TTC or pregnancy on prednisolone or similar part 11

[Buzzybee123]

This is 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!

Did anyone see this? www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266838.php

sue sorry it was inconclusive for you today, the worry and wait is awful, my fingers are crossed for you for next week, big hugs

Sue could you ask them to rescan you before a full week has passed? Once when I was desperate for confirmation either way, Mr Impey followed up a scan on a Saturday with another on a Wednesday - he said that this would be a long enough interval. You are in my thoughts x

Brownstag I saw a similar article in the Times a day or two ago. Looks like an exciting breakthrough for the next generation...

Ummm sue. I feel for you I really do. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to all this. The treatment worked last year why wouldn't it again? Or is it chromosonal or is it all going to be fine? Just hope the time passes as quickly as is possible to you can either get good news or deal with the not so good. You conceived pretty quickly again so that amazingly strong woman in there is being tested AGAIN but you can do it. You've done worse. Thinking of you. X

.... Meant conceived pretty quickly once cycles back to normal .

Scan today all ok. 5/6 week sac and pole in the right place, no heartbeat as yet but not expecting one with foetal size. Starting clexane today, 16 days to wait until next scan, which has previously been the point at which it all starts to go tits up. But let's think positive!

Brilliant news, Baking.

baking great news :) when is your next scan

Next scan at 8 weeks exactly. Last time it was going wrong by then because there was no HB and measuring behind at 7-8 weeks though did develop a crappy one subsequently.

Can I ask about giving clexane? Have been sent away with only YouTube as instructions ( and the package leaflet) which I was a bit about. First inj really stung and has bruised horribly, am I doing something wrong or is that par for the course?

baking Great news, and I have some suggestions to help with the clexane, as one who bruised horrendously before I knew what to do! I still have a 'shadow' of the first bruise I got, 5 months after causing it!

What I was advised by my clinic to do, and what I found to help the best, was two things. First I transferred the clexane into a syringe with a much, much finer needle - those clexane ones feel blunt as heck! You don't have to do that bit, of course, but it helped me. I was told to NOT pinch a chunk of skin, which is what all the YouTube videos/general advice says to do, but rather very gently stretch the skin with one hand and then put the needle in slooooowly at a 45 degree angle. Inject the clexane in very slowly, and leave the needle in place for a count of 10 to allow it to disperse under the skin before gently withdrawing it. I also then used to ice the area for about 20 mins (actually frozen peas in my case as they're less angular), wrapped in a thin towel of course so's not to freeze the actual skin. With doing all this I found I got at worst only very minimal bruising, and with the finer needle and injection technique it rarely hurt, although clexane itself does tend to sting. I also found that one side of my tummy bruises worse than the other, so although I alternated sides, I tended to avoid the areas that bruised worst. You can also get a spray local anaesthetic which helped me no end with the original needles before I learned to switch to a different syringe with a much finer needle!

Can you tell I like to avoid pain wherever possible? :) Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you arian My clexane is in sort of sealed units, once you've injected a sheath pops out to cover the needle, so I don't think I can transfer it to another syringe/needle. The other question is about disposal, I have had to pay a £7.65 prescription charge for a tiny sharps bin which will take at most 10 of the syringes. 70p each to dispose seems a bit unreasonable, no? Especially when there is no "sharp" once they are used anyway.
I will try the stretched skin technique tonight.

Bakingtins fantastic scan result, so happy for you!

Sue thinking of you x

Luna it was lovely to meet you (and DH/DP/OH ) at New Life yesterday, hope the trip back up north wasn't too tiring! I'm feeling cautiously hopeful now after that first consult with Mr S. Will have to see what the blood test results show though. How does your experience of him compare to the people you've seen before?

I had a saline scan yesterday and no blockage was found. Had some spotting after (sorry if TMI!) so pathways seem to be clear so to speak! Have been given Provera to induce a bleed and hope that AF will be back on track before too long... Feel at least there is progress

baking Yes, I have the same clexane syringes as you. You can still easily transfer it into another syringe, if you want to, as that's what I've done. If you ever want to know how, ping me and I'll let you know what I do.

As for disposal, well that's a bit of a laugh. I get my sharps bins from Selles Medical website, cost me £6.56 inc postage for a 2-litre 'bin', and that holds stacks of syringes. Disposal of the bins though, that's another matter altogether. After asking all over the place I ended up being told that the only place to get these disposed of is by your local council and you have to pay unless you have a registered condition such as diabetes (and even then some people have to pay, depending on how tight their local council is). I assumed the GP surgery would take them; I was told not. Neither would the hospital, or any pharmacy. Sucks, really.

village Good to hear about your scan result, fingers crossed for the resumed AF cycle before long!

I'll be if they won't take the bin back after making me pay for it! The pharmacy said the treatment room take them but I haven't tested this theory yet.
I'm actually going to see if I can get one from work (I'm a vet) I'm sure we pay a lot less than £7 per bin for disposal and that's for a big bin. Can't see they'll mind as long as I'm paying.
Ridiculous though - what is Jo Public supposed to do with the sharps? The temptation to just chuck them in the normal rubbish must be huge!

I managed to get rid of a single needle when I was having a routine NHS blood test. I think if you ask at reception they'll say no but once I saw the phlebotomist she didn't balk at it. And I think I gave one to Louise when I had an appointment. Another is still sitting on my shelf in its box from my last pregnancy. I feel slightly attached to it :)

My gp has put a sharps bin on my repeat prescription for free. The pharmacy attached to it swap my full one and then give me a new one on the prescription. You get free prescriptions once you are pregnant anyway!

Hmm Perhaps it's just my cr@ppy area where no-one will dispose of sharps bins then. Wouldn't surprise me!

My pharmacy are just jobsworths then. Last time they did tell me I could have free prescriptions since I was pregnant, but if I didn't get far enough to get a maternity exemption certificate I would then be fined (for miscarrying FFS)
I feel like I've spent hours and hours in the pharmacy in the last few weeks. It's a 20 min walk so at least an hour round trip by the time you've waited patiently to be told they haven't passed the prescription through from GP, haven't got whatever you need, will have to order it, you should have known you had to order a sharps bin.... It's easy to see how chronic illness could completely take over your life - just getting your medication is a full time endeavour! They don't seem to co-ordinate the medication either - it's 10 days of this, a month of that, a random number of pessaries because we only have a half open box, so it all runs out at different times. I've tried to be proactive and order a month of it all but we will see what I actually get.

Hi everyone...

Belly thank you for your wishes
Brownstag thank you too

first lot of intralipids was extremely uneventful (not sure what i was expecting lol)
My first scan isnt until 31st Octob which would make me 8 wks but i OV late this month so will prob be measuring smaller..
For the first time i dont feel the need to rush in to my nearest EPU for a scan.. its strange..

Sue try (as hard as it is) to stay positive dont give up hope...

Baking thats really good news..

xxx

Thanks for the tips arian I got on much better injecting yesterday.

Hi all...

Apologies for silent treatment Village had a crazy time at work and home and have only just been able to catch up with everyone's posts. It was great to meet you too. Mr S was very direct and to the point but I felt listened to which made a nice change. Just really waiting for the test results and the meeting on the 28th when I get my treatment programme. In the meantime am on Vit D, aspirin, Pregnacare plus Omega 3. Not sure if to take anything else as not too sure what may react with what.

Sue I absolutely agree with Team, it is so hard to stay positive and I know from my own experiences that you don't want to tempt fate but you never know. Do you have a private clinic anywhere in the area that you could get a scan for your own piece of mind and sanity?

Ari great advice regarding the injections. I have a form of haemophilia so bruise really easily anyway so your advice sounds really helpful. Mr S wants to prescribe me Clexane which should be interesting (as he's asked me to start aspirin too). Think my DH will have to wrap me in bubble wrap to prevent any cuts.

Question for you all - has anyone ever experienced sensitive skin whilst taking/after taking Pred? I had a facial 1.5 weeks after finishing the last tablet and have had a TERRIBLE reaction with a rash from my forehead all the way down my neck. It's now drying up and only my neck is sore but it has definitely felt like being kicked whilst already down and having not fully recovered from the last mc. Just wondered if anyone else had experienced this or am I just lucky

Waves and hugs to you all

Also have another question to ask you all. Which is the best fertility monitor to get? Have always just used Clearblue products but wondered if anyone knew of anything better?

Hi Luna glad you got such a positive feeling from meeting Mr S. I liked his straightforwardness and readiness to sort things out. Re fertility monitors: I've always used the Clearblue 'dual hormone indicator' digital ovulation test - the one that gives you your two high fertility days followed by two peak ones. Am grateful to have a nice simple smiley face beaming at me, rather than having to interpret cryptic colour bands! Think I'm going to invest in their fertility monitor now, unless anyone else knows of a better one...

When I was tracking ov for natural TTC I've always used both the Clearblue Fertility Monitor as well as, because I'm possibly obsessive, the Clearblue digi ovulation sticks after 3pm, simply because on one occasion my surge was picked up by the OPK when I used it at 6pm but it had gone by first thing the next morning so the CBFM didn't register a Peak. I'm a belt-and-braces kinda gal ;)