Recurrent Buns - Miscarriage Testing and Beyond! Part three..!

[Julezboo]

Not so imaginative as lunatic !

Part One HERE

Part Two HERE

There are a mixture of Pg ladies, new BFP's (YAY) and new ladies who have sadly had to join us and are going through testing. Lots of OMW's and hand holding here!

Sit down, grab a cushion and a hot choc and get comfortable.

LAF I am so, so very sorry x

laf so, so sorry for you. i'm sure we will still be here if you feel like talking it through in the future.

all the best. xx

Thinking of you LAF. I am so very very sorry. I really hope you get all the answers after your referral and you are back to tell us you are enjoying a healthy pregnancy!!! xxxx

LAF I'm so very very sad to read this. Please look after yourself and use the holidays as a time to heal.

julez a 8-9 pounder! Bet your glad he's coming through the sunroof! But also very pleased to hear you sounding a bit happier, it's been a long old slog for you but you're nearly there now.

And welcome Laura, sorry your post has got a bit lost in amongst the news. Very sad to hear your story. It sounds as though you now have a clear a positive plan of treatment for your next pregnancy which is the best anyone could wish for after suffering so much. Are you ttc now or still trying to work up the courage?

Not much news from me. Having acupuncture tomorrow, hoping acupuncturist can help decipher my temping chart.

julez you'd be looking at almost 10lb if left to full term! My DD was 9lb 5oz and she was huge, although 14 days overdue, so extra time to grow a bit more! She went straight into 0-3 month clothes so I hope you have plenty and not too many newborn stuff! Eek, not long to go :)

digi Good luck with your acupuncture. Do they specialise in fertility then? They have a good knowledge of temp charts? I'm so very tempted, I'll have to do some research.

LAF once again, so very sorry. I really waffled on before because I didn't really know what to say. But sorry is enough so I'll shut up now. Take care xxx

digi the acupuncture clinic I go to specialises in fertility and menstrual problems as well as all the usual suspects (IBS, insomnia etc). Each session costs a bomb but then it's on Harley Street so to be expected. The guy I see looks at my charts, usually at the end of a cycle and it helps focus his treatment for my next cycle. I've been going since my second miscarriage - and it really helped to regulate my cycles. I had a PERFECT chart the cycle I conceived, so I know that the mc wasn't down to any hormonal imbalance.

I think I've finally ovulated. Everything has firmed up and I've got back ache. First of all 'woohoo' first egg since MC body is finally getting back to normal. But unless my luteal phase has shrunk I'm going to have AF over my night away with DH on the 5th. Boo. Fingers now crossed that I have one of those mid-AF breaks where I stop bleeding for one day, only to resume the next.
(or, you know, the other thing happens that I'm not really thinking about)

duh! I meant baubles of course, not digi. why would I be talking to myself??

digi haha love the I think we are kind of in the same position as you. We are TTC but we aren't. We're just shagging now AF has gone. It was exactly 14 days long. But I think long periods is normal with PCOS so I'm not overly concerned.

And Harley Street?? Blimey! Mine would be on my high street Good on you though if you can afford it and it helps then that's fab. I'll look into it after Christmas and see what's about in my area and for how much.

:) for ovualtion. I started my OPKs two days ago and actually got a line yesterday. A pale one but a line all the same. The ones I did before AF were all totally blank (unless I did it wrong) so that's positive news. I have a bit of hormone somewhere

Hope everyone else is well, hope you manage to post before Christmas. If not have a lovely time :) xx

Back from lovely relaxing snooze at acupuncturist's. He looked at my chart and agreed that it definitely looked biphasic and that all that spotting I had was actually a period as it coincided with a drop in temps. So for the first time in ages I've hatched an egg earlier than day 23 which is amazing for me.

He also thinks I'll be due AF next Thursday - which may mean that I get the worst of it over and done with before the 5th!

Got an email from one of my NCT friends, held my breath as I opened it expecting a pregnancy announcement, but no. Just wanting to see us in the New Year...probably to announce her pregnancy.

Haven't been bothered to phone my EPU for test results, but will go to UCH tomorrow and get those other thrombophilia tests done anyway. Might as well cover all the bases.

LAF all my love to you and your DH at this shitty, shitty, desperately unfair time. I fully understand your need to get away from the thread and just hibernate for a while. At least you have closure now and I hope your referral will start 2011 on a higher note. I hope, if they find anything at all, it is minor and treatable and that you will have the family you desire and very much deserve soon.

Be very kind to yourself over the coming weeks and months and we'll no doubt be here as and when you feel ready to return. In the meantime, I'm sending you the biggest cyberhug. X x x

Hello ladies!

Found a bit of wifi near the pool and DS is asleep...

Sorry I didn't get time to say goodbye before I left for holidays, family arrived, everyone got sick and then we went off to the beach, hectic hectic hectic, but everyone is healthy and getting nice tans now!

LAF so so sorry to read your news. Wish I had the right words, but I don't think anything I can say can make it better. So sorry. Xxxxx

Probably wont get the chance to get on much now till after Christmas, so take care of yourselves and have a lovely Christmas day xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello, I've not been on this thread before apart from a bit of lurking but I wanted to ask for some feedback if any of you have experience in this area.

Last week I had a miscarriage. It's the 6th pregnancy I have lost now. The first being a miscarriage, the second two terminated due to chromosome abnormalities, followed by 3 more miscarriages in the last 10 months. I have had all the tests with the RMC at UCH and they have all come back clear. My ovarian reserve is reflective of my age (41) but they said it's not alarmingly low or anything like that but the only thing they can think of that's causing the problem. The latest comment from the two consultants that I saw last week was that egg donation might be my best chance due to the risk of m/c being that of the younger egg donor rather than my own risk but I'm not sure if I'm ready for this step yet.

One way or the other I was wondering about having NK Cell testing. For two reasons, firstly so that I know that if I finally have to come to terms with realising I'm not going to get my happy ending to know I have tried everything, and secondly, a MN member who has been through egg donation said that if I do decide to take that route and immunity issues are the reason I'm miscarrying then I would be even more likely to reject a pregnancy that didn't originate from my own eggs than I already am.

I just wanted to ask if anyone else had had NK Cell testing and whether it had been helpful - ie. whether the test had flagged up a problem and whether taking steroids had meant they had a successful pregnancy in the end. I keep being told how contraversial this issue is and I'd like to hear more about why that is. I asked this on the main miscarriage board but nobody has replied. I am on a really good support thread elsewhere on MN and I have it bookmarked rather than going to it via the main board so I thought it might be worth just coming straight to this thread and asking for the same reason.

I know others have had far worse fights than I have, but after 6 lost pregnancies I am starting to feel really beaten down and that after the RMC testing coming up with no answers feel a bit like they've done what they can and I'm on my own now. I just want to try and do whatever I can to see if I have any chance left.

Hi all,

Hope everyone's Christmas preps are going OK and you're not snowed in!

Glittery I've never thought about it in quite that way before but you're right, knowing about an mc does put people on notice that you're either trying or wanting to. Yet another annoyance to deal with in the whole sorry process! I now advise all my friends even THINKING of TTC to start having the odd night off the booze - and being very blatant about it - now, to set up an alibi for later...

Glad you're still feeling lousy, IYSWIM. IME the whole feeling pregnant thing takes a while longer, even with symptoms.

mumatron Well done on the Christmas shopping - I bought the last gift this morning, but due to snow and losing the weekend to it, we don't actually have a tree . We're off to my mum's for a week day after tomorrow, so now wondering if it's worth it but feel like a horrible Scrooge mummy for even thinking that...

Baubles Owowowowowow. Have had similar (tho not as bad) and it was awful. Hope you're feeling a bit better now?

Digital I actually started telling people about mcs, in the end, in a spirit of education like you said.

Laurabeth Welcome, and very sad to read your story. Really hope this thread can be as great a source of support and information for you as it has for me.

Julez kudos to the not-so-little man! Really sorry you're still so uncomfortable, though.

LAF I am so, so sorry. Know there's nothing on earth I can say to make it better but you are in my thoughts. Fingers crossed that the tests, when you have them, bring some answers and that you will have the baby you deserve so much.

Hi Mummybells, hope you have a lovely break.

Havingkittens I'm afraid I know nothing about NK testing, but am sure some of the ladies here will - sorry for your loss and hope you get some answers, too.

Not much to report - off for my swine flu jab and DS's MMR booster in a minute. More nervous for DS than for me, wish I was going first...

havingkittens so sorry to hear about your losses, and so many too .
I've thought about NK cell testing, but I would have to get this done privately as if I were to be referred to the closest Specialist Miscarriage Clinic on the NHS it would be at St Mary's and we all know Lesley Regan is very anti-NK cell testing.

I asked my consultant about it at my local hospital and she also said it was very controversial due to the lack of research supporting the theory. She said the risks of taking steroids in pregnancy outweigh any benefits they could pose unless you actually have an auto-immune condition apparent with other symptoms (e.g. Lupus or chronic asthma).

From my internet based research I know that Dr Shehata is an NHS Doctor down in Epsom who has his own private practice on Harley Street called The Miscarriage Clinic. They do NK testing and can do this alongside any NHS tests you have already done, so as not to repeat test. I enquired how much this would cost and it was around £650 for initial consultation, tests and a follow up consultation.

If you can afford that sort of cost - then it is totally up to you whether you want to follow that route. I think if I'd had 6 miscarriages I would probably go for it, especially if I had ticked everything else off the list. I have one son, so I'm told there is still a good chance of me having a successful pregnancy next time. I have talked to DH about perhaps starting the ball rolling with those tests if nothing comes up with these NHS ones.

There's a poster on the miscarriage threads here called sotough I think she tested positive for high nk cells after 4 mc's and had a course of steroids, and is now 36 weeks pregnant. Perhaps see if you can find her and send her a PM?

I also know another recurrent miscarrier on MN - but who's not posted for a few weeks - who had the NK tests done at the Liverpool hospital as part of a research trial. She tested positive and was given a course of steroids in her next pregnancy but unfortunately that ended up as molar or partial molar (nothing to do with the steroids though).

Hope that helps.

Hello ladies. Am at the beginning of my second miscarriage and am totally gutted. Can anyone recommend a good book about miscarriage (causes etc)?

Morning ladies, hope everyone is well.

digi Seems like everything is going well for you this month. Positive acupuncturist, ovulation, AF gone in time for your romantic weekend :) :) Did you have your thrombophilia tests done?

mummy at your lazing by the pool. Hope you're having a great time with your family and have a great Christmas :)

frazzled My eye is much better now thank you. After the first night sleeping with the patch on it seems to have rested it and by the morning it didn't hurt at all. Just hoping I don't get an infection in it as I keep forgetting to do my ointment stuff. Hope your jabs went well, or as well as they could have.

kittens Welcome, but sorry for the reasons you are here. digi has offered you some fab advice and I know nothing about NK testing, but I hope you can stick around if you need any more advice :)

brownb I am very sorry for your losses. Lesley Regan has a book about miscarriage and there is also "managing your fertility" by Toni Weschler. These are both available on Amazon. I have just finished reading the PCOS handbook and although it is aimed at sufferers of PCOS is still offers a great insight into emotional well-being and how to combat the emotional stress sub-fertility and miscarriage can cause. It also has some fantastic information on a healthy lifestyle, not just for a woman with PCOS, but across the board, including all the vitamins and minerals, healthy diet, good skin and bundles of information on hormonal imbalance.

There is alot of information out there. Google can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. I would say the best place to start is your GP. If he/she is sympathetic they may offer you some basic bloods to check any hormonal problems. Although the general consensus is that, unfortunately, you have to have suffered the tragedy of three miscarriages before you get referred for investigation. But it is worth asking and you never know. I have also had two mcs. One natural and one missed, resulting in ERPC. I have gone on to have my DD who is 2.8 although I have PCOS and a bi-cornuate uterus. The odds can be against you, as you will learn from this thread, but you can still go on to have a baby. Are your cycles regular? Any underlying issues you may have? I found it helpful to write down my complete history to get a better understanding. Sometimes it can help when it's down on paper.

Be kind to yourself at this sad time and if you have any questions regarding your fertility then please ask us and one or more of us will be able to help.

Baubles How's the eye looking now? Sounds hideous! Sorry about your ridiculously long AF. It's not always easy to remain positive when you have that to contend with on top of everything else, but woohoo for potential ovulation!

Julez Not surprised your consultant was concerned about you throwing up blood. Don't recall you mentioning that, but it doesn't sound great. Do you think it is largely down to the fact that you haven't stopped being sick and you could have upset the lining of your throat or digestive tract? Hope you're okay. Yay for 7th Feb...or a bit earlier maybe!

mumatron You're right I know. I just wish the outside world would piss off and leave me to get on with my madness for a bit. Typical that I decide to finally get pregnant at Christmas. Talk about the most inopportune moment! Hope you're okay. I also hope you're either having the baby, or that your lo waits until after Christmas!

Welcome laura. I'm so sorry for your losses and your frankly abysmal sounding care. Why oh why didn't they listen to you? I can only assume that their knowledge is limited as there seem to be an awful lot of grey areas with these problems, particularly if you are dealing with someone who isn't a specialist in that field. Unfortunately, I'm a bit clueless when it comes to clotting, but there is a wealth of knowledge on this thread, so I'm sure someone will be able to shed more light for you.

banana How are you feeling now? Hope you're recovering well.

digi Loving the nonchalant whistling. Fingers crossed your acupuncturist is right. I bet you're paying far too much for him to be wrong!
I read your post about your NCT friend and physically clenched when you said you held your breath to ward against the sinking feeling that comes with yet another pg announcement. I STILL do that now and I'm one of those evil pg people! Obviously, it's not quite sunk in yet. I'm just waiting for the worst to happen every day. I now have to go and see my best friend who is pg and has no idea that I am. I feel like ringing her and cancelling because I don't want to have to be near a bump right now. It still seems like such an unlikely prospect that I'll get that far.

Welome kittens. I think I may have bumped into you onto various other threads, but I'm so very sorry for all your losses. You've really been through the mill and back. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have little to offer in terms of advice here. I completely understand your resistance to egg donation, particularly if the only potential problem they have come up with might not even be the reason for your losses. I think, if I were you, I'd be tempted to save up and go private, just to make sure I'd done everything I possibly could before preparing myself for the alternative they've suggested. I think I'd struggle with donation as a solution before I felt I had a concrete diagnosis. I really hope you get the outcome you deserve. In the meantime, feel free to moan and rant here all you like.

Welcome BrownB and I'm very sorry for your losses. I haven't personally read any books, although I found this website very helpful in terms of answering a lot of my questions.

pregnancyloss.info/

I'm sure the other ladies here will be able to suggest further books on the subject.

frazzled Hope the jabs weren't too grim and that your DS was okay?

Waves to Mummy, Lunatic, waterplate and anyone else I may have missed or who might be lurking!

Had my first appt with the mw yesterday, which felt very surreal and a bit like a dream in which I was lying to everyone! I've been told I can't have a reassurance scan unless I opt for the nuchal. I wasn't going to bother with any screening, but I certainly am now. It baffles me that they won't do that after all the efforts they go to during fertility testing to actually get you pregnant.

I have to go and drop off presents with my best friend today. I haven't seen her for ages and I'm guessing she's about 19 or 20 weeks now. It's quite weird to know how to feel around her. I don't even want to hug her and I don't really understand why I'm feeling like this. Can only assume it's because I should have a one year old by the time she gives birth and yet I still won't have my baby in my arms by that point. Pathetic and childish to feel this way, but I'll try very hard to be a grown up about it! I suppose there's a big bit of me that is still preparing myself for the fact that it might still go wrong at any time.

Well, I'll stop wittering and wish you all a lovely Christmas now, as I imagine this is the last chance I'll have to get online before we go away to see relatives. I know enjoying Christmas may be harder for some than others, but I hope it will be a time of respite and recuperation if nothing else. I am now going to add a wish for 2011 that everyone on this thread enjoys the success and happiness that they deserve. Here's to a few more solutions rather than problems and several more BFPs! If mumatron isn't too busy giving birth, it would be nice if she could do a spot of cosmic ordering for next year.

Sorry Baubles you must have posted this as I was still writing my lengthy epic...!

Thanks everyone for your welcome and kind words. I took Digitalgirl's advice and PM's Sotough who has been an absolute sweetheart and sent me lots of info. I am going to see my doctor this evening to ask him about referral. I think you can get a referral to Dr Shehata on the NHS but I'm not 100% sure. I will see what can be done.

Glitterybits, I know exactly how you feel about pregnant best friends. I have 2 very close friends who I have known since my late teens, last time I met up with them for lunch the three of us were pregnant. Obviously they both still are, one due in March and one I think in July. I was so hoping the 3 of us would have babies around the same time but sadly that's not to be. Actually, one of them had her first just after my third loss too and unwittingly named her my first choice of girl's name too . Not her fault but it was slightly jarring!

I may not be on here much over the next week. Partly because of Christmas, obviously, but also because my OH has told me that I have been spending so much time with my head in the computer (due to my compulsive need for answers) recently that he's feeling a bit neglected. It's easy to forget the bloke is suffering too sometimes so I'd better go and spend some time with him in the real world.

I really do appreciate the support and welcome though. Hopefully, when my head has emerged from my navel I will be able to reciprocate!

brownb sorry you've found yourself here, it is very gutting . I also read Lesley Regan's book on Miscarriage and found it helpful filling in the blanks that I hadn't got from my hospital.

baubles glad your eye is getting better. And bless your lovely DH with the toast this morning!

glittery must have been v surreal with midwife. Am v surprised they don't routinely offer reassurance scans based on your history. Totally understand your mixed feelings about your pregnant friend. I have to go to a baby shower for one of my best friends next week. Except I've barely spoken to her since finding out she's pregnant. Our husbands run a business together, she was bridesmaid at my wedding, yet...
Hope Christmas passes uneventfully for you and that you can start feeling a bit more confident in the new year.

I did the full thrombophilia bloods yesterday - and dh has dropped his sample off today for a semen analysis. So that's it, we've done all the tests we can possibly do (on the nhs). Feels good to have ended the year with no outstanding tests. Now we wait for all the results. Can't wait to see the back of this year.

Merry Christmas everyone and here's to a much luckier and more positive 2011!!!

DG x

(ps I will still be lurking to check on mumatron's news)

don't have time for full catch up will be back later for that.

still no baby :(

lf hope you are ok, keep us posted if poss. x

Lunatic OMG, so glad you got to hospital.

DO NOT PANIC ABOUT CHRISTMAS. The only thing that matters at all is that you and the baby are OK.

Sausage sandwiches on Xmas Day and knowing that you and baba are safe will be all your DD and DH and family want (and I know you've been being superwoman so I'm sure it won't come to that).

Rest up and keep us posted.

mumatron, fx for something happening soon - or holding off till after Christmas, I suppose?