Recurrent Miscarriage looking for help!!

[Jellystar23]

New to MN but have read and read old and recent posts looking for comfort.
I found out last week I lost my 5th baby at 14 weeks.
5 years ago I had my first MC at what we think was 15weeks but accept now that we may have had a MMC before this point and just weren't aware. In the last 14 months I have lost a baby at 7 weeks, 5 weeks, 6 weeks and my most recent again at 14 weeks. All except the 7 week and 5 weeks MC we saw a healthy heartbeat.
This time around I had multiple scans for reassurance and was taking Aspirin, Clexane, Prednisolone (10mg) and Cyclogest pessaries twice a day. We have had the NHS investigations with nothing showing up - never have I wanted to find something wrong with me so much but my consultant was happy to prescribe in hope that something may help.
We have asked for the baby to be tested and have paid privately for karyotype tests on me and my husband in a hope of finding out why this keeps happening.
I wouldn't wish this pain on my worst enemy, but I am desperate to find someone in similar circumstances to see if there is anything else I can be doing??

Hello Jellystar. I had 4 mc's from Sept 2018-Sept 2019 (one being a mmc). All under 10 weeks. Now I'm 35 weeks pregnant.
Have you had your thyroid checked - both the TSH and T4 levels? The balance has to be correct - now I can't remember what balance but worth exploring as I was put on levothyroxine.
With the mmc and this pregnancy I was on the same drugs as you. But mmc was tested and came back as a chromosome problem so no drugs would have made a difference.
Now looking back I think it was a combination of bad luck/age (37+).
I found the NHS amazing but I would book a private appointment with Professor Regan at St Mary's. She'll cover all the bases. Read her book too - 'Miscarriages - What ever woman needs to know'
Good luck!!! Xx

Hi - thank you so much for replying. Congratulations on your pregnancy - stories like yours are the reason I trawl the internet and what my husband keeps telling me to think on the bad days!!
My thyroid levels were checked after my second MC, along with all the other go-to tests with no joy. So hard when there are just no answers! I think even if someone could tell me that i'd never have a baby, it would be better than the constant hope/search for answers.

Hi OP,

I'm very sorry to hear about your losses.

I've 'only' experienced two losses consecutively, both after seeing heartbeats too, but I then also went private and am now 34 weeks pregnant and on a cocktail of meds - clexane, pred, cyclogest/lubion, levothyroxine, aspirin, vitamin D. This was all just given as a precaution as I feel pregnant before any actual tests could be done.

I did also have immunoglobulin IV's for natural killer cell treatment as I did the 'Chicago' tests as they're so-called and had elevated levels. I had around 4 rounds of these IV's and they're hugely expensive but maybe they helped, who knows?!

You can get a uterine biopsy done for NK cells in Coventry with Professor Quenby - I know other ladies on here who've done this who've had recurrent MCs and perhaps this may be of help to you to get answers.

There was a lot of helpful info on the threads here that I just read and made notes. If you search for it, there's also a thread of ladies who are being treated by Mr Shehata, another specialist in the field of MC. I believe the thread is called the Pred Thread or something similar.

I presume your other half has had tests including DNA fragmentation of sperm?

Looking for answers is always so terrible when there seem to be none, at least no obvious ones. It's worth as a PP said to talk to specialists including Professor Reagan or Professor Quenby.

Hi @LASandOtto
Thank for your reply and congratulations on your pregnancy!!

After my last mc we looked at Prof Quenbys NK clinic but our consultant said he would save us a trip and procedure, and prescribe the pred anyway - in hindsight perhaps I should have gone. He only prescribed me 10mg which is a lot less than I've seen others are prescribed by other clinics. But then I did make it to 14 weeks, pred was tapered down and eventually stopped a few days after my 12 week scan. Surely if the pred dose was too low, I'd have mc earlier.
Have you been on the prednisolone all the way through this pregnancy or was it stopped at 12 weeks?

@Jellystar23 no, I was also weaning off the prednisolone from 12 weeks onwards.

However as mentioned, I was also on the Immunoglobin IV's for elevated NK cells and this treatment is done every 4 weeks at the clinic I was at, until 20 weeks. They do check levels in between.

I'd read that the research currently is inconclusive regarding NK cell activity however, that's probably because research into miscarriages is not extensive as it is and we are often left with no answers and it being written off as 'one of those things'.