Recurrent Miscarriage Support Thread 24 - tests, treatment, trying again.

[Brummiegirl15]

New thread for us if it's worked on phone! Will paste stats

Sasha glad AF has arrived, it can feel like such a relief. I did try clomid but it really didn't agree with me and I had an early mc on it. In the end I had letrozole instead and found it to be better for me. However, a lot of consultants don't like it and state it is not a proven ovulation drug.

Glad mw was nice MrsD and Brummie I didn't see my mw until about 10 weeks as was too scared haha. Best for you to go though as I ended up having my dating scan far too late and couldn't have nuchal scan as I'd wanted!

Glad scan was fine Bootles. Are you taking meds now? Can't recall if you're on a plan?

Great news about your EPU cloud. Hopefully Saturday will reassure you that all is ok. Got everything crossed for you. How's the spitting been?

Wow sea how did you get to 20+6 already?! It's brilliant!!! I was so anxious about my 20 weeks scan but when next week is behind you I'm sure you'll feel much more positive.

brummie I'm 10+4. Gp has to refer you to the midwives round here and they don't like to see you until around 10 weeks but I know from hanging around mn far too much that some ladies get booked in much earlier. I'm glad you got your prescription sorted.

bythesea thank you for telling me you did the same thing re listening to the heartbeat. Helpfully reassuring

bootles glad the scan was all as it should be and mrsd that the midwife was lovely.

cloud amazing news on the scan- unheard of! Hope Saturday comes quickly and gives you more reassurance.

brummie glad the prog is sorted. Lucky being so close to Cov. I wish I was as I have a feeling I may have a fight on my hands for the heparin location scan (if I ever get that far ever again!)

cheesy sorry I missed commenting on your post before. I knew I'd missed someone and then it popped back in my head- sorry it's a bfn. I'm dreading a few rounds of those now we're back on the ttc bus. Fingers crossed for the next one!

jady hope the bands work!

tanny sorry you're still worried about you and Dp. It's still early days as everyone has said, it's a tiring argumentative (in my exp anyway!) time. And there's the added stresses of everything it took to get there too. I'm sure it'll get better soon x.

sasha good news on af. We're only a few days apart on that. Hope it's our month!

bythesea 20+ that's so great. And the fact it's no treatment too really really gives me hope.

I'm still in two minds about the prog. I know I should but I'm so worried I'll waste the scratch by using it. And I really need the boosted fertility! But then if I don't use it and another bad egg implants I'm back to square one again but months later. I hate this whole business. Have had a bad day of having constant 'I just want to be pg' going round in my head!

Yep we have to go via GP's to get referred to midwife. There isn't a midwife at my surgery either, they are community ones. So you tell GP you are pregnant and then they fax off the referral and you have to wait to hear from the midwife.

For my last one it was round about 10 wks so I'm sure it'll be similar again.

Sasha woo hoo! Glad AF has turned up. Always try and remember it's a clean slate, fresh start, day 1 of a new cycle

Just waiting to go into my last counselling sesh. Bloody hell, what a journey. I went originally as struggling after 2nd mc.

Got pregnant again, then has 3rd mc and I'm now pregnant for 4th time. Kind of a nice thing to end on...

Seriously moving quick on here at the moment! Quick check in as off out for girly meal tonight. In one way not looking forward to is as one not so close friend is bound to ask when I'm going to have a sibling for DD (as it never considers to her not to) torn between saying nothing or bringing a downer on the evening and saying likely to be having an MC at this moment.... Perhaps not!

The Sod's law has hit me today in terms of being offered a new job, which I hadn't even applied for! It's an internal job in a field I want to get back into (same grade etc) but my current manager is very supportive around the impact the mcs etc have had on my work. Lot to think about over next few days as not sure what to do.

Big thumbs up to those that have had good scans/ mw appointments x

And another thumbs up to the arrival of AF x

Tanny, plenty of hugs coming from here. Dh and I fell out big time when dd was born and that was without the the trauma of MCx

sasha sounds like you are all prepared

great on the meds brummie. I never have boob symptoms, mild tingling in one pg and nothing much in the others. They are now an AA after feeding ds. Ah well.

tanny we are all on a pretty overwhelming and consuming journey. When you reach the finish line, it must be hard to return to 'normal' again without the cycle of ttc, panic, mc, grief. I think it puts enormous strain on relationships. Add the sleepless nights, hormones etc, and its not suprising really that things get rough. Hang in there and try to keep talking.

Glad it was ok today mrsd and 10 weeks something is definitely early to listen to hb. Lots of places won't do it 16 weeks even, as it is still so hard to find then.

girlie hope your friend behaves. A job offer is always a good thing to happen.

bythesea handholding in advance for 20 week scan

Great you got a scan booked cloud

Anyone heard from littlebear ?

Glad booking in went well Diddly.
Mines next Tue, will be 8+3. Was originally at 11 weeks, then when I started talking about the treatment I'm on she brought it forward.

Hope you enjoy the meal this evening Girlie

Thanks Minnie, think they are working to an extent. But feeling low in other ways today so I'll assess more tomorrow!

Girlie great news about job. I suppose it reminds us that there is life outside of mc and heartbreak

Can someone please reassure me that twinges and the odd cramp in very early pregnancy is normal.

Everything seems so sinister at the moment

Sorry long post..i do try to be concise, homestly...

I really need your opinions:
Prof B had said we could try hcg this time, as injections twice a week. He said there is no real evidence it would work, but cites an (old) study where there seems to be a positive effect in a subgroup of women with irregular cycles (mine are regular). He said there is some anecdotal evidence too, and that it may help on decidual cells in the lining.

So my epu is where he used to work in London, they know him, the consultant there has known him for many years. Today tbe dr spoke to the consultant about prescribing it. Under Coventry I am already on prog and pred from gp, and epu have prescribed the heparin. Epu consultant said he's not comfortable with prescribing hcg as A)its only used for some ivf patients - the trust just doesnt use it; b) not enough evidence c) he is not a rmc specialist and just doesnt know enough about it.

I'm sure Prof B will do a private prescription if I ask, which may be expensive, or I could go there (not straightforward - work/ds etc) and get it, but I feel very doubtful. I am scared of meds in pg as it is, and google alludes to birth defects but I can't find more information. I trust Prof B, but am in paranoid city and don't know if taking it will make me worse. He admits himself its an unknown as to how much it would help.

So sorry for post hogging.

Cross post brummie...this is my 7th pg and its definitely normal. Bear in mind one of those was my ds and several of my losses were well past 8 weeks. Early cramping is normal.

Was just googling the exact same thing Brummie! Uterus enlarging from what I can see. Is it too early for round ligament pain? I have a cough and just had quite a large twinge very low down with it.

Sorry Bootles, no idea. Hopefully someone else more knowledgeable is replying as we speak.

Hi Bootles I honestly don't know is the answer.

You sound very unsure and with Prof B not sure either, is it worth it?

That said if there is some old evidence then maybe? God I'm no help!!! Plus a private prescription might not be that expensive - I guess all you can do is ask

I'm bugger all help

It's a lot to think about Bootles. I decided I would have anything they suggested as I figured it was worth trying after the losses but I know it's not easy. Could Prof B post the prescription to you? I don't think hcg would be bank breaking but might be worth asking him that at the same time. Remember it's a new egg, new sperm and new lining so a good outcome is likely. Hugs xxxx

bootles if it were me I'd go for it. I googled high hcg after one of my blood tests and the only thing that came back was molar pregnancy and a factor in increased risk of Down syndrome. The hcg did not cause these issues but was a symptom of them. I figure if it does no harm the minute chance it does good is worth it.

Ffs why am I now getting what looks like excema on my face?! I don't even have excema! I'm just turning into a fat, hormonal, scabby mess!

Such a hard one bootles. I've not done enough research to know if the potential risks are bad (ie the Birth defects you mentioned) and bad enough to outweigh the potential gains. I think I'd be a little bit tempted to throw everything at it, but do completely understand your hesitance.

bootles if you didn't do the hcg injections and you mc again, would you regret it? It may seem a backwards and unscientific way to consider it, but that is how I would think about it. I don't know much about the treatment to be able to comment on any risks associated with it or how successful it might be. My heart is singing new lining, new egg, new chance. The effort involved in getting it shouldn't put you off if you want to try it, but I understand why its a factor. Have you spoken to dp about it? Not that mine would be much help.

Thanks ladies. All opinions are helpful brummie and shows me it's not only me who would struggle with the decision. I can't find much about the birth defects march, that's the trouble. I e-mailed Prof B this evening with the site I found the defects mentioned, and also asked if he knew the cost if I got it privately. And expressed my general paranoia. Actually when I re-read his other e-mail talking about his reasoning for prescribing it, it says there is 'ample evidence from more basic science research that hcg does not only work on the ovary but also on the decidual cells in the lining of the womb during pregnancy' - just no real evidence it helps with RMC. So I will see what he comes back with.

Apologies for being so needy. I will shut up now.

Except to say if I have unwanted emails from anything I have signed in tbe past, I'm coming to you brummie!

Trying not to, but getting a bit worried about littlebear

tanny I was just reading back and wanted to say my heart goes out to you. You've been through so much there's bound to be a period of adjustment as you get over all the trauma of the past.

My family and I are Catholic so to get married in our local church we had to do a prewedding course ( yeah I rolled my eyes as well ) before they would allow us to marry. One of the things they talked about was conflict resolution and they advised that it's very hard to scream and shout at each other if you sit on the sofa holding hands to talk things through. As silly as that sounds it is actually true and we have been trying to use that method in this last week. I have a lot of resentment because I feel DH wasn't there for me during the first two mc and I didn't think he appreciated how badly scans, tests, medication and shoddy doctors had affected me. On the other hand it's only because we talked that I now understand he's been pretending it doesn't affect him because he's scared of being hurt again and it's hard for him to see me in pain.

I don't want to sound preachy and I know a lot of people will think it's silly.

One of the other things they talked about on the course was having children and had we considered what we would do if there were problems. Of course we never anticipated having three miscarriages before our first anniversary

mrsd yes that's what I am asking myself. DP is as much use as a bounty pack. All medical decisions are left to me. I have a medical background, he doesn't, but it is not of much help in this situation.

Thanks also cat,snoopy,jady

snoopy I feel sure you are not the things you just posted. Excema sounds annoying though. The site I saw was talking about hcg causing birth effects - not about it being high in cases of downs etc.

snoopy I am not religious, but there's a lot to be said for that approach. It has taken me a long time to recognise that dp has found this bloody hard too. He's not always been the most supportive to be honest, I think he just feels at an utter loss how to help, and prefers the 'let's not talk or think about it' approach.

bootles men are funny things aren't they. A week ago today We were in a and e because I had started spotting. DH had to watch them trying to find a vein to put a canula in and I think it hit him when they kept collapsing and they eventually had to put it in my wrist (still bloody hurts) just how much the whole process is hurting me, physically and emotionally. When I had my erpc relatives weren't allowed in to the day surgery unit so all he saw was me walking in and out and then he was working when I went to my gp for the second one.

I see what you mean about the hcg shots when you google them. I can't believe people inject themselves with it to lose weight crazy world we live in. But no site seems to actually set out what the birth defects are and the only study I can see related to mice. I think it's similar to the prednisolone, in sheep it raises the risk of a cleft palate so they hve to warn you about using it during pregnancy. But I don't personally consider a risk of cleft palate to be that serious considering the alternatives. I Don't envy your decision.

Snoopy that's an interesting idea. Thank you.

DH is tiptoeing around me so I must be coming across as a complete cow.

I'm worried about Littlebear too...

Quick question brummie. Do you think your cough mixture had any effect? I think you said you took it this month. I sometimes have issues which, from what you said, it might help with, and I really dislike preseed (not least for the fecking annoying little screw cap!)

Hi everyone

just how is Scott today? I know it must be draining, but you will get him home before you know it.

pop (((hugs))). I'm sorry. It's so hard not to have answers.

Brummie recalling my two normal pregnancies, twinges are perfectly normal, as are strange sharp stabbing pains, pulling on one side, sore boobs and also totally symptomless days!

Glad the scan went well, Bootles. Little Bear are you out there? Hoping yours was ok too.

Tanny. It sounds like you and your Dh are having a tough time. I think ttc, when it doesn't go well, is one of the most stressful things for a couple (it can sink a marriage), and a new baby, the tiredness and those wretched hormones which honestly can take months and months to settle. It's no wonder things are hard. You both have a lot to adjust to. snoopy's advice is good - I may try it myself when my Dh next does something that makes me cross.

Sasha it's good news your body is returning to normal. My period showed up a few days ago and is nearly over, so I too will be on my first attempt post erpc in the next couple of weeks. Doubt I will get anywhere though (there was a time when I was pg 4 times in a year, but hyperfertile these days I am not).

Girlie well done on the new job. Big hugs for the rest of it.

Minnie thanks for the info on DHeA. I have an appointment with the consultant in a week or so so will discuss it then. I'd like to give it a try (like you am near 40 and in my case I think I should just chuck everything at the dead horse, plus what I have read about lower abnormality ratesis compelling) but it seems that I can only buy the good stuff on the internet... And I do not trust internet pharmacies. Not really sure what to do. i wonder if I can get a script for it...

No news from me, really. DH has said he might come to my consultant appointment. This is kind of amazing (I've done 1 ectopic and 2 mcs and a load of scans pretty much on my own except for when I have needed collecting post op). That was ok, because I know how hard he finds it to see me upset. But glad he is going to come and ask questions directly, instead of getting me to do it!