Immune / natural killer cell treatment when ttc or pregnant (aka the 15th pred thread)

[sunnyday01]

This is a thread for those diagnosed with high or very high natural killer cells and trying to concieve or are pregnant and taking steroids/intralipids etc

Newcomers very welcome

Who would have thought having a baby would be such a pavlova. It's so unfair! This wonderful time in our lives is like the most stressful awful time! But hopefully we will get there in the end and it will all be worth it and the sad memories will fade away.
Seeking , keep busy and postive till Thursday.
Hope rosa logs on soon...

Ps determined have u bought the other headspace app? I'm just on the free trial for now - would u say it's worth it

I've not yet no...I got so busy with work and this hen that I stopped and I've defo noticed a difference...I felt ill and down after all the stresses of planning and juggling work and did my hypnosis last night and feel loads better! Back on head space tomorrow.

Starting proper Hypno on Friday to help me come to a decision, calm down and also not be a mess next time I get pregnant (if there is a next time!) I would say go for it as you have a big thing ahead of you and it's not that expensive in the grand scheme x

Hi all ..
Seeking -Iove the idea of il telling the nks to piss off.. Probably helps to actually visualise that! We're all rooting for you of course ;)
Trying - I know how you feel about birthdays .. And holidays..being marred my miscarriages and/or early pregnancy stress and sickness.
Tomorrow I'm 39 .. The scan was what they expected this morning and put me at 9+3 so will do Harmony next Wed and not sleep at until the results come 2 weeks later.
I've still chronic back pain but managed to book a Physio appointment today .. Walked (baby steps and wincing!) for half an hour only to be told they made a mistake a booked me in in a practice in another city and they had nobody left to help me today!! I had to remind myself it wasn't the receptionists fault ...grrr. Then I got lots of cramps and a (tmi sorry) thrush type stinging. So now worried my 'most exercise in 2 months' has done me damage, and for nothing! I'm in coffee shop with a peppermint tea waiting for my DH to rescue me... Oh dear!! X

Ps total fan off headspace and hypno. I'm spending so much on tests and accu etc that can't afford to do all but you can re-do the 10 day sample of headspace and then just visualise everything working as it should inside plus dial up the colour and detail of your vision - that's the basic concept that was used on me anyway, but of course better to have someone support you through the process. X

Rosa am so thrilled for u. That's great news. Enjoy ur 39th bday pregnant ?? and happy.
Ps when u have spottimg did Mr s tell u to rest up? I've always gotten on with work and wonder if that did more damage, if I ever get preg again and I spot I might try not moving!

Thanks Trying. Be hard as not told anyone but going to try!
Yes totally agree. My accu lady says rest, rest, rest and don't move or travel and take it easy. But official advise from most GPs is it doesn't make a difference. When I had spotting at 5 weeks Louise said it wouldn't matter what I did but she did say take it easy. Think perhaps more for emotional health! I say DEF take it easy if you can. All of my miscarriages were during stressful work times. I have the same again now but worked from home last 2 weeks and taking next week off. Will try put myself first so know no matter what did everything I could. Who knows if it makes a difference though.. I hope so though x

That's fantastic news Rosa! So thrilled for you!! Hope you have a lovely birthday. Today you are pregnant!
I've got the headspace app. And I've used a couple of pregnancy meditations from you tube today. Feeling a lot more relaxed.
DrS said last night there's not a lot you can do to stop/prevent spotting. I did ask about my usual exercise regime and he said to lay off that. My accu is very much rest rest rest too!
Hope you wonderful ladies have a lovely weekend.

Hey trying definetly stay with us we re with you all the way !

Yep i had my bloods drawn wed to rck cytokines after the 2 humira shots, praying i m not in the 5% that go up...!

I also had a really good appt with a fertility nutrionalist to work out the best supplements and diet. Here s some of the info i got in case its helpful for any of you guys:
For immune probs aim for an antiinflam diet so avoid gluten, alchol, refined carbs and trans fats. Limit animal protein so aim for mainly fish, red meat no more than once per week, get lots of protein (75% should be vegatable protein) with every meal but esp breakfast (i m rubbish at that), loads of fruit and veg esp orange ones for the beta carotene, beetroot juice really good for blood flow.
As for supplements she increased my epa so 2-3000mg per day as this is antiinflammatory and added magnesium and a different type of vid d as my vit d is only about 70 despite 9mn of 5000iu per day and she said over 100 is better (if magnesium is low u don t absorb so well). She also suggested Resvertrol to decrease cytokines. Probiotics for good gut health. For egg quality 300mg co enzyme q10 (as ubiquinol) and pine bark. She couldn t advise on dhea specifically as its a hormone but said many ivf clinics do this for ladies with low amh with good results so i m still thinking about that one.

Rosa really hope your scan went ok today.

Sorry ladies missed a whole page of posts !!

Yay Rosa great news on the scan x

Hey hula, when do you get your results? Fingers crossed for you x

Interesting about the nutritionist...I was low in magnesium too and have to increase my oils (despite been taking them way before even getting married) and now take bit D as a spray instead of a tablet. I've just started taking probiotics too (not on my nutritionists plan but read so much on it) and also co enzyme (but not that much) glad I feel there is something I am doing that experts seem to agree on! Interesting about reservatrol...that in red wine? Ha ha! How much of that will you take?
Did you end up spending loads on their supplements or do you buy elsewhere...in spending an absolute fortune!!

Happy weekend to everyone! Hope the sun is shining x

Hi ladies, sorry for gatecrashing, I hope you don't mind me popping in to ask a question. I was wondering if somebody could tell me the difference between prednisone and intralipids? Are they both used to treat NK cells? Are they ever taken together? I am having ivf and my doctor has agreed to treat me empirically with prednisone and clexane after implantation failure but I wasn't sure about the intralipid bit and what that is used for?

Hi lucie. Think I've spoken to u before! That's great they will empirically tx u, I hope it does it majic!
Intralipids are different-they are a drip bascially with a lot of calories! Somehow they coat the nk cells and stop them from attacking. They are a bit more controversial than prednisolone, some places used pred alone with v good sucess. But the consultant we are under mr shehata in London, and I'm now under ivf consultant in uk do use intralipids alongside pred. U have a drip before ivf, at a bfp, then at 6,8,12 weeks. Hope that Helps and hope ur feeling better

Happy bday rosa!!!! Treat ursrlf to some I'm sure the pred will ca down any inflammation it causes!

Happy bday rosa! Enjoy your special day xx

Thanks for my birthday wishes Determined & Trying ... Managed to get through day without usual drama of thinking something was wrong and also found clothes to avoid Qs and gluten free pizza and cupcakes :) looking back though I had no preg symptoms and I've none today. I know this can be normal at 9+5 but given I've had MMCs I'm going to be worried. Next scan as part if Harmony test on Wed.
Oh has anyone ever sneezed felt like they pulled muscles across their stomach - agony?
Hi everyone else and hope you're having a happy weekend xx

I've also had no symptoms Rosa - I said this to DrS and he simply replied with 'steroids'. It's hard though. I half wish I was puking every day!
Glad you managed to enjoy your birthday

Hi everyone, to quickly poppedin to catch up!

Great news rosa and seeking, keep the positivity going! It's about time we had good news on this thread. Happy birthday to you rosa!

Determine- that's very interesting about nutritionist - I think you would find the deliciously Ella and hemsley&hemsley books interesting and all full of delicious looking recipes! I follow a nutritional therapist in Twitter who has an interest in fertilty and she recommends everyone takes magnesium! I have been taking it for a few weeks now. Let us know hiw you get on, I'm a big believer in eating to make you better - not that I really follow that ethos!!

I'm still just waiting it out until DH has his next sperm test, not decided if going back to p&p to do it, or to do it privately. Then once we gave results will seek advice from Dr s about way forward. I must admit it's quite nice not having to think about all the stuff that goes with SO and the treatment plan. We are still trying while we wait - if it happens it happens I'm not stressing too much about not being in the drugs.

Seeking - I know I got that answer too, just I have had symptoms..hmm. I've to start weaning off at 10 weeks so from Wed, so will be interesting. Let's just keep smiling when we can and hoping!
Sunny - nice to hear from you. Sounds like you've got a calm head on things all considered. Agree I'd not worry about drugs at this stage - so many are fine jumping on the medication from BFP. Nutrition fascinates me too. Totally believe it's as powerful as drugs if you know what you're doing.. Can be time consuming and expensive though. But I'm just trying to eat colourfully, without gluten and chucking in a teaspoon of macha and spirulina when I make a juice - lucky if that's half the week! X

Try not to let it worry you Rosa - I know that's hard. You're scans have all been very encouraging. You are so close!
I agree that the Deliciously Ella and Hemsley and Hemsley books are brilliant. My diet has taken a bit of a nose dive lately - we're in between houses at the moment, living out of boxes until remove into our permanent home next month. Just another stress to add Ito the mix. Perfect timing! Not!

Seeking how stressful! Hopefully the move to the new house will be a sign of a start of good things for u :)
Rosa glad u had a good bday. When is ur next scan?
I'm struggling to not go google mad! Am worried I'll get a bfn at the end of it all and ivf won't work. Then there's the miscarrying if it does work. Only got a 30 percent chance of it working according to national stats..I keep worrying between failing ivf and then miscarrying after a BFP! Need to switch my brain off . Really wish we had just gotten preg again like the other 3 times. Sometimes feels like the world is telling me to give it up. Surely infertility and miscarriage isnt something easy to overcome...
Sorry for being down in the dumps!

Trying - its understandable you feel this way but when you finally get your bubs (and i really believe you will) you will treasure each moment so many more times over because of the journey you went through. I believe that those who fought tooth and nail to get their babies make the most amazing mummies. I know it won t seem much consolation now but stay strong and just take it day at a time. That is all anyone can do. Oh and try and ban yourself from google (hard i know!) maybe try to get stuck in a good book and divert yourself to a few pages of that if you feel yourself weakening !

Rosa so glad you could enjoy your birthday. Wednesday is not far now so stay positive. (Also try not to worry about the no symtpoms, i had very few with ds until third tri).

Seeking what a nightmare with the move, i guess up side is it may help keep you distracted.

Sunny good to hear from you and glad you seem more chilled, fingers crossed for a good res of dh test, sperm can really vary loads either way.

Determined i m going to ring and see if results are back tomorrow. Re the resvertrol yes its the stuff in red wine but sadly nutristionist rec i take in supplement form (200mg twice daily) instead ! I m getting supplements all online (amazon for alot of them).

A random question for you ladies, do you get breast sensitivity in the tww and if so when ? Last couple of cycles i ve had really sore boobs from about 3dpo to af. Don t know if this is a bad sign as usually only got full boobs in the week before af. My progesterone was good last month (when i also had sore boobs) so i dont know what to think. Prob should just not try and overanalyse things !

Trying thanks so much for explaining the intralipids. I've asked my doctor whether she thinks we should use that too but I have a feeling she might say the pred and clexane are probably enough for now seeing as I haven't actually been diagnosed with anything.

The move is kind of helping to distract me. Gonna have a busy few months!

Totally echo your point Hula - I think when we all finally get our babies we're going todo much more thankful and appreciative of every little second.one day at a time is all we can do.

My boobs only ever hurt in tww when I'm pregnant. It's the first giveaway.

Hi ladies! I'm quietly reading along :) To all of you who are ttc or waiting- I feel you! You're are so inspiring and I love that we can give each other that push forward when one of us feels weak/down. You're all amazing!

Rosa and Seeking- so happy things are going well! Love following a positive story :)

As for me- I'm in the clear blue trial at the moment which means I got a free ovulation kit. Last month I couldn't detect ovulation with the kit, but this month I got a peak fertility smilie on day 12 :) That in itself felt like a victory! Now on CD14 so officially in the tww. Well more like 11 day wait because I have a 25 day cycle! I'm not even going to bother symptom spotting because I really worked myself up last month with it. Louise had told me to start progesterone on CD16, and I've decided I'm not starting steroids until CD19. I'm delaying the steroids so that I'm only on them for 5 days instead of 10 (if I get a bfn) because I'm convinced they are what messed up my cycle!

~sending positive vibes :)~

Thought I'd revive this as things are heating up and I think it's hard to keep track of everyone's history. Feel free to add your details and repost or correct me if I'm wrong!

Thought I'd update the list with my results!

3rd Trimester
Hopender- (38 yrs old) 7 miscarriages, one DS, Was on pred, cycolgest, baby aspirin and intralipids. Now only baby aspirin! (29 wks)

1st trimester
Rosa (38 nearly 39yrs) - 3 MMC
(11.5, 6.5, 7.5). 6 months ttc on treatment. On complex programme for high NK, cytokines and thyroid antibodies (hydroxy, pred, intralipids)- had allergy to Humira. Also on SO programme. (8wks)

TTC
Sunnyday (32 yrs)- high nk cells - hydroxy, pred intralipids - 3 mc (1 on treatment) also doing super ovulation - round 1 (got bpf on round 5 last time)

Tryingno1 (30 yrs old)- 3 mc. Ttc since April 2012. 5.5 weeks, 9 weeks, 6.5 weeks. High nk cells. Pred and intralipds.

Hula2 (39 years) - one DS (took 18mns with low amh but no other probs), one MC at 9wks, ttc no 2 19 mns (12mns since last mc), low amh, borderline cytokines, high nks, on complex nk plan (pred, intralipids) about to do Humira for cytokines.

Drttc- (28 yrs old) 3 MCS (6 wks, 4wks 2 days, 5.5 weeks), very high NKC on complex treatment plan: hydroxy 2x day, 25 mg pred from ovulation, add cyclogest on bfp & Intralipids every 4 wks until 16 wks. Testing on May 28th.

lilliesandchocolate (32) 1 mc, 1dc, 5mc, 2nd dc on pred and cyclogest and the vitamins, 1mc. Now hoping dc3 happens with pred,cyclogest,intripalids and the vitamins.

WTTC

Determined123- awaiting (retest) results. 4mcs (2 on treatment). PCOS, Borderline NK Cells and v.high thyroid antibodies.