Immune/NK cells pred thread #34

[Hopeandfaith1990]

Hi all, started a new thread as the old one was full. Not sure if this is the way to do it but I've c&p'd the list of people on the previous one as much as poss:

Old thread here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/conception/5228367-immunenk-cells-pred-thread-33?page=40

@Jecca88
@Gizmo1983
@Deerdancer34
@Objectiontime
@SWMum9
@TammyinCork
@Newbeginnings22023
@Fletchasketch
@Morgan236
@CarpeDiem75
@ALittleLight
@MC8
@venusStarr
@Gizmo1983
@Carportforme
@Meg310532
@Newbeginnings22023
@recurrentmis
@hopefulH
@v60
@lozzmax
@fleur89
@motherofshihtzus
@sunflower360
@kea1990
@sprinkleofbabydust
@star2022
@rumandspinach
@ems123456789
@rainbowsunshine81
@mamaw05
@thornters
@elarcoiris

No I haven’t mentioned that I stopped and started.

I left a voicemail with EPU today to book my scan. I think for w/c 29th Dec.

keeping everything crossed!

This is what I meant to include above:

@Hopeandfaith1990Oh that’s interesting… maybe there’s been a new paper that’s come out and they’ve changed their view on it? I hadn’t seen it myself and I’m surprised their wording is so against it…

i went to see dr edge today for my first super ovulation appointment. One follicle looks good size wise but another is lagging behind a bit so I’m triggering myself tomorrow evening. She said my lining is satisfactory but on the thin side so I’m also taking estrogen now. Literally swamped with meds but feeling positive!! Maybe the thin lining (as well as stress) is stopping me from falling pregnant… so I’m working on both of those things now. Still off work but have been angry at them as they are paying me statutory sick pay (SSP) after five days of consecutive sick leave (£118/week). How can anyone live on that?! Doesn’t help when you get a £1.1k CRP bill either 😫😫 anyway, trying not to worry about money and enjoy my time off.

Lot of love to everyone xx

Hey guys - I have been following this chat for a while. I am under Dr Shehata’s complex plan and am about 4.5 weeks pregnant on the first month of trying on the plan which I am very shocked by. I had 2 miscarriages this year - the second we tested and it was euploid so knew there was something pathological with me. I have PCOS, hashimotos, reactive arthritis in the past and high NK activation and tilt. Someone here mentioned a thin lining which is the same as me - I opted for PRP on this cycle and it worked well initially!

Totally empathise with everyone’s health anxiety. Truly awful after loss. I am worried I have ectopic (some left sided ache) so going to EPU on Monday to see if they can confirm for me.

Either way so many you have had such a terrible time and I’m thinking of us all as we navigate this great misfortunes!

Hi @LoudAquaMooseand welcome to the chat! Really hope your appointment with EPU goes well on Monday and you don’t have ectopic - put your feet up this weekend and relax. I’m interested to hear more on the PRP - how does it work exactly? I’m on estrogen this cycle to give my lining a bit of a boost as I only found out about this on CD10. Thanks in advance and let us know how it goes on Monday

Hey @pagey23 thank you! Trying to avoid anything stressful - I’ve been told that by my acupuncturist and naturopath today!

So with the PRP they take your blood and spin it in a centrifuge. Then inject the plasma into your womb - pretty quick and done at the same appointment as intralipids. This should be a few days before you ovulate. My lining is thin, it was 5.9mm a few days before ovulation and should be more than 7mm ideally. Then when it was checked again a few days later it was 7.3mm which is really good! I then wasn’t sure if I had ovulated as my bbt didn’t go up so then went and had another scan because I didn’t want to take steroids unnecessarily. In that scan at 3 DPO it was back down to 5.9mm again.

So in summary it seemed to have a temporary effect in thickening my lining but I’m sure there will be other benefits though that remains to be seen. It seems especially valuable for those doing IVF who get cancelled cycles because their lining isn’t above 7mm. If this pregnancy doesn’t work out I would do again!

Interesting thank you. I didn’t realise they actually did it at CRP - I assumed it was something done externally and just ruled it out as I thought it would be expensive. At 10DPO my lining was 6.1mm and I’m taking estrogen three times a day now to thicken it. I keep taking that until pregnancy test day which is New Year’s Day. Other options are viagra (!) or PRP.

Find a good Netflix series to binge today and take your mind off things. Have a good Sunday everyone! X

@pagey23 yes dr shehata suggested prp and advised against Estrogen for me specifically. I think because of the amount of medication we’re all on but also because it’s a very new thing for them. It’s one of Dr Edge’s new passions (isn’t she wonderful) and they only do a few month it seems. Def ask about it - very new and not well researched so Estrogen is a safe bet if you want something that should work.

Will do. Enjoy your weekend too!

Evening ladies. Hope you’re all well.

I have my scan date now. 7 and 9 weeks under NHS recurrent miscarriage clinic. They can’t see me until early Jan which will be 7 weeks 5 days. I was hoping to have a scan earlier than this to ease my mind but I guess by this gestation it will be a no brainer. Rather than scanning earlier and it being too early to see heartbeat, for example.

feeling a strange mix of excitement and nerves

@SWMum9 amazing news, gentle congratulations my love. you can always try and get a scan at EPU ahead of that. I always go to kings they are very good.

@Hopeandfaith1990 i totally relate to the scans - they just don’t get any easier. When is your next one?
I am nearly 16 weeks - which is mental. Had a massive scare today. Went to the loo this morning and had some brownish/pink spotting and just shut down and thought the inevitable. I called EPU and they said not to worry and if continues call back tomorrow and if turns to red go to A and E. Was supposed to be travelling today to my sister in laws to stay and hopefully share our news but cancelled and just have been resting instead. I have had such a busy week and had a scan on Friday and all was good. Maybe just been overdoing it and they did an internal scan to measure cervix length so hoping it was just irritated. Just reminds me that anything can happen at anytime. I want to be hopeful and positive - but why does my body do this to me! 😓

@pagey23 good luck on trigger. I also had Brazil nuts and vitamin E and beetroot to help thicken my lining. Not sure if they are myths, but it did help for ivf.

welcome @LoudAquaMoose and gentle congrats. Keeping everything crossed for you.

@Jecca88 that sounds really scary though really hope things are ok. Have you had anything else since?

I went to Kings EPU today and they can what they think is an early embryo and confident ectopic has been ruled out. I go back in 2 weeks - similar timings to you @SWMum9 ! It seems like my pain is related to Corpus Luteum Cyst - even with the US wand it really hurt!

@LoudAquaMoose amazing news and such a relief to rule out ectopic. I find kings so good for that. I called CRP today and they said the brown spotting is most likely due to the TV ultrasound and I should worry. I have had only a little bit more today but even lighter. Got a scan tomorrow so hoping and praying he is alright. Xx

@Jecca88 so sorry my love, that’s stressful and not what you need. In a similar-ish way, ive been having brown discharge since my scan at 6+4, over 2.5 weeks ago. It’s been on and off and I’ve had two positive scans since it started so I’m trying to stay positive but every time I see the brown cm I feel worried. Every man and his wife on the internet say no to worry about it but it’s so hard not to. Positive vibes for you lovely. It sounds like you’ve had a lot on and most likely it’s just slightly overdoing it a bit - rest as much as you can. It sounds like it’s almost certainly the cervix being annoyed about being poked and measured! What meds are you still on?

I finally bit the bullet and registered with NHS and have had my 12 week scan appt through etc but I’m going to try and get in with the EPAU next week to have one at 10 weeks.

Welcome and gentle congrats @LoudAquaMoose so glad they could rule out ectopic, are you booked in for another in a few weeks? Xxxx

@SWMum9 good to have them booked and yes with this pregnancy I didn’t want a scan until at least 7 weeks to be sure but I ended up at 6+4 due to spotting but I felt the same as you.

@pagey23 sorry about your work situation, not what you need to be worrying about when ttc is stressful enough. For thin lining I neck the beetroot and pomegranate juice daily and did all the thinfs @Jecca88 said too.

hope everyone’s okay - hi to @Gizmo1983 how are you doing?! And @Objectiontime? Long time no speak but thought I’d check in Xxxx

Meant to say they said shouldn’t* worry lols

Hello everyone,
@Hopeandfaith1990 I have been off this thread for some time, I know!
So firstly, huge congratulations to those of you who have recently got good news on the pregnancy front. So lovely to read that we are having some real positive news.
To those on here who have not had such a great time of it, know that there is always hope, love and camaraderie on here.

I have been following the thread in the background but i felt wrong staying here and butting in too much with others just starting their journeys or struggling. That said I guess that it is important to us all to have positive stories.
I am now 33 weeks pregnant and things have been going well so far. As some of you will know, I had high NK levels and my cytokynes were very much out of balance. I was recommended to have prednisone and intralipids but had to go with just the prednisone as I am allergic to certain intralipid ingredients. Started the prednisone from ovulation. This particular pregnancy was slower to happen than those where I had losses so I was on and off the pred for several months. I ended up staying on the pred until i had confirmation at 20 weeks that the placental blood flow was good, since an additional blood test at 13 weeks had shown that there was still some some inflammation, despite the steroids. I did start tapering at 13 weeks but stayed on 5mg until 20 weeks.
Consultant at local hospital said he wanted baby delivered at 37 weeks as he knows quite a lot about NK cells and immune issues (I am so relieved I didnt get one of the many non-believers!). He says that sometimes ladies with immune issues have more chance of placentas giving up the ghost earlier but I think opinions differ on this. Not sure if Dr S would normally recommend early delivery unless essential. I was not with CRP so I dont know.

Hope you all have success and beautiful babies very soon and enjoy a peaceful and happy Christmas. I will be around so will check in and see how you are all doing regularly x

Yay. That’s good news!

I think Kings looks like it runs similar to St George’s in that you can drop in?

We are heading to stay with family tomorrow for Christmas and I’m hoping this will take my mind off things. I think I’ll just wait for my RM clinic reassurance scan at 7 weeks 5 days. Even though I’m desperate to know things are okay.

But so far good signs. No blood, strong test, little bit of nausea and sore boobs. So just got to keep positive.

Those of you ladies who are further along… did you wait for the first reassurance scan before registering your pregnancy with your hospital? My gut is telling me to wait for the scan but equally I don’t want to delay any appointments.

Twice before I’ve registered a pregnancy, miscarried then received the ‘congrats’ letter from them which was super hard

@SWMum9 I actually waited until 9 weeks this time, just couldn't face it before that. I had had 3 scans by that time and thought i should probably get on the midwife list x

Lovely to hear your update @Objectiontime I find the success / positive stories soo helpful to be honest, especially when it can like a far distant reality. I’m so glad you’re doing well and wow not long to go now, how exciting. Were you taking hydroxychloroquine by any chance? X

@Hopeandfaith1990 thanks for your reassuring words. It is very common i think and went to my Obstetrics appointment today and they did a doppler scan and his heart is still going very strong. So relieved and actually think i just prefer that to a scan. I am 16 weeks today and back at CRP next week for another Scan and Intralipids. I stopped the aspirin whilst i have the brownish discharge. I think i might continue on the progesterone till 20 weeks, will see what Dr Edge says.

@Objectiontime so nice to hear from you and wow 33 weeks, how are you feeling? has the anxiety got any better? Thats great you have a good consultant at the local hospital that isn't totally against the Immune stuff. I always find it so hard to navigate with the NHS when i list all my meds lols. Do you know what you're having?

@SWMum9 if you can wait - do it till the 7 week one. I actually registered with NHS after my 12 week nucal scan with the CRP. I just couldn't face all the appointments if we were going to lose it again. They fit me in s quickly for my NHS scan and midwife appointment and understood why i waited.

Merry Xmas everyone xx

Hi all,
@Hopeandfaith1990 I do know what you mean. It is encouraging to know that we can have success despite our immune issues and I always found reading others'positive stories made feel more hopeful. No hydroxy, just the prednisone on the immune side. I did have progesterone to 14 weeks but only as a precaution, not for any known concerns with my levels. I am also on low dose aspirin and have been since before conception.

@Jecca88 I am well but very tired :) Not that I am complaining of course. Yes, it is a bit luck of the draw when dealing with the NHS. I am having a little girl. Was obviously happy either way :). Brilliant that you are now 16 weeks.

@Jecca88 so glad it went well, the Doppler must be lovely and reassuring. Rest up and look after yourself, happy 16 weeks ❤️

@Objectiontime 100%, especially when it’s been a long and exhausting journey. So lovely youre having a little girl, congratulations. I agree, I’d be over the moon with either , I think the difficulty of this journey makes you realise that!

I spoke with the EPAU today and I’ve got a scan booked for a week today. It was really triggering and draining going through my history again, even though the midwife on the phone was so lovely I just felt like crying after! But happy
to have a scan booked. Anxious about going back to the EPAU as it’s never been a positive place for me before but here’s hoping that’ll change next week 🤞🏻🥰

Merry Christmas all - so grateful for this group and you all. Xxx

It’s soooo great hearing these positive stories and gives me so much hope!! Congrats to everyone - it must be so lovely to be pregnant this time of year.

my journey continues to plod on BUT I’m on my first round of SOP and it went really well. Omg what a relief it is knowing exactly when you are going to ovulate - it’s soooo less stressful! I found triggering myself quite hard. It took us about 15 mins and at one point involved me lying on the kitchen floor (!). In the end I just couldn’t do it so my husband found some courage to get it done for me. I should have ovulated yesterday but today I had lots of EWCM which confused me so we just did it again today for good measure. I need to take a pregnancy test on New Year’s Day. I’m definately going to keep up with the SOP - it’s so much better and wish I had been able to do it earlier.

My husband and I also bought a baby blanket and wrapped it up to put under the tree - it’s an old wives tale but is meant to bring you luck. Anyone else done that?! I thought it was quite a sweet idea…. Husband bought a blue blanket though 🤣🤣

have a great Christmas everyone! Lots of
love and thank you for the support. Here’s to a great 2026 for each and every one of us. We bloody deserve it!!!!!

Well done lovely - the first injection is such a headf* but it gets much easier!! Fingers crossed for you and what a way to start 2026 that would be ❤

I did the baby blanket last year! Kept it under there this year too for good measure haha xxx

@SWMum9: Many congratulations... Such lovely news for you and your OH before Christmas!

@pagey23 A very useful affirmation - thank you for sharing! Wishing you all the best for the superovulation.

@Hopeandfaith1990: Tommy's were always against NK cells treatment, from what I remember - they don't believe it's a thing. It's the reason their clinics rarely prescribe steroids, unless a lone doctor goes against the "script" / turns a blind eye. Sorry the call with the EPAU was so draining... They don't seem to realise that asking for people's histories over and over again is so exhausting for them!

@Jecca88: Congratulations on reaching 16 weeks - an incredible milestone :-D

@Objectiontime: Great news that you have reached 33 weeks! Hope all is going well with you.

@LoudAquaMoose: That's amazing re: the ovarian PRP and good to know that CRP offer this!

Sending good wishes to everyone, and hoping 2026 is good to us!

In terms of my updates, I was able to go ahead with our first cycle of IVF in Alicante. I was on Pergoveris and had my egg collection on Christmas Eve (ouch - I was sore for several days afterwards and am still not 100%). 9 eggs collected, 8 mature, 7 fertilised. Now waiting to see how many make it to blast in two days' time... We will then have PGTA testing.

Are these OK results for 42 years old (husband is 40). We had ICSI and the Spanish equivalent of Zymot, called SpermSlow.

I think that’s an amazing result @TammyinCork!! Especially because your drop off ratios are low - eg I went from 20 to 16 to 9 etc. so it bodes well for quality I think. Congratulations and rest up - recovery from egg collection was far more challenging than I’d expected. Super good luck for the development and keep us updated xxxx