Immune/NK cells - pred thread 28

[myrainbowjourney]

Hi Ladies

New thread 🥰

If you comment to hold your place. I'll try and tag as many as I can xxx

Thank you @VenusStarr that’s good to know. That means we have about 3 months or so to recover from this last mc and get the body ready again for ttc. Last 2 mc I felt like I wanted to try again asap however I’m so drained now, I will welcome the little break.

It’s so good to hear about your scans @treesall and @Lozfish! ❤️

In regards to NK cells research etc, I do feel it’s worth trying and I do think even though not ideal to have a heavily medicated pregnancy, it is our journey and based on data it’s very safe even then. Other than the huge financial investment, it’s a no brainer for me to try it. I had to convince my partner though who is more skeptical but I have a medical background so he trusts my judgement and has finally agreed to it! 😅

@Lozfish that's fabulous news about your scan. My early scans also varied by a day either way from my dates but a day is nothing and very normal. Dr Jan was really reassuring about my 8w scan and was quite confident if all was ok then we were in with a really good chance.

@Arwen7 I'm a little bit hippy on this front in that I prefer not to take medication unless I reallllly needed to, but I ended up just having to go against all my instincts and go and see dr s and trust his recommendations. I didn't have any side effects from the drugs and feel very grateful that I was lucky enough to be able to have his treatment. X

Thank you @treesall that has really reassured me ☺️ ❤️

Hi ladies, firstly can I say I'm sorry you all find yourself here, you're all heroes and this is such an amazing community and helped me a lot in the past.

Wondered if I could ask a quick question... bit of background I had 5mc's and then at the beginning of lockdown 1 we were fortunate enough to conceive our little girl. We saw Dr S after mc 2, but for one reason and another (pred, prices & bedside manner) we never did the plan in full...after mc5 and during lockdown I just bit the bullet and took the pred after ovulation (had always done it after conception) as we were locked up anyway and it worked. We'd love to try again, but given our history and I have low amh and am 40, nearly 41 we need to get on with it asap.

So my questions are
(1) for those who are taking the pred are you having to effectively shield? I have had my vaccines but obvs it affects your immune system so I was wondering what the advice was?
(2) for those are doing the SO program could you give me an indication of costs?

Thank you so much in advance and sending positive vibes to you all x

@Countrygirl220 congrats on your little one! I’ve not been told I have to isolate but I have been warned I’m at higher risk due to suppressed immunity so I try to stay away from people as much as possible which is fairly easy for me as I can work from home and don’t have any children yet.
My SO cycle cost about £1,500 - consultation £195, blood test £295, drugs including trigger shot £230, scan £275, intralipids £380. It was nice to be given an exact window to have sex rather than having to try every other day for a couple of weeks ☺️. If it had worked I’d then have more intralipids which adds to the cost but SO wasn’t successful for me. Good luck! x

Thank you for your reply @Annabell1 and wishing you all the very best! 🙌🏻🙏🏻🤞🏻

Has anyone else tried dex instead of pred?

@treesall I am just like you so totally get you and I always try to avoid any medication, pills, have always gone for the alternative route. However I am so defeated that I am up for taking everything and anything that may help! Hope I don’t get many side effects either however it would be a small price to pay :)

So I went to the gp who only ran very basic tests on me. They are reported as normal, no further action needed. In terms of thyroid function, only checked for TSH and it’s come back as 4.01. I believe the ideal pregnancy levels should be below 2.0. Does anyone know anymore in regards to this? Thank you x

Hi @Arwen7

Below 2.5 is best for conceiving, I would say 4 is too high, especially as those numbers would jump higher in pregnancy, Amanda Tozer treated me with a TSH of 2.54, bought it down to 1.99, conceived and it jumped up to 2.77 so had to double my dose for 4 weeks, it’s actually a little low now so back on 25mcg which was my initial dose!

Might be worth checking for thyroid antibodies also if you haven’t already, you can get the full panel on medi checks I believe x

I thought so @Kelspj and thank you. I will try to speak to the gp on Monday but I think they will say it’s within normal limits. Seeing Dr S for a first appointment in Dec, I wonder if he will treat me for it and I guess that’s going to delay ttc as will have to wait for the meds to kick in! X

Thank you @NImama. 💕 I'm crossing my fingers for you as well.

@Arwen7 I agree with @Kelspj your TSH should definitely be lower. My Endo likes it to be at around 1 and I was treated with a TSH of just above 2.

Does anyone on here had a haematoma before? I thought my pregnancy was progressing well, 7 weeks now. But then I had a huge bleed 2 days ago, thinking everything would be over again. It just feels like a bad dream. I had a scan and luckily everything was still there and a heardbeat beat was detected, but its measuring too small. The doctor recommended bed rest and to wait.
I know there is not much we can do. Its just so frustrating. Hopefully the little bean will stick and grow.

How is everyone? Sending lots of love Xx

Sorry to hear about your scare @Annabell1 - I haven’t had a haematoma before but my pregnancy was also measuring small at a scan at 7 weeks, I haven’t had another one yet, we have one booked in for Thursday, she said it was nothing to worry about and early pregnancy can be off by a few days, how many days under are you measuring? Xx

Thanks @Kelspj. I'm crossing my fingers for your scan on Thursday! 🤞🏻
I was on holiday for the past two weeks so I had to go to a local hospital in Greece. The gestational sac measured 5+4, but I should have been 6+5/6+6. I'm going to see Dr. Tozer tomorrow for another scan. The local Doctors were not not too concerned about the size either as its still so early and there was a heartbeat.
They were more concerned about the haematoma and said it could go either way. At least I'm home now and can rest. Xx

@Annabell1 - good luck for your scan with dr Tozer tomorrow, please let me know how it goes! I think different machines have different capabilities too and amazing there was a heartbeat!

Rest up xx

@Kelspj Yes I was thinking the same. I will keep you posted. 😊 Xx

Hi All, I'm new to this thred so just wanted to say hi.

I'm 5+2 following a 5day transfer and have my first scan with Dr Shehata on 11th Nov. I'm very anxious as I had a missed MC last FET and only found out at the scan (that was before immunosuppressants so hoping they will make all the difference).

Any tips on how not to count down what feels like every minute of every single day?!

I had another scan today and all looked good. The haematoma looked much better as well and I'm OK to move around again. But the best thing was that it's now measuring 7 weeks. What a relief, at least for now.

@Kelspj I'm crossing my fingers for your scan. Let me know how it goes as well.

@RosieLeeD Welcome to the thread. I think most of us know exactly how you feel. The first few weeks are so hard. Try to relax, don't read too much and keep yourself busy.

That’s great @Annabell1 - so happy all looks great!

Thank you so much, getting nervous now, just hoping it’s caught up in size :(

Thank you @Annabell1 and I'm pleased that all went well with your scan. All the best to you @Kelspj as well.

I am 5w +3days and had a few spots of dark brown blood early this morning. I've had some mild cramping since the transfer but nothing severe. Can this be normal? I have just emailed Dr Shehata's office and my IVF clinic so I will wait to see what they say but perhaps they will send me to the EPU. 😕

Thank you @RosieLeeD!

I’ve definitely experienced mild cramping so far throughout this pregnancy, I had brown blood/dishcharge in a previous pregnancy and the EPU wouldn’t scan me as I wasn’t in major pain or bleeding bright red, I have read many stories of brown blood in pregnancy being nothing to worry about, fingers crossed for you and let us know! Xx

Thank you @Kelspj, that is really reassuring to hear. I had a complete melt down this morning! I contacted the nurses at Dr Shehata and they told me to stop the aspirin but otherwise didn't seem too concerned and just asked me to let them know if it continues.

All the best on Thursday, my first scan is a week on Thursday so a little while longer to go.

@Kelspj I think we should remember that every human being is different and they are still so tiny. Hopefully it had a growth spurt. :)

@RosieLeeD Agree, brown spotting doesn't always have to be a bad sign. And stopping the aspirin is probably a wise thing to do. I got the same recommendation. Take it easy and stay hydrated.

Thank you @Annabell1, I feel a bit better about it this morning and there hasn't been much more at all. Did you come of the aspirin indefinitely or did you go back on once things settled?

@SunDance21 how did you get on with your second adalimumab injection? Are you onto phase 2 now?

We have moved to phase 2 which for us is the normal prednisolone/intralipids and have started it this cycle. We didn't have time to get the intralipids before ovulation though, so have skipped that part, hopefully it won't make too much of a difference (except to our bank balance 😂). I'm currently 6dpo so will test on Sunday at 10 dpo as per his instructions but just feel like it would be too lucky to catch on cycle 1 of the treatment - I'm sure the universe will make us go through months of waiting and expense before that BFP!

Thanks for thinking of me @Amy00. I am due my blood test next week but can't make it so it's the week after. It means that I'm probably out for this month as I have to wait two weeks for the consultation and my blood test is about 1wk before ovulation is due.

I'm feeling so deflated by it all. I feel like my whole world has just stalled and the rest of the world is spinning. It seems like every week there is a new pregnancy announcement.

Good luck!! Sending you all the baby dust for this month ❤️ ❤️

@RosieLeeD I have stopped the aspirin for now but will ask my doctor if I should continue to take it when I have my next scan. I just want the haematoma to heal. I would just ask your doctor to be on the safe side. Are you on progesterone as well?

@Amy00 Crossing my fingers for you. ❤️
@SunDance21 Keep your head up. Xx