TTC/Pregnancy on Prednisolone or similar part 5

[suemays]

A positive thread for all those diagnosed with High or Very High NK Cells and looking to start TTC or already pregnant on Prednisolone and/or Intralipid treatment.

Newcomers very much welcome!

Part 3 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1348773-TTC-pregnancy-on-Prednisolone-or-similar-part-3

Part 2 here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1323594-TTC-pregnancy-on-Prednisolone-or-similar-part-2

Part 1 here www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1236324-TTC-pregnancy-on-Prednisolone-or-similar

Hello

Blimey, a new thread already! We do talk a lot don't we?

I know, we do like to chat!!!

Hello new thread!

Thanks whoever it was re Amazon offer on FRER, made me realise I better get some in... :)

Sue, in answer to your question on the other thread - I had fairly normal periods until my last pregnancy. Maybe not as long as they used to be but normal flow. It's hard to say whether the pred is the cause or not as I had my last ERPC in December 2010, my period took longer to come back that last time. It had come back pretty much 6 weeks on the dot each and every time before. That's 6 times before, so I would consider the length of time after my 7th ERPC, which was more like 10 weeks to be noteworthy. So it was almost March by the time my periods came back and I started on the pred in April, so really hard to know. You are the only other person that I've seen comment on the light periods though. Nobody else seems to have piped up when we've mentioned this a few times before. When I mentioned this to Mr S, he didn't say "Ahh, yes, the steroids can cause that to happen." He immediately suggested checking for scarring and agreed that my symptoms may be cause for concern.

And just so we can find it easily for Part 6, here is the link to the thread for Part 4:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1366323-TTC-Pregnancy-on-Prednisolone-or-similar-part-4

OMG our 5th thread, we sure know how to talk, great innit !!

Just marking my place x

Thread number 5, blimey. To think when I started thread number 1 I was unsure as to whether there was anyone out there to join me! Here we are, over 25 of us and more than 4000 posts later. Who was it that once said that hopefully one day we can all look back on this thread and show the babies how much they were wanted. I hope it continues to run long after the current crop have all graduated.

Am just marking place really, still on trains.

Kittens The reason I asked is that as soon as I started taking the preds in Sep 2011 my cycles went from 26 days before preds to anything from 20 to 33. Dr S told me that the preds can delay/bring forward ovulation so I only take them for 10 days now on the 2ww rather than 14. I had my last miscarriage in August 2011 but didnt have an ERPC after that and then had 2 really heavy periods whilst on the preds. The last 2 have been barely non existent with light flow of about 1 day compared to around 4 heavy days before. If you google period problems with preds there are quite a few ladies who have experienced it.

When I had my follicle scan last week, the sonographer said they can normally pick up heavy scarring on the ultrasound and I think you can tell from the thickness of the endometrium whether or not it could be a problem. I know the hysteroscopy gives a more indepth view though.

Have you been to St Marys? Maybe you should get an NHS referral there and then try to get the hysteroscopy through them? It will save you a lot of money but its just the time factor involved.

Thanks Euro forgot to add part 4!

Kittens so sorry to hear about the scarring. At least it's something that sounds like it can be fixed with quite a high success rate. I wonder if scarring and immune problems are linked? Regarding the day 21 progesterone. My was 31 which i was told was on the low side but still indicated i was ovulating which I am pretty sure i was. Why kittens you were told 10 was ok, I have no idea unless they measured it using different units or something.

Battery - yippee! Very happy for you. Really great stage to get to.

Quick question - we are supposed to take the cyclogest to 16 weeks. Does that mean stop at 16+0 or stop at 16+6?

Free have a good holiday - are you having your final intralipids before you go? They might be able to see the sex at the scan! It's pretty cool to have that doppler reassurance isn't it? You did well finding it in 6 mins on your first attempt!

My next scan is booked in for 7th Feb at about 16 weeks. Will have the intralipids a couple of days later if all is well.

I have a top tip for any ladies with constipation! Acupuncture! Did wonders for me last night within a couple of hours ;-0 I was also advised by her that eating a banana on an empty stomach helps but i didn't get the chance to test that out :-)

hello new thread

cheerful I think kittens level of 10 was a reference to the AMH level not day 21 bloods.

Checking in! X x

Coo .. Part 5 already! :)

cheerful my acupuncturist told me to take honey in warm/hot water first thing to stave off the dreaded bottom fatigue. It did work but I had to add lemon juice to it, couldn't take the taste on its own!

sue I know exactly what you mean about panicking about chemical pg with the next pg, should one happen. Hmmmm perhaps I had better get some more, just in case I run out!! :)

Thanks for the tip re cheap fr tests, will have to stock up ready for next month. When I got my last bfp must have tested about ten times, must not get obsessed!! :)

PQ, they were both around 10 actually!

charlie, that's a baffling tip for constipation seeing as people give banana to babies to stop them having diarrhea so I'd assume it had the opposite effect.

Bookmarking. Thanks sue for starting a shiney new thread. Wonder if stogan will have had her baby before the end of this thread!

Thanks for the lovely welcome.

Sorry to hear about all your problems kittens I fully understand a lack of trust in the gp's. I sadly had a low lying placenta which was never picked up even after a light bleed at 25 wks with my lo as they didn't even bother scanning me. Had my dh and I not pushed to go privately it could have been fatal to me and DD. Also with recent experience of being fobed off after recent mc's pretty much lost all faith. However if this is successful I plan on doing a little, read as a lot of education of my own to my GP practise.

I am very envious of your trip Free or at least your hols! Enjoy.

Can I ask you ladies when you had your first scan and if all was ok did they rescan before the 2nd lot of intralipids?

Ps. Re the name - I was a bit of sailor pre DD and dh and I spent summers sailing.

Thanks for sorting out the new thread Sue.

Lovely news Battery!!

Kittens - If you are going to try for a referral to St Mary's I think the have a cut off of 42 years old. I know my GP was happy to refer me but that they wouldn't take me on because of my age. I'm not sure if that means you have to be younger than 42 or if the cut off is above 42 but do check before you get your hopes up (If indeed you are 42. I think you are?? Sorry if not!)

Free - I'm jealous of your impending travels. We've got a weekend in Kent to celebrate a friend's 50th soon, but it doesn't fee quite as exotic.

Hello! I have found you all :) Got back from St Marys ok, they have booked me in for 2 weeks but if I get my dating scan before then, then I can cancel St Marys. digi I got to 12 weeks last time so I will be nervous the next few weeks. I asked if I would be able to have a scan between 12 and 20 weeks as I will be worried that someting may go wrong, and the DR said if my local hospital won't do one, then to give them a call and they will see what they can do :)
Just saw the news from picolina on the old thread - I hope she finds us here. Good news for scans today :)

kittens I know when I thought I had scarring I was almost on speed trying to get lots of info, making decisions etc etc, but actually, taking a deep breath and taking it all in helped. I agree - see MR S and see what he says. He may be able to refer you to someone else with more reasonable prices!

Am going to crash on the sofa with the cat - am knackered today :) wave to everyone xx

Great to see the good news!
Crawling off to bed now, feeling quite light-headed and sickly. Have been sick every morning this week so far!

Hello all, am back at home in London now. Just posted on previous thread to Picolina so hopefully she will make her way here.

Talking of Pico, no I wouldn?t laugh at all at the investment in some sex toys! And am sure that none of the other girls on here would either. Much fun to be had! Hope you get on a bit better with the cyclogest, like I said just push it gently up and you will find a space where you can?t feel it- that's exactly what it like with tampons. If you can feel them they are not in properly. If it?s ?between the walls? it?s not up far enough and will soon pop out! Have a gentle poke with a finger and you will find the gap as it were.

Ah, the things we can talk about on this thread, I love it

Hello cheerful yes we are meant to take Cylogest up until 16 weeks. I have looked this up online a bit and in IVF clinics they seem to take it for a lot less, so that makes me confident that 16 weeks is enough. I was going to go over a little bit as at 16 weeks I will be away but I?ve just realised I only have 15 of them left so I guess I will stop in 15 days. Yes ? scan and then (if it is alive and well of course) intralipids this Friday.

I always thought that banana had the opposite affect too. I have managed to stave off any serious constipation over the last few week with regular glasses of prune juice and the odd handful of dried apricots. Plus have a bowl or two of All Bran sometimes too. Loving ?bottom fatigue? Ari

Mercator (ahh ? nautical map!) that?s shocking about the low lying placenta not being identified! Thank god you went elsewhere. First scan with Mr S should be around 6-7 weeks. I left it until over 6 this time just to be (hopefully) sure they would see something other than the sac. Most people have done the same here I think. And yes good to have a second scan before the second intralipids at 8 weeks.

Coconut hurrah for the weekend in Kent! No not quite the same but still lovely?. I am very much looking forward to the holiday and still hoping I am ok to fly ? obviously I have got the go ahead from Mr S and have no clotting issues but of course I am going to worry. Am reassuring myself because lots of ladies on the July threads (I lurk but don?t post) seem to be going to Egypt, Australia? all sorts! Theoretically I am just like a normal pregnant person now, so they say, and I really, really need a holiday and so does DH. Still nervous though that I might cause an issue, but am going ahead anyway.

Battery are you having your nuchal scan at your local hospital? I have to say that the £180 it cost to go to the Fetal Medicine Centre was very, very much worth it.

Iggi ? poor you still being sick! Digi hope you are feeling ok. Yes we might well have our first Pred Thread baby with Stogan on Pred Thread 5!

Well I have started to feel less sick and tired definitely. Of course that made me worry so for the second time since it arrived on Monday I got the Doppler out, this time was really just to let DH have a go too. I found the heartbeat in about two minutes this time. So as per half an hour ago I think the baby is still alive...

free, don't forget the pregnant people who have not known the hell we have all wait eagerly for the second trimester in the hope that they will stop feeling so shit. I remember being in that position myself a few times. Some, of course are unlucky to feel sick and yucky throughout pregnancy but it is quite normal to feel a lot better after 13 weeks.

igggi, sorry you are feeling yucky. I hope it's reassuring in a way, but I understand how horrible it is. I had nasty morning sickness during my second and third pregnancies and it's most unpleasant.

free what did you feel were the benefits of the scan at the FMU? Curious because of my history obviously. I do go straight to the Fetal Medicine Unit at UCH rather than the EPU for my scans but I think this is with a view to an earlier CVS rather than more detailed scanning, and of course having had so many miscarriages now it's a scary decision to make if I'm ever in that position again.

mercator, your story is a shocker. I can't believe the NHS sometimes. I was just reading a thread on the chat board where some poor woman has been fobbed of post ERPC and is a rather bad way. It's incredible what goes on!

picolina I don't know what the tune was that your dad used to use for your little song but ever since reading your thread I have had "Angelina" by Louis Prima in my head.

hi everyone ,
thanks free- cyclogest was better yesterday, i was up with heartburn last night , v annoying , but so far no morning sickness, my sister had it bad but my mum and cousins only a few times or not at all, i read if you are good with boats etc you are less likely but we shall see, its still very early..please god ..

kittens - just googled angelia , it was close, just slower. my dad was a huge music fan, esp rat pack. he used to have this guitar that he couldnt play, just bag on it a lot and break all the strings , then turn it around and it became a drum, but he did have a fantastic voice. his other name for me was angel, which pissed my sister and bros off to no end as i was a serious brat! they still go on about it..poor me

Hello everybody,

Just home from holiday, wow so much has been going on, can someone give me a potted history of the last two weeks? There's about 25 pages to catch up on!

Hello to the newcomers, I was on the last thread and been awol for a bit. I will try to scroll back and catch up on your stories.

Well it was not quite the stress free post-mc recuperation break we'd intended because DS got pneumonia and was hospitalised in Grenada. Very scary times but he is on the mend. Totally exhausted as a family because of sleepless nights dealing with incessant coughing and round the clock medication in hospital, followed by a fitful night flying home. I have never experienced jetlag that feels like this before.

Arrived home to find I STILL haven't got a follow up appointment through. This is after miscarrying on the treatment at the end of November and my GP and I chasing a follow up several times! I still have another month break from the pred but I still feel totally in the dark about what went wrong and what our next steps are. Almost a relief to be too tired to be frustrated by it at the moment though.

I would love to make the meet up on Saturday but I'm a little zombiefied at the moment and struggling just to keep awake through the day. Hoping to get day and night figured out very soon and be back to normal. Please keep me posted with details and I will do my best to join. Still Southbank is it?

I have missed everyone, it's nice to be back :)