Repeated Miscarriages, what’s the next step?

[SeekingLou]

Long time lurker but first time poster!

I’ve had 5 early miscarriages over the last 7/8 years, while I’ve not been actively trying over the entire time period, the emotional knock after the miscarriages really sets me back. I keep thinking that I’ll take some time to regroup and ‘next time it will be fine’ but after 5, I’m now coming to the realisation that there could be some thing preventative.

I’ve never spoken with my GP about it and I’m going to be calling this week as I’m now getting to a stage where I’m concerned about having the ability to have my own child(ren) in the future. I guess my question is, what is the bare minimum I should be expecting in terms of testing and what additional options are available privately opposed to via the NHS?

I’m based in Scotland however would appreciate any recommendations of specialists that may be further afield as I can travel.

Firstly sending you a big hug op. I had 3 miscarriages and can remember the awful anxiety after each miscarriage. I finally had an 11 year old son. I’m in Wales and the nhs did not provide any investigation for us. We finally went privately to our local spire and saw a fertility expert. both myself and my husband had loads of blood tests looking for chromosomal abnormalities and I had a scan. Nothing abnormal was found. The consultant advised me to take a mini aspirin when next trying and gave me a specific time frame for taking this. The next time we tried I managed to go full term. I will obvs never know if the aspirin helped or not and I wouldn’t advise taking this without taking advice first. I do feel that being investigated and we also paid for a private early scan at spire really helped us emotionally to go forward x

First of all, I am sorry for the five losses you've had. I think the doctor should definitely order blood tests to check your 'fsh', your iron levels and your thyroid. There may be other things they can check through blood tests too that another poster can suggest. They might be able to refer you to a recurrent miscarriage clinic if there is one within an hour or so of you.

Hoping for the best outcome for you - doing something about it is definitely the right step.

Ps sorry I meant to say had a son.. I really have no idea why I put his age in there😞.. def go and see someone. Maybe the nhs in Scotland will provide more support x

I'm so sorry for your losses. Your GP can definitely do some preliminary investigations via bloods. The threshold in England for a referral to the recurrent miscarriage clinic is 3 miscarriages. I'm not sure if it's the same in Scotland but I would also ask your GP to make a referral to your nearest repeated miscarriage clinic, to get the ball rolling.

Just wanted to say thank you for the kind words and support!

I spoke with my GP who has referred me to a gynaecologist to begin investigating, it’s likely to be a while considering delays with Covid however it’s a step in the right direction. She has prescribed folic acid even though I’m not trying at the moment as I did have a folate deficiency several years ago and advised to take aspirin if I do become pregnant in the mean time.