2 days to give the hcg chance to increase. Fx! Excited for you x

Booze doesn't mix well with pred btw, another thing to consider x
I'm so excited!! Hope we get a positive later!! ❤️

Do you have any different types of tests? You def need to do another tomorrow morning on your first pee whatever other results you get today, tests this early are hit n miss x