Fresh Start thread for pregnancy after miscarriage or loss

[BertieBotts]

Welcome everyone :)

I am feeling much more positive today, how is everyone else?

Oh i have been looking for you ladies!!! Tentatively stepping on. Im very early at 4+2 and have kind of known since sunday but it was one of those lines where it looks like a shadow more than anything. Tested again yesterday and a bit more clear but i was using ics which take forever to get a decent line so anyway here i am.

History:
1st pregnancy = mmc discovered at 9wks eventually sorted at 14wks. Absolute nightmare!
2nd pregnancy = stillbirth at 27+2. Problems identified at 20wk scan not thought to be life threatening but he died anyway. Diagnosed with PFFD at post mortem but no cause of death found.
3rd pregnancy = mmc at 14+2. Bled most of the way through nut had 3 healthy scans at 9, 11 and 13 wks. Had to return for screening and hb had stopped a day or so before. Tests confirmed triploidy.

Apparently all bad luck so praying that is right and this time all is well.

I'm so sorry for your losses DBoo - you've been through so much

Huge congratulations on this pregnancy, and hoping for a happy, healthy and uneventful nine months for you. Presumably you'll be offered early scans, given your history?

Yes i should be getting scanned around 9 weeks. I spoke to the midwife yesterday but tbh i find then quite useless. I'm not saying it's their fault i know they are extremely busy but she has squeezed me in 27th june for an appointment and said she will fax that day for the 9 week scan which i will likely get on the friday or monday where ill be almost 10 wks. Bit shit really.

Spoke to go this morning though who is much more understanding and had avtually read through my consultant letter before calling me and checked everything was in place.

Taking baby aspirin. 5mg folic acid and 200mg cyclogest twice a day. Hope thats the magic potion to give me a healthy one.

High bmi tho. Around 35. I was doing weight watchers and had gotten right into it the last month then bfp. Oops.

@DBoo sorry to hear you’ve been through so much. Fingers crossed it’s fourth time lucky for you!

I had recurrent miscarriage appointment. No scan offered sadly. They offered me progesterone but then said since I’m 10weeks this weekend there’s probably no point. If things go wrong they will arrange a 3D scan of my uterus and attempt adhesion removal.

Feeling really rough this week. Waves of nausea and dizziness morning and evening, which strangely improve around lunchtime. And I’m exhausted. I remember this fatigue from my first pregnancy so hoping it’s a good sign!

Thank you.

Im feeling pretty normal at the min but struggling to decide what to eat if you get what i mean. Salty stuff seems to be the answer. I had garlic bread tuesday and mcdonalds cheeseburger last night need to put a stop to that but i just dont fancy anything. Been asleep before 9 most nights since Saturday tho lol!

Tbh last pregnancy cos i bled i was lucky enough to have progesterone prescribed but they did tell me there is no conclusive evidence it does anything.

Can your GP not refer you for the scan, DBoo? Might be worth checking as they've been so much more helpful.

I also took progesterone (messy stuff, isn't it?!) in the first trimester of this one, and am still on aspirin. The recurrent miscarriage clinic which prescribed me the progesterone (the Coventry Tommy one) said that they think it can make a difference for some women, but probably only if taken earlier in pregnancy than in the big trial of its effectiveness they ran, where women started it from week 8 on average.

How far along are you now @LisaSimpsonsbff

Yes i think i started it around 8 weeks last time. Im doing all mine the back way i got major thrush last time and cba with that again lol!

I could but i think where i am its either midwife or epau for scans. I might ring the consultant i was under last time and see if they can arrange. I mean 10 wks isnt too bad i suppose. Im a bit blase about it all at the moment feels like ive been here so many times before with nothing to show.

32 weeks. In my area a GP can refer to EPAU, but I know it varies in different places - and obviously how much it matters depends on how you feel about scans and whether they're reassuring; I know they may not be for you, when you've sadly had good scans before followed by losses.

Oh wow 32 weeks. Not too much further to to go, how exciting! I remember you from the ttc boards when ive been on and off.

Yes i think for me it is knowing sooner rather than later if there is a problem but if im scanned at 10wks and there is as long as it can be dealt with asap i guess its not too bad. Last time they got me in next day for erpc because of my history so im feeling quite comfortable woth that although obviously trying to think more positively than that.

@DBoo you’ve had a dreadful time of it, i hope this is it for you!

Have managed to get a scan for tomorrow, have been asked to come in at 10 but to be prepared to be there for a few hours as they’re very busy. Ha! Don’t worry love, a few hours is nothing compared to the weeks of limbo I’ve been in! Thank fuck! Sore boobs have disappeared today after being in full force for the last few days which is playing on my mind a bit.

Fingers crossed though, hoping for the bes by preparing for the worst. Self preservation.

So sorry for your losses @DBoo but hopefully the nausea and extreme tiredness is a really good sign for this pregnancy!
Crossing everything for you 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Definitely push for a scan. I’ve been going through the recurrent miscarriage clinic at John Radcliffe Hospital and they’ve been so so supportive offering me as many scans as I need. I’ve had 3 scans now and am 11 weeks tomorrow

@Iswallowtoothpaste how far along are you? Are you having any problems?

@mummyjl15 thank you. I might give it a few weeks and see how i feel then speak to gp. At mo i arent fussed about scans but if that changes i will definitely follow upm

@dboo sorry to hear what you have been through. All the best for this one!

@toothpaste glad you have a scan booked. Hope all goes well

Got results back from doctor today and seems I just have a bad case of thrush which has made me feel better. Hopefully it is not a bad sign of anything else.

@DBoo I found out I was pregnant around 4 weeks ago today, I’ll be somewhere between 7-8 weeks but my dates are sketchy so that isn’t a given! I’ve had nothing but anxiety from the beginning largely in part due to previous M/C. Then my FRER tests weren’t getting darker, they were getting lighter either, it was very strange, over the space of a week the lines stayed exactly the same, this was with tests from different boxes too. Then thought I’d take a clear blue digital with weeks indicator to ‘put my mind at ease’ that showed up at 1-2 weeks when it should’ve been at least 2-3. Haven’t taken another HPT since as it was driving me insane. I did however take a cheap OPK which was a very dark positive more recently which I took to be a good sign.

Was just starting to enjoy and be thankful for nauseous feelings and sore breasts when I had some bleeding, only a small amount but enough to really freak me out. That then settled down until around 3 days ago where I had yet another pinky/browny bleed with mild cramps. It’s settled down slightly now although i still have a tiny amount of streaky, pink/red blood when I wipe. Very disconcerting although there barely anything there. To top it off tonight, I was straining for a poo (as I always seem to be now a days) sorry tmi, I wiped my front first and had the usual tiny bit of blood mixed with mucus (that you’d need a magnifying glass to see - but it’s still there) and then wiped my bum and there was fresh red blood. Now of course I’m worrying that it actually came from my vagina and not my bum. Arrrggggggghhhhhhh.

@Anxious I’m so pleased that you have thrush! And I mean that I’m the nicest possible way!

@toothpaste thanks, I understand! I have decided to try and have a worry free weekend unless anything else comes up .....

Sorry to hear hear about all your stresses. It is awful to dread going to the toilet for all theses reasons. I hope you get reassurance tomorrow 🌷

And I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone on this thread for all the support and positivity shared. I’ve found it hugely comforting!

So sorry to hear about your losses @DBoo. I have everything crossed for you.

@zaalitje hope all has gone well! Looking forward to hearing your news .

Thank you!

@Iswallowtoothpaste i bled on and off in my last pregnancy and had scans at various points and baby was fine. They couldnt really see a cause for it and just said implantation. Also with my stillborn i had trapped wind at 9wks and forced it out basically and got bright red blood again everything was fine so you just never know.

I have everything crossed for you.

Thank you @DBoo! I had bleeding with DD too at a similar time to this and all was fine so hoping and praying that we get good news tomorrow, if not then at least it’s closure for us.

Good luck @DBoo looking forward to hearing updates!

Hi all.

I don't post much but have had a complete whirlwind week and just need to get my feelings out somewhere. I've felt for weeks that something wasn't right but I just couldn't put my finger on it and thought I'd sound bonkers walking into the doctors and saying something wasn't right because I kept seeing single magpies (that was the one thing I remember from the week before my mc).

At the beginning of the week I had my 28 week midwife appointment. The pulse thing wasn't working so she decided to just do it the non-technological way. Whilst feeling my pulse, she thought the pattern didn't seem right - in fact her words were that she's never heard anything like it before. I said that I'd make an appointment with my GP but she said it was more urgent that that and I needed to go to A&E.

After 2 ECGs, a chest x-ray, blood tests and heart monitoring they decided to admit me. It turns out that the chronic indigestion / heart burn I've had for the past 6 months was actually a heart arrhythmia, severe enough that I was at risk of collapse. After further tests, I've been placed on medication and will likely need to have some form of surgery after the baby is born to correct it. I'm now home recovering.

I cannot fault the care that I have received. It has been an incredible rollercoaster of emotions. The NHS is so stretched so to walk in seemingly fit and healthy and get admitted was pretty scary. At no point did they really discuss the safety of the baby with all the things they were doing - when I asked the response was pretty much that it wasn't really relevant as if I collapsed, that would be catastrophic for baby.

The medication I'm on isn't safe during pregnancy, but is better than being non-medicated. The main risk is because it reduces blood flow to the placenta so may slow growth or cause premature birth but they said at 28 weeks that isn't the end of the world (or words to that effect).

So far I've not been told much about the rest of my pregnancy. I am currently midwife-led and recommended to give birth at the birth centre but I guess that might change now.

I feel so drained right now and a combination of being so grateful to that midwife who thought something didn't seem quite right and complete fear of what could have happened.

@voxnihili what a shock and how frightening. I don't really know what to say. I guess im glad it has been picked up and you are being medicated and hopefully you will be referred to a consultant for the rest of your pregnancy.

GOOD NEWS!

I feel so incredibly lucky! She couldn’t find anything when she scanned my stomach and asked me to go for a wee as my bladder was full to bursting the did an internal. I couldn’t look at the screen and when she turned it around I wasn’t sure what I was going to see. Anyway, there was a little heartbeat going ten to the dozen, measuring in at just over 7 weeks, I thought I’d be around 8 weeks tomorrow but that was from my very sketchy dates. Everything looks fine for the stage I’m at. I sobbed like a baby and was shaking when she told me.

The gynae doctor also did an examination of my cervix and said that I have some cervical ectroption which is probably what’s causing the bleeding. I think that the EPU nurse could tell that she was blinding me with science a bit and she just said that it’s far enough away from the baby not to panic.

Obviously not out of the woods yet and I’m taking nothing for granted but it’s very promising and I can self refer to them any time up until 20 weeks. Extremely impressed with the care we were given. We were seen very quickly and all of the nurses, the sonographer and the doctor were excellent. Faith well and truly restored

voxnihili I'm sorry you've had this stress but am glad they've picked up the problem now. Try not to worry about the medications, almost no drug is ever listed as "safe" in pregnancy but most are actually fine for most people. I would imagine you will be moved to the "high risk" medical clinic now and possibly advised to go to labour ward. But there's no reason you can't have a nice birth there too, you can discuss with your midwife soon?

@Iswallowtoothpaste congratulations!