Immune /natural killer cell treatment when ttc or pregnant (aka the 17th pred thread!)

[Hula2]

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

Hula lovely to hear from u :) it's so weird after years of obsessing to stop. When I found out re dh sperm I totally stopped but couldn't help but be aware of my cm! It felt so counter intuitive so see it and not even try! But I hope u have peace and happiness with ur choice and please keep popping in :) x

Thanks so much for the thorough explanations Sunny and Hula! It really is a new obsession to add to the others isn't it!

What size would you trigger on? If it was ready to pop would you trigger that day?

On my last scan which was day 9, i had a 24mm follicle which was the biggest i d ever had ! , he had said trigger that eve but dh was away so he said do the next morning. Previously when i d had two around day 10 they were usually around 19-20 mm and he d usually say trigger that eve or next day. I think you usually want them around 18-22mm to trigger. Usually you ll ov 36hrs after the trigger.

Hula- thank you thank you thank you for the info! This is an area which isn't as easy to google as others...

Yeah, hula's still here! It's actually only my third. We lost a couple of weeks because we got a bfp on holiday and then the jelly fish is measuring nearly a week ahead.

So glad there are lots of people here who understand SO, it just bamboozles me.

Can't wait to hear from rosa, hoping it went well and she's home with her little one now.

another night in my own, hate when DH works night shifts.

Like hula I only triggered when I was told to by Dr s/louise but generally was eve of scan or next day depending how big the others were not just the one which would pop!

The GD is ok, not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm diet controlled at the moment but my morning fasting bloods are creeping up so think I'll be on metfirmin next week to help control them. Don't really want to go on meducation as it limits my options for birth plus I'll probably have to be induced early. I have an appt with my cobsultant tomorrow and a scan so will be interesting to see what they say! I'm 31 weeks now - I can't quite believe how I e got this far!

sunny 31 weeks is amazing, you must have an great bump! It sounds like they're taking really good care of you.

Hi all! I haven't been diagnosed with NK cells yet but I'm hoping it's ok to ask a question. So we've been trying to get pregnant for 11 months with no success. Had internal ultrasound, SA and bloods which all look good apart from slightly polycystic ovaries. So today we saw a new non-medical fertility specialist and I mentioned I have rheumatoid arthritis (which I have in all other appointments) and straight away she said that was probably the issue.
She's recommending that I have a biopsy to check on my level of NK cells but I've also read you can have a blood test, so I'm just wondering if any one can tell me the benefits of having biopsy over the blood test?
Thanks for taking the time to read

Hi everyone.. Sorry it's taken so long to get on and update and I still need to catch up on you all too.

The amazing news is I have a healthy wee boy.. He's gorgeous (despite the years of stress , heartbreak, drugs that worked as well as those that didn't and all the complications I had towards the end!)
I am so very lucky I know and hope you all get there too ASAP.
While I'm not and never will complain I am having a tough time right now as c-section was pretty traumatic as spinal block didn't work properly and I'm now suffering post op aches on top of the expected sleep deprivation and sore boobs as milk came in at same time as cracked nipples so they are engorged... Will get through all that of course somehow.
Please message me if you ever want to bounce anything off me - I know everyone's different but I went through most of the many drugs Dr S prescribes inc those for SO.
Will check in again soon xxx

CONGRATS ROSA!!!! Such wonderful news to see you've got your happy ending and beautiful baby boy in your arms. Take care of yourself- and don't forget us! We need you to continue inspiring :)

Congrats rosa. Enjoy every min and hope u recover soon.
Lots of love xxx

So very very pleased for you and your family rosa, I'm sure it fell like an age to you but the time has really flown and I can't believe you're little boy is here, safe and sound. I hope you have a speedy recovery

Fantastic news rosa - so happy to see your news! Hope you have a speedy recovery xx

Wonderful news Rosa such lovely news! Hope you're feeling better soon. Enjoy every moment of those new born snuggles, you more than deserve your happy ending!

Hi everyone else - nothing going on here. All very boring! Hope you're all ok!
Happy shagging drttc

My sister in law had a baby girl! Darn it, there goes my perfectly reasonable excuse not to tell anyone haha

I actually ordered a 'baby on board' badge from tfl yesterday, I think I'm making progress.

panda I just saw your post. I don't think there's any real difference between biopsy and blood test except obviously one is more invasive and the biopsy will test the natural killer cells in your uterine lining. I think everyone hear has had the blood test but if you'd like more info on the biopsy a lot of the ladies on the recurrent miscarriage thread in 'body and soul' have had one with professor quenby, i know you don't meet the criteria but they're very friendly and would be happy to answer any questions about the procedure.

Hi snoopy thanks for replying I will definitely see if anyone can help me on the recurrent miscarriage board.
Congratulations on your pregnancy btw!

Thank you panda. Hope you get the answers you need, good luck.

Congratulations rosa!! Wonderful news and I hope you recover soon and things settle down.
Hi panda I've had both tests. The uterine one with dr quenby wasn't pleasant. Not to put you off but I found it painful. I took the sedative and had gas and air. And what surprised me was that it was desribed as a biopsy but it was a scrape! My results from that test were normal so no treatment was recommended apart from cyclogest from ovulation but this delayed my period so was told to stop that. I went on to have a third miscarriage so then had the bloods done with dr shehata which came back with high complex nk cells. So I'm now on his programme.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you've other questions

Massive congrats Rosa. So pleased to hear he is here safe and sound. Wishing you a speedy recovery and feel free to message me if u have a baby/feeding questions. (Ds had tongue tie for the first month so i can sympathise with feeding difficulties and may have some tips that can help). Anyway enjoy every moment with him, you and your dh so deserve it. X

Hi Billy thanks for taking the time to reply. Sorry it was painful! Doesn't sound nice at all but if it provides some answers then it will be worth it.
Where is Dr Shehata based? From what you've said I presume Professor Quenby only does the biopsy so I guess I may also have to consider a blood test if the biopsy doesn't show anything. I have a feeling it will though, I always thought my arthritis might have something to do with our difficulties.

Hi Panda, dr S is mainly based in epsom but also does a clinic once a wk (monday) in harley st. Have you read Alan Beer s book (Is your body baby friendly ?) it is really worth a read and certainly from what he writes if you already have another immune based disease then you would be high suspicion for immune repro probs.

Hi Hula thanks for the info. I literally ordered the book off Amazon earlier today so will be getting my nose into it pronto! Clearly some Drs don't hold the same opinions about autoimmune diseases and reproduction because when I went for fertility tests I mentioned it and she didn't even bat an eyelid. Makes a lot of sense to me though.

Ladies i m struggling......

Unfortunately after a cumulative of nearly four years ttc it means that even without opks and temping i can t not know when i m ovulating. And that means that there s still a little bit of hope even tho we re not supposed to be officially trying. So when after knowing all day and hoping that maybe we ll dtd it doesn t work out as dh is too tired to take the hint i find myself upset and feeling that desperate, stressed feeling that we might have missed a chance. Which isn t really the point when you re not supposed to be trying......I don t know what to do, dh wants to stop trying as its become too all consuming and i agree (he s happy to not prevent) but a part of me can t let go completely so how the hell am i going to cope every month when my body is screaming at me that i m ovulating and i ve got to sit back and watch it go by ? I want to be able to relax and i want stop trying but it s just not that easy and i feel like until there physically is no hope then i m going to be stuck in this sitution....

I m sorry for rambling and being a downer and i know there s no easy solution, i just needed to vent.

Thanks for being here girls.

Awww Hula! I don't have an answer for you, but I do completely get why you would be feeling this way. I mean, it's a habit (even an addiction), you've fed for years- How can you be expected to stop cold turkey? I say, let go of the habit (not the hope) little by little. Okay, so the first month you got upset... Of course you did! You're use to taking up every opportunity and you're highly skilled at identifying those chances. It seems like you and DH really want to not try/not prevent. Why is that? It comes from the desire to be kind to yourselves after so much hard work/disappointment. Living cycle to cycle for so long is draining and not a real life. You've both recognized that you're in need of some peace. That's what you need to remind yourself when you feel weak- be kind to yourselves. You deserve it. If you're considering taking an opk- remember why you wanted this. The more you know about your cycle, the more you'll be tempted to continue tracking. And if you slip up and get upset- be kind, because it is 100% normal for you to act and feel this way xx

Thank you Drttc. Alot of what you said makes sense. I think part of the problem is a part of me is not ready to let go, not ready to give up completely and accept after all the effort there will be no baby, no sibling for ds. Its almost like doing that is letting someone down, the potential baby ? Ds ? and yes its such a habit that it feels really difficult to stop. Bloody hell this whole thing screws with your head.