Immune/NK cells pred thread #34

Yay. That’s good news!

I think Kings looks like it runs similar to St George’s in that you can drop in?

We are heading to stay with family tomorrow for Christmas and I’m hoping this will take my mind off things. I think I’ll just wait for my RM clinic reassurance scan at 7 weeks 5 days. Even though I’m desperate to know things are okay.

But so far good signs. No blood, strong test, little bit of nausea and sore boobs. So just got to keep positive.

Those of you ladies who are further along… did you wait for the first reassurance scan before registering your pregnancy with your hospital? My gut is telling me to wait for the scan but equally I don’t want to delay any appointments.

Twice before I’ve registered a pregnancy, miscarried then received the ‘congrats’ letter from them which was super hard

Hello everyone,
@Hopeandfaith1990 I have been off this thread for some time, I know!
So firstly, huge congratulations to those of you who have recently got good news on the pregnancy front. So lovely to read that we are having some real positive news.
To those on here who have not had such a great time of it, know that there is always hope, love and camaraderie on here.

I have been following the thread in the background but i felt wrong staying here and butting in too much with others just starting their journeys or struggling. That said I guess that it is important to us all to have positive stories.
I am now 33 weeks pregnant and things have been going well so far. As some of you will know, I had high NK levels and my cytokynes were very much out of balance. I was recommended to have prednisone and intralipids but had to go with just the prednisone as I am allergic to certain intralipid ingredients. Started the prednisone from ovulation. This particular pregnancy was slower to happen than those where I had losses so I was on and off the pred for several months. I ended up staying on the pred until i had confirmation at 20 weeks that the placental blood flow was good, since an additional blood test at 13 weeks had shown that there was still some some inflammation, despite the steroids. I did start tapering at 13 weeks but stayed on 5mg until 20 weeks.
Consultant at local hospital said he wanted baby delivered at 37 weeks as he knows quite a lot about NK cells and immune issues (I am so relieved I didnt get one of the many non-believers!). He says that sometimes ladies with immune issues have more chance of placentas giving up the ghost earlier but I think opinions differ on this. Not sure if Dr S would normally recommend early delivery unless essential. I was not with CRP so I dont know.

Hope you all have success and beautiful babies very soon and enjoy a peaceful and happy Christmas. I will be around so will check in and see how you are all doing regularly x

Meant to say they said shouldn’t* worry lols

@LoudAquaMoose amazing news and such a relief to rule out ectopic. I find kings so good for that. I called CRP today and they said the brown spotting is most likely due to the TV ultrasound and I should worry. I have had only a little bit more today but even lighter. Got a scan tomorrow so hoping and praying he is alright. Xx

@Jecca88 that sounds really scary though really hope things are ok. Have you had anything else since?

I went to Kings EPU today and they can what they think is an early embryo and confident ectopic has been ruled out. I go back in 2 weeks - similar timings to you @SWMum9 ! It seems like my pain is related to Corpus Luteum Cyst - even with the US wand it really hurt!

@SWMum9 amazing news, gentle congratulations my love. you can always try and get a scan at EPU ahead of that. I always go to kings they are very good.

@Hopeandfaith1990 i totally relate to the scans - they just don’t get any easier. When is your next one?
I am nearly 16 weeks - which is mental. Had a massive scare today. Went to the loo this morning and had some brownish/pink spotting and just shut down and thought the inevitable. I called EPU and they said not to worry and if continues call back tomorrow and if turns to red go to A and E. Was supposed to be travelling today to my sister in laws to stay and hopefully share our news but cancelled and just have been resting instead. I have had such a busy week and had a scan on Friday and all was good. Maybe just been overdoing it and they did an internal scan to measure cervix length so hoping it was just irritated. Just reminds me that anything can happen at anytime. I want to be hopeful and positive - but why does my body do this to me! 😓

@pagey23 good luck on trigger. I also had Brazil nuts and vitamin E and beetroot to help thicken my lining. Not sure if they are myths, but it did help for ivf.

welcome @LoudAquaMoose and gentle congrats. Keeping everything crossed for you.

Evening ladies. Hope you’re all well.

I have my scan date now. 7 and 9 weeks under NHS recurrent miscarriage clinic. They can’t see me until early Jan which will be 7 weeks 5 days. I was hoping to have a scan earlier than this to ease my mind but I guess by this gestation it will be a no brainer. Rather than scanning earlier and it being too early to see heartbeat, for example.

feeling a strange mix of excitement and nerves

@pagey23 yes dr shehata suggested prp and advised against Estrogen for me specifically. I think because of the amount of medication we’re all on but also because it’s a very new thing for them. It’s one of Dr Edge’s new passions (isn’t she wonderful) and they only do a few month it seems. Def ask about it - very new and not well researched so Estrogen is a safe bet if you want something that should work.

Will do. Enjoy your weekend too!

Interesting thank you. I didn’t realise they actually did it at CRP - I assumed it was something done externally and just ruled it out as I thought it would be expensive. At 10DPO my lining was 6.1mm and I’m taking estrogen three times a day now to thicken it. I keep taking that until pregnancy test day which is New Year’s Day. Other options are viagra (!) or PRP.

Find a good Netflix series to binge today and take your mind off things. Have a good Sunday everyone! X

Hey @pagey23 thank you! Trying to avoid anything stressful - I’ve been told that by my acupuncturist and naturopath today!

So with the PRP they take your blood and spin it in a centrifuge. Then inject the plasma into your womb - pretty quick and done at the same appointment as intralipids. This should be a few days before you ovulate. My lining is thin, it was 5.9mm a few days before ovulation and should be more than 7mm ideally. Then when it was checked again a few days later it was 7.3mm which is really good! I then wasn’t sure if I had ovulated as my bbt didn’t go up so then went and had another scan because I didn’t want to take steroids unnecessarily. In that scan at 3 DPO it was back down to 5.9mm again.

So in summary it seemed to have a temporary effect in thickening my lining but I’m sure there will be other benefits though that remains to be seen. It seems especially valuable for those doing IVF who get cancelled cycles because their lining isn’t above 7mm. If this pregnancy doesn’t work out I would do again!

Hi @LoudAquaMooseand welcome to the chat! Really hope your appointment with EPU goes well on Monday and you don’t have ectopic - put your feet up this weekend and relax. I’m interested to hear more on the PRP - how does it work exactly? I’m on estrogen this cycle to give my lining a bit of a boost as I only found out about this on CD10. Thanks in advance and let us know how it goes on Monday

Hey guys - I have been following this chat for a while. I am under Dr Shehata’s complex plan and am about 4.5 weeks pregnant on the first month of trying on the plan which I am very shocked by. I had 2 miscarriages this year - the second we tested and it was euploid so knew there was something pathological with me. I have PCOS, hashimotos, reactive arthritis in the past and high NK activation and tilt. Someone here mentioned a thin lining which is the same as me - I opted for PRP on this cycle and it worked well initially!

Totally empathise with everyone’s health anxiety. Truly awful after loss. I am worried I have ectopic (some left sided ache) so going to EPU on Monday to see if they can confirm for me.

Either way so many you have had such a terrible time and I’m thinking of us all as we navigate this great misfortunes!

@Hopeandfaith1990Oh that’s interesting… maybe there’s been a new paper that’s come out and they’ve changed their view on it? I hadn’t seen it myself and I’m surprised their wording is so against it…

i went to see dr edge today for my first super ovulation appointment. One follicle looks good size wise but another is lagging behind a bit so I’m triggering myself tomorrow evening. She said my lining is satisfactory but on the thin side so I’m also taking estrogen now. Literally swamped with meds but feeling positive!! Maybe the thin lining (as well as stress) is stopping me from falling pregnant… so I’m working on both of those things now. Still off work but have been angry at them as they are paying me statutory sick pay (SSP) after five days of consecutive sick leave (£118/week). How can anyone live on that?! Doesn’t help when you get a £1.1k CRP bill either 😫😫 anyway, trying not to worry about money and enjoy my time off.

Lot of love to everyone xx

No I haven’t mentioned that I stopped and started.

I left a voicemail with EPU today to book my scan. I think for w/c 29th Dec.

keeping everything crossed!

Congratulations!!! What lovely news before Christmas!

That’s exactly how I felt. None of this squinting under certain lights and pretending I can see things like I’ve been doing for god knows how long 😆

@SWMum9 Many congratulations 🥰 The lines sound really good! I remember seeing the lines when I conceived my daughter and thinking, oh that's what they are supposed to look like 😅

Thank you all for being such a supportive group, it's a lifeline this isn't it 😘 Hope everyone doing ok 💓

Gentle congratulations @SWMum9 the really strong lines sound promising! Xx

@SWMum9 congratulations darling!!! I pray this baby will thrive!!🙏🏽❤️ thanks for sharing…

Hi ladies, sorry I’ve been MIA here. After our chemical last month I fell into a bit of a hole thinking this will never happen. I came off all pregnancy related apps and just gave my brain a rest.

I have happy news again that I am pregnant this month. 5 weeks today and two realllly strong dark lines at 12 and 17dpo. With my previous losses I didn’t ever get lines this dark so it feels like a positive sign. Cramping, sore boobs, all the right signs but I feel super super anxious and don’t want to tell anyone yet. Counting down until I can have the 7 week scan under the RM team.

@Jecca88 so pleased to hear about your scans, amazing. I hope you are able to relax into things a little now.

@Hopeandfaith1990 I hope you’re keeping well. I just saw your comment about seeing the heart beat at 6weeks 4 days 🥹🥹. How did you stay calm? I already feel sick thinking about that first scan, if I get there.

@ChaE05 I understand your concerns about the hydroxy. I didn’t have the normal side affects they detail but I do think the combo of that and pred messed up my cycle a little. I stopped taking it for two months but have started up again when I got a positive test.

@Deerdancer34 so sorry to hear your sad news. Thinking of you

Sending love to everyone and hello to the new comers. This is a really supportive place. Merry christmas xx

@Deerdancer34 I'm terribly sorry, what a double shock for you both, sending you all the love and you're right, one day at a time. Hoping for a lovely BFP for you xxx

@Deerdancer34 gosh!! I am soo sorry that all this is happening to you! I really hope that this year won’t end with just sad news for u both but with a wonderful bfp and a baby that will thrive into your uterus! I pray your brother will fight and overcome this battle as well!! 🙏🏽
sending u love darling…you will get through this!!❤️ 🫂