Pregnant at forty and over - thread 2

[cloudjumper]

To continue the support for those of us who are pregnant at forty and over.

[Grizzer]

Hi everyone. Hope you're all ok.
Great results Nicky, you must feel relieved.
Hope the cramping has stopped Karen. Probably things just stretching in to place.
Scan Monday RoTo? Hope you're not too anxious.
Poor you Notso. The constant nausea is exhausting but it should stop in 2 or 3 weeks. Then you can worry about the symptoms easing!!
I wake up hungry about 4am Ellie. I put it down to being exhausted and going to bed so early. I occasionally get up & have some cereal but mostly try to go back to sleep before my alarm goes at 6.
2 weeks of work Cloud! I feel the time has passed quite quickly. I saw a different consultant on Monday & she said I needed to see my midwife in 2 weeks time because monthly appointments aren't enough now. When I pointed out that I'd never seen a midwife & wouldn't know how to arrange it she said 'oh well, just leave it then.' Sometimes I think they feel like they should be doing something even when we're trundling along quite nicely! My next appointment is 15th Dec. 1 month before due date.
I took dd swimming today & got home to find dh had stumbled across a nearly new sale in the local church hall. He went a bit crazy! High chair, massive play thing for baby to sit in, play mat.... The list goes on! It's nice that he's showing a bit of excitement but the house is chaotic & I can't stand it! I feel like I'm climbing over bags & boxes everywhere.
Next week I'll take dd swimming & hope he buys a 6 bedroom house!

[Ellie2015]

Grizzer ooh i didnt know u get these hunger pangs even late in pregnancy..u must be around 32 wks..right? :)) do u think its a long gap between dinner at 7pm and breakfast at ~8am? (If i dont eat just before sleep or in the middle of night?!!).

Ha ha thats hillarious..u never know ur dh might already have a surprise plan for a 6 bed house! ;) Hope u'd take good care climbing over those boxes until then x

[cloudjumper]

Grizzer we have almost the opposite problem - we have everything for the baby, but people have started asking what they can get us, and I don't know what to say!
I still get hunger attacks, problem is now that I can only eat small portions because there is less and less room

[Karensea]

The cramps have stopped completely now thank you. It was just 24 hours after the scan. I'm experiencing stretching pains now and I've expanded this weekend. Everything feels tight 😁😁
Hope you've all had a lovely weekend
Karen x

[Ellie2015]

Gm! Hope u all had a lovely weekend. Roto good luck for ur scan today (?!)

I just wanted to ask something. As some of u know, I had spotting since UPT, in view of that Cyclogest (Progesterone) pessaries was increased my 400 mg once a day to 400 mg twice a day. I was told to bring it back down to once a day once bleeding/spotting is settled, which it is at the moment, touch wood. But I am a bit concerned, it was a hormone that i was taking morning and evening and if I suddenly take it only once a day..might it cause any issues due to withdrawal, hormonal imbalance etc? I am only abt 7 weeks. Would love to hear from you. Thanks a lot xxx

[cloudjumper]

Hope all went well with the scan roto

ellie I weaned myself off the progesterone like that after the first trimester, i.e. reducing the dose, and I never had any issues. I know that lot of people did it like that.
Or you could consider cutting the pessaries in half, so you could still do morning and evening, just half the dose each time.

Just a thought - are you using the 'front' or 'back' door for the pessaries? They are known to cause irritation of the cervix, which could contribute to the spotting, and I therefore always used the back door for them without any issues.

I've got a growth scan this afternoon... Hoping they won't say that I am carrying a giant baby because it certainly feels that way!

[brookeberry]

Hi Ellie, I was on 400mg progesterone pessaries twice a day from 4 weeks to 14 weeks (due to previous mcs) and just stopped them completely as the midwife told me too - had no problems at all. But of course everyone is different. Like cloud said, lots of people wean themselves off them.

cloud good luck at the scan. I'm sure all will be fine

Thinking about you RoTo today.

[Ellie2015]

Cloud and Brook thanks. I know about weaning in second trimester is completely normal but i'm worried mainly because i'm still into early pregnancy. It was sort of emergency plan to double up but now going back down to original once a day is bothering me only because i'm still only 7 weeks..

Cloud I think that's a great idea..i think i would rather break (?? How do u cut it .. ) it into two and take it twice daily but then i'll miss the pointy bit of the pessary on one half ;( ooh i hope i do it well..

I did start off with front route but later moved to back door and been stuck on that as never feel ready to go back to front door again!

Hope the growth scan is normal tdy. U r planned for a section so it should not matter much..but hope the baby is exactly the weight u r expecting her to be..good luck xx

[RoTo72]

Hi. Scan didn't go well. Iv miscarried. Just a waiting game now. Have to go bk next Monday to see if everything away. Had spotting and cramping from Thursday

[Karensea]

I'm so very sorry to hear that. Silly question but how are you feeling? Did you get to ask lots of questions and have you had lots of support? I'm really gutted for you.
Karen x

[RoTo72]

Thanks Karen. Tbh iv been gopgling like mad from spotting on Saturday so I kinda knew deep down. At epu today I was v calm and matter of fact. Was more worried about oh, he was devestated. Since tea time iv been cramping quite bad. Have resigned myself but v upset now. Think its just hitting me. Frightened of what's coming but am preparing myself. Xx hope all ur babies r born beautiful and healthy. Wishing all u the b best.

[Karensea]

I'm so sorry. I think googling is a nightmare but I'm also unable to stop myself. I would be like you, more concerned for my OH however, you must allow yourself time to process what's happening. I wish you every success should you decide to try again and without sounding callous, I guess this is just natures way of letting you know something wasn't right. Not that that makes what's happened justified, it's just beyond control and it's my biggest fear too. Take care of you both, I'm thinking of you X

[RoTo72]

Thank you. Wont be trying again. I didn't try for this one, it was a lovely wee surprise. But my age and this m/c, couldn't do nit again. Good luck ladies xx

[cloudjumper]

RoTo So sorry to hear your sad news. Look after yourself and DH, hope it will be straightforward. Wishing you all the best xxx

ellie I cut the pessaries in half with a razorblade, you could also use a knife

[Ellie2015]

Oh Roto so sorry to hear abt ur loss..hope u take good care of yourself.

Brook may i ask why were u on high dose cyclogest 400 mg twice daily. was it a 'normal' regime or was it due to some specific medical reason? Thanks

Cloud i am simply using hand power..breaking the pessary while its still in cover, it simply breaks into two and i use the pointy bit and throw away the non pointy bit as i do not think my backdoor would allow that ;)

Btw, did u guys ever mess up with cyclogest timings? Does it have to be bang on 12 hrly? A few hrs i here and there i guess might be ok but what if its delayed 3-4 hrs?

Did u guys feel bloated with it? Ooh i am so bloated that i feel i can bring in a new tornado!

Hope ur growth scan was good..x

[brookeberry]

RoTo sending you much love xx

Ellie this seemed to be the recommended dose. I had 3 early mcs and no other medical issues. I was told by a consultant and head midwife at the hospital to call them if I ever got pregnant again - which I couldn't believe I did because it was a year and a half later - and they would put my on cyclogest immediately because there is a chance (although not proven) that extra progesterone can aid early pregnancy. It was very much the recommended dose by them and on the box, so I never questioned it. Oh and I think it's okay if the timing varies a little - as long as it's twice a day with a good separation - but I'm never bang on with anything timing wise! I think it's just stacking the odds in your favour. I was very much told it certainly wont do you any harm and there is a chane it can help if you have had mcs. Ellie are you on cyclogest for the same reason?

[Ellie2015]

Thanks Brook, yes after 5 back to back losses, I'm on it empirically. Were/are u on aspirin too? x

[brookeberry]

God 5, so sorry ellie that is so tough. Because I had 3 mc, the NHS offered tests to see if I had 'sticky blood'. I didn't, otherwise I think aspirin would have been prescribed immediately. It was prescribed however at a 14 week appointment just for general pregnancy health which is evading me right now! Preeclampsia and other things I think - but nothing related to mc.

Did you have similar tests? They didn't find any reasons behind mine - but prescribed the cyclogest. And who knows, it may be the reason I'm almost 20 weeks now

[cloudjumper]

It really depends on who you are under - if you ask on the RMC and treatments thread, there is a great variety of people who are on 200 and other who are on 400mg cyclogest.
I never paid that much attention to the timing, but tried to space it out as evenly as possible. And yes, the wind/bloating can be horrendous!
No problems with the blunt end in the back door, btw, it's pretty slippy

Growth scan was all good, no more hospital appointments until the week before the C-section now!

[Ellie2015]

Sounds like you are under a wonderful team Brook as sadly not many units including rmcs work proactively to prevent problems..touch wood..20 weeks sounds great! Is this ur first? had ur anomaly scan already? I did have lot of tests all negative except MTHFR A1298C homozygous mutation and raised TEG. Heard of these?

Anyone else here with similar issues?

Cloud yes there does seem to be lot of variation in the dosage..in almost everything! Ha ha glad to know i dont have to throw away the other half of the pessary, will just 'slip' them over ;) must be an amazing feeling to reach this stage...did u have a background like me and brook too? x

[Grizzer]

So sorry RoTo. I hope it's a relatively quick end & not too uncomfortable for you (physically I mean, I know mentally it's a much longer process).
Is baby head down Cloud? Mine is still transverse. I think they will talk about turning it at my next appointment next month. I really don't want that so I'm trying to persuade it to sort itself out quickly with lots of bouncing on a gym ball.
I was using progesterone cream after a couple of early mcs Ellie. This was recommended by an 'alternative' fertility Dr (yes, I've tried everything!!) not as strong as the pessaries but seems to have done the trick. I was told to take aspirin at the epu this time round but as soon as I saw the consultant he told me it was just for placenta issues & to stop. I'm just injecting clexane now but that's a whole other issue!
Remind me how far along you are Ellie. Do you have any dc? Sorry, I have the worst memory in the world!
Do you have your 20 week scan coming up soon Brook?
I'm 33 weeks today. Work is getting harder & harder. My back is killing me but I have an osteopath appt tomorrow which I'm hoping will help. Walking like I'm 90 is not helping my 'I'm a young mum really' look .

[brookeberry]

My 20 week scan is next week!! So no doubt I will be a wreck in the build up to that. Funnily enough I've had what I would describe as a popping sensation below my belly button for the last couple for days. Just every so often - pop! I don't know if it's possible movement or weird wind!

Sorry your back is sore Grizzer. I hope the osteopath can sort it tomorrow.

Ellie I've not heard of those tests and yes, this is my first

[notfromstepford]

RoTo so sorry to hear of your loss, sending you hugs and x

[IslaMann]

Does anyone think we need a file/spreadsheet with everyone's due dates on it? There's such a spread of dates on here that it'll help us keep track. I'm happy to start it, I think if I make a google document and post the link then everyone can add to it themselves. What does everyone think?

[cloudjumper]

isla Great idea - I have been meaning to start a thread stats list ever since this thread started Would it be easier to have it in the thread and do regular updates? Happy either way!

grizzer I think that the baby is head down, but only because the sonographer pushed the scanner right into my pelvis/bladder when she was doing the head measurements! Really hope that yours will turn and that you won't have to do the EVC. There is still plenty of time, fingers crossed. Did they discuss the possibility of a section with you yet?
When do you finish work?

ellie Yes, I've had 4 miscarriages, which in combination of my history of DVT meant that I have been quite closely monitored and highly medicated throughout this pregnancy. Whatever it takes... Although I am not going to miss the daily heparin injections, which I now have to do in front of a mirror because I can't see where I'm stabbing anymore!. Unfortunately, I will have to continue them for 6 weeks after the birth, grrr.

My pregnancy rhinitis is really getting on my nerves now! I just want to be able to breathe. Especially at night. Wondering if I could use some of DS's nasal spray, it's just saline, so should be ok?