TTC/ pregnancy on Prednisolone or similar

[freelancegirl]

I am not sure there are enough people here to start a thread but have been chatting on one on the pregnancy boards and was wondering if I could find any fellow ttc'ers on Prednisolone or similar?

I have just received a diagnosis of very high NK cells. It was a bit of a shock actually as it turns out I have some of the highest levels - 3.79 when anything over 1.8 is considered 'very high'.

Am trawling through Dr Beer's book and Dr Google and trying to found out more. I have been recommended 25mg prednisoline steroids for two weeks starting with ovulation, increasing to 40mg if/when BFP and then Intralipids Cyclogest too. I still have 13 days until I pop my first Pred.

There now just seem like so many hurdles - actually getting pregnant being the first one. I was prepared for high NK cells as I have high thyroid antibodies but it was shocking to be in the top 5% of people treated at the clinic. I am not sure if that gives me much less of a chance of being successful.

It would be great to hear from anyone else who is undergoing treatment and of course also if you've had successful treatment.

She's here......

and so the pursuit of rabbit continues.

Oh, I forgot to say digi, I used Conceive Plus the last couple of months, which is similar to Preseed. I also drank grapefruit juice, took Robitussin and used a Mooncup. Not sure what's next. Apart from being in a separate county to my OH next time I ovulate, which should help matters immensely! FFS.

Wow Euro, the charting is awesome and makes so much sense. Makes me feel like I am doing it by licking my finger, sticking it up in the air and then going hmmmm, seems like a good time to me.

Have to go to bed as it is 10 hours until puppy time. Digi, we are getting a Hungarian Vizsla. House is puppy proofed, and cats adequately pampered. We have 2 cats so hoping all goes well tomorrow and they don't freak out :).

Will keep you posted to Puppy adventure :) x

Brownie how's it going with the puppy? How are the cats handling it?

Thanks for sharing your charts ladies. Wow, that's a lot of info to record! I find the idea a bit overwhelming if I'm honest. I did take my temperature this morning so that's a start I suppose but I'm already not feeling very hopeful about this month considering my geographical dilemma.

I've just had a work enquiry asking if I can do someone's make up for their wedding next June and I'm thinking "I so hope that I'm not available to work by then" - but then the first couple of times I was pregnant I turned down some really big bookings because I thought I was going to be on maternity leave and ended up not having any work to distract me on what would've been my due dates. I'm so fed up with this bollocks! So many bloody things are on hold or up in the air because I'm TTC and I don't even know if I'll ever end up with a child. 3 different fuckers on Facebook going on about their new babies this week. Grrrr! OH asking me "don't you think it's probably a lot to do with your menstrual hormones that you are so fed up?" ... No, that just makes it that little bit worse.

Good afternoon ladies, hope to find you all in fine fettle. Puppy is being very cute :) I have posted some photos here -

www.mumsnet.com/Profile?nick=BrownieGecko&photos=p

She is definitely very curious and has bags of energy. She goes loopy for about 20 minutes and then sleeps it off and then does it all over again and again. We are determined to do crate training from the beginning, so yesterday day was great, then when it came to bed time she cried all night. It was heart wrenching to hear. Even DH found it really tough. Luckily we got a blanket from where we picked her up so she can smell all her siblings. She loves the crate, just not when we shut the door at night.

Kittens - I hate facebook now, I dread looking at my home page for fear of someone posting scan pictures or even worse one friend likes to post her progress of how her bump is coming along every month. I don't know which is worse. I think it is great you said yes to the job next year, I think one of things we found most draining over the last 4 years was constantly having to think about "what if I am pregnant we can't possibly do this or that just in case". We did that about the puppy and it was DH that said at our counselling session...how long are we going to put our life on hold. Was a bit of a wake up call.

Freelance - how are you doing? Waves to Euro and Digi x

Cuuuuute brownie - youll be busy this weekend then.

Think I'm day 5 of pred and 4dpo. Although ff thinks I'm 5dpo, which I suppose I could be, but I prefer to err on the side of later ov so I don't get frustrated waiting for af.

Not sure if it's psychological but my face seems to feel fatter when on pred. As in when I put moisturiser on it feels spongier than usual. Also I think it gives me dark circles under my eyes but I guess that could be from going to bed a bit later.

kittens accept the work - I think invoking the law of sod is sometimes the only way. As for FB I've hidden friends who are pg from my news feed. I must remember to unhide them eventually.

Awww, that is one cute puppy!

My face is definitely feeling fatter and I definitely have dark circles Digi!! I keep noticing them in passing windows. I am not sure whether it is in my head too but it's funny we should both be getting that! It's funny actually as I think I was more affected by taking the 25mg of Pred than I am taking the 40. I am not having any manic feelings and I did towards the time I got the BFP. It;s probably all hormonal. I still can't believe I am actually taking 40mg of the stuff.

Browine the puppy is gorgeous!! Must be such fun. Well apart from the picking up poo and wee bit...

I know what you mean Kittens about worrying about upcoming dates but I think Brownie and Digi are right and you should just take the work. Worry about having to find other arrangements nearer the time. I keep on doing that at the moment - the IF I am pregnant it will mean xxxx and I just can't carry on like that. We need to just try to get on with our lives as best as possible and IF we ARE pregnant we can adapt.

I have nothing more to report apart from I am still eating for England. I really don't feel pregnant at all. I know the Pred is meant to mask symptoms but surely my breasts should be starting to feel even a tiny bit fuller at this stage. I really think it is not going to turn out well, I can't even imagine that there i a baby in there. Also, and tell me if you can relate to this. If there IS a baby part of me feels like it is the wrong one. Does that make sense to anyone? What happened to the other one?! I feel I still miss him. Weird behaviour I know.

I think I am going to go to the GP this week and get a referral to EPU, just to have another scan and see if the sac is still empty.

Hello everyone, i am still around, back from a lovely holiday and waiting to see Dr S on Wednesday. My lovely friend is coming with me as DP is working away. My appointment is not until 2pm but she is picking me up at 0830 so we are not late. Seriously. Kings cross is 45 mins away on the train, but I love the fact she is so keen to get me there on time!

I will have a read back of the thread as I am massively behind xx

Yay for both the holiday Battery and the appointment this Wednesday! Let us know how it goes.

Can I ask a quick question too?

When I see Mr S on wednesday, how long does it take for the blood results to come back? We want to get cracking (so to speak) as soon as possible!

I am trying to remember. Hang on, let me check my diary. I first saw him on the 19th May at Ashtead in Surrey as there had been a cancellation and I got an appointment the week I called to book! That was the day they did the tests.

My follow up appointment, when he told me the results and gave me the course of treatment info, was the 13th June in Harley St. Coincidentally the date of my LMP. I am guessing the results take a couple of weeks to come back, maybe more.

Just a quickie...As Freelance said, seem to be on wee watch a lot of the time :). Poppy is a ball of fun. She has definitely kept me and DH on our toes this weekend. Crate training from first night paid off as she only cried and barked once last night. Phew. Still trying to get into a routine with her, she just wants to sit on my lap all the time.

Waves to everyone.

Did a test this morning and no joy this month. Calling CRGH for another round of Clomid. To be honest, not sure I could of coped with that and da new puppy too.

Keeping everything x for you Freelance

batteryhen my results took 5 weeks to come back, and that was on the NHS.

I've just been to bother my GP as once again my period has been ridiculously light. Pretty much a day of almost normal, but still quite light bleeding and then a tiny bit of spotting. I'm terrified of the possibility of Ashermans still, although I don't have unusually bad cramps so I guess that's one thing. He told me to come in for FSH/LH tests again, although they were within normal range this time last year. He also said he would refer me to UCH for a scan or investigation but that he wasn't sure if they would take me after all the testing they have already done and that I might end up having to have a private scan. This wasn't my regular doctor as he was away so I don't know if he's done the referral or not as mine usually does it there and then whilst I'm in his office. We'll see. He was very nice but I did feel like the crazy neurotic "trying to get pregnant" lady, especially looking at his computer screen with all my notes. I read somewhere that GPs have "in joke" acronyms for different types of patients, I'm sure I've been allocated one!

I wouldn't normally give a second thought to taking a job that far ahead, it's just that she wants to do a trial run as early as possible which means I will charge her for that (in fact, she wants two as she is having two different ceremonies) so if I am lucky enough to be in a position to cancel I will also have to refund her the cost of the two trial runs out of courtesy for canceling, which means fishing a chunk of money out of my account several months later. Not always the easiest thing to do when you're self employed! I guess I'll just have to pay it into a savings account rather than my current account just in case.

I did consider hiding the people on facebook going on about their babies but I don't know how to unhide them again.

Brownie the puppy looks very cute. I bet you're having a laugh a minute! May I recommend a stash of soda water, bicarb and 1001 Novac Carpet & Upholstery freshener for any wee incidents. Those are my go to staples when the cat's had a piss on the carpet.

brownie sorry no luck for you. But as you say, you have your cute little puppy to keep you on your toes.

battery I went private and was asked to make an appointment three weeks after my first for the results. Mr S will probably ask you to avoid ttc till you get your results.

Had been running around like a lunatic all Saturday - high on the 'roids? But then had a massive comedown yesterday where I was so so tired all day. Not sure if this is a pred thing, or the fact that I had a massive day where I had a few drinks (really not that much though - about 2 small glasses of wine over about 8 hours). My skin is amazing. But I still have eyebags.

Hi all! I think the Pred can definitely be attributed to energy swings. More than two glasses of wine anyway :)

Gosh I could really do with a numbing drink actually, just to take the edge of life... Although generally I am very happy, had a great weekend and a lot of nice things to look forward to - the baby thing isn't looking good I don't think.

I went to EPU this morning, a week to the day I Mr S found the empty sac measuring at 5.2 or 5.3 weeks. Scan shows nothing still. An empty sac measuring 11mm x 5 x 8 which they say is 'around 5 weeks'.

I really don't think this is going to turn out well. Part of me just wants to know that and then I can start thinking about going through the whole thing again and getting it over with.

They said come back in 10 days but that is next Thursday which is the day I a meant to be seeing Mr S so I might go back a bit earlier just to see. No point paying for a scan with him as well if it's not going to be viable.

Ah Kittens I hate getting the feeling that your GP thinks your a pain. I have had that with various specialists in the past when trying to convince them I had a thyroid problem. I was vindicated in the end though!

As a PS I guess one of the main concerns is it is still measuring the same in terms of time estimated as last week. I didn't ask Mr S for the exact measurements and am trying to get them now.

freelance what a worry for you. I really hope that it is jsut a slow grower or your dates are out slightly. Keeping my fingers crossed for youxx

Thank you for your replies re test results. I am looking forward to seeing MR S on Wednesday. I spoke with my nhs consultants secretary today. She told me the tissue from the erpc revealed that the baby was a girl, and had normal chromosomes. The histology sample that was sent has gone missing which is annoying - as they were the ones that were going to tell us if I was on the right dose of heparin or not. I am furious, but need to wait until I see the consultant so I can get a better idea of what is going on.

digi I really hope he doesn't say not to ttc, I just want to get on, and try again asap :(

Wave to everyone else xxx

He might tell you not to ttc until you get your results back and then to go for it. Otherwise you might not have a diagnosis and the right treatment! But it will probably only be a three week wait for the next appointment and therefore the results/diagnosis/treatment. Did it make you feel a bit strange finding out the sex of the baby? I think that would make me a bit upset again for some reason, make the loss a bit more real again. What a nightmare about losing the histology sample! Do they think it might reappear or is that it?!

As for me, well it's just a waiting game. I really want to know one way or the other so I can either get on with getting rid of it (sorry...) or get on with trying to keep it. But either way there's nothing I can do except wait. I am going to Amsterdam this weekend and part of me thinks, fuck it I really want to have a drink. But I guess there will be plenty of time for that if it really is going wrong after.

Oh free - not the reassurance this scan was supposed to bring. Were you seen by an experienced sonographer from the epu? Or were you palmed off onto the general u/s dept? Think it can make a difference how experienced they are...
Don't know what to say as I don't want to be giving you false hope but I also don't want to believe this can't be pulled back from the brink as I have seen happen several times before on mn.

Brings it all back as to how fragile these first few weeks are. I'm crossing my fingers very tightly for you. And I hope you aren't kept waiting for an answer for too long.

Thanks Digi. Not sure who I was seen by but it was in the EPU area. None of them ever seem to be very competent to be honest! They don't seem to have any social skills I know that much. The nurses I saw were nice though and seemed to stay it was 'too early' to see anything again even though I told them I had a scan last week that measured 5.2ish. I am away over the weekend so the next time I could go to EPU would be next Wednesday. Scan also booked with Mr S for Thursday evening.

Sorry to hear your really going through it Freelance I really feel for you, as Digi says it brings it all back. I am very much like you, just need to know one way or another so you can deal with it. I became an unemotional robot at my 4th MMC. However, deep deep down I think us girls are good at hiding the pain. (well I am) I pray it will have a happy outcome for you xx

Im also sorry for being so quiet, I read every day but have nothing to say that you girls will find interesting! Im currently on day 11 and my clearblue monitor still shows low which is interesting as I though it would be at least high as i usually ovulate around day 13/14. I have enjoyed break from pred, sleeping better and really not looking forward to month 2 but needs must.

I am also preparing myself that at the age of 42 this is not going to happen and my DH and I have set a time limit for our own sanity - Nov 2011. If not we are planning lots of different things.

Big waves to everyone else xx

Freelance, so sorry the epu didn't provide the reassurance for you. What a horrible experience. The being in limbo is the worst. I hope you manage to take your mind off it this weekend a bit when you go away. It's such a bloody rollercoaster all this.

Battery- I would be fuming they lost your sample. That's so incompetent and I hope they find it.

Not much happening with me. I have been checking i def wasn't miraculously preggers from Dtd 8 days before ov and not surprisingly, I'm not (I'm not ttc at the moment though so that's not a bad thing).

Really disappointed I've been spotting since dpo 1 this month ( now dpo 11). I used to spot a few days before af but this is ridiculous. I really want this sorted out before I ttc so I've started taking vitamin b complex to see if that makes any difference.

Hi Georgie I can definitely relate to that emotional robot thing. I feel rather detached myself at the moment. I had a completely weird emotion earlier when I was reading up about missed miscarriage symptoms (mixed, none for a lot of people I know so a waste of time really) and I felt almost strangely jealous of people who knew they had miscarried! It was like I felt envious that they at least knew where they stood and could get on with trying again. I also felt a little bit like that I guess, because I was guessing that a lot of people who just have a miscarriage are not like us having recurrent ones. How nice to just have a miscarriage and then get on ok with the next pregnancy successfully! But for us we know it might not necessarily be like that.

Glad you have enjoyed the break from Pred too Georgie and that at least this stage is going well! I must say sometimes I find it hard to contemplate all the drugs I am taking. They are sometimes overwhelming. Remind me, do you have children already? Just wondering if when you and DH talk about moving on at some stage whether that is moving on to a life without children and therefore planning lots of fabulous things to do to replace them or just a life without more children?

Cheerful that spotting sounds really, really annoying. I have no idea what it could be. All I seem to know is that one these boards there are a lot of people I talk to who don't have normal cycles and it seems that after one or more miscarriages all sorts of issues with spotting at weird times, cycle changes etc start to emerge! I have no idea why but I hope yours sorts itself out soon.

I have nothing really happening either, not until next week when a scan should reveal more - even if it still reveals nothing. I have been reading about tipped uterus' and wondering if I might have one, as apparently that makes it harder to see something in the sac. Also been reading about blighted ovums and contemplating whether I would want a natural miscarriage or something more medical/managed this time. I also have just come back from acupuncture and he tells me I still have a nice, full, pregnant pulse and said comforting things about it still possibly being too early to show anything.

Oh and I also heard back from Mr S' office as I was trying to get the exact measurements of the scan he did last Monday but they aren't in my file. So I won't know whether the '5.2' that he put on there had grown any by the time I got to EPU a week later and they said 'around 5 weeks'.

Freelance, I have heard about the tipped uterus thing too. Do you have any of your medical reports from any ultra sound exam you've had before? Often when giving the general description of the uterus it would be described as 'retroverted' ( tipped backwards) if this is the case. I can't remember what the phrase for an untipped uterus - might be ante something but I remember looking it up when I saw it on my report once.( By the way I don't think s tipped uterus causes other probs- my mum has one and had me and my bro with no probs at all.)

free sorry to hear that Mr S's clinic weren't able to shed any light on last week's measurements. You'd probably find that even with measurements to compare the epu would want you to go in next week anyway. What amazes me is how some babies do just grow at different rates. There was a woman on the ttc after mc thread who was pregnant with ivf twins. Throughout the first trimester they were consistently 3 days apart in development. The 'younger' twin grew fine, just 3 days behind her brother. Her consultant didn't seem to think this was unusual. Anyway, hope you're not over-googling and self-diagnosing anything too sinister. But I know how researching can help you to feel in control (coz I do it all the time).

cheerful hooray for managing to avoid a bfp this cycle! But spotting from ov sounds rubbish. Are you doing acupuncture? I can't remember who is and who isn't on this thread. Definitely worth mentioning to your consultant - perhaps progesterone supplements from ov may do the trick.

georgie hope the cbfm springs into action soon. Perhaps you get a sudden surge rather than a slow build up? Is this your first month of cbfm I've heard they take a few months to tune in with you. Ie know when high is high.

Had my results appt from St Mary's today. TEG and APA all clear. Nothing to prescribe, they'll just want me to go in for another TEG when I'm pregnant. And they'll scan me from 6 weeks. So there. I'm in the system. It'll be where I go in between my Mr S scans, rather than rewalk the path of doom to my local EPU.

Just have to get pregnant now. Again.