Immune/NK issues - aka Pred Thread no. 21!

[Tee4me]

Roll call for all moony faces!! 🌝🌝🌝

Waiting for our rainbows 🌈❤️💛💚💙💜

Tee4me
Age: 34
TTC DC#2 since December 2015
x2 MCs (second was 'missed')
DS turns 5 this month 😱
Seeing Dr Shehata - diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and aggressive NK cells
Currently on cycle 2 of Pred and week 6 of Thyroxine
CD10, expecting to ovulate at the end of the week 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

@Megan234 so sorry to hear about this :-( i was about to ping you to know how things are, as i m going to start hydroxychloroquine myself.
take good care of yourself! Sending lots of love xx

@zarala did you have your scan today?
I hope all is well and others are doing okay too xx

@DaniMERL hey sorry totally thought I'd responded! I am 12 weeks tomorrow! 🙏🏽
Scans so far have all gone well 🙌🏽 can't really believe it!

I am however looking huge! Like I look at least 5 months pregnant- I don't know if this is from the drugs? But I've blown up everywhere - I'm normally very petite! I didn't ask dr s about this I forgot

And a dark moustache and side burns appeared and hairs on my chin! I went to get waxed this week and the beautician said she'd never seen such strong facial hairs 🙈
And I have chest acne and some on my face- things I have never experienced before!
Dr s said these are normal side effects and will actually get worse before they get better as I start weaning off the pred tomorrow!

Small price to pay though if this continues to develop normally! 🙏🏽
It's really starting to get real and exciting now and I am so hopeful for the next few months 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

How are you doing?

@zarala oh wow so glad you replied. I was starting to worry!
That’s wonderful news although those side affects do still cause me concern, if with the amazing reward! Out of interest, have others noticed a lot? Either people who know what’s happening or those that don’t?
I’m so very pleased for you.
Nothing to report here. Cycle 3 and I will be testing on tues morning but yet again feeling nothing at all so no hopes. I have felt slightly more relaxed this month in terms of not continuously recalculating what CD I’m on as though it’s going to magically change each time I do it. So, the waiting game continues...

*even with the amazing reward

I told my colleague and she said she didn't notice anything! Not the facial hair or the bad skin and she's the type to be blunt about stuff! I mean my husband didn't even notice! So maybe it was just me! But it was definitely obvious to me!
As for the weight no one has said anything! My gay best friend commented that I was looking slightly fuller (he doesn't know I am pregnant) but that it suits me! So I guess a lot of it is in my mind- I do feel huge tho and have just ordered a couple of maternity jeans so...big 12 week scan tomorrow I'm quite nervous as I have to go alone but hoping all will be ok!

Good luck for testing tomorrow! I really hope it's your month!!! 🙏🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽

@zarala fx for you! Please let me know how it goes. Amazing to have got to 12 weeks :)

Well I ended up testing today at 10dpo (as always) and got a v v v faint line. As faint as could possibly be. I had some pain before this - like someone is squeezing my left ovary and then some brown/pink bleeding for the rest of the day. So I’m already a bit stressed out! Only time will tell and I need to buy some more tests.
The clinic have said wait 48 hrs to test again and they can squeeze me in thurs for intralipids if need be.

Hi all, thrilled to see this thread still going strong! Just wanted to give you an update. Not sure many of you will remember me, but I was one of the girls TTC from about March last year. Just wondering if @Drttc and @Bala03 are still kicking around since having their bubs?!

After two MCs two years ago and countless cycles of TTC disappointment, I am pregnant! Just had a scan at 8w4d and we have a strong heartbeat.

I’ve had every scare in the book, including bleeding and clotting due to a subchorionic hematoma and also despite being told my first HCG levels were too low and I’d probably miscarry. Just shows anything can happen on this journey. Doc says I have 85-90% chance of going full term this time, factoring I’m slightly higher risk due to the hematoma. For now, I am feeling good!

In the end for me it was a combination of low dose Prednisolone (5mg for an endocrine disorder, not NK cells), progesterone supplements, baby aspirin and an alternative therapy called MORA bioresonance which I had a few days before I ovulated.

I hope my story can provide a little encouragement and/reassurance to some of you. All the best! xx

@DaniMERL ooh! Fx for you!! I couldn't possibly wait 48hours before testing again- keep me posted I am rooting for you!!

@PoppyJ1 congratulations! And fx for the rest of your journey! Keep us posted on how everything goes

I'm just about to head out for my 12 week scan on nhs. I'm quite sad as my dh can't come with me and it's the big one where they measure everything and you really get to see the baby! But oh well- got my big girl pants on....

Thanks @zarala. Giving you a virtual hand hold from here! Sorry DH couldn't be there but that's life with so many of our men! All the best and hoping for good news xx

Thanks @PoppyJ1 !
Scan went perfectly! All looking normal
So relieved! So grateful 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Hi @zarala, congratulations! Great news that all is well!

Congrats both @zarala and Poppy J1! Lovely news. It must feel wonderful to have reached a ‘normal’ 12 wk scan @zarala!
Well obviously I took a million tests last week. The first 2 were faint positives but then that was it! Period came as usual in the end. All v strange and v frustrating.

Thanks DaniMERL. I’m so sorry to hear about your disappointment. Did it seem like a normal period?x

@PoppyJ1 yeah it was really. Medium flow but maybe a day shorter than usual.
I don’t know what to make of it. I was convinced I was pregnant and thought the bleeding was implantation. It all seemed to match. The lines were faint but not as faintest I’ve ever seen. Then nothing! Get frustrated at the money I waste on stupid tests!!
It usually takes about 3 months to conceive so I thought this was our month. Meh.

Strange. Any chance they were evap lines?

Sorry to hear that Hun, it’s so horribly depressing and disappointing. But please don’t despair, it r ally does happen when you least expect it. We had 11 failed cycles in total after two MCs and my doc said in March do four more and then IVF. I wasn’t ready for IVF and I conceived on the fifth cycle just to make a point! 😂 10w4d today 🙌🏼 It was a couple of weeks after I’d had my endocrine mess tweaked and I also worked out we’d messed up the timing a few times without realising xx

@poppyJ1 possibly they were but they were v pink lines and there were no lines at all on the later tests of the same brand. I’ve a feeling that there was implantation of a fertilised egg but nothing progressed. Just wasn’t meant to be I guess! At least I didn’t waste any time with this one. So I am now on cd10 and about to start the process again... this is the best part of the month where there’s a little hope.
Congrats again, it’s lovely news.

Awww DaniMERL, that’s so hard. Sorry Hun. Great attitude though and yes, best part of cycle. You’ll get there soon x

By the way @PoppyJ1 what is the MORA bioresonance about?

Ok DaniMERL it’s quite a strange alternative treatment. It hooks you up to a machine that connects to all the electromagnetic oscillations in your body. It detects balance, inflammations and indufficiencies and monitors your body’s response to various substances (food). It’s a German invention and the treatment I had in Australia, where I live now, was based on the meridian points of Chinese medicine with a bit of homeopathy. Most doctors will say it’s rubbish and in terms of non-Western medicine it’s kind of up there with chiropracty, as opposed the more spiritual therapies like crystals, etc. I was sceptical at first but I was willing to try anything I believe it helped with fertility and a few other issues (like a nasty, persistent eczema patch fading the day I had it done).

Here’s a link to one of the main info sources on it:

mora-akademie.org/mora-therapie.html?&L=1

Im afraid I can’t recommend anyone in the U.K. because I’ve just discovered it. But I do know some UK and other practitioners have a similar machine called the Vega machine, which I understand works similarly.

Wow thanks!
It’s so hard to know what to invest in isn’t it?
I’ve done plenty of acupuncture and have just got back in touch to see her again. I’m not sure I’ve seen any direct success from it but I like the holistic approach and the encouragement to eat healthily and understand the impact that diet, stress, sleep patterns etc have on our bodies and cycle. That all makes total sense to me.

@poppyJ1 forgot to tag you

Yeah it’s definitely hard to choose what to invest in with so many different approaches out there, many of them contradictory! I think it’s hard to go wrong with acupuncture though, because even a lot of western doctors agree it works and I think it’s even available through some NHS trusts.

Hello, I have been lurking for a while and have visited Dr S’s website a few times. Wondering what you ladies think; would be so grateful for any input!

Age:40
1 DD age 18 months
DX of Hashimotos with high antithyroid antibodies.
Never been pregnant naturally (to my knowledge)
IVF 1- Chemical pregnancy
IVF 2- added prednisolone and got pregnant with DD
FRozen transfer-with pred again: Chemical pregnancy

I am wondering if I would be a suitable candidate for Dr S? I have always been given the diagnosis of “unexplained infertility” but I honestly think that my Hashimotos/autoimmune issues are why I could never conceive naturally. No other issues ever found.

Questions:

-would I be a suitable candidate?
-does Dr S see people from all over the U.K.?
-How much does he cost?
-do you have to take Pred for months on end while TTC (this scares me as I find taking Pred hard!!)

Thanks in advance!

I should add, TTC naturally for 3.5 years before getting pregnant with DD.