ERA/Alice/Emma infertility thread graduates/pregnancies

[seven201]

If you are a regular on the infertility board you may have seen the ERA/Alice/Emma threads for those going through those tests after lots of unsuccessful IVF or recurrent losses. This thread is for the ladies from there who are now pregnant. We can share our worries and joys.

I am useless at remembering who is pregnant from which thread so please do add yourself or tag others. @Janefx40 and @Faithhopelove83.

Also, if anyone who has fully graduated/had their baby, then please feel free to join if you wish. I don't want to tag individuals as I don't want people to feel obliged.

If you've also just had lots of failed ivf and/or recurrent miscarriages you are of course welcome too!

A little bit about me. I have a naturally conceived nearly 7 year old dc. Have been trying for dc2 for 5 1/4 years. One natural early loss, 5 failed ivf, 3 surgeries (main one being an adhesion removed), 2 natural pregnancies and early losses, 1 ivf pregnancy that got to heartbeat stage. This pregnancy is a letrazole round and I'm 9+6 (although measuring 9+0 but that's been consistent) so due early November. I've been spotting brown for the past 3 days but my scan was this afternoon, so reassuring (although still worried). I'm under the CRP clinic in epsom due to the miscarriages.

Good luck to us all!

@AM08 yeah, I have been worried by that. Part of me thinks ok you're protected and part of me thinks it won't go well. Knowing the type of employer they are, I don't think they will want issues, and I think my main concern might be how other people in the team would perceive me. The other thing is I might want to go part time if all goes well.

The key issue for me is, do I even bother doing interviews? Is it just a waste of time and energy if the scan goes well? It certainly feels like it might be.

@Gardenlady543 did you do your own bloods? you're taking daily iron I assume? I've been taking a multivitamin and adding a bit of my iron spray in too.

I'm getting very twitchy about the scan. 6 weeks tomorrow, worried it will suddenly end before that point.

@thislittlebird you could always do the interview if you wouldn't find it stressful, the only thing is if you offer and decline then that may reduce your opportunities with them in the future.

I'm just waiting for my medichecks kit, I can take my own bloods so that's how I've been keep an eye on my thyroid as nobody else does. I'm not on iron, just whatever is in my prenatal. I had a scare where they thought I had haemochromatosis is the past, so I try to about iron when I can.

Just had our private reassurance scan, still going every week. The technician tried to get a 4D image and each time the baby put its foot in front of its face!

@Gardenlady543 glad you got the scan and all is well! How far along now?

Yeah that’s a good point, I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe if the scan goes well I won’t do the interview. There’s a written test to do too and it all seems pointless if it goes well.

My symptoms seem to have died down the last two days, not had such an appetite and no nausea amongst other things. My heart rate declined too, someone on another thread told me it isn’t a symptom, but it really has been for me. My heart rate increased 7dp5dt when I woke up with my heart racing and that’s been fairly regular since, hr has stayed high but dropped down a bit the past two days. I found a thread where a woman said her heart rate had dipped down again at the same point in both her successful pregnancy and mmc and that reassured me. But the racing heart is possibly back again today, can’t tell if it’s the usual heart racing or anxiety.

My asthma has also been worse, actually. I’m having to take an additional inhaler roughly every other day.

@thislittlebird I'm 25 weeks. I stopped wearing a fitness tracker because I had tachycardia, at a level that is definitely bad. Driven by the hyperthyroidism, and it just stresses me out. There are so many thing that have an impact on heart rate. I would just stop monitoring it, it will just stress you out. I had no symptoms in first trimester except burping, but am I paying for it now! 4 days to go until your scan :)

@Gardenlady543 I wasn't really monitoring it, I just wear a fitbit and noticed it had been high since before BFP. I checked it yesterday because the symptoms had died off. The tachycardia, did it come and go? I'm not sure when it's classed as that. I get a sporadic fast heart rate for a few minutes, often in the mornings when I wake up, but sometimes at different points in the day.

@thislittlebird yeah it would fluctuate, but it was offer above 110, my heart rate has always been on the high side so I've never had any patterns for implantation.

@Gardenlady543 the annoying thing is I don’t wear a Fitbit overnight, so I have no idea how fast it’s racing when I wake up, which is usually how it happens. How did you know it was 110, did you wear a device or took your pulse to check? I noticed it from 7dp5dt and knew it can be an indicator and for me it was. My resting heart rate is usually 62/63bpm and it went up by about 8-10bpm.

@thislittlebird I had a very cheap fitness tracker watch, I got it when I was having the chemical as that's when my heart rate issues started, I was getting palpitations at this time. I don't wear it now.

@Gardenlady543 i guess I will mention it to a doctor or nurse if I get to that stage

@thislittlebird what did you decide to do about the interviews? Sometimes switching jobs when pregnant is fine, I just think sometimes the line manager/team can be a bit resentful of the person and make life a bit harder for that person. Hope you’re feeling better about the heart rate stuff.

@Gardenlady543 what a cheeky monkey putting her foot in the way on the scan, still so nice to see her. My vomiting has eased off but baby didn’t want to let me keep my lunch down last week before my midwife appointment which meant I was running late as had to jump in the shower beforehand.

Looking forward to 28 week scan next week, I can’t believe it’s been 8 weeks since we last saw baby (starting to feel anxious now as always but tbh the time has been a bit easier this time due to the kicking and being away/having quite a few events in September)

how is everyone doing? Any updates?

I’ve not decided yet @AM08, waiting until after Thursday.

I’m really worried today tbh and panicking a bit. Started getting a shoulder tip ache this morning, I’m 6w2d. So scared it’s ectopic and can’t really believe how much bad luck is possible if that happens after all this time.

The next scan will roll round fast!

@thislittlebird I will eat my hat if you have an ectopic with those betas, my understanding is ectopics grow much slower that uterine pregnancies and they can do really strange things with betas. My fertility specialist is against betas but says there only use is to rule out ectopics.

Exciting times @AM08 !

Erg the vomiting is awful :( waiting on my blood test to see what my ferritin is as I'm looking pale.

@Gardenlady543 i hope you’re right. Im freaked out by it and emailed the clinic. They’re going to scan me today instead, to make sure.

why are they against betas, do they think it causes unnecessary worry?

sorry you’re still pale, hopefully it comes back and you can get something done about it.

Oh wow @thislittlebird so the scan is today, how exciting! Let us know how it goes!

A lot of Uk clinics don't do betas, I mean I did get myself really stressed by the results.

@Gardenlady543 yeah I noticed how common it was in the US on Reddit vs here where it seems rarely done, except the EPU.

I wish I was excited, I’m scared they’re going to say it’s one of the various things that can be wrong or not there at all :/

@thislittlebird what time is the scan?

I’m 6 weeks 2 days but she said 6 weeks 3 days on the phone, I think, hopefully that’s still ok to see what they need to see

@Gardenlady543 3pm, need to leave in half an hour or so

@thislittlebird 6.5 weeks is perfect timing for the first scan so you're fine. That's when I had mine, I can't remember how they calculate weeks post transfer, but my transfer was May 1st and my first scan May 27th.

just heading back now, all was ok and it’s in the right place with everything present. I didn’t even realise until we left but yeah it’s a singular baby, which is a relief risk wise.

only thing she said was that it is 4.1mm and measuring 6 weeks and I’m slightly more than that 6w2d, but she said a few days either way is fine. I guess it’s just something to be aware of the next time.

@thislittlebird I have been refreshing every few minutes! This is a great update. My first scan I was 1 day behind and then I started getting ahead by an extra day at a time and remained 5 days ahead all pregnancy. So it means very little at this stage and we are talking about a days difference being fractions of mm. How are you feeling about it all now and when's the next scan?

@Gardenlady543 thanks! I’m so numb about it all, just feels so alien still. I cried in there briefly when she asked if I’d been worried because I said yeah, I have and it’s been so hard to get this far blah blah blah.

Next scan is 26th October, 9w 4d and now I need to hope I get to that one!

@thislittlebird I had a gap with 6.5 weeks privately and then 8 weeks at my clinic for their scan, you could arrange a private scan inbetween if you think that would help.

So my vomiting is more of an issue, I have a rash of red petechiae on my face and neck which can be caused by the raised pressure of vomiting and retching, I called the midwife line who were not any help and told me to see my gp, so I'll see how I feel and may book in to discuss treatment for the vomiting with them.