Miscarriage and long irregular cycles

[digitalgirl]

Am having my second miscarriage in 5 months.

Have always had long irregular cycles. Managed to conceive DS (now 19mo) after doing acupuncture for one cycle (that cycle was anovulatory, but the next one I conceived). I had a lot of bleeding for a couple of weeks in this pregnancy, but DS clung on.

The first MC (last Nov), I conceived whilst breastfeeding so had no idea how long I'd been pregnant for. Had been 10 weeks since LMP, scan showed sac was 5 weeks but couldn't be sure if I'd been carrying for longer. Fully miscarried the next day.

Had one crazy cycle post MC (to be expected), then had a 37 day cycle (short for me), then ovulated on day 29 so it would have been a 43 day cycle if I hadn't conceived.

Scan yesterday showed sac stopped developing less than 4 weeks.

Am wondering if these MCs are due to my long irregular cycles. I don't really want to go through this a third time in order to start investigations if I have my suspicions now. Could I get my GP to refer me to a gynae now before I even attempt TTC again? Or am I just as likely to go on and have a successful pregnancy next time round.

digitalgirl i would suggest speaking with your gp and seeing if they could do some standard tests. dont know if they would refer you to someone about the miscarriages as most will only refer after 3 in a row.

have you ever been given a reason for your long cycles? pcos possibly? that is a recognised cause of miscarriage as can cause hormone imbalance etc.

the tests are just blood tests on certain days of your cycle and maybe a scan of your ovaries.

speak to them see what they say and good luck.

Thanks mumatron will be booking a GP appointment as soon as I get my HCG results tomorrow.

Never really managed to fully investigate my long cycles, so don't know if I have PCOS. Was having the day 2 and 21 tests done a couple of years ago but got pregnant with DS before I got the results. Since DS was born I breastfed till the last mc, so presumed my cycles were long because of breastfeeding. And then when I stopped after the MC I kind of hoped that maybe a big dose of pg hormones would kick my body back into gear. But I suppose I only really had one cycle (perhaps two, but not sure if the first post-mc bleed was really a period or more 'expelling') post-MC before getting pregnant again.

If I held onto a foetus that stopped developing at 4 weeks for nearly 3 weeks, then that rules out not being able to hold onto a foetus.

But if both my mcs were caused by poor quality eggs, then perhaps that could be caused from ovulating late? Has anyone ever had this as a diagnosis for recurrent miscarriage?

Digital girl, if you are still checking this thread - just wanted to add - with cycles like that it sounds like you should be investigated for PCOS, the most likely cause. PCOS does increase the risk of mc slightly but most PCOS women achieve healthy full-term pregnancies (some more easily than others). If you are diagnosed with PCOS there are lots of things you can do yourself to help balance your hormones before you conceive, which helps to reduce the mc risk. e.g. low GI eating.

Re: the long cycles themselves, pregnancies resulting from long cycles certainly don't all end in mc. I have PCOS. Last year I fell pregnant on a normal 30 day cycle and miscarried at 10 wks (blighted ovum). This year I ovulated and conceived on cycle day 50, one of my longest ever cycles, and am now 16 wks and all is well so far. So it can go either way and you will most likely have another successful pregnancy.

Good luck.

Thanks 2ndDestiny have booked GP appointment for next week. Have been in denial about possibly having PCOS as couldn't face doing a Lo-GI diet. Also thought last MC was a one-off and refused to change my life-style while TTC (I've let it become all-consuming before). But thinking perhaps I should pull out all the stops to try and make myself as healthy and balanced as possible.

Hoping GP will refer, but not sure what the policy is on fertility treatment if you have one child already.

I think not letting it become all-consuming is probably a healthy approach! I became quite obsessed with controlling my PCOS after my diagnosis (I was diagnosed right after the miscarriage, which didn't help), but then eventually conceived again (this pregnancy) after slackening off my diet for xmas. If you are ovulating and have spontaneously conceived that's a very good sign even with long cycles. You may not need any fertility treatment. If you found acupuncture helpful before, that might help again, it is recommended for PCOS and also for recurrent mc, I believe. Getting your cycles investigated will enable you to identify if there is a link with the mc's and enable you to do something proactive about it - or it might turn out they were just bad luck but on the plus side that would mean a very high chance of a successful pregnancy next time, even without any treatment/lifestyle changes
Might be worth getting your thyroid checked at the same time, I think that can sometimes cause wonky cycles too. However take some time to look after yourself and recover from this recent mc before you start any restrictive diet, etc. Best of luck.