Immune/NK cells - pred thread 29

[StillTrying10000]

Starting a new thread as the last was full.

@StillTrying10000 I’m so sorry for your loss. I had a miscarriage at 16 weeks too and my biggest fear is going through something like that again xx

I know someone who had success with Tacrolimus after six losses so I’m interested to hear back. Hydroxychloroquine is a good alternative for those who don’t respond well to steroids, is that right? Low dose aspirin and heparin are in my pregnancy plan along with progesterone so I’ll relay to Mr S when I meet with him, probably next month.

@VenusStarr I’m doing FET in a few cycles. Next cycle is hysteroscopy with EndomeTrio plus immune testing, though I’m unclear on what those specific immune tests will be, which is why I’d like a second opinion from Mr S. I’m also going to Raj Rai for a TEG test. But this is assuming we have a healthy embryo to transfer - got a few hurdles plus PGT-A to get through first xx

@MyEasterEggs sorry you also experienced that. Oww wow that you know someone who tried Tacrolimus and had success, there so few stories out their on the internet about it and this really does feel like my last hope so that's lovely to hear.
Yes hydrox is a good alternative, I'm not sure why but I was just put on it first and only once I had a loss on that was a prescribed the steroids- and this was before covid. Now they have me on both x

Should I cut Omega 3 or any other supplements that increase TH1 cytokines?

Is this ahead of testing @Conundrum12345 or ahead of treatment? I don’t have the answer but am curious to know as I’ll be having testing soon. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will be along to reply to your question xx

@MyEasterEggs I am on steroids, intralipids, Cyclogest and low dose aspirin. I do think he is flexible. He's not changed my medication but he always wants to know how I'm feeling with it so I think he would change it up if I was struggling with anything. I sort of wish something had changed given I haven't fallen pregnant but that's just me looking for an easy fix.

I was initially quite against a break, but now we are here I feel relieved. I'm allowing myself a bit of a mental reset, a few social engagements, a break away with OH and our pooch, looks like my work trip is going ahead. So much gets put on hold, and doing that hasn't got me success, so it will be nice to just have a time out. We will still try, but naturally with intralipids. OH is excited to not be told when to have sex. I haven't reminded him they I still will be - the return of the OPK is looming!

Let us know tomorrow what news you get re fertilisation 🤞🏼🤞🏼

@VenusStarr happy anniversary for yesterday. I hope you managed to have a nice day despite the sadness.
And as I said above, I totally agree with the deprivation of this journey. So much sacrificed and it feels like for not a lot sometimes.

I'm fine thank you. Happy to be having a break but constantly thinking about it at the same time 😂. Worried I'll have a super long cycle as I used to before I was on super ov. But can't stress about that. I was also busy trying to calculate when fertile week might be for my work trip and then realised it's a thankless task that will only stress me out. So I stopped.
How are you?

Sorry @Conundrum12345 I don't know anything about that. Hopefully someone will be able to help

Happy Easter weekend all! Hope you all have fabulous things planned xxx

@MyEasterEggs how did egg collection go today? xx

@myrainbowjourney I think that’s a healthy attitude to have and it sounds like you’ve got some lovely plans. Fertility struggles can take so much. We’ve got to hold onto the happy little moments in between the challenging ones 💛

@StillTrying10000 I don’t know what to think or feel. Started with 20 follicles at first scan, 11 of these were at a good size on Monday, so triggered Tuesday to give some a chance catch up. They’ve collected 10 and 6 were mature so I’m finding it hard not to be disappointed given there will be a drop off day 1, 5 and then with PGT-A. Tried not to get too attached to numbers throughout the process as I know it’s quality over quantity but they’ve dwindled so much already and we have such a long way to go. Recurrent miscarriage is (was) my main challenge. I’ve struggled a bit today. Blooming UTI too so OH away to pick up antibiotics 😩

But…we are where we are. And if I have to do egg collection again next cycle I will. I’m the kind of person that needs to know what they’ll do in the worst case scenario and that’s the plan if it doesn’t work out over the coming days xx

@MyEasterEggs gosh sounds like a tough day. It's so hard not to be disappointed at every update to be honest no matter what they say unless 100% make it which is impossible. It's so true about quality over quantity though- I had 5 collected first cycle resulting in 3 good tested embryos, where as last cycle 13 collected and still only 4 embryos. You just never know but it's sooo stressful. Good luck over the next few days. I hope you manage to get some relief soon and can relax a little this evening xx

@StillTrying10000 I think I was secretly hoping this part would be a bit easier on us after all we’ve been through - like the world owes me that or something 🙃 - but I’ve found it quite tough emotionally and physically. I think I was actually grieving the loss of follicles along the way (and now immature eggs!) so who knows how the next few days will affect me. I’ve actually been pretty solid the whole way through so all these feelings have thrown me a bit. I don’t doubt that the drugs are having an impact xx

@Conundrum12345
Sorry you find yourself here and sorry for your news. Hopefully the testing will give you some more information and a plan can be devised. It's so hard, thinking of you.

@myrainbowjourney
Enjoy the break, the pressure csn be so much sometimes for both you and partner when you think you are paying for all the treatment etc. Definitely go on the work trip, we have put so much on hold then you feel it's wasted!

@VenusStarr
happy anniversary, its such a sad feeling of remembrance but hope you could enjoy some small moments. Sunday will be hard for us as we lost our last baby on Easter Sun last year but going to try to put a brave face on it whilst with the family.

@MyEasterEggs
So sorry to hear it didn't go as well as expected. I don't know much about IVF procedures etc (yet!!) but sending luck and best wishes.

I'm seeing some friends for the first time in 2 years tomorrow and feeling quite anxious. They have all gone on to have a second baby since I last saw them but felt I had to reach out whilst back at my parents. I think it would be worse if I was still on the plan though, all the different pills probably were making the depressiom/anxiety worse.
Wishing everyone a good weekend. Xxx

This group is so lovely and supportive. I hope we all get through this

I look at friends who have had no problems and think how unfair life is

Give me strength 🙃

They were able to inject 9 in the end and all 9 fertilised. I’m a bit confused about being told there were 6 mature eggs - maybe they keep maturing after? - and pleasantly surprised by the result. Next call Tuesday to find out how many made it to blast for PGT-A as they don’t give updates. Kind of relieved as I don’t think my nerves could cope.

Looking forward to a some R&R now the antibiotics have kicked in and hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend xx

Great news! So good to see some good news. Fingers and toes crossed for you xx

@MyEasterEggs oh that's fab news! I'm so happy for you. What an exciting weekend ahead. I hope the news continues to be as positive as this update.

@89Hope you're totally right, it all gets a bit much doesn't it. Then you feel too invested to allow yourself to do anything not based around TTC. It just gets a bit full on. Definitely going to make the most of the break, because once we are back in it, it might be a short route to ivf as the next step and we can't step away from that.

How are you doing?

What a beautiful day. I hope you are all having lovely days xxx

Hi ladies
hope you're all enjoying the lovely weather.

I wanted to ask if anyone else has similsr experience with this.....feeling frustrated. Since my ectopic pregnancy i have had 2 periods (irregular but i guess to be expected) i am now on Dr S pre conception plan plus a low dose of thyroxin as apparantly my TSH was slightly raised (doesnt look like it was raised to me on the paperwork)
I always have a 10 day luteal phase and now im on dpo 12 and no sign of period at all. Ive read the side effects of thyroxin can be irregular periods. I also had a hyfosy a few weeks ago so im putting the later period down to one of those 2. Its just really frustrating as im kind of feeling like taking soooo many drugs isnt really a good thing. I know a few of you have said since taking the pred you've had no luck getting pregnant wheras you did previously. Im just doubting it all now and co sidering going the natural route but i would kick myself if i got pregnant again and miscarried.
Im waiting for my period so that i can start super ov so this is VERY frustrating. Never ever had a luteal phase longer than 10 days

Had to get that rant out! Xx

Thank you @89Hope @myrainbowjourney certainly feeling more positive than I did the day of collection so fingers crossed for good news Tuesday!

@Tgrf55 I’m afraid I can’t answer your Q but I’m interested to know, what is Dr S pre conception plan? And what was your TSH? My clinic want mine to be around 1. Recently it crept up to 2.6 (normal by GP standards but not fertility clinic standards) so my dose was upped. I have subclinical hypothyroidism so have been on thyroxine for a few years now.

@MyEasterEggs mine was 2.9 from memory so as you say the GP wouldn't bat an eyelid. Were your cycles affected by thyroxine? Im only on 25mg per day. It may not be that but i feel so frustrated im looking for something to blame i guess. It just seems odd.
My pre conception plan is 200mg CQ10 twice a day, omega 3, pregnacare, vit D3, metformin and inofolic. The last 2 should regulate periods so very confused. Xxx

@Tgrf55 I have been taking thyroxine for a year now. If your thyroid isn't working effectively it can affect periods as all your hormones will be affected, even slightly. As a result that could be what's caused your shorter luteal phase in the past, now it's being regulated it probably has extended your cycle due to its knock on effect to all your other hormones (but for the better). When I first got diagnosed with under active thyroid after my first miscarriage my periods went to 17 day cycles, after being medicated they went to 26 days 😘. Keep us posted over the next few days. If it isn't that like you say it could be your body regulating after the ectopic. Wishing you all the best xxx

@FfayeN thank you, that's really helpful. I never actually thought about my 10 day luteal phase being linked with thyroid. Hopefully maybe its just making that longer then which like you say is a good thing. I'll keep you posted. Terrible lower back pain today (another new symptom post ectopic!) So maybe AF is on its way. Thanks again xxx

@Tgrf55 as pp suggests this could be a positive change in your cycles, but also bear in mind that any new treatment may have an adverse affect initially, just while your body gets used to it. It’s been normal for my cycle length to fluctuate before settling as I adjust to medication. I also take metformin and inofolic and they didn’t regulate my period straight away. I’d say it took a few cycles for things to become more predictable xx

@MyEasterEggs it’s only been 3 months since my ectopic and I had a MMC 8 weeks prior to that at 10 weeks so my cycle is probably all out of whack too :-( I’m being impatient but I just want to start my super ov programme now but need my period for that to happen. And of course … the more you want your period to arrive the longer it takes lol. Xxx

I'm currently waiting for AF to arrive too, I was really hopeful this month as it was my first month of trying since my last MC (I conceived first cycle after two of my previous MCs) but I've been tracking my basal body temperature and it has dropped in the last couple of days so I know AF is on her way. I feel a strange mix of disappointment and relief - that desire to be pregnant but also fear of being pregnant too.

My local RMC wrote to me this week to say they are now taking part in the CERM trial, and that I might be eligible. The treatment is a 14 day course of Doxycycline, but you have to agree to use condoms for 3 cycles because they do a biopsy before and after the course of antibiotics and you can't risk being pregnant during the treatment or biopsies. I don't really want to wait that long as I don't feel like time is currently on my side, but I've read you can order the same antibiotic privately through the likes of Boots/Lloyds/Superdrug as a prophylactic for malaria and also as a treatment for chlamydia, so I'm going to explore that. I've taken Doxycycline before but I can't for the life of me remember when or why, or whether it coincided with any of my previous MCs or my successful pregnancy. Hoping it's worth a shot anyway!

For now I'm going to enjoy the lovely sunshine we're having, and am looking forward to a hot bath later (something I no longer dare do if there's any chance of pregnancy) x

@Tgrf55 3 months can feel like 3 years on this journey so I know how hard the waiting is. Hang in there and wishing you all the best when the time arrives xx

@Sezmarelda1 that’s interesting as I’ll be taking antibiotics once I get a positive pregnancy test (a while off as I have a few hoops to jump through first) and have previously been treated with doxycycline for endometritis. So I wonder if that’s what will be prescribed xx

That's really interesting @MyEasterEggs. How did you discover you had endometritis if you don't mind me asking? That's what the CERM trial is looking at - the paperwork suggests that around 50% of people with unexplained recurrent early miscarriage are likely to have endometritis which is quite staggering really. I've had two early and two late losses so I'm not sure if it could be a factor for me but it's worth covering all bases. I do feel a bit guilty for trying to avoid taking part in the trial by getting a private prescription of Doxycycline but it's so much to personally invest - 3 months of not TTC plus the 50% chance of getting a placebo. I will have a dig through my medical notes at some point to see if I can figure out what I had Doxycycline for as I know I've taken it before, just can't remember what!