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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

TTC/ pregnancy on Prednisolone or similar part 2

958 replies

Arianrhod · 18/10/2011 09:55

Starting up part 2 of this thread since the old one closed at 1000 posts!

iggi lots of luck for today, hope it's nothing - I know it doesn't help but I know lots of women have spotting and/or bleeding in pregnancy and it still goes ok. Definitely call the EPU, get scanned - it's worth it, honestly, at least you will know one way or another. Virtual hugs coming your way.

free I also started AF properly this morning, so looks like we may be both importuning a friendly witch for a good fertility spell on Hallowe'en? I know exactly what you mean about the scary stuff ... a small part of me was actually sort of relieved when I didn't get a BFP purely because it means I don't have to go through the whole worrying about miscarrying all over again. Bizarre, but there it is.

OP posts:
iggi999 · 08/11/2011 22:47

Brownie at my appointment on Monday I brought up every pain I'd been having and was told it was all normal (somehow I'm more reassured when S says that than the EPU!). The worst stomach pains I had went away after the private scan I got when the epu wouldn't help - so must have been to a large extent caused by stress. I they should consider our mental health too when making decisions that we should wait weeks to find out the news. (That scan was much cheaper than a S one by the way - £75)
Duggs for your list, I have a 4 year old boy. My thyroid went underactive when I had him, starting off my immune problems IMO.
Thinking of everyone else.

freelancegirl · 08/11/2011 23:22

Aggh! I can't keep up.

I just wanted to post this for the TTC-ers. It's a list of when people tend to get a BFP sent to me by a friend when I was testing last time. I thought it would appeal to the growing legion of chart fans Grin

DPO & % of women who get BFP on that day:

10dpo 35%
11dpo 51%
12dpo 62%
13dpo 68%
14dpo 74%
15dpo 80%
16dpo 88%
17dpo 92%

suemays · 08/11/2011 23:31

Free - that's really interesting and probably info that FR and Clear Blue don't like to divulge! You would think that by 17dpo it would be higher than 92% BFP. Strangely enough on fertility friend it says my testing day should be 19DPO rather than 14DPO. I guess we are just all too impatient but then some of us do need to go onto the higher dose of preds etc so we do need to know!

Has anyone else had really bed heartburn on the preds? Mine is awful at the moment!

suemays · 08/11/2011 23:32

Meant to say bad heartburn - not bed! That would be something completely different especially with all our TTC tips!

scooterchaser · 09/11/2011 00:08

Stogan great news on your amazing scan, I am so glad you had such a beautiful experience :-)

Great news for iggi and digi on the scans earlier this week, comedy did you have a scan too? I can't scroll back far enough on my phone there are so many posts!! Hoping this is a good run for scans... my first one is Thurs pm eek!!

Digi I also have a very boisterous 3yr old DS and always worried about him leaping on my tummy. I have just got very quick to clock him when he's charging at me full pelt and in bed, wedge myself in with pillows or use DH as a bolster between us! But as others have said, I think they are pretty well cushioned on the inside so we probably needn't worry too much.

Kittens once again completely amazes me how you are dealing with everything, as everyone has said you strike us as so strong and brave. Really hope your mum has a better week and you can have some quality time together when you travel out there. Good luck with your referrals, I know it's a nightmare and you have enough on your plate but you are absolutely right to stay on top of things, definitely chase if you don't get your callback at lunch tomorrow. Hope it gets sorted quickly for you.

Sympathise completely with the wet fish slapped early testers, I did exactly the same and got two BFN at maybe 7 and 10dpo (can't recall exactly) before the positive finally showed up 14dpo. Stats are interesting free. It was maddening the symptom spotting stage but by the time I took the test on day AF due, I think I knew... it was physically a feeling of here we go again, this feels familiar.

sue during 2ww I had unexplained cramping in my back and period pains, mild nausea, heartburn, funny taste in my mouth, feeling of being full all the time, popup Mr Greedy tummy and when I went for a run few days after conceiving there were some rather alarming moments I had to stop because I felt like I'd sprung a leak! Sorry TMI but you asked! Don't recommend jogging during 2ww just in case!

Saw an osteo yesterday who saw me between miscarriages and she was fantastic and so positive. She is the sort of osteo that tunes into your body and rebalances your energies and she said she had managed to connect me to this pregnancy and predicted it going well. She guessed the due date and kept talking about 'him', felt really nice that someone was referring to an actual baby and it's actual arrival, a hopeful day. Ask me again tomorrow and i will probably be wailing in a ball somewhere but such is the rollercoaster!

Brownie I know how you feel, I have all sorts of pains cramps and aches going on! Hope you are finding reassurance from iggi and coconut. All pain panics me too but I am trying to visualise my body getting ready for the long haul and trying to think that's all it means. Know it's tough, hang in there and keep positive. How far off is your scan?

Really have everything crossed for some BFPs over the next few days. Eagerly lurking for someone to bump me off the bottom of the list.

Duggs, the marvellous statistician! Hope you start to feel more positive soon, it's great what you are finding out about the group, hope it's a good distraction from the watching and waiting. My history is DS aged 3, then 3mc in nine months. 3 of the BFPs were on first cycle, 2 second cycle.

Sorry if I've missed people, there was SO MUCH to catch up.

scooterchaser · 09/11/2011 00:12

Ps I can also make the meet up on the 6th. With all the pred and pregnancy-related swelling going on it's going to be like a convention of little puffa fish, probably won't need to wear carnations to spot each other ;-)

Havingkittens · 09/11/2011 00:24

suemays the pred gave me hideous heartburn. I ended up asking my GP for omeprazole to take with it to calm it down as the Gaviscon wasn't really touching the sides. I was tipping that, ginger tea, peppermint tea, peppermints, you name it, down my throat to try and get rid of it!

scooter good to hear from you and that you are feeling positive. Your osteopath sounds really interesting. My last GP told me I wasn't allowed to see an osteopath during pregnancy. Is there a change in the way you are treated? Where are you based? If you're in London I'd be interested to know where your osteopath is as I get really bad neck and shoulder pain when I am tense and I wasn't able to do much about this when I was pregnant. Would be nice to get some respite next time! Best of luck with your scan this week by the way.

My memory is rubbish at the moment. The last 3 posts I've meant to welcome cornflakes and only remembered afterwards. So, welcome to you!

Yes, I had a meet up last year with the lovely ladies I met on the other big thread I'm on on antenatal tests & choices and I didn't need to worry about recognising them either. A large group of ladies at varying stages of pregnancy is pretty unmistakeable!

Comedyworks · 09/11/2011 06:34

Morning all - booked in yesterday with midwife and have an NHS scan booked for Thursday 17th (12 weeks) - would someone mind updating this on the list whenever that gets done next please. Last lot of intralipids next Tuesday - anybody else visiting new life that day? Another night with minimal sleep - amazing how our bodies still seem to get by although my body doesn't seem to be doing too well at the moment - keep looking at my thighs and thinking they can't all be mine!!

For the TTCers - this is my ninth pregnancy and I have never had a positive before at least 14 dpo. Good luck guys x

duggs1976 · 09/11/2011 07:16

Morning Ladies.. sorry the table and formatting on this blog isn't making it easy for pie charts or tables, so I have done my best. (As I am writing it is all formatted and alined ok, but when I press send it might knock it out and it will be hard to read)

It is only a snap shot summary of our little group, (so nothing substantial of course you all know this) but with all the lists and info coming in, it is difficult to keep track.

I don't think there is anything DR S hasn't told us, but a few of us might take some comfort in reading through the below. Some of us might find it useful info for them to go back to their DR and ask more specific info.

Haven't really got detail on treatment or miscarriages had but if interested I can add the "table" I do have so it is easy to see a person who is most similar to your situation and you can then message away if you want.

Out of 21 of us :

12 have children ? 57% of us. Shows how NK cells can fluctuate, esp after a pregnancy.

PREGNANT GROUP :

? 7 are PG on DR S ? 33% of us. Seemed to conceive quite quickly, even before DR S.
? All PG within 3 cycles or less.
? 7 PG ladies, 5 have at least 1 child ? 70%. Shows treatment works particularly well for existing mothers . Probably more proof that nothing else is wrong as you have child/ren already.

TTC GROUP :

? 14 of us are TTC on DR S ? 67% of us.
? 10 are still within 3 cycles or less time frame -71% of us.
? 7 TTC ladies have at least 1 child ? 50%. These ladies can take comfort in the success of the PG group with the majority having a child already.
? 7 of us no children yet. (inc me) ? think we need closer investigation to see if there are any patterns between us if you up for it ? (message me if you are interested)

TREATMENT :

? 21 of us 11 have V HIGH cells and 10 have HIGH -53% so there are slightly more with V HIGH diagnosis.
? 3 out of 5 PG ladies have V HIGH- 60%
? 8 out of 14 TTC ladies have V HIGH - 57%.

? 5 out of 8 V HIGH TTC ladies have at least 1 child - 63%.
? Might be interesting to look more closely at treatment programmes of those successful ?

stogan, coconut & scooter have V HIGH and are PG group.
digi, iggi, comedy & brownie have HIGH and are PG group.

Summary :

? Shows the NK cells diagnosis group has more mothers than not.
? Slightly more of us have HIGH NK cells.
? Doesn?t seem to be a correlation between level and success. Probably more about getting treatment levels right?
? Time to conceive seems quite key. Mothers seem to have less of a problem with TTC timings.
? Suggests if TTC too long, other factors could be at work and may need further investigation.
? There seem to be a couple of us with similar scenarios ? might be worth those investigating each other further to see if you can identify any patterns?

Im 12 DPO today and a big fat BFN still..just taken my 13th Pred this morning.
I will go until tomorrow 14. But then I don't usually get a BFP until after AF which is due Sat.. what to do Friday ? I guess I should stop for a day it should be ok.

OVERANDOUT

freelancegirl · 09/11/2011 08:49

I think I have had a bit of heartburn Sue, it?s only my 7th day on the Pred this time but I got a bit of chest pain last night. Weirdly, I have actually lost a couple of pounds this week! I think it is the nausea that I had earlier in the week ? that and cramping and any other (fantasy or not!) symptom I was having seem to have gone.

Pred symptoms wise I seem to be very quick to get irritated when I am out and about and when DH is being annoying respond a lot quicker!

9DPO and another BFN from me today. I really feel discintcly unpregnant, which is annoying as I felt distinctly pregnant about 2 days ago! I bought two FR tests too yesterday so will work out how to space these with my other cheapie Poundland ones.

Scooter your osteo experience sounds wonderful. It?s lovely to have someone be so positive and also to sit and listen to you. Glad you can make the meet up too, yes ?I?ll be the one with the moonface? sounds much more interesting than a red carnation.

Good job we?re not on a first date Grin

Comedy that is interesting about not having had a BFP before 14DPO, I didn?t get one until then last time either. I even had a BFN on 12DPO. I worried that that was a bad sign, considering things went wrong that time, but reading that list my friend gave me it seems it doesn?t really make any difference, which is a relief.

Duggs! You are a superstar! Those stats are really interesting. I find it quite fascinating that a successful pregancny has kicked in the nk cells for a lot of people and I wonder what has happened to those of us who have not had one. With myself I wonder whether the termination I had when I was 19 kicked it off, but in retrospect I actually think that was a mmc as they called and said what they had found was very small. Makes me shudder thinking about it all now. My next mc was when I didn?t realise I was pregnant a year later and then I have had two this year.

I was wondering if age was something worth looking at too but I think that we are all over a certain age here not necessarily because of the NK cells but because we are a certain demographic (even if we didn?t grow up that way!).

Thread moves too fast to keep up with everyone but hope I haven't missed anything vital. Cornflakes do come back to us! xx

ColeyOz · 09/11/2011 09:50

Hi girls- I'm about 11 or 12 and experiencing constant nausea. I'm assuming this is down to the prednisolone? I tested yesterday and was negative to an going to wait till Fri AM. I don't usually get early positives- even with my daughter I only got a faint positive at 14dpo. Friday will be 14 days with pred so will need to stop then I guess. So confusing:(

ColeyOz · 09/11/2011 09:51

Sorry meant to say 11 or 12 dpo!

ChoccyPud · 09/11/2011 09:54

Just a quickie... Fab stats will review properly on iPad tonight. One thought esp regarding further info from the ttc with no children subgroup of which I'm one... Obv do not wish to exclude anyone but I wonder if it's worth us getting together on a Sat for lunch like the 3rd Dec or whenever as I suspect discussions about histories could take a while if Duggs is to put proper info together and RL is far quicker than posting. Just a thought as the thread moves so fast now it's difficult to keep up and take everything in online and we might share experiences that chime with others' or help click something into place?

V indigestion-y today. I get snappy too free it's just the Pred plus stress of the great unknown IMO.

snoopygirl · 09/11/2011 09:57

Phew taking me longer and longer to read all these posts! duggs I don't know how your finding the time to analyse all this! I'm sure we all appreciate it and any extra insight into all this is fascinating.
free I also had a termination when I was about 20 and went on to have my son at 36 so it didn't affect me on that front. I too feel weird about it now but I do not regret it as would have had a child with a totally unsuitable man and would now probably be a single mum. Would have all been a disaster. That was one of those crossroads situations and can't imagine how my life would have turned out. Mind you would never imagined trying to get pregnant at 42!!
Just wondering if Coleyoz has been tempted to do a test this morning?

snoopygirl · 09/11/2011 10:00

Coley sorry just seen your post. Dr S told me Pred would surpress symtoms but then someone else said don't believe that at all, she still had nausea and she is 16 weeks pregnant. it is confusing but Good Luck!!

suemays · 09/11/2011 10:21

Wow Duggs, you certainly went to a lot of effort on the stats front - v impressive!

Free - I also was convinced I was preggers early on in the week and now don't feel like I am. I am expecting a BFN when I test on Sunday. Feel a bit fed up with it all today. I was hoping everyone would tell me that the preds don't cause heartburn etc so that I had some hope but looks like that isn't the case!

How are all the other TTCers feeling today?

eurochick · 09/11/2011 10:43

Duggs thank you for the amazing effort on the stats front! That's really interesting.

I'd be happy to give any more info you want as a ttcer.

Arianrhod · 09/11/2011 11:10

Morning all .. zzzzzzzzzzzzz ...

Impressive stats duggs!!

sue even the low dose pred gave me terrible heartburn last cycle, didn't kick in until I'd been taking it for I think about 8 or 9 days. And I never, but never, get indigestion, so it came as a real shock. Mr S told me to take the omeprazole he prescribed to take with the higher dose pred from the start of the next low-dose cycle (which is this one I'm currently in now), but given the link to weight gain I'm not going to just take it as a matter of course, I'll take it as and when I need it.

Imminent testers, remember what is said that pred can and does mask symptoms of pregnancy (I know not in all cases, but in a lot from what I can tell) so although you may feel you're not pg, you may be ....

I hadn't heard that pred causes nausea - is that another of it's ever-so-unlovely side effects? Nice :(

Not testing for at least another 7 days, so trying not to even think about it. Yeah, right! :)

OP posts:
Arianrhod · 09/11/2011 11:21

argh "its" not "it's" ... and I'm a punctuation fanatic :( I blame it on the pred messing up my sleep :(

OP posts:
cherrycheeks · 09/11/2011 13:05

Wow! So many posts since I checked in last.
stogan your scan sounded fantastic!
duggs your stats are really interesting reading, it would have taken me about 2 weeks to work out all the figures as I have the concentration of a flea right now because of lack of sleep.
The lack of sleep is hitting me hard this time, I feel totally wired but exhausted at the same time. I took DD to the Gp his morning and just baffled on for about 10 minutes about total nonsense. The Gp was sitting there looking slightly worried about me rather than DD.. or maybe the sleep deprivation is also making me paranoid.
Moonface is still in full swing, along with greasy hair and moustache.. I look like the she-devil.
I also have had heartburn since last night and have needed a few swigs of Gaviscon and am very emotional.

On the symptom spotting.. nothing to report I'm afraid and am not holding out much hope for a BFP.. I'm gonna test on Saturday which is( I think) 10dpo, or I may do a cheeky test on FridayWink

Havingkittens · 09/11/2011 14:59

I've just had a massive dose of hideous irony. I don't know if any of you lot know of the retro clothing label "Tara Starlet". It's a 1940s inspired clothing line which is run by a mother and daughter. I just posted a stroppy comment on Facebook which got 'liked' by Tara Starlet (who are on my friends list) and it reminded me of their story, which I read in the paper a couple of years ago.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1205879/Daughters-cells-save-mother-leukaemia.html

Here I am trying to reduce my NK Cells. It seems like such a cruel irony Sad.

pureequeen · 09/11/2011 16:27

so many posts, so little time. Just thought I would add that the pred totally and utterly masked my usual pregnancy symptoms - it was the 7th time I've been pregnant so have a lot to compare with! So even though this last pregnancy didn't work out, I am taking some comfort from the fact I felt pretty good compared to usual!

Comedyworks · 09/11/2011 18:27

Hi all - thanks for stats Duggs - small correction that my NK level is in the very high range not high - don't want to mess up those percentages!!

I get very very sick from week six of pregnancy and to a certain extent the steroids have helped with that - instead I have a constant low level nausea with bouts of it being worse rather than an 'oh my God I can't stand up nausea from previous pregnancies'. I haven't got sore breasts which I usually had but the nasty metallic taste in mouth is still there. I know we are all different but just thought that info might be helpful as it is such a nightmare constantly analysing our symptoms.

batteryhen · 09/11/2011 19:26

Hello everyone. I just wanted to join in with the symptom spotting. I have none. Nada. Nil. I really thought I might be in with a chance this month too so I am feeling down about it all.

Surely one of us shoulf be lucky ????!!

Can I ask - this is my 3rd cycle on the pred. I didn't see MR S after the first as we have been away. Should I go and see hime after this cycle? Maybe he can give me something to kick my ovaries into producing a better egg???

Bigh waves and sighs to everyone xx

iggi999 · 09/11/2011 22:49

Duggs really good table Smile
Not sure I agree entirely that our stats prove the treatment works particularly well for those who have a child already (and think that might be a bit disheartening for others!) 5 and 2 seem a big difference but the numbers are so small, and it's just a snapshot of how things are right now - we move from ttc to pg, or pg to miscarrying, so easily.
Plus I've already had a mc while on the treatment, so still waiting to be convinced the treatment has indeed worked for me!

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