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

Harriet, yes! Seems easier to me and doesn't feel as uncomfortable lol.

Drttc, sorry you're feeling so bad. I'm thinking the bean just needs all of your energy to grow really strong :) Pred probably kept you perkier in last pregnancy. A good scan on Saturday would be great ⭐️ Will be thinking of you

Glad you've had such good experiences with Mr S, Sunny! I only had one not so great appointment, I think he was having a bad day and then his office sent me an incorrect email with details from a previous scan dating baby smaller, but with a recent date a references on it which freaked me out. I thought on further inspection they had found the baby was underdeveloped. No apology was made even when I told them I was very distressed by it.
Other than that, they've been pretty good, and as most of us agree- if we get our healthy children, not much else really matters 😊

Amy - he didn't say much to me about taking it from bfp, ideally I guess it would have been from ovulation but I had ds1 ok, and im now 34 weeks with ds2. For me personally it was more important I had it in my system.

Drttc - sorry you are feeling so rubbish, this time around I have felt so much more tired but I wonder if it's because I just don't get time to stop in the day so when ds goes to bed I just feel like collapsing on the sofa! However the last few weeks I've also been getting a bit of insomnia, I feel tired go to bed but whatever I do I just can't sleep - last night I went to be at 9.30, got back up at 11 watched tv until 1 then went back to bed. Alarm went off at 5.30 for work - ugh! Luckily working at home today so after DH took ds to childcare. Got back in bed!

I find it funny how people get very different of Mr s and his clinic. I've always found him friendly but professional and very to the point - I can't imagine him ringing me up personally though like he did with you seeking. With ds 1 he was working our of a room in a private hospital in epsom rather than the clinic he has now so the experience was very different but very good. I do think the clinic has made things a lot more professional though and found the other staff who work there really lovely. Downside is previously though they couldn't do intralipids and scans all the time so sometimes you could get things done locally and then send results in etc, where as now you have to always go to the clinic. I was lucky that I got all my treatment in before the prices went up too! Although I would pay the money all over again if needed.

Oh Drttc, I'm so sorry you're feeling so rough :( nausea is hideous and totally debilitating... but glad that babe is doing well and that you have a scan soon :)

Amazing you are doing this all drug free... just incredible ❤️

Sorry for the radio silence ladies!

I just feel so poorly lately. Feel nauseous all day everyday and dealing with major self pity. Also so tired. Went to bed at 5:15pm yesterday! Thank god it was Bank Hol and DH was there to take care of DS. In theory I should be 8 weeks today. Have booked a scan for 8+4 on Saturday to see if things are okay.

Luna so glad your cystisis is clearing up- sounded absolutely awful!

Seeking Justla and Harriet glad the little beans are doing well and that scans have been so positive!

Snoopy What a gorgeous name! Congratulations on little Ines and hope you're enjoying the newborn cuddles

Didn't mean to sound so negative about the clinic there (blame pred withdrawals) ^ It's got me this far and Lorna is fab, Nadia is an absolute gem and Mr S knows his stuff!

Quick update if my happenings that could avoid future wobbles for us high alert preggies and soon to have Bfp's-
As we have to put pessaries in, we may notice the position of our cervix changing.
A couple of days ago I lost my cervix! I noticed because I wasn't shoving the Cyclogest up behind it anymore, I literally couldn't feel it anywhere. It must have scooched up about 2-3 inches!
Decided that it must have shortened and I had an incompetent cervix and was going into pre-term labour... obvs.
Googled like a maniac, and found nothing sensible. Went to hospital today for thorough check up and my cervix is still a good length, nicely closed and baby fine!
Moral of story, cervix's do what they want, don't let this freak you out of it happens but still have it checked.
Am sure I'll have plenty more 'what not to freak out about' stories for you all in time haha

Xxx

Hi all, just doing mass catch up ...

Amy, great news!!! Glad you're still checking in on the moon face wobblers "🌝"
Mr S's specialist area is Reproductive immunity medicine. (Or something to that effect) so I believe his medical diagnosis and prescriptions are solid. I'm like Harriet, never had a hb and I'm 13+5 and going strong!
I have sticky blood and high Nk, similar to you. Can't tell which caused issues for me but it's worked for me so far.
Mr S doesn't appear to be the most thorough scanner and doesn't have much time for me and his office tends to fck stuff up paperwork occasionally, but he's got me here and if it gets me my family I don't really care, lol.
Tapering off pred now, so will be free from it for rest of preg :)
It's totally your decision 😊
If you have a beautiful baby on pred, will you wish you'd tried to go without? If you MC'd again without pred, will you wish you had have tried? Which feeling would disturb you the most?
I freak if I smell cigs, car fumes, spend too long on mobile, smell chlorine in water, etc. So many unavoidable toxins are racing around us anyway (that's how I see it)
I messed up pred and took from ovulation, missed 5-6 days then took from 14dpo. I usually lose at 5-6 weeks so maybe 4 weeks on (enough time to get it working) suited me?
I lived in Sydney for 4 years btw Amy, plan on going back- love it!

Poppy!!! Lovely to hear from you, but sorry you've got some issues there.
Can DH get tested for carrying Zika easily? (Just quickly read on further, you may have covered this) It would be so unlikely for him to get it, esp with precautions. Wasn't Miami high risk? I haven't heard of an influx of Zika affected babies being born there so maybe it's really rare but just shocking enough to be plastered all over news? Don't give up lovely, we are warriors in here! Hear us roar! (Then get a little sick in our mouths with indigestion) I say- go for it x

Sophie, welcome!! Sorry for your crappy run of MC's.
Honestly, I'm sure some of Mr S's plan is a money spinner, his stats mean he's so in demand that it's probably sensible for him to charge through the roof :/ I'll be forking out in excess of 10k as I get sucked in by all the testing etc, but 3 rounds of IVF costs more, baby making is a big dollar business!! I can't put a figure on how much a family would mean to me - and that's how I justify it haha

Tee- glad you're feeling better lovely :)

Hope all that gumph made sense... it's too late to write sensibly

Xx

Thanks Harriet. Had a chat to my parents too and they held a similar view. I appreciate all your thoughts; I guess I just want to know I'm not being blatantly irresponsible. And yes, women are having babies all over the world anyway; we are so lucky in the west to even have the option. DP made me feel slightly foolish saying "there's been no cases for decades, why would it be us?!"

Also interesting to see that in South America the birth defect rate has dropped enormously since the scare began and Brazil and some other countries in the region have been downgraded to cat 2.

Thank you Seeking! I will look it similar stories x

Poppy, just gone back through the thread. Her and her DH had the tests done.

I'll see if I can find out, she's from an old Mumsnet thread I was on years ago so not someone I see Or hear from regularly.

Wow, Seeking. Do you know if the woman got a zika test for herself or for the baby? Thanks for the info, there is no detailed advice out there!

Love this idea that Mumsnetters can be bumping into each other in clinics!

Oh Poppy, what a predicament to be in. And a confusing one. I think I would go with early testing and the possibility of termination. The risk does seem fairly small and if DH can be as careful as he can be in terms of preventing bites I think you'll be ok.
I know someone actually who has recently had to have a Zika test in early pregnancy and all was fine.

Amy, I'm there at 3.30pm, you may bump into just she's there at 2.30 and having intralipids too so you could both be in the room at the same time. I personally think you should trust the plan you've been put on. It's not a 100% guarantee, I don't think that exists but it will definitely give you a fighting start.

Poppy - sounds like you found a good one :) and totes agree that South America is a whole other level.

Sunny - ah thanks for mentioning that. Did Mr S warn you it might be too late / risky when you started taking pred at BFP?

Hi everyone, quickly catching up!

Love the name ines snoopy! Hope you're enjoying being a family of 4 like you, after all the issues with getting pregnant with DC 1, I can't believe I'm nearly there with 'accidental' baby no 2.

Amy - just wanted to say for various and differing reasons both my pregnancies under Mr s I've started taking pred at BFP rather than from ovulation.

Sorry, thanks Amy! I saw your note to Soph and got mixed up.

Thanks, Soph! We are going to try to get DP tested now for next time and then be super careful on our trip during the two week wait. I would not be going to South America under these circumstances but I do suspect that poor old Africa is being lumped in a bit generally, as tends to happen.

Lol, I know, I am getting very fond of Aussies I have to say. DP is brash but a diamond with it and that's what counts! Either way I do think Australian health provision and research is excellent (often better than UK) and less tied up with big US pharma, so I am encouraged by the slightly less scary risk assessment.

Seeking - my appointment is at 2pm. How about you? I'll try and ring on Tuesday to get the mayo lined up, great idea!

Oh Poppy, so sorry about the Zika sitch. Whatever happens, you have to be the one comfortable with the choice you make. If it were me, I'd probably find out about early testing / termination options and then go for it... but I guess it's hard to say for sure what you'd do until you're in that situation :(.

Soph - amazing what they can do with the cleft surgery these days. It's reassuring to hear your take on it and your choice to proceed anyway. From one skeptical femme to another, I'm slowly coming round to the idea that we need to put ourselves in Mr S's hands and hope for the best. Good luck this cycle! X

P.s. I'm Aussie (though I've lived in London a LONG time), I promise we're not all brash! Though I have been doubting my diagnosis, so who can tell ;)

By documented I mean last dated case. Meaning this place could have had nothing since the 40s, but the presence os the mosquito would categorise it with places that had more recent occurrences. So annoying.

You can get Zika testing via amnio and termination is often recommended. I would in that case because the microcephalic babies do suffer. What a terrible predicament.

Yeah I think it's down to our individual risk. DP doesn't get bitten much and even I don't when I visit him. Also, we stay in nice places where Zika is less prevalent. The thing that sticks in my mind is the categorisation. Moderate risk includes historical cases and potential for new ones and the countries we go to have the mosquitoes and have had confirmed cases "since 1980" we doesn't tell us much. I have one short upcoming trip planned to one of these places just after my next fertile window. The last documented case was in the 1940s, so I would feel a bit silly cancelling, especially as the main risk is DP cos the virus lives longer in sperm and he's out there a lot.

Ha, yes I'm well aware of the Aussies- my mum 1/2 Oz 😝😝

I guess it boils down to risk and termination options - you have a chance to terminate a downs baby 'early' on if that's what you want, is that the same for Zika? I think maybe not? Plus many people chose to have down babies, but a micro baby is a whole different story.

With a moderate/low risk, that OH can help with by taking all the precautions re bites, plus the chance to test and terminate early if necessary, I would probably go for it - or, OH takes a sabbatical?

Thanks, Luna. Well OH is a brash Australian and generally thinks most health scares are rubbish and that I'm being paranoid. The Aussie advice has all the relevant African countries down as "low risk" and parts of the USA as high risk. The USA has parts of Australia down as "high risk." So it is reassuring on one level but adds to the confusion. We have agreed to avoid high risk areas already and have done since starting TTC. But we didn't expect all these other countries to be categorised as moderate, according to most western travel advisers.