4 miscarriages and uterine septum

[Yearling]

I had my 4th mc on 26th April and had ERPC last week. I managed to hold myself together throughout but suddenly I have been hit with a massive wave of grief and I?m tired of pretending I?m ok when all I want to do is cry.

I had a hysteroscopy (camera) with ERPC and it looks like I have a uterine septum which can be the cause of mc. I?ll have a follow up appointment with the consultant in a couple of weeks to discuss options, but it probably means further surgery.

Obviously I?m pleased that the cause might have been found, but I?m just so exhausted, emotionally and physically. I?m tired of being prodded around, I?ve had more trans vaginal ultrasounds than you can shake a stick at and all for nothing.

I?m also scared to try again. I wonder how many more times I can put myself through this. From what I?ve read, surgery doesn?t necessarily = baby.

Apologies for the self-indulgent rant. I know many of you are suffering with your own losses.

If anyone has any experience of uterine septum I?d be grateful for any feedback.

this happened to my cousin - 6 miscarriages before the septum was discovered

she had the surgery and 18 months later a healthy full term baby :)

she recently had her second baby

no complications in either pg

so it can have positive outcome

good luck :)

Wow Queen thanks, that is like music to my ears! So good to hear a positive outcome. I had read that scar tissue from surgery could be just as much of an issue as the septum itself, but clearly this isn't a problem for everyone.

Its shit that your cousin had to go through 6 mc first though. Makes you wonder why they don't check for structural issues within the standard recurrent mc tests. I'm sure in the long run it would save the hospital time / money and a lot of heartache for the patient. I'm glad she's got her babies now, hopefully my experience will be just as positive. Thanks again

Sorry for telegram-like post, I was BFing DS!

She was told to avoid conception for 12 months post-surgery but then found out she was pregnant 8 months later and had no complications at all. She was treated as v v v high risk (partly because of other health issues though) and was induced at 39 weeks first time round. But with her second baby she refused induction and had the baby at 41 weeks.

I really hope it works out as smoothly for you and agree it is utter shit that women have to go through all that before it is even invetsigated.

I quite liked your telegram, nice and easy to read!

Do you know why she was told to avoid conception for 12 months post op? I'm 37 and really don't want to wait another year before trying again.

I guess for the scar tissue to heal but I will ask her if you like. Mind you she was only 23, so maybe they would advise differently if time not so much on your side iyswim?

I've had a quick look on the web and it looks like it depends on several factors, whether you had hysteroscopy or laperoscopy (or both) and I suppose the severity of the septum itself. The consultant said mine was relatively small... Perhaps recovery time was related to other health issues too. The advice I saw on the net was to wait for a couple of cycles following hysteroscopy which would be preferable!

I'll just have to wait and see what the consultant says, I'm sure he'll take my age into account with regard to recovery time.

Thanks again Queen. I was feeling really down earlier and hearing your cousin's experience has lifted my spirits, restored a bit of hope!

can you please some1 explaine to me what uterine septum

Hello,

I had a smallish uterine septum just like you. I had it removed after one mc (both hysteroscopy and laperoscopy), they also found some endmetriosis and two benign myomas on the outside of the uterus during the surgery - a bit of a spring clean! All healed well, off work for a week and not in too much pain. Had a normal cycle fairly soon after. We had two wait 3 months after that to try again, then became pregnant straight away, which went well - easy and full term, a healthy baby girl. Hope this cheers you up a bit!

..forgot to say, have you had any other possible causes checked? With me, it turned out that apart from the septum, I also had a thyroid gland hypofunction and a blood clotting disorder, both a common cause for mc but not a problem with some medication during pregnancy. It only takes some blood tests to get tested.

Just got back from holiday so not checked here for a while.... thanks for your replies and congrats on your baby girl mette! I've had all the usual recurrent mc tests on the NHS which showed no problems. I do apparently have a bit of endometriosis scarring but its very minor and won't be affecting pregnancy. I've also had a large cyst and polyp removed so once I get this septum sorted my uterus should be flipping perfect

Holiday was great and I'm in a much better frame of mind about the whole thing. I'll be seeing the consultant at the end of the month so will hopefully get a date for surgery and get the ball rolling again. Its good to know its only a 3 month wait after surgery to ttc again.

I have a septum, only discovered at 32 weeks pregnant! Baby was wedged pretty firmly at one side due to it, he was breech and didn't have room to turn so I ended up with a very civilised elective c-section I have a gorgeous healthy boy with no problems. The placenta did get stuck to the septum during delivery so there is some scar tissue there now too.

They scanned me again 3 months after giving birth to see the septum more clearly and confirmed the septum. They told me it was likely that I would suffer miscarriages in future pregnancies if the embryo implants into the septum rather than the uterine wall, and that the miscarriage risk is in both first and second trimesters unfortunately. Also as there is less room in my uterus, babies probably will be breech or other malpresentation. (I didn't mind, c-section was lovely!) They said to me it was best not to operate for now but if I have repeated miscarriages in future then they would operate - as someone upthread said, the scar tissue created can cause its own problems.

On the plus side I have a beautiful healthy boy, but I'm keen to try for our second soon and am nervous.

Oh and OP if you're anywhere near - or even if you're not - Kings in London have the best consultants and specialists in uterine anomalies. I could have kissed the woman who diagnosed my septum. They are the biggest fetal medicine unit in Europe apparently and have super up to date technology.

luvilee Congrats on your baby boy, and a civilised C-section sounds great!

Thanks for the info on Kings, it sounds great. I'm quite happy with my consultant at the moment, he's operated on me twice now and the hospital is good so I don't think I'll refer yet. I will wait and see what he says at my next appointment though.

I am worried about the potential scar tissue, but after 4 miscarriages feel I've got nothing to lose really. Plus now I've read a couple of success stories, I just want to get on with it!

I'm not surprised you are nervous about trying again with the prospect of miscarriage, I will be exactly the same when the time comes. Fingers crossed for us all. Good luck