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Miscarriage/pregnancy loss

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3 miscarriages, no positive pregnancies. Told to just try again with no medication prescribed. Should I go private to get Progesterone?

11 replies

Aks91 · 02/01/2023 10:42

Hi all, I have had 3 reocurring miscarriages and I haven't had any positive pregnancies. I had an early miscarriage many years ago. I then fell pregnant this September and had a chemical pregnancy at 5 weeks. 2 weeks after, I fell pregnant again. I went for scans etc and at what should have been 9 weeks, I was told the baby had stopped growing just over 7 weeks and there was no heartbeat. I have been referred to Tommys at Queen Elizabeth hospital. The consultant said that as they are early miscarriages, it could just be "bad luck." They are doing bloods so I should know what they say this week. From the bloods the gp did before and all the scans that I had when pregnant and them checking my ovaries etc, everyone said that everything looks fine. The consultant did say that once we know the results, I should carry on trying. They will only prescribe me with something, if I have any bleeding. He said that they wouldn't give progesterone until I've had 4 miscarriages and wouldn't advise that I went private to get it. I guess I want to ask someone what do I do? I really hoped to be prescribed some form of medication to support the pregnancy this time.

OP posts:
Ramdogs · 02/01/2023 10:50

There isn't a magic medication that can fix this without identifying a cause and sadly it is often the case that no cause is found. Progesterone is only known to be successful in cases of early bleeding. At least you are already under the clinic so that if bleeding happens you can quickly get a prescription. You may also be eligible for any new trials that come up through the clinic if you wanted to try this route.

Ramdogs · 02/01/2023 10:51

Wait for your blood tests and hopefully these will show no issues. I know it is frustrating to not get a diagnosis to treat but it really is preferable that none of the major causes are found.

Aks91 · 02/01/2023 10:56

Thank you @Ramdogs It is good to hear this from someone. I also don't want to take medication for the sake of taking it.

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Tropicaliyes · 02/01/2023 11:20

This isn’t related to your current situation however it reminded me of my experience at the clinic.

I decided to have IUI at Manchester Fertility and since the whole experience was new for my partner and I, we obviously had many questions and I was very apprehensive to say the least. Even after waiting a few months to start treatment and getting loads of information, it wasn’t until I was in the room to get inseminated that the question of medication popped up.

you see going to a clinic and self paying is extremely expensive and you pay for whatever you can afford at that time along with what you think is right for you. After all my tests, I was found to have no fertility issues and so didn’t need to pay extra for any medications to aid pregnancy so was able to pay for 3 natural cycles. It occurred to us however that if the first and second cycle didn’t work, we would only be left with one cycle and no reason why it wasn’t working out.

You are unable to go into the whole situation re question the cycle be done with treatment just because that’s what you would like so asking for any medication without approval usually gets denied however we did ask the nurse if that cycle fails and possibly the next one also if we could opt into having a medicated cycle the last time.

The nurse explained to me that they had people coming in requesting just that, no actual medical reason as to why they will need said medication but adamant they want to at least try it once, so ultimately they pay extra for it to be used on one cycle and are really disappointed it didn’t work out! She explained that one med they try to get is meant to simulate ovulation, but the women have no issue with regular ovulation but in their mind this is the answer. So they are given the medication even though they are already to ovulate and she admitted she believed some of them done it not to try and get pregnant in general but to increase the chances of multiples or even double ovulation. She said she had explained to these people that in a healthy person that will otherwise ovulate naturally, the medication doesn’t increase the chances of double ovulation or even multiples since a completely different medication is used for that over a longer course of time to ripen more than one follicle for release.

the point is, as much as going private enables you to get a more in depth look at whatever your issue may be, and quicker, you don’t have the ability to choose to have a specific treatment or medication without it being approved by them which is the same as the NHS. If they say no and wait then that’s what will have to happen. Unfortunately some places will give you the requested medication knowing it won’t help even after explaining that to the people simply because it will make them some extra money and that’s what the patient wanted, but ultimately your the one left out of pocket and no better off than you started.

If you want, get the issue explored via private clinic and see if they can offer a treatment plan for you but don’t go in with a specific mindset that you want x y and z thinking it will sort the issue when your unsure of the issue.

Lastly be prepared to get told that there in fact is nothing that can be done and you are just unable to carry a pregnancy to term full stop, because sometimes this is the reality and coming to that realisation is a lot harder when you assumed something can always be done unfortunately, but hopefully that’s not your case and you just need some investigation and the right treatment path.

Good luck hun and I’m sorry for your losses but hopefully you find a resolve soon.

mrsbyers · 02/01/2023 11:24

You need to at least wait for your blood tests and maybe give yourself a break from trying as you sound a bit stressed

Aks91 · 02/01/2023 11:48

@Tropicaliyes I totally agree and wouldn't just take medication that isn't right for my situation. It's more that I don't know enough. MUMs is a recommended private clinic by the hospital itself, which is where i would go. I know that some places will give medication like progesterone and others are more cautious, so I just want to know more. I came on the forum more to see if anyone else had a similar experience, as there is so little that I know about the whole process. It's not the case that I will just take anything for the sake of taking it, if that makes sense.

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Aks91 · 02/01/2023 11:51

@Tropicaliyes Thank you for your message, advice and your well wishes too. It's good to hear someone else's perspective.

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Aks91 · 02/01/2023 11:52

@mrsbyers I agree. I am definitely going to wait. I am just trying to educate myself a bit more at this stage.

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Tropicaliyes · 02/01/2023 12:16

@Aks91 have you looked into Inhospitable uterus? I remember reading before that it creates an environment that is too acidic I think it was for sperm to travel to the uterus however I know that some women can in fact get pregnant with this issue however they can end up not having the right environment for the ovum to survive and mature causing multiple miscarriages.

I know a lot of women have IUI for the same condition but upon further research just now I realised it can also cause issues during pregnancy if your able to pass the initial conception phase. Funnily enough it says it can also be caused by treatment with progesterone 😬. Maybe that’s something to ask about next time which they can test for with a simple swab after intercourse.

And I’m sorry I’m unable to offer the correct help and advice. I’m in a same sex relationship so in order for me to get to this stage now I had to go to the clinic so I bypasses even knowing if I had any issue with naturally conceiving for then it came at an eye watering cost but I did learn about a lot of issues that can cause infertility on the way 😂.

Aks91 · 02/01/2023 12:51

@Tropicaliyes I haven't been tested for that and wouldn't have known to ask prior to your message, so I will definitely now ask that question. Thank you so much. This is exactly it. I don't know what the sides effects are of medication such as progesterone, but will definitely question things further.

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Tropicaliyes · 02/01/2023 12:58

Sorry for the typos above, wish you could edit your posts on here 🤦🏽‍♀️, but you are more than welcome, it might be that you don’t have this issue but there is no harm in enquiring just incase it may lead to answers. I hope you get some answers soon, Your situation is very distressing.

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