How to stay pregnant after 4 recurrent miscarriages. Any advice?

[Sallyjo27]

I’ve posted here before after my 3rd miscarriage.
I went on to have another loss at the end of 2020. I’ve had an appointment with my consultant and have been told to have clexane injections as soon as I get a BFP, cyclogest pessaries (I used these on the 3rd pregnancy) and 75mg of aspirin after a heartbeat is seen at the scan. I’ve had lots of tests- thyroid, progesterone, blood clotting, autoimmune antibodies, ultrasound scan of my womb,AMH and my husband had a sperm analysis all have come back normal. We are waiting to see if the NHS will do Karyotyping bloods as they never did it on the previous pregnancies.
Has anyone else had recurrent miscarriages and gone on to have a successful pregnancy? What did you do differently?

At the moment I just feel hopeless and like we will never get our rainbow

Really sorry for your losses

The only test I could think of is natural killer cells and cytokines. If they are positive then there are some treatments for that eg steroids and intralipids. I didn't have the testing but read about Messima and Cordyceps mushrooms and took those for 3 months before I conceived. Read up on them, they are supposed to really help reduce underlying auto-immune issues.

Do you have any intolerances? It's worth getting the Yorke test and cutting those out and rebuilding gut if - there are issues - through probiotics (I used Symprove) and glutamine. They give you a free nutrition session. Dairy, oats, citrus and tomatoes were triggers for me.

I am taking low dose aspirin at 5 weeks, is there a reason why you started later? I could have read the information wrong but I thought you took it from TTC through the first trimester and beyond in some cases. The first month I started taking it, I conceived, so I am nervous to stop.

There's a book called 'Is your body baby-friendly?' that might be of interest to you. It's a lot of information but empowering in small doses.

Xx

I had 3 miscarriages. It was such an awful time so I really feel for you. With my successful pregnancy I had prednisolone and progesterone until 16 weeks. All my test results were always perfect and so it remained unexplained.

Hi, I’m so sorry for your losses.

I too suffered 4 miscarriages within 12 months. The latest being in November 2020.

I had all the tests done with a fertility specialist and my partners semen analysis was great too.

I got a bfp at 8dpo in January. The only thing I did differently this time was I took 150mg aspirin from 1dpo.

I already took a high dose of folic acid and high dose of vit d along with a 200mg dose of ubiquinol.

I’m currently just over 6 weeks pregnant and still taking the aspirin.

We actually got to see a heartbeat on a scan at 5+5, which while I know is still early and anything can still happen, for us that’s huge as we have never seen a heartbeat before, even with my 9 week loss.

At the early scan at the EPU I was prescribed cyclogest pessaries to use twice daily until 16 weeks.

I strongly believe it was the aspirin that helped.

So sorry to hear this

Have you been tested for Lupus? A friend of mine had that diagnosed after 3 miscarriages and went on to have 2 successful pregnancies very soon after with daily medication

I was luckier as had ds following 2 mc

Good luck

So sorry to hear about your losses :( I’ve had successes with clexane preds progesterone - all nhs tests were fine. Something in the mix works for me - not sure which one but for me it worked thank goodness so may be worth also discussing the low dose preds. Good luck xx

I have had three miscarriages and am currently pregnant at 25 weeks. 1st did nothing, 2nd did nothing, 3rd diagnosed with lupus anticoagulant after the 2nd so was taking tinzaparin (similar to clexane I imagine) and also aspirin. The foetus was tested at the third and was non-viable so nothing would have helped. Had karotype tests after this and all was fine. This time, did the same and also cyclogest and a course of metronidazole. I had also been diagnosed with a uterine septum after the third and that was removed prior to this pregnancy. So it might be a combination of all these factors, or it may be just luck. There are those who have the same conditions as me without intervention who have successful pregnancies doing nothing. It’s difficult to be sure what worked this time. Had seen heartbeats at the last two miscarriages, so was hard to feel reassured with this one even with scans. Even now I’m nervous! Good luck with your journey and I’m sorry for your losses.

So sorry for your losses.

I had 4 loses as well, this pregnancy I used progesterone and higher dose folic acid. So far I'm 16weeks and everything is great. My last baby was lost due to down syndrome so for us it was completely 'bad luck'. I had all the same tests as you and all came back clear. My heart goes out to you, it's so so cruel.

I have not had recurrent losses, however, twice now I have used low dose aspirin following a loss- and I swear by it. I don't know why they would say to wait til a heartbeat is seen- if you have some sort of clotting or sticky blood issue then surely the aspirin would be best taken as soon as you get a BFP. *Disclaimer- I am not trying to give medical advice, it just doesn't make much sense unless your doctor is on the fence about the success of aspirin after losses. Many women swear by it, myself included.

I'm so sorry for your losses

I'd start a low dose of asprin.

I had 3 miscarriages - 2 followed by a successful pregnancy (did nothing different), another miscarriage then after trying for years fell pregnant again and knew due to age it was probably my last shot so started taking asprin immediately and had another successful pregnancy. When I mentioned it to my gp he said in his view all women who can take asprin during pregnancy should.

Fingers crossed for you. X

I've had 4 losses, currently 22 weeks. Im on 400mg progesterone, low dose aspirin, higher dose folic acid and vit d.
I have a bicornuate uterus which should only effect me later in pregnancy and all other fertility tests came back clear. 3 early losses and 1 midtrimester loss (6, 10, 12 and 16 weeks). This is the only pregnancy I've been on progesterone and aspirin for which I started ws soon as I got my bfp.

Good luck x

Wow! Thank you all so much for replying! I really appreciate it also I’m so sorry to hear of your losses x
@summerhillgang after reading your reply I bought the intolerance test last night (and of course had to buy one for Husband as he was feeling left out) and I’ve bought the book you recommended too so thank you very much x My consultant said there are some studies that show in can affect implantation so not to take it until 6 weeks. Although my last pregnancy I took it straight away and it didn’t make a difference I still miscarried. I’ve got a phone call from another clinic next week to talk about NK cells too.

@Coconutfatfeast I’ve read a lot about prednisolone and asked my consultant for it but they’re not prescribing it at the moment apparently as it can lower the immune system and they won’t risk it with covid.

@Moominmiss I took 75mg aspirin last time and it did nothing, I never thought about upping the dose! I think I may if I’m lucky enough to get pregnant again. Also congratulations! I hope this will be your rainbow ❤️

@jackstini yes I have and it came back fine- thank you for the recommendation though xx

@Lovemylittlebear my consultant won’t prescribe prednisolone at the moment because of covid , but if things settle down I will definitely be asking. Thank you x

@Grognonne, that’s what I’ve found most difficult with mine as 3 out of 4 have been missed miscarriages and we’d had scans previously where we’d seen a “strong” heartbeat. It’s just heartbreaking.

@PutOnAHappyFace it is so cruel, they can’t seem to find anything wrong and that makes it even more upsetting. I just wish I’d have an answer. I’ve always taken 5mg of folic acid anyway because of my bmi and I took the progesterone last time too. This time I’ve been told I’ll have to take 2x400mg in the morning and 2x400mg in the evening! It seems a very high dose to me

@ThisMammaCat @PipletteI I agree I’ve read so much about it too, although in the last pregnancy I took it and had the earliest miscarriage I’d ever had. I’m not sure if it’s linked or not but it has put me off taking it so early again. Although next time I’ve been prescribed blood thinning injections so maybe I just didn’t take a high enough dose.

@basilsenia congratulations! I’ve always just taken pregnacare and 5mg of folic acid but I’m not sure actually if I’m deficient in vitamin d so will look into that. Thank you x

I thought I wouldn’t be prescribed it and expressed concern at the time but the private consultant and GP said that 5mgs preds wasn’t contraindicated with Covid for a few weeks (not sure if that still the case though as that was weeks 4-8 and I’m 29 now). Good luck and fingers crossed :) x

I've had 3 losses and currently 12 weeks (so still reasonably early days and could still go either way, but this is as far as we've got so far by far). I haven't had any tests so I don't have anything diagnosed, except I know I don't know have sticky blood/blood clotting issues so I know I don't need aspirin or clexane. I'm taking 400mg progesterone (cyclogest) twice a day, and 20mg prednisolone per day. I started the cyclogest and a lower dose of 10mg 2 days after ovulation until I got my bfp (stop if no bfp) and then upped the pred to 20mg per day following bfp. I take the pred twice per day, so 10mg in morning and the other 10mg in the evening. This is because I had read to take it like this in the book the PP suggested.

I have been prescribed pred, even though it's not ideal in a pandemic. I had to go private to initially get it (let me know if you want details) but then since then my NHS consultant has agreed to prescribe it. I have to self isolate while I'm on it which is doable for me.

Wishing you all the best, it really is shit

Oh and I also take 2000iu of vit d, as recommended in 'it starts with the egg'. Another book I would highly recommend if you haven't read it already. It has lots of useful info in it and special section for recurrent loss

@Sallyjo27 interesting they won't prescribe the prednisone. Defo the messima and Cordyceps mushrooms- 1 capsule each 3 times a day. You can just get them from Amazon x

@Sallyjo27 oh and great about the Yorke test! My partner did it at the same time too :) super interesting. I truly believe sorting out my gut health and calming everything down in my body led to me getting pregnant. I was getting definite reactions to the food, rash on tongue, stuffy nose, bouts of anxiety, diarrhoea etc and diagnosed with a leaky gut (prob my sugar addiction) and stuff that shouldn't go into my blood was going in and putting my body on high alert. So not a great environment for an embryo.

I cut out alcohol, sugar, gluten, dairy, oats (found out I was actually proper allergic), reduced caffeine and did exercise most days, and ended up losing a fair amount of weight. Then boom pregnant.

Definitely a journey! X

@Sallyjo27 Oh gosh, I didn’t think about that but it makes complete sense. Sorry. Now you mention it I remember them warning me that if I picked up a normal bug to monitor carefully as it could lead to a chest infection.

@Daffodil21 yes please! That would be really helpful! I’ve even thought about buying them online but there’s a lot of dodgy websites out there! My consultant is private at the moment as I haven’t had my NHS appointment yet. Im still waiting 😩. I’ve actually got it starts with the egg I’ll have to give it another read thank you x
@summerhillgang at the moment I’m waiting for the NHS consultant to reply to a letter my private consultant sent about prescribing the clexane and progesterone on the NHS. When I get the reply I may ring the clinic and ask if they’ll prescribe it to me again. I suppose it’s worth a shot, but she was quite adamant last time that they won’t with covid 😩 thank you I’ll definitely have a look for those now! That’s so strange isn’t it? I’ve always thought I’ve suffered with IBS and noticed it is worse after eating bread and dairy. Is it sad that I’m actually looking forward to getting the results 😂🙈 x

@Sallyjo27 I've sent you a PM

Oooh just thought of the one other thing I did differently this time, and that was drink a glass of pomegranate juice a day from 6dpo.

I was recommended this by a friend who also conceived after drinking it for the first time one cycle.

It’s supposedly good for helping implantation. I bought the POM one. And a plus is that it’s actually really delicious!!

@Sallyjo27 dairy seems to be the one! defo keep us updated on the intolerance test x

@Sallyjo27 if you don't mind spending on supplements, I think here's a full routine in It Starts With The Egg which includes N-acetyl cysteine.

A study showed "significant increase in the take-home baby rate" for women with recurrent miscarriage.

Hi ladies just an update my clinic have said they will prescribe prednisone! 🎉🎉🎉 I’m so glad!!! Thank you for all the advice!
@CombFromAShoe ah I’ve never heard of that! I’ll have a look for that once I’ve finished work x

@Sallyjo27 that's great news! I hope it works for you!!

Hi all just thought I’d give an update. Ive just had my bfp! I’m going to ring the clinic tomorrow and order my medication. I hope this will be my bring home baby x