Recurrent miscarriage testing - 1st app

[Softscoop35]

Hey 😁

In short, 4 pregnancies, 4 losses. Ds (living) was the result of 3rd pregnancy but as he was a twin, my GP has classed that as a loss too.

2 losses from CP
2 losses after seeing heartbeat.

Im lucky that i have managed to get a cancellation for friday after waiting only 3 weeks.

What should i expect from my 1st appointment?

Im also lucky in the fact that my local hospital and clinic where im receiving treatment is where Prof.Quenby is based.

Not sure how relevant that is mind as my app is on the gynae ward.
I have a few questions if anyone could answer?

Would i be eligible for Kryotyping on NHS?
As ive had a child, would i even need it?
I know they test for blood clotting and thyroid, but what else will the test for?

I do wonder if i would see Prof. Quenby as an NHS patient. My bet is i wouldnt. I have a very vague memory of having a chat with her way before i had DS but i could be wrong.

Any advice would be handy. I have a tendency of having high expectations so i want to go in there, kinda knowing what im going to get out of it.

(Ps, i know there is a 50% chance i wont get anything out of it)

Thanks in advance

Thank you all. I might ring the gp so that it is at least on my notes that I've told them, even if only the first mc was confirmed by them.

I am worried about whether the MVA I had last year has caused scarring that's now preventing the pregnancies from sticking. (They said that was a risk of the procedure, albeit small).

@HalGem99 how did you get on today?

@StarGal88 so glad we haven't upset you! Hopefully you'll join us soon and all of us will actually end up with babies soon...

@treesall definitely worth telling you me gp so it's on your notes. When I was with the fertility clinic they did say that they take your word for it and they're not in the habit of second guessing people, but that may not be true everywhere. I'm afraid I have no knowledge of MVA and it's affects. There's a number of things it could be, it's so hard to know what the cause is and there isn't always answers.

I actually did get a call from the RMC today, so it's taken since early November until now to get bloods organised (I won't have them now as I'm pregnant, but I asked her to keep me in the system so I'm not at the bottom of the waiting list of things go wrong again)

@Daffodil21 I had a meeting with the consultant and then an ultrasound and biopsy. They have ruled out a cyst as they can see a solid mass, it doesn't have fluid in it. I have to wait 2/3 weeks for the biopsy results. They couldn't tell me if it was cancer or a fibroadenoma but when I pushed them they did say that if they had to diagnose it without the biopsy results they would say it is benign but obviously stressed that they need the results back to be sure. So holding onto that!!

Is it bad that I haven't really been thinking about the lump, just more concerned over the pregnancy. My symptoms completely vanished over night and haven't returned since Thursday so not feeling hopeful.

Also, the doctor at the scan said measurements and heartbeat was all good and I asked what it was and she said 108 bpm. I looked it up the other day and from what I have read, this is low for 6 weeks 6 days and there is a 50% chance of miscarriage. So I don't know what to think and wondering why she told me it was all ok! Do you remember what your beans heartbeat was in the early stages?

@treesall why don't you ask your gp to do your bloods? My GP covered the majority of the ones that the recurrent miscarriage unit did and professor Quenby actually commented on how knowledgeable my gp was and the best she had come across for doing all the tests! Worth an ask! Xx

@HalGem99 this sounds promising, I really hope it's nothing to worry about!

Try not to look at statistics. They really are meaningless. I held onto the statistic that 'only' 1% of women have 3 or more MCs, and then when I had my third I vowed never to pay attention to them anymore because the odds were way in my favour for a successful pregnancy last time but it just didn't happen.

At a scan at 9+4 the heart rate was 181, which is on the high side of normal, but the sonographer said it was nothing to worry about... I hope he was right. I'm afraid I don't know what it was at 6-7 weeks.

I'm feeling less pregnant now too if that makes sense. Absolutely dreading the next scan as I'm not too hopeful either. Bleugh I wish we could just enjoy a healthy pregnancy!

Thanks @HalGem99 and @Daffodil21. I think I'll ring the gp in a few days, I'm still bleeding at the moment and it's all a bit too raw to discuss yet.

I am feeling really really panicked and upset now. Not so much that I've miscarried this one, but the realisation that I've had 3 failed pregnancies in a row, and what that potentially means for the chances of a future baby. My reading online hasn't helped that! Whyyy was it so smooth and easy with my first pregnancy and so hard now?

Sorry to moan - DH just doesn't understand and I feel a bit alone. Thank you all.

@Daffodil21 you are right! I said I was going to stop googling but then couldn't help myself. My husband said only go by what the doctors are saying and gets so annoyed with me when I do my own research!

Interestingly, the doctor that did the ultrasound today told me that her sister in law had 8 miscarriages before having three healthy children and her assistant told me that her daughter in law had two missed miscarriages before having two children with no diagnosis or treatment only progesterone so it can happen for us all!!

Hopefully everything is ok for us both. My husband tries to be positive whereas I would rather be realistic and expect the worse but be happy if it's good news xx

@treesall we know exactly how you feel however the odds are still very much in your favour as you know you can have children as you've already got one so you know it is doable! Keep focusing on that xx

@treesall don't apologise at all, this is what are here for. Offload as much as you need. Definitely don't rush yourself, deal with things when you're ready. I felt the same after my third, and I still do despite being pregnant as I'm not sure how long it will last.
Take care of yourself and don't rush yourself. When you're feeling up to it, you should take a look at a book called 'it starts with the egg', if you haven't already. It has lots of good advice in it and specific sections for recurrent pregnancy loss.

@HalGem99 my husband is the same. He's very much 'what will he will be, we can't change anything'. Sometimes he seems more optimistic but then sometimes he seems like he thinks it will end again too. We don't really discuss it to be honest which I know sounds a bit weird, but what is there to say at this point

Long post warning (and this is retyped as my stupid browser crashed when I tried to post this the first time!)

We had our appointment with the RM consultant yesterday - we paid to go private as apparently the NHS clinic where I am (Lothian) won't even restart until March, and although I'm not that old (36), to me it feels like every month could be crucial...

He first took a very detailed medical history from both of us (including what grandparents died of!), and all of the details about the 3 mc, and was happy to answer my questions and engage with both of us. This was a massive positive for me, as I feel the men are often a bit left out in this process.
I'd already emailed him a copy of the results of the blood tests that my lovely GP had arranged for me before Christmas, so we talked through those and what they mean. I'm highly positive for one of the markers for APS (anti-CL Ab), so he recommended we go ahead with the 12 week follow-up blood test that could confirm that diagnosis (standard for APS testing...) but to stick with my local GP for that to make things consistent. If that confirms it then the treatment is junior aspirin up to ~7wks (whenever we see a heartbeat) then inject heparin after that.
We did talk about progesterone and the PRISM study, but as I hadn't really had any bleeding before mc he wasn't convinced that prescribing my that would make a difference. I think he would've prescribed me it if I'd asked for it, but I wanted to take my time and fully read up on any risks etc.

I came away feeling a bit disappointed - I had wanted to be told that we could try again straight away and just take aspirin in case, but waiting a few weeks for something that could dramatically improve our chances of success is clearly the sensible thing to do - I just wanted to crack on as I'm ovulating today and am impatient!
OH had wanted to wait a little while anyway though, as he's really worried about what going through all this is doing to me (mentally and physically), so I just need to try to relax and be patient....

My plan is to use the time to get a bit healthier though, so that when we hopefully do get pregnant again that I feel as positive as possible going in to that scary first trimester...

Sorry for the long post, hopefully this information will help someone at some point - hope you are all doing ok xx

@GreenGecko36 I am so pleased that you are getting somewhere and you should definitely take a lot of positives from your appointment. Keep us updated with your blood test results. Xx

@GreenGecko36 that sounds like good progress, although I totally understand your frustration / wanting to get on with trying ASAP!

Hi there, just wanted to thank you for your kind messages and support last week. I spoke to the GP today who was very keen I have some initial blood tests, so will be having those this week. Thank you for encouraging me to call them.

@treesall that's such a big step forward. I'm so glad your GP is being helpful. It makes all the difference! Keep us updated!

@Daffodil21 how are you getting on? Im really worrying about my scan on Monday as all my pregnancy symptoms have virtually stopped for a while now and I've had some cramping! It's hard to know what is normal and what's not! Got my booking appointment today so might run it by the midwife! Xx

@GreenGecko36 that all sounds very positive! When it comes to progesterone, as far as I know there aren't any risks. My consultant says it won't do any harm for me to take it until 20 weeks (she knew I was worried about coming off it). Obviously don't take my word for it, but I'm pretty sure it's harmless (I hope so anyway..!)

@treesall that's great! Well done on making that call, I know it's a hard one to do but hopefully you'll get some easily fixable answers.

@HalGem99 I feel the same as you. I don't really 'feel pregnant'. Frequent peeing is still the same, tiredness not so much. No sickness, no nausea, no food cravings or aversions. I've got my dating scan tomorrow which I am absolutely dreading. I had a private one a week ago because I couldn't wait any longer, and everything looked ok, but that was a week ago so anything could have changed since then. How far will you be again on Monday?

@Daffodil21 it's so hard to know what's normal and what's not! I will be 9 weeks 2 days on Monday. I've been considering a private scan but just know I will be thinking the worst again the next day! How far are you now? Xx

@HalGem99 yeah any good scan keeps me going for a few days, then I know it could be any outcome again. I'm so glad I had it last week though, I know it doesn't mean tomorrow will be ok, but it has made the last week easier. 9+2 is great!

I'm hopefully 12+3. Neve me thought I would say that and I really really hope it's still the case tomorrow

@Daffodil21 I have everything crossed for you! Keep us updated xx

@HalGem99 thanks, I'll update tomorrow x

Somehow we're still going and it's all looking ok! Measuring 13 weeks

@Daffodil21 yay!!!!!!!!! So excited for you!! Keep going!! Xx

My biopsy results came back. The lump is a non cancerous tumor! Yay so I just need to keep checking it and go back if it gets bigger or changes shape etc! So relieved!

Also just got back from my scan. Everything was good! Measured exactly on date, 9 weeks 2 days and good heartbeat. They have booked me another scan for two weeks time. I really don't know how I've got to this stage but feel so grateful although it's still early days!

Hope you are all well. Xx

@HalGem99 that's absolutely fantastic news on both counts!! So made up for you!!

@Daffodil21 thank you! How are you getting on? Xx

@HalGem99 I'm good thank you. Just trying to keep going until the next scan (next Friday)!

My blood test results showed very slightly elevated cholesterol (5.5 - I need to read about this to understand what it means!) but no other problems. I'm hoping the gp will ring me to discuss. I guess it's a good thing that there isn't an obvious issue, but also frustrating that it's not something we can fix.

If nothing else, I guess at least I've had a kick up the backside to lose some weight. My bmi is 28 so I do need to do something.