Progesterone supplements...

[ilovespinach]

I tested postive on Thursday. On Sunday I noticed a little red blood when I went to the toilet (not enough to come onto a pad just there when I wiped...sorry if TMI). The bleeding stopped and then restarted again this morning - again just a little on the tissue. It has now stopped again.

I went to the dr today and was scanned. By my last period, I thought I should be about 6 and a half weeks. The dr saw a sac and said it measured about 5 weeks or so meaning that it was conceived much later in my cycle. He said there was bleeding but not very much.

I have to wait 10 days now for another scan to see if this is a viable pregnancy (If the bleeding gets heavier I must go back before then....).

The dr put me on progesterone supplememts - I have to take 100mg three times a day. It was so much to take in that I forgot to ask him what they are for.

Can anyone give me any postive stories about taking these supplemenst please......

Hi, progesterone suppliments are meant to build up the lining of your uterus. There is much debate about them and whether it works and when it should be taken etc. If you start taking them, they have to continue to be taken until about 12 weeks when the placenta takes over the progesterone production.

Many women in the USA swear by progesterone supplimentation.

There is no problem with taken it, there are no nasty side-effects or anything, but it can prolong a miscarriage. It can't prevent an inevitable miscarriage.

Some people believe that miscarriages are sometimes caused by low progesterone. This is why supplimentation is suggested.

I am currently on progesterone suppliments, and started taking them from 3days after ovulation. Last time I took them, it prolonged the pregnancy, but it still resulted in miscarriage, which later was shown to be due to genetic issues.

I hope this helps.

Thanks rainbowdays.

Sorry to hear about your miscarriage.

Fingers crossed it's good news for both of us this time around. How many weeks are you?

It is an anxious time waiting for repeat scans, (which is why I avoid them for as much as possible!) I am 6 weeks today, so early days yet. Planning to ask for a scan when I get to 7.5 weeks. Hope your next scan goes well.

best of luck. Yep, progesterone is said to strengthen the placenta etc. For roughly the first trimester, progesteron is produced by the ovaries, and if they do not produce enough, then the preg will fail, or at the very least you will have spotting/bleeding. Thats the theory anyway. Prog supplements can only help.

rainbowdays, I am sorry to hear about what has happened to you. However I was told that progesterone supplements can NOT prolong a pregnancy unless the ONLY problem is low progesterone. In other words, if there is a genetic problem which is going to cause a MC, then the prog supplement will have no effect on that at all.

vmcd28 - I hope that is true, it is just that the only proven genetic issue time (trisomy 22), was with the one that I used progesterone, and it lasted til 11 weeks rather than the normal 5 or 6 weeks for me (8 other miscarriages all lost at less than 7 weeks). So I hope it is just coincidence and that this time things will work out for me.

I had the same problem as you,scan showed sac but no heartbeat,following scan there was the tiny heart flickering away!I'd had the same sort of bleeding too,implantation probably,in both our cases.I wasn't given progesterone but my pregnancy was fine.My friend who had IVF had to inject herself with progesterone for months, her pregancy was fine too .I hope that your next scan shows the baby developing and you see the heartbeat.Good luck.

rainbowdays - warning, blunt reply coming up -
Please try to look at it as a coincidence. I was assured there was no way that a failing preg that was unrelated to low prog could be prolonged. I was told that if the pg was failing for ANY reason other than prog levels being low, then the course of events would be that the heart would stop beating THEN the MC would start. i.e. prog supplements cannot stop that happening. The ONLY thing prog could do was delay the MC from beginning, as the placenta was still being fed progesterone.

vmcd - have you got any documents to say this? I have been looking everywhere for proof of this please. I have been looking but all I have found says the opposite, that a failing pregnancy will fail anyway if it is not due to low progesterone, but that it might prolong the time before the bleeding starts. I would love to have something that says evidentially what you are saying, as I am deparately hoping that this time I might actually be taking the progesterone and it work and that all is well. By 6+3 with my other miscarriages I knew that things were starting to fail or I had already m/c. This time I would love to think that maybe things are going ok, and that it was just coincidental as you say that the last one was a slow m/c and had nothing to do with the progesterone. As you can tell I am in a fragile hormonal state at the moment and need all the encouragement I can get!

ilovespinich - hope you don't mind me asking vcmd these questions, I hope that all is going well with you and that the bleeding has stopped for you. As a bit of encouragement, I had a scare like this when pregnant with my dd. I was nearly 7 weeks pg and with bleeding and slight cramps had a scan. The scan showed a small sac but nothing else, I was told either my dates were out totally or I was m/c'ing. Since I knew my dates were right, I had torturous 11 days waiting for the next scan. Then at that scan, the baby was perfect with heartbeat and excactly the right size for dates!!!! (I was not taking progesterone suppliments, but obviously early scans can be out by days....). You had asked for a positive story, I hope that this gives you some hope that things could still be ok. Unfortunately with this limbo time, noone can give you a definite answer and it is horrible waiting. I just hope that you are able to do things to distract yourself over the next few days. Remember to let us know how the next scan goes too.

Rainbowdays, I actually stated exactly the same as you have - a failing pg cannot be saved by supplements unless it is due to low progesterone. The progesterone might delay the MC itself but the pg itself won't have progressed any further than it would hv done anyway.
What I was saying to u is that yr pg that progressed further had nothing to do with taking the supplements - it would hv reached that stage regardless. However I cannot say whether or not the other MCs would hv been helped by taking a supplement
Nobody will ever know that.
But take the progesterone. It can't do any harm, and may just be what does you good. Are you pg just now?

vmcd - yes I am 6weeks pregnant at the moment and trying to remain calm. I started taking the progesterone from 3dpo as recommeded by the clinic that prescribed them to me. I am a bit confused as my gp said that my progesterone levels were ok but the clinic called the same levels low. So I am not sure what is the case, but I am giving the progesterone another go. I am just hoping that this time it might all be ok.

I've just noticed u said u r six weeks in an earlier post, apologies!
Yes, hang on in there. I remember being at that stage, it is hard. Best of luck, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed. Just remember to use the prog religiously, don't forget to use it. I used prog cream which isn't messy like the suppositories, but then that meant there would be some days where I couldnt remember if i'd used it, then tortured myself for the rest of the day worrying about it, ugh!!