TTC/ pregnancy on Prednisolone or similar part 3

[freelancegirl]

For those who are TTC/pregnant undergoing immunotherapy treatment. Current list as it stands, do feel free to come and join us, it's moving quickly round here!:

Tuesday 22nd November

TTC
Waiting to test
Snoopygirl - V High NKC TTC, will be Ist try with Pred, Intralipids on bfp Testing from 21/11
Havingkittens - Upgraded from High to V High NKC TTC #1 after 2 month break/testing 29 Nov -2 Dec depending on my resolve.
Waiting to ovulate
coleyoz - V High NKC. TTC #2 - ov 3 Dec (Pred and Intralipids at BFP)
duggs1976 - High/V High NKC - TTC #1 - Superovulation cycle1
batteryhen - High activation NKC, factor v leiden. TTC#1
Suemays - V High NKC TTC/ov 30th Oct. TTC#2.
Cherrycheeks - V high NKC, TTC#2/ ov 25th-26th Nov/ 4th cycle of pred
pureequeen - High NKC TTC #2 again from November (BFP cycle one but mc)
eurochick - TTC#1 awaiting first appointment (in Nov)/ov expected 28-30 Nov.
BFPSeeker

BFP
2nd Trimester
Stogan - V high NKC - BFP 9/7/11 cycle#2- 24+3 Due 10/03/12 next scan 30/12
Digitalgirl - High NKC - BFP cycle#2 -19+1 Due 16/04/12 anomaly scan 23/11
Coconutfeet - V High NKC, Factor II gene mutation, underactive thyroid - BFP pre-pred, started at 6 weeks ? 16+1 next scan 14/12
Comedy - V High NKC - BFP cycle#2 - 13+3 due 26/5/12 next scan 12/12
Iggi - High NKC & Hypothyroidism - BFP cycle#2 - 12+6 anomaly scan Jan

1st Trimester
BrownieGecko - High NKC, Hypothyroidism, & Glucose Intolerant. BFP on cycle 3 of Clomid - 11+4 next scan 28/11
Scooterchaser - V High NKC - BFP cycle1 - 8+1 Due 01/07/12. Scan 25/11
Freelance - V High NKC TTC#1 Hydroxchloroquine, Pred, Intralipids. Thyroid/hashimotos. MC 1st cycle. LMP18/10 - 4+6 - Scan 3/12
Arianhod - V High NKC, MTHFR homo, hypothyroid, TTC#2 BFP 2nd pred cycle LMP19/10. 4+5 Scan 7/12
Cheerfulcharlie - V High NKC, MTHFR/TTC 1/ (metformin, intralipids, no pred). LMP17/10(Ov'd 3rd Nov) 4+5 Scan 6/12.
ChoccyPud - V High NKC / TTC #1 BFP 4th Pred cycle LMP20/10 4+4. Scan 3/12.

Oh Kittens, thinking of you. It must be such a difficult time. I?m glad you?ve got your aunt to keep you company on the journey but it must be very hard to leave your gran, especially at this time of the year.

Choccy ? I hope you had a really good cry and some decent sleep. You?ve every right to feel the way you do and need to take some time for yourself now. Try not to feel under any pressure to be happy and jolly, just because it?s Christmas.

Coley ? Congratulations! What a great Christmas present to you both. I saw a hb at about 6w5d I think.

Stogan ? Really glad everything is OK. Sorry to hear your dh is being an idiot though.

Duggs ? I get bloating around ovulation sometimes. Good luck this month ? I hope those eggs are in perfect shape for you!

Another TTC tip that seems to work for me is taking evening primrose oil for the first half of my cycle. It works like the cough medicine on CM. You are supposed to stop taking it after you ovulate though.

Sue ? I sent you a little parcel yesterday. I was in a rush to get to the post box so didn?t have a chance to put a note in or anything, but I hope it gets there quickly.

No no stogan, don't apologise, you feel free to rant all you like. Without wishing to denigrate someone I don't know, I'm sorry but your DH acted like a complete merchant banker! He should be taking care of you, you should be his number one priority above and beyond anything else, Christmas party and colleagues be damned. You are lovely, wonderful and amazing - and you've just lost a baby. Ok maybe this is his way of coping with his own grief but still, he should still put his wife first.

Is it worth sitting him down and talking to him (gently) about how you feel? Otherwise you'll carry on feeling bad, which you don't deserve, and it's possible he doesn't realise. I know my OH tells me I think about thinks way deeper than he does, maybe your DH doesn't realise what an insensitive git he's being.

choccy how are you feeling today? Virtual hugs to you too.

Aargh hit post too soon! kittens so very sorry to hear about your mum and your gran too .. hope your travel to France goes smoothly and fingers crossed for your mum's swift improvement! More hugs coming your way.

Aaarrrgghh Smack me about the face with a wet kipper .. that will teach me to try to write a post while a 4 year old is climbing all over me. stogan I meant you just had the scare about the baby, not that you've just lost a baby! sigh sorry for getting my words muddled up :(

Coconut thanks in advance for the parcel - I will let you know how it goes!

Stogan I think insensitive arsehole DHs are out in force this weekend as mine is being just as bad! We had a big argument this morning about money and the costs of the treatment plans I am on/wanting to explore. He is more interested in getting a new car than trying for a new baby I think. I just shut up in the end as I still need him for the SWI so can't get too him too angry with me as he will sulk and not go near me! At least you dont need your DH for that now! I think they are completely on a different wavelength to us and it doesnt occur to them how we feel and that the grieving doesnt ever completely go away. I have found that even if I try to explain he just doesn't get how I feel so I dont bother at all now! Dont forget your pregnancy hormones will make you feel extra sensitive anyway and he was so drunk he wouldnt have realised how you felt! Bloody men! Its probably best just to ignore his behaviour last night as I am sure it was just a combination of the office party and alcohol.

Kittens hope you find the strength to keep going and that your Mum is OK.

Choccy I am with you on the holiday - shall we pack our suitcases and tag along with scooter !

PQ thanks for the TTC tips although I have got pregnant whilst having a drunken night out etc before!

Duggs hope this is the month for you with the manic SWIing and the extra eggs! You will prob end up with triplets!

Stogan taking tumbles is so scary, such a relief they checked you out and baby is ok. Sympathise with DH's 'me-me-me-ness' I have had that from DH too (quote: "you're not going to be miserable on holiday are you?") I think stressful situations make them selfish, it's how they evolved. Modern equivalent of 'survival of the fittest' clearly involves turning up to meetings on time and giving drunk colleagues their full attention at Xmas parties. Women have evolved to be the emotionally intelligent gender, so that's what us girls here are for honey!

Choccy - fallout will happen sometimes for a while. I have good days and bad days, usually alternate for some reason. Be kind to yourself, glad you went to bed and didn't try to brave the Xmas party, that's not really what you need right now. I am spending this afternoon staring into space while DH takes control of the shopping situation.

kittens thinking of you, must be so hard waiting to fly when you just want to click your fingers and be at your mum's side. It's tomorrow your flight isn't it? Not too long now. So relieved to hear your Aunty will be with you, you have had long enough carrying the world on your shoulders by yourself. Strong as you are, hope you will be able to lean on and confide in her.

Coley earliest I've seen a hb is 6+4, although can pretty much assume it would have been visible in the couple of days before, I don't know if others have seen earlier?

PQ poor poorly you, hope you are feeling better today x

sue x posts with you. Sorry for the arguements with DH, I have also given up talking to DH, just impossible for them to appreciate the toll all this takes on us and everything we invest in this process because it's not like we have a cast on our arms, there is nothing for them to see. Endlessly frustrating.

The money thing is getting to us too. All the things that will be good for us in the waiting time before ttc cost a whole load of money (the holiday particularly) and then there's the treatment costs to come back to. Still being pregnant would be so much cheaper because the financial commitments so far would have been worth it and I wouldn't want to be flying off anywhere in the NY anyway! Argh!

I've missed so much here in Brighton without regular internet access. stogan sorry to hear about your fall! What a scare. Glad everything is ok. And sorry DH was an arse. Hope he's more like himself now. And same goes for you scooter about DH being understanding. Of course you're going to be bloody miserable! But a holiday will do you the world of good. Just think - you will be lying there on a sun lounger very soon... Lovely.

I feel like I have to apologise to DH at the moment for being most unlike my usual lively self and avoiding anything that involves going out at night! He was quite understanding last night but just now I hung up on him as he was moaning about various logistical things on the way to the football that turned out irrationally to be my fault. He was just griping away so I hung up on him But it's tense times all round I think for all of us, which for us means loving and wonderful one minute and griping at each other the next.

Sue you have a point about pregnancy hormones too. It puts us on much more of a different wavelength to when the DHs are out having a few drinks and we are not!

Choccy I hope you're not feeling too hideous still It's going to all get at you from time to time, particularly when you have been working so hard.

PQ that sounds awful, I do hope someone is looking after you! Let me know if I can help next week, we could always meet up for a local coffee one day and you can scare me witless about potential impending motherhood and introduce me to your lively toddler :)

Kittens I am so so sorry to hear that things are that bad with your mum. I was hoping she would be treated for this stage of the infection and getting out of hospital. I feel so awful that you are mentally having to prepare yourself for the worst. I am going to be in the Brighton area from the 27th to the 3rd now and if I can help in any way - by visiting your grandmother or anything - do let me know.

Hello Brownie I've been thinking about you too, how is it all going? Am I right in thinking you are over 16 weeks now!? It's wonderful really isn't it. I hope you and DH are relaxing a bit in the run up to your solo Christmas.

I am ok I think. Had a lot of twinges at the sides yesterday which I am hoping are stretching pains and nothing weird happening to the baby. On another thread I asked my pregnant friends/friends who are already mothers to list their symptoms and feelings and that really helped. Having not had a successful pregnancy before I just don't know how it should feel! But they said pulling and twinges are to be expected. I woke up feeling really nauseous again in the middle of the night and this morning felt fine agin. I do feel rather exhausted quickly though but it is a constant case of symptoms = worry, no symptoms = worry. I guess I can worry all I like - it won't make a blind bit of difference! So really just counting down the days until Friday 23rd and the next scan. And constantly checking myself for signs.

Coley I had the same damn dilemma about the scan thing and in the end this time I had one at 6.0 at St Mary's and 6.4 with Mr S. As it happens there was something there at 6.0 with a hb, which was incredible. The last time there had been nothing but a sac there at 6 or 7 or 8. I have a feeling that in the majority of cases if it is all going well there will be at least something like a yolk sac visible at 6 weeks but I only have these two experiences to compare to so I can't help. Are you going to go for it before you travel?

Oh to Euro, Duggs and the rest who were talking about ovulation. I definitely get very bloated, have constipation and also that poker-up-the-arse feeling around that time. Weird I never correlated the two before this year but now I definitely know it is an ovulation sign.

free, Euro yes, keen for a SE London meet up in the next few weeks if you're about. Free my "boisterous" toddler will certainly distract you from worrying about symptoms! I have just consulted my pregnancy diary at 8 weeks and I have no symptoms at all written down. Stretchy pains the following week. never had any nausea at all despite sniffing rubbish bins etc trying to make myself have symptoms!

stogan I find that when I am pregnant/down/recovering from yet another mc i get insanely jealous and irrationally suspicious of DHs colleagues and him spending time with them. I would have been beside myself in the situation you described. When you have an insensitive DH to boot (or maybe one who is occasionally lacking in emotional intelligence - I don't want to unfairly malign your DH and lump him in with mine) it is not a good combo. Hope you have had some (gag) quality time with him today.

Thanks for asking after me - antibiotics have knocked the sinus/chest infection on the head and feeling a million times better today. Was at the Dr to get Mr S's prescription converted into an NHS one (wishing I'd known to do this last time so I hope this post helps someone) and Dr took one look at me snivelling and listened to my chest.

Another money saving tip (or is it just me being an immigrant and ignorant of all these things?) - you can get a NHS prescription prepayment certificate for 3 or 12 months. 3 months is £30 or so and you can get unlimited prescriptions during that period. 12 months £100ish. Works out to be worthwhile with all the prescriptions (or particularly if you need antibiotics at the same time!)

And finally - anyone else's GP recommend they take calcium supplement when on steroids? Got a bonus prescription for those too to take with my 8 million other pills. Am going to have to get one of those pill organisers like what they have for elderly people to keep track of their meds...

Oh, for the stats junkies:

my bloods were 216.7 NK absolute count, 1.69 activation marker.

(after a few weeks of pred and a mc my stats were 135.8, activation marker still 1.45 - because the latter refused to go down to a normal level i am on V high regimen next time)

Free - pulling and twinges are a great sign:) Not long to go now until 23rd:) I hate this waiting game.

I've decided to go for the scan on 28th and I will be about 6w2d. Hopefully they will see a heartbeat:) I took a test this morning on the request of my hubby who still can't believe I'm pregnant and got 2-3 on Clearblue digital so good sign for Hcg levels. I've been telling him and myself for the past week I'm not pregnant. I have very different symptoms to last successful pregnancy so that threw me. Feeling nausea on and off all day and sore breasts.

Hi All - may I join you? I was a regular on other mc boards but after my fourth mc in a row - I disappeared for a bit and put my head in the sand about the whole of this last year or so! I finally went to see Dr S and have high nk cells (count normal but aggressive little blighters) I will probably start on the steroids next year - any tips gratefully received in particular anything which help us from going bankrupt through this process. Also how bad have the symptoms been?!? I don't normally take much so am a bit nervous about the steroids and also about trying again - a bit scared to think I may be in with a chance again and then how will I cope if it all goes wrong again - sorry very me me me post. I will do a bit of reading back to catch up - I can't believe there is a thread for this?!? Waves

Welcome AandR you are in good company. The pred affects people differently but all in all not too bad at all. Take as early as poss to avoid sleeping probs. Do u have any children? Is mixed on here. Anyway it is not too bad at all really,considering. New year new start

Welcome AandR. I'm about to start the pred this cycle so can't tell you anything about symptoms yet.

Has everyone managed to get their prescriptions converted to NHS ones? I have enormous problems getting GP appointments at my surgery so didn't bother this month as I didn't want to go to that effort in case they wouldn't do it anyway, but if it is pretty likely they will, I will try to get there next time. And to those of you on the superovulation programme, did you manage to get those converted too? That is actually the expensive one, I have found. Around 65 quid for a month's supply, whereas the pred and progesterone was around the same for 4 months of the pred plus a month's worth of progesterone.

Hi AandR I think the main probs with the steroids are weight gain and insomnia but I am sure it will be worth it if it works!

Euro my GP is prescribing the steroids on the NHS for me, she said it would be the same if I was being treated for infertility so she was happy to do it. I have heard that Asda is the cheapest for private prescriptions too so will try that for any drugs my GP can't prescribe. I havent asked about the superovulation drugs yet but am seeing the docs this week so will ask. I am going to pick up the prescription from Dr S on Wed.

Hello AandR! I remember your name from when I probably first joined the mc threads which was back in March 2011. It?s nice to see you here but like when I recognise other people (which is quite a lot by now) it saddens me that we are all still here and that you have clearly been through and are still going through so much. So sorry for you and all of us too :(

I hope your head in the sand time has been full of cocktails, parties and holidays :)

I was previously a bit of a reluctant drug taker (apart from in the 90s of course ) rarely taking one little parecetemol if I had a headache, but my current count (pregnant for the third time of the year, second time on treatment) is 20 tablets a day! The Pred isn?t too hideous really. Sleep can be affected and you can get energy swings at first. I find the 25mg has affected me more than the 40mg I think but it is hard to say as I have got pregnant both times first time I was on it, so difficult to say what are pregnancy changes and what is Pred. Last time by 8 weeks (when I had an ERPC) my face had definitely swollen. This time at 8.5 weeks and Pregnant until proven otherwise (our new acronym PUPO) I have dark circles and my face is definitely puffy. But we are in it for a (hopefully) comparatively short amount of time and the symptoms are definitely temporary.

Euro, my GP is also being great and converting all prescriptions for me. I have had Pred and Hydroxy etc but not superovulation. Hope you can get it sorted. Actually I am really lucky as with my thyroid problem I actually get free prescriptions so don?t have to pay anything.

Coley, yay for the nausea and sore breasts! I think the signs are all there that this is going to be a good scan for you. How long are you going to Milan for? Are you going to mention it to Mr S? I hope he says positive things about you flying. Especially as you are not far away. I don't think getting on a plane was the problem but I would love to know more, if you remember to ask him. I have a ticket to St Lucia booked for the 31st Jan which either way - miscarriage or pregnancy at 14 weeks - I would really want to take.

Who was it who was going to Florida for Xmas? I can?t remember.

PQ glad you?re feeling a bit better, chest infection sounds awful though. Are you at that docs over the road from you? I used to be there. We do need to meet up for a good local discussion! I need to ask you questions which I might be brave enough to ask if the scan on the 23rd goes ok. No-one has mentioned calcium to me but it is a good point. My chemist has given me a steroid card which he says to carry around. I have just thought - we probably use the same chemist!

Theoretically I will be starting to be off the Pred soon anyway, one way or the other! Mr S says to start tapering from 9 weeks doesn?t he? Well, I am not seeing him until 9.4 weeks so might wait until I see what he says. Of course if the scan is bad news I will be tapering anyway. Counting down from if I started to taper at 9.4 I would be completely off steroids from the 24th Jan (14 weeks if I stay pregnant).

Hello to everyone else. I might attempt to update the list and then get Digi to rescue it again for me can we add you AandR? It's good to have you on board. Hope kittens is ok.

Sunday 18th December

Have added two days for everyone. Coley, don't have your exact dates I think. Feel free to alter if I've screwed up!

BFP
3rd Trimester
Stogan - V high NKC - BFP 9/7/11 cycle#2- 28+1 Due 10/03/12 next scan 30/12

2nd Trimester
Digitalgirl - High NKC - BFP cycle#2 22+6 Due 16/04/12 MW appt 25/01
Coconutfeet - V High NKC, Factor II gene mutation, underactive thyroid - BFP pre-pred, started at 6 weeks 20.0
Comedy - V High NKC - BFP cycle#2 ? 17+1 due 26/5/12 next scan ?
Iggi - High NKC & Hypothyroidism - BFP cycle#2 - 16+3 anomaly scan Jan
BrownieGecko - High NKC, Hypothyroidism, & Glucose Intolerant. BFP on cycle 3 of Clomid - 15+1 next scan?

1st Trimester
Freelance - V High NKC TTC#1 Hydroxchloroquine, Pred, Intralipids. Thyroid/hashimotos. MC 1st cycle. BFP#1 8+5 Scan 23/12
Cheerfulcharlie - V High NKC, MTHFR/TTC 1/ (metformin, intralipids, no pred). LMP17/10(Ov'd 3rd Nov) 8+3 Scan 12 weeks
batteryhen - High NKC, factor v leiden. TTC#1 BFP cycle?. 6.0
coleyoz - V High NKC. TTC #2

TTC
Waiting to test
Cherrycheeks - V high NKC, TTC#2/ ov 25th-26th Nov 4th cycle of pred
Snoopygirl - V High NKC TTC, #2, testing 17th Dec
Havingkittens - Upgraded from High to V High NKC TTC #1, testing 26/12
duggs1976 - High/V High NKC - TTC #1 - Superovulation cycle2

Waiting to ovulate
Suemays - V High NKC TTC#2.
buster76 - V High NKC, Factor V Leiden.
eurochick - High NKC, superovuation cycle 1, pred cycle 1

WTTC
Hopefulfor2nd - High NKC TTC in New Year
PQ77 - V High NKC TTC #2 again from January (BFP cycle one but mc)
ScooterChaser - V High NKC - TTC#2
ChoccyPud - V High NKC - (chem pg cycle 2 of pred (only found afterwards), mc @c.5 wks cycle 4 of Pred, confirmed @6wk scan) TTC#1, review w/Dr S 14 Jan.
Arianhod - V High NKC, MTHFR homo, hypothyroid, TTC#2
Lemonsherbet - awaiting results
Breezyweezy - V High NKC - TTC#1 from January
AandRmum High NKC

Hi everyone. Welcome AandR mum sorry you find yourself on this thread but it seems very supportive.

How is everyone today. I have to confess to not catching up on the whole of the thread.

How are you doing Arian are you still weaning down the pred? Hope you are doing OK.

Choccy how are you? Hope you are getting to enjoy the weekend.

Free When is your next scan? Are you going anywhere exotic soon?

pq glad your chest is getting better. Do you think it is because of the pred? I guess the calcium supplements make sense because the pred can affect bones and also being pregnant would mean that the baby would also be taking calcium from you.

coley congratulations. Fingers crossed for a good scan.

stogan Hope your DH has made things up to you.He probably did not realise it. But I suspect I would have reacted the same has you.

kittens hope you are doing OK.

scooter I know what you mean about the money side. I also worry about booking a holiday just in case I get pregnant and need treatment or start to miscarry when I am abroad.

euro I guess it will depend on the GP. I am going to try and make appt with one next week to see if they will do this. But like you I am not expecting to be able to get appointment. Will spend 45mins trying to get through to be told to call back tomorrow there are no appointments left.

I am going to put up my christmas tree later today. Though just not in a Christmas mood at present. Normally I love this time of year but not this year. Sorry to those I have missed out. Hope everything is going OK for you.

Hi and welcome AandR. I was really freaked out about taking 25mg pred but i didn't have weight gain or increased appetite. Just lots of energy. Coming off it was fine too. For me it masked the usual horrible early pregnancy symptoms (extreme lethargy and very low grade iffyness) so when I mc somehow it was not so bad as when I had felt miserable for say 10 weeks and then mc and had (as one charming friend put it) "nothing to show for feeling crap for so long".

lemon - I think it was that the pred had made a dent in my immune system so I picked up my first cold in 3 years! What a pain you have getting through to get an appt. Can you complain to the practice manager? It shouldn't be that difficult to get through, that is appalling service.

I think some Drs will and some Drs won't convert to a NHS prescription. I shopped around at my local GP surgery until I found one that was open to it - young female GP (free - i go to the one by the park, not the one you are thinking of. Go to the pharmacy by the station!). As per suemays doc her reasoning was that she always converts IVF scripts and to her this is just another form of fertility treatment. Other Drs will be freaked by the high level of the steroid dose (as was my sister who is a nurse. I haven't even dared mention it to the family members who are Drs. unfortunately most of my extended family know about my problems due to the mmc last time I was home and I had to enlist them to get me scans and referrals to consultants etc).

Great symptoms coley!

duggs - do you think you might be able to put another link to the spreadsheet? I keep on losing the page it is on. I like the spreadsheet...if you were getting really carried away could we add another couple of columns with the NK cell level?

Here you go those who are interested in the stats...

docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtEN_z1FdjUMdHd6c0xCd2JRd3hXVmtTZXROYVE1OGc#gid=0

Thanks for the tips PQ I like the idea of £30 wine....

duggs if i'm going to only have one glass it's going to be REALLY nice...

Hello all, can I ask what the pre-seed is Ari? Also the the Sperm meets egg plan Free? Or am I been stupid?!
Hope you have good news with your HCG levels battery.
Congratulations coley - what a lovely surprise!
Ive been ov testing all weekend - still no smiley face
Will try again tomorrow, was all prepared to start the streroids! Where are you egg?!! Have even been over dosing on grapefruit juice!

Waves to all xxx

scooter hope you r doing ok chick?

happy birthday scooter (i think I have got the day right). I know it's cancelled in RL but we are all thinking of you here.

Thanks for thinking of me. Spent first half of birthday in bed in tears then my mum knocked on my door for about half an hour so eventually I had to let her in but she got howled at for a bit. I managed to spend afternoon with the family 'party' because they pretty much wouldn't leave me alone unless I did. Just relieved it is almost over to be honest, this has seemed like the longest day but not as bad as last years birthday so grateful for small mercies x

sorry not to name check today, just 'wallowing' (apparently!)

scooter happy birthday not sure if it is appropriate to say it or not. It must have been so hard for you this afternoon but at least it is over now. I don't think you are wallowing you have just lost a baby. They are the ones who are not being understanding to you. Sorry that you ended up having to go through that.