TTC/Pregnancy on Prednisolone or similar part 6

[Arianrhod]

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 5 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1391787-TTC-Pregnancy-on-Prednisolone-or-similar-part-5

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

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

dunnit great news on scan all is looking good

battery same to you well done and what a relief, I found the amnio terrifying tbh (not that it hurt or anything, just the thought of it) and didn't move for 2 days!!

Great scan news.

No birthday BFP for me but got other things to deal with this weekend anyway. It's 11dpo so I keep telling myself it's not over yet for this month.

Having trouble posting from the laptop - which is annoying...it keeps losing my posts and reseting the page.

battery fantastic news!!!!

dunnit yay for low risk on your nuchal too. Everyone does seem to rate the FMC, and its great that you get your results on the same day - just minimises the mentalling.

choccy sorry for the BFN and that your dad still isn't eating normally. Hope you get to spend some decent quality (and TTC distracting) time with him this weekend.

My growth scan yesterday showed the baby is still measuring big for dates, no surprises. Will find on on Tuesday if it's GD or just naturally big - am doing quite well in eating healthily at the moment, with DH and my mum's support. Whilst in the hospital cafe I bumped into my colleague from work who's 6 weeks ahead of me, ie a week overdue. She was there to talk about an induction, but had been having contractions that morning and then a couple of hours after seeing her she had her baby! Second baby and much quicker delivery, so that's quite reassuring.

happy birthday choccy.. is it today ? 11dpo is v early. No idea why dr s says to test at 10dpo who gets anything at 10dpo?

Well I am now officially into my IVF cycle.. day 2. I have all my drugs in the fridge. Had a busy week this week..

Tuesday saw nhs consultant (referral from gp ages ago) to discuss fertility issues.. turns out in bucks and oxfrodshire you need to be between 30 and 34 for any help. Im 35. No idea why my gp didn't tell me that. what a waste of time.

Wednesday saw Dr s at NLC. He has put me on v high programme for this ivf cycle so 40mg pred and intrallipids next sat morning a week before my egg transfer. never had those before so I guess I take a book and turn up with my credit card.

Saw Daniel (digi he is your acupuncturist) at London Acupuncture Clinic on Thursday. Such a lovely guy and so relieved to talk to an impartial person who reassured me about what I am doing re ivf and cgh.

Picked up my drugs Friday from LondonWomensClinic so all set to go.

I've a terrible cold and chesty cough think last pred round finished me off and stressful few weeks at work and travelling etc.

Next week I plan to keep things v low key.. have my scans, then I have 2 weeks off work so can really relax.

I've been warned about my polycystic ovaries and the dr banged on about diabeties. digi he even said keep away from anything red. I said.. even tomatoes and he said anything red. Felt it was a bit 1970's tbh. Does anyone recommend any good books on polycystic ovaries. I bought one on amazon and just read it and not too impressed as I didn't learn anything new. I only have it midly as my hormone tests were ok.
The pred has made it worse though as I've put on weight.

Does the weight come off when you stop ? I guess not. Not without special dieting and excessive exercising.

We are throwing such a lot at this cycle .. over £7k which we are borrowing. I so hope it works. Have a lot of hurdles to get over but will keep you updated.

As for the conception quickly or not camps. It seems to be 2 distinct camps yes...made all the more intense because the pred means you need to focus and can't just relax and let nature take it's course...hopefully you are in the quick camp.
amazing news dunnit. v happy for you.

Just popped on to say Happy birthday choccy :)

oh yes of course choccy happy birthday !!!! I know it's probably the last thing on your mind, but hope you're treating yourself to something bubbly and/or choccypud-like later.

duggs Woah, it's official then - you is IVF-ing. Got my fingers very very tightly crossed for you. Yes, Daniel is the guy I was seeing. I've seen a few different ones there and Daniel was the one I had the most confidence in, he saw me through my last two miscarriages and treated me through the first trimester of this pregnancy. He has a very balanced view on Mr S's treatment too - believes the pred works, based on the evidence he's seen first hand, but also knows how experimental Mr S likes to be and offers opinions on certain accompanying treatments that he knows haven't been particularly successful. Daniel's on my list of people to write my teary thank-yous to when I'm 'stogan-side'.
Re: PCOS I bought one of the Collette Harris books (I think that's her name) but have since lent it to my sister as she's recently been diagnosed with it and has much worse than I ever did (AF every 3-4 months). It had some interesting diet tips. Never heard the red food theory (sounds dubious). But yes, I found that eating healthily alongside exercise (running once or twice a week) and having acupuncture was the best way to keep it in check. I don't think the met did much for me, my cycles got longer on it - but that could have been the pred too.
Hope you feel better soon and good luck with your scans this week. When are they?

Hope everyone's ok this weekend. I'm still on the bed with the laptop, procrastinating. Think I've got another 45 minutes of work (depending on how much more creative I can get) then I'm calling it a day and will return to it tomorrow. I've already written a jingle and a rap...that's quite enough for a Saturday!

Hello all

Happy Birthday choccy know you are having a tough time but hope you are treating yourself at some point today.

holldoll thinking of you :(

duggs good luck with the ivf, will be keeping everything crossed for you.

Tremendous news on nuchal/amino dunnitt and battery, and am sure no news is good news fnp

So we went back to see Mr S this week to talk about horrific pred mental side effects and am now on hydroxy only until bfp. Decided not to take clomid this month as we didn't want to waste eggs if there was no pred alternative. Had a scan (day 9) in natural state, no follicles :( and lining only 4mm, so going prog day 21, FSH and E2. He also thinks I may have scarring from 3 ERPCs as womb lining too bright (although could be just thinness of my lining). Has anyone had the saline test before going all out and having hysteroscopy? Do you think insurance might cover the procedure? Just feel we have so many things going against us that our dream is like sand slipping through your fingers as time races on. May go and see Dr Trevor Wing for additional natural treatment, apparently he uses a mushroom derived pill to supress nk cells that they use in Japan for Autoimmune issues. Not sure they are of the magic variety!!! On a positive note, no TTC this month so can have a drink at 40th B'day party next weekend.

Big welcome to greenolives and big hugs to everyone else.

Choccy Happy Birthday

Battery - really pleased that you got your results and all is well with lo, must be a huge relief!
Dunnitt - glad you got your results so quickly - I had to wait 4 working days and across the we but a nice low risk result, which shocked me as twice as low as my daughters and had expected a rise with my age.
Duggs - Hope all goes well with the IVF - I know of two friends who conceived their children through the Londonwomensclinic, and one is medically trained - so much be good! Good Luck with it all.
Digi don't work too hard!

Good evening everyone. Thought I would squeeze a quick post in whilst sitting on the sofa spooning Haagen Dazs from the pot whilst the DH has popped down the pub. This is how wild n crazy my life has become.

Battery that is such good news about the results! You must be so relieved.

Dunnit that is beautiful news too. Am so glad it went well for you and you are feeling positive. The FMC really is wonderful isn?t it. That?s where I had both my 12 week and my 20 week scan. Like you said, not cheap but worth every penny.

Choccy, hope you had a good bday! Sorry to hear your dad isn?t much better. Duggs is right, 11DPO is still very early indeed.

Digi, glad they are keeping an eye on you. Do let us know how it goes on Tuesday. You?ve written a jingle and a rap?! Blimey! Can't believe how close we are getting to your due date!

Duggs, well done for being so proactive and persistent. It must take an awful lot out of you, so you are bound to be run down. Avoid anything red? Never heard of that one!

Welcome back Olives! You are certainly in the right place for all of this business. Glad you have a plan for treatment now. In answer to your question, I am in the conceive quickly camp on here and like PQ says that did make me worry about an ?unfussy uterus?. My first pregnancy on the treatment was a MC but I have always got pregnant first month trying. I am not sure whether there is a correlation between mcs, NK cells then struggling to conceive but it is good that we are all here, all putting ourselves on the list and all trying to work out if there are any patterns and if any of the positive experiences can help anyone else.

Hello Belly D ? sorry to hear you have been having a tough time of it on the Pred but good that you are on the hydroxy. Yes you will definitely be able to enjoy that drink at your 40th!!

Talking of hydoxy, when I saw Louise on Thursday morning she said Mr S was very pleased with the hydroxy treatment so far. There is me of course but also the person ahead of me who is now 37 weeks and still on it. Her losses had always been second trimester ones (doesn?t bear thinking about does it) and so this is a real breakthrough for her.

I measured on size for dates with Louise (just bump measurements - 21cm as is expected at 21 weeks) and all other vitals good. She also checked my iron so hopefully I will get results back soon and see if I have to take tablets.

I know I have missed tons of posts, I was rushing around like a nutter with work, viewing houses and getting down to Brighton yesterday. We actually put in an offer on a house yesterday ? gorgeous Victorian house, big, detached actually (!). The catch was it was slightly out of our preferred area but a catch we were willing to swallow. Anyway ? agent called us up 10 mins after offer was made and said the vendor is only interested in cash buyers! It was really annoying. I hope he doesn?t get any?! Or if he does I hope they count it all out in 5p coins.

Lovely news on scans and nuchals.

Duggs - thinking of you this cycle and fingers really tightly crossed that this works for you x

Digi - I also have a list of all those who I want to visit / write to (once I am holding a baby) to thank for their encouragement/putting up with me etc

Hi to everyone - mothers day must bring a broad sweep of emotions for us all on this thread so I hope it is as good as possible for everyone xx

Good morning ladies!
Dunnit Fabulous scan news
Battery Great amnio result too, hope you've managed to destress now you've got the results
Frozen No news is most definitely good news in my book so please try not to worry too much!
Choccy Happy (belated) Birthday! Sorry about BFN but as the others have said it is early days still. Hope you had some quality time with your Dad
Digi Fingers crossed for swift second labours/births! Was your first baby a whopper? My DS was!
Duggs Wishing you all the luck in the world for this IVF cycle and I hope the cough/cold buggers off and you have a nice relaxing couple of weeks off work!
Belly Sorry to hear the Pred didn't suit you - do you mind me asking what side effects you had? Hopefully the hydroxy will be a better option. Yay to a nice little too, a distinct benefit to a month off the TTC
Free The house sounds lovely but the seller sounds like an arse. Love the thought of him/her counting their 5p's
The Pred has put paid to my lie in this morning - have been awake since 4am for the last 2 days! Am still making the most of Mothers Day by laying in bed with the laptop and a magazine!

P.S Why does Mr S suggest testing so early? I have never had a BFP at 10dpo! I know you're not supposed to take the Pred for more than 10 days but I'm worried that I'll stop it after a BFN then go on to get a BFP and be mentalling about the gap in the Pred treatment?! What do you ladies do? It won't be such an issue this cycle as I didn't start it until 3dpo so it will be 13dpo before I test which should hopefully give a pretty conclusive result.

Morning Olives! I don't know about that testing on 10DPO thing. Seems terribly early to me. The only two times I have actively been ttc seriously (ie temping, testing etc) I haven't had a BFP until at least 13DPO and even then it has been very faint.

I did what you did, started Pred at a couple of DPO. I think he says don't take it any longer than 14 days rather than 10, but different people have been told different things. Last time I was guessing ovulation from my signs (rather than temping or charting) and I think I started on 1 or 2DPO.

Morning!!!
Lovely news battery and dunnit
Good luck with the ivf duggs

Ari - the nurse just added in the progesterone. Results come back the next day. Will get my last results tomorrow, will be interesting to see what they are as the LH and progesterone were looking on the lower side...I think!

xxx

Oops - it turns out that you are all correct and that they don't get in touch with you if it's low risk. Quite how this escaped me is beyond me ... but having checked with the midwives at the hospital it turns out that I will get a letter next week officially saying I'm low risk.

I feel like rather an idiot, but thank you SO MUCH for the reassurance as I would just have worried my head off all weekend without your inputs

Absolutely lovely to have lots of bits of positive news on the thread

Morning everyone! Olives just wanted to echo what free said really. I started Pred at 3dpo yesterday and I don't bother testing till 12dpo as I've never had a reliable BFP before then. Then if it's negative I can stop the Pred and have only been on it 9 days. Given that I have the sleep probs from day 1 of taking it (also awake at 4am this morning, you have my sympathies) the sooner I can stop taking it the better in my book, baby would be better still of course!

olives welcome ! just reading about the 10 dpo, how many days is your cycle?
coconut it was a relief, we are going to start trying in june , going to oz on the 14th april until end of may for a break.
arian i may be joining you with that attitude once i actually start trying , wondering if they are going to change my meds etc when i see them next week.
dunnit & battery such great news, a step closer!
iggy i feel the same way, maybe due to my age maybe not, always said i would have 1 child , never realised it would be such a drama to get there, someone on here said that the women who dont give up are the most likely to end up with a baby, i keep saying that to myself but its hard.
cheerful hope your feeling better today, its been misrable out there as well.
free better luck next time, too bad they didnt say that before you bothered looking at the house ! annoying .
belly im sorry your feeling disheartened , your going through so much and like all of us when plan a doesnt work your trying b, c.....z , try and keep the faith which is prob the hardest thing when you keep getting knocked down. i was chatting to a friend of mine who is going through pregnancy dramas of her own and we were saying what a rollercoaster the last few years have been, happy...sad..happy..plan a , plan b , plan c , something is working , no its not, lets try something else , and through all this its tears and heartbreak and under it all hope , buried under all the stress. i hope you feel stronger after a little while .

hi everyone, this thread does move fast. I am not sure if I should get in touch with Mr S again. AF is here for me again. I just feel that I am getting no where on the TTC front. When I saw him for the test results he said he did not need to see me till I was pregnant again. 4 months of TTC and no sign of a BFP. I know 4 months does not sound like a long time, but I have always fallen pregnant by now. Starting to doubt that I will ever see a BFP again. What do you think I should do? Ari can you tell me where you get your supplements for the MTHFR. Like you I am homozygous.

choccy happy birthday (sorry it is late). Hope you had a good day.
duggs never heard about the red thing. I do not suffer with PCOS but from what I had read they normal say to eat plenty of fruit and veg.

Sorry for the lack of personals and here is hoping that this time next year we are all celebrating mothers day with little ones.

ChoccyPud ? belated birthday wishes.

Dunnitt ? great news again about the dating/nuchal scan. Enjoy the pictures.

Digitalgirl - Hope you are enjoying time without having to go to the office now and being able to prepare for the arrival of your little one in a few short weeks. Happy mothers day.

duggs1976 ? thinking positive thoughts for your IVF cycle, hope the injects etc all go well. Also hope that the cough goes quickly for you.

freelancegirl ? good to hear that all is going well, I will pm you as I am going to be in your area for a month soon!

FrozenNorthPole - Great scan result.

GreenOlives ? hi, good to see someone new here and hope that the pred plan works quickly for you.

holldoll ? sorry for what you are going through.

Havingkittens - Hope today is ok for you, I am sure thoughts of your mum will be special today, and hope that you get extra TLC from people around you today.igggi ? yet again great scan news. I hope that the cp immunity result was ok.

PQ77 ? good news on your scan, hope that you soon get to feel a little more confidence in your pregnancy and that you have no more bleeding scares.

Stogan Have a happy mothers day with your new tiny little girl.

I am being frustrated with af doing a disappearing act on me. I normally get af at 13 or 14dpo, but has been stretched to 15dpo when on progesterone in the 2ww. Today I am 15dpo, I did not take the progesterone yesterday in the hope of getting af to appear, but she is being stubborn. BFN's don't make me hopeful of any chance that she is not just around the courner. I just wish she would appear and put me out of misery. I am not sure what is going to happen for the next couple of months as I have just registered to do a masters module next month, and being on pred would not be helpful with sleep while studying. I will have to give it some thought.

Ari I wonder what it is about 4am?! Does the early waking resolve as soon as you stop the Pred or does it take a while to get out of your system? Considering how little sleep I have had the last few days I feel surprisingly awake - I suppose that's also to do with the meds - I'm scared of the crash when I stop taking them!

Pico My cycle is 29-31 days, usually ovulate around day 16/17, think the earliest I have ever had the faintest of faint positives was at 13 dpo. I think it was Louise who said not to take the meds for longer than 10 days as they may delay AF coming.

Lemon Sorry to hear about AF, treat yourself to a

Willitbe Also sorry to hear that AF is misbehaving, still in with a chance of BFP until the fat lady sings though. Well done for registering for the masters module, that's on my to do list but have been putting it off for several years some time!

Evening everybody. I hope everyone?s had a good weekend.

Welcome back greenolives

Great to hear such good news from Battery, Dunnitt and Frozen.

Free- What a shame about the house. Waste of everyone?s time too. We put an offer in on a place this weekend which was rejected, so I feel your pain.

Wow Duggs, what a month for you! I?ve got everything crossed that this cycle is a success. I know from friends physically and mentally tough it is, so I really hope it works first time for you.

Willitbe I signed up for a masters module earlier last year to take my mind off things and give me a new focus. Fast forward to September when it had all started and I was pregnant, nauseous, pred-fuelled, and sleep deprived. It was a killer (but worth it, obviously). Hopefully the same will happen to you!

Glad to hear the bleeding is over, PQ and the scan went well. It must be so difficult to relax after something like that.

Hope the work?s going well Digi. Will you be able to put your (swollen) feet up a bit after Tuesday?

I know I?ve missed people out. Sorry. I find if I don?t check really regularly it?s so hard to catch up. I guess that the whole Mother?s Day thing will bring quite a range of emotions to all of us on here. I hope it was bearable for everyone, especially you Kittens. I was thinking of you today.

olives i started to sleep like like the dead when i was on around 25mg and it got better the lower dose i took, im still sleeping really well, ( like im catching up) and really early which is embrassing and like in 80!

Monday 19th March

The babies are arriving!
Stogan - V high NKC - cycle#2, DC#1, Baby girl born Sunday 11/03/12 7lb13.5. Our First Pred Thread Baby!

BFP
3rd Trimester
Digitalgirl - High NKC - BFP cycle#2, DC#2 36+1 Due 16/04/12 Consultant appt 13/3/12
Coconutfeet - V High NKC, Factor II gene mutation, underactive thyroid - BFP pre-pred, started at 6 weeks 33+0
Comedy - V High NKC - BFP cycle#2, DC#2 ? 30+3 C-section booked: 14/5/12
Iggi - High NKC & Hypothyroidism - BFP cycle#2, DC#2- 29+6 c-section booked for 21/5/12
BrownieGecko - High NKC, Hypothyroidism, & Glucose Intolerant. BFP Clomid cycle#3, DC#1 29+3

2nd Trimester
Freelance - V High NKC TTC#1 Hydroxychloroquine, Pred, Intralipids, 400 Cyclogest, Thyroid/hashimotos. MC 1st Pred cycle. DC#1 21+6 Next scan TBC.
Cheerfulcharlie - V High NKC, MTHFR, DC#2/ (metformin, intralipids, no pred). 21+5
batteryhen - High NKC, factor v leiden. DC#1 BFP cycle 3. 18+4 Amnio 14/3/12.
coleyoz - V High NKC. DC#2, BFP cycle2, 18+1

1st Trimester
FrozenNorthPole - RMC, NKC status unknown, Cyclogest, aspirin, 13+2, NT scan 12/03
Mercator - V High NKC, TTC#2. 13+3, Next scan 14/3
Hopefulfor2nd - High NKC - TTC#2. - 12+4 12 week scan this week.
dunnit - V High NKC - TTC#1, on Pred, IVIG, prog and Clexane. 12+4 Nuchal/12wk Scan 16th March
PQ77 - V High NKC TTC #2 (BFP cycle one but mc) 8+0

TTC
Waiting to test
Pebbles - TTC#1 High NKC, PCOS, super ov cycle 1 (post IVF - 1 chemical, 1 mc)
ChoccyPud - V High NKC - TTC#1 from March (Pred & Hydroxychloroquine)
Arianrhod - V High NKC, MTHFR homo, hypothyroid, TTC#2 (Pred & Hydroxychloroquine)

Waiting to ovulate
Cherrycheeks - V high NKC, TTC#2
Havingkittens - Upgraded from High to V High NKC TTC #1 1st cycle Super Ov
buster76 -V High NKC, Factor V Leiden.
Lemonsherbet - TTC#1 v high/high NK, Mthfr, thyroid issues, pred 1st trim & Intralipids 2nd on bfp
BellyD - V High NKC, MTHFR homo, TTC#1 cycle 2
eurochick - TTC#1 High NKC, pred cycle 4,
Snoopygirl - V High NKC TTC, pred cycle 5, Super Ov Cycle 2
Willitbe - RMC, NKC not tested, TTC #4 cycle 2 (after m/c 12) Fertility consultant prescribed pred.

WTTC
ScooterChaser - V High NKC - TTC#2 (Pred & Hydroxychloroquine)
Breezyweezy - V High NKC - TTC#1
AandRmum - High NKC
Cornflakes30 - V High NKC, underactive thyroid
picolina - V High NKC MC on treatment
duggs1976 - High/V High NKC - TTC #1 - due to start IVF
Brownstag - V High NKC, 3 yo DS is a Pred Baby! TTC #2
Zoeella V.high NKC, Factor V Leiden. abandoned IVF, pos PCOS
Suemays - V High NKC, TTC #2. Superov. (Pred & Hydroxychloroquine)
Holldoll - High NKC - Pred, Cyclogest & aspirin

Just moved myself down the list as af finally decided to come visit me. While online last night I idlely googling and found this article that apparently shows "In 81 ovulatory patients, prednisone therapy resulted in statistically significant shortening of the follicular phase and lengthening of the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. The mean length of the menstrual cycle was unchanged. ....suppression of plasma testosterone by prednisone was maximal after 2 months of treatment, while the effect on the phases of the menstrual cycle was progressive with duration of treatment. ....These results suggest that prednisone therapy in hyperandrogenic women exerts an effect on both phases of the menstrual cycle, possibly related to suppression of plasma testosterone levels." So for me at least I now know that not only progesterone extends my lp but so will the pred. so I guess I can now expect af to arrive at 15dpo rather than 13 dpo while I am on the pred/prog combo.

Happy Monday everyone.

coconut - I have put myself on the ttc list rather than the wttc list with your encouragement that the studying is guarenteed to get me preggo!!!

Morning all. Many thanks for all the kind birthday wishes, and for thinking of my dad, you're all lovely (but we knew that already!).

My dad will be in hospital for a while yet, still can't eat anything, but he seems to be feeling a little better on the IV nutrition. They call it TNP... Anyone know if that's the same as intralipids?

Talking of intralipids... I got a VERY faint, hold-it-up-to-the-light-and-squint type thing, BFP on FRER yesterday. And a still faint but definitely stronger one this morning which is 13dpo or 3+4. So, 40 Pred from yesterday, cyclogest last night and currently waiting to sort out when I can have intralipids. Cautious :)

Been here before but it's the necessary first step and this time I'm on Hydroxy, have been having acupuncture, and maybe it's my mind being elsewhere that has allowed this to sneak up on me?! Not excited, but I'm not sure any of us gets excited at a BFP as it doesn't mean a baby (feet are well on the ground here!).