2+ miscarriages? Read here!

[filipenko32]

Hi, I thought it might be a good idea to set up a thread where we all give some stats about our miscarriages and see whether we can see anything in common with anyone else or have missed any tests / treatment we could have had done! Hope you think this is a good idea too!

Age started ttc: 31 (January 2011)

Mc's: 3 between 5 - 8 weeks

Patterns in mc's: all a week behind dates, hcg levels did not double and low to begin with, hearts eventually stopped beating (1 HB was high at 145)technically all MMC's, one mc had an enlarged yolk sac

Time to conceive: 1-2 months

Tests: full blood count, lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipins, anticoagulant tests, liver function,factor V leiden, mthfr, chromosome karyotyping tests for me and DH, 3 x semen analysis and semen DNA fragmentation test.

Results: nothing 'significantly pointing to miscarriage' but Protein S deficiency (blood clotting) during pregnancy and mean cell volume on the blood count was high at 101. mthfr heterozygous (so not really a problem). ADDITION: DH's sperm morphology is only 3% (meaning 97 out of every 100 are abnormal) but 'very high sperm count' supposedly makes up for this... Hmmmm??

Chromosome of the fetus tested / result? Yes for 3rd mc - normal male fetus

Treatment / did it work this time? Only for 3rd mc when I took prgesterone and 2 x shots of Clexane from BFP. Once HB detected 10mg prednisilone steroid. Take folic acid everyday. Did not work

Plan for next time: Dont know!

Any living children / mc before after?: No

 

[EllaAndLyla]

Age started ttc: I'm currently 18, I was never ttc

Mc's: 4 - 2 were chemical & other 2 between 5 and 10 weeks.

Patterns in mc's: most times I didn't know I was pregnant

Time to conceive: wasn't trying

Tests: full blood tests.

Results: really low iron levels, I think the norm is around 16, mine were 7

Chromosome of the fetus tested / result? Nope

Treatment / did it work this time? When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter (now 4 months old) I was on a high dose of folic acid, which after 15weeks gest were changed to some stronger iron tablets (cant remember the name). These kept my iron levels stable.

Plan for next time: wtt until Feb 2013 will be taking folic acid and most probably my iron tablets as pregnancy seems to make me very anemic.

Any living children / mc before after?: I have a 4 month old daughter named lyla. 3 m/c were before she was concieved, 1 was after, this august just gone around 6 weeks gest, even though I was on the pill.

 

[Hope39]

Age started ttc: 33 (March 2010)

Mc's: 3 - All mmc, first two detected at 12w scan, 3rd at early 9w scan

Patterns in mc's: All 3 seem to have stopped developing at 6 weeks (we seen a hearbeat with 3rd pregnancy at 6 weeks)

Time to conceive: 1st pregnancy 1-2 months, 2nd pregnancy 3 months, 3rd pregnancy 7 months

Tests: None as yet, awaiting appt for recurrent miscarriage clinic & i am off to see Professor Quenby for NK cells test

Results: (to be updated)

Chromosome of the fetus tested / result? No- advised unable to test due to feotus being dead for 3 weeks or more

Plan for next time: Dont know!

Any living children / mc before after?: No

 

[filipenko32]

Thanks ladies, Ella and Lyla, I'm sorry you had to suffer losses before your beautiful daughter - the iron deficiency is interesting. Hi Hope39 good luck with Professor Quenby, i'm sure I came across a lady on here who is now in her 3rd tri after a visit there!

 

[Justkeeptryin]

Age started ttc: Turned 29 in April 2011, started ttc November 2010
Mc's:2.
Patterns in mc's: First was at 5 weeks so probably classed as chemical. 2nd was a MMC - had 4 early scans all showing a heartbeat and at 9 weeks no longer a heartbeat it stopped growing at 8.5 weeks (largest measurement).
I had early scans as I was having my HCG monitored weekly and it stopped doubling as it should, also experienced spotting and then full blown period bleeding at 8 weeks but scans still showe3d it was not coming from the baby. It was discovered at D&C that I have a double womb which explains why my non pregnant womb wa strying to carry on as normal and have a period.
Time to conceive: 1st pregnancy 3 months, 2nd pregnancy 1 month using the clearblue fertility monitor which is a god send.

Tests: Was luckily referred to recurrent miscarriage clinic after 2 miscarriages. Blood results showed everything normal except the blood clotting APS results which are higher than normal. As they like to repeat the tests they have taken more blood and Im waiting on the results due 2nd Nov.

Chromosome of the fetus tested / result?

Plan for next time: If second blood results show still high levels of clotting factor, I will be treated with low dose aspirin and daily heparin blood thinning injections. Also progesterone if I push for it aswell ( Im convinced that I also have low progesterone) also this will stop my non pregnant womb trying to have a period each month and support the pregnany as it will be high risk

Any living children / mc before after?: No

 

[filipenko32]

This is supposed to be the gold standard for guidelines to recurrent miscarriage. My doctor recommended that I read it as I am always doing my own research!! It's from the Royal College of Gynaecology and it results from lots of research which consultants refer to, it's quite interesting
https://www.rcog.org.uk/files/rcog-corp/GTG17recurrentmiscarriage.pdf

 

[LisaL79]

Age started ttc: 32

Mc's: 4, 4-6weeks

Patterns in mc's: I get a BFP and I'm either already spotting or start to spot soon after. Go in for a beta and it's usually really low. Spotting usually turns to bright fresh blood.
Last 2 m/c, I had a normal period but something remained so my hcg levels rose slowly. Last time it reached 60, this time it reached 288.

Time to conceive: We've been trying for almost 3 years (will be 3 at the end of Oct). Got pregnant when I finally started injections and ovulating on our 2nd try. I seem to get pregnant easily enough if I ovulate. It's just staying pregnant that's the problem.

Tests: HSG clear, DH's SA normal, autoimmune thyroid tests normal, DH & I chromasomal tests normal. Getting blood clotting tests done as soon as beta is 0.

Results: *read above*

Chromosome of the fetus tested / result? N/A

Treatment / did it work this time? I've been taking a low dose progesterone suppository but it doesn't seem to be doing much. I think I need to be put on a higher dose.

Plan for next time: I know what I'd like to do. I'll be asking my RE to put me on a much higher dose of progesterone after ovulation. As for anything else, not sure. He's supposed to be getting more information on steroid shots and I'm sure if anything comes up abnormal with my blood tests, we'll try something there as well.

Any living children / mc before after?: No

 

[filipenko32]

Hi LisaL, thanks for replying. I'm no doctor and might be talking absolute rubbish but has anyone ever mentioned an implantation problem to you? I know that to produce HCG it has to implant to begin with but seems like there's a definite pattern there. If you've cleared chromosome karyotyping then any chromosome problems in the foetus are usually random and therefore *usually* different so you would expect different stages of deterioration like me. Since yours are all at the same stage and you lose them early and start spotting (so so so sorry ) it does seem like it's hormonal or something to do with early implantation. That must be incredibly frustrating for you, but perhaps it's better than getting to the stage where you see a heartbeat and then it stops as that's false hope and more upsetting. The progesterone might be something that helps then... ?? Is a HSG something to do with looking inside the uterus and checking it's ok structurally? I think blood clotting could also be an option. I really suspect my protein s deficiency now which is a blood clotting problem - especially if the chromosome analysis of the foetus comes back normal! I really think that in your case the right medication like blood thinning drugs / aspirin / progesterone will solve the problem. The other thing is is that the womb lining should be a certain thickness at implantation or it will fail. As i'm sure you know all this is prepared after ov and so hormones have to be just right. Perhaps you could have an ultrasound immediately after getting a BFP - do you ever get positives on a First Response as early as 10dpo? Then they could measure the thickness of the lining? Regardless of a pregnancy the lining should be a certain acceptable thickness anyway after ov and you could get that checked out. 10dpo with BFP would be a good time to test. You might have to pay for a private scan though... One more thing: do you tend to spot after ov or does it just start when you're supposed to get your period even when not pregnant? I'm sure sure sure it will work for you in the end once you get the right treatment Sorry if I have told you what you already know but otherwise i hope that's helpful! keep us updated.

 

[filipenko32]

Hi justkeeptryin, you sound a bit like me apart from the womb structure, that won't be the cause of your mc's though will it? Your mc patterns are similar to mine so I will let you know if my chromosome result comes back normal, then i am definitely attributing my mc's to blood problems and upping the blood clotting meds. Did you ever measure behind dates according to LMP or were your CRL measurements spot on? Sorry you're going through this x x

 

[shirlls]

I am sorry about all your losses, and sending good luck and baby dust to you all!

Here is my pattern:

Age started ttc: 31 (March 2011)

Mc's: 2, both at 5 weeks

Patterns in mc's: Had bad cramping over the course of a few days, before started bleeding. The cramps got unbearably bad on the day of the mcfollowed by bright red blood. Then cramps would get really severe (2nd time was on morphine in hospital), then followed by heavy bleeding for nearly a week with (sorry if tmi!) large clots.

Time to conceive: 1st - 4 months 2nd - 1 month

Tests: None after 1st mc. After 2nd mc i had an ultrasound scan which showed no abnormalities of the ovaries, fallopian tubes or uterus. That's all.

Results: All were clear

Chromosome of the fetus tested / result? N/A

Treatment / did it work this time? N/A

Plan for next time: They won't test me yet for causes of my mcs as I've not had 3 and I am under 35 (ridiculous!)

Any living children / mc before after?: Nope

 

[filipenko32]

Aww Shirlls I'm so sorry you've really been through it , that pain sounds horrific especially if they had to put you on morphene!! The large clots might be a sign of a blood clotting problem? I know the frustration of them not testing after 2 mc's!! I went and had some done privately but it was really expensive and the only thing that came up was a blood clotting thing called protein s deficiency. Consequently I do not think they put me on a high enough dose of blood thinning medication for this last mc as they only really looked at my normal results for 'lupus anticoagulant' and 'anticardiolipin' tests which both cause mc's for blood clotting. When I look in those guidelines (see link above) which are what every consultant follows protein S is a guilty culprit and only Lesley Regan from St Mary's hospital spotted this but by the time I saw her I was miscarrying number 3. I wonder too if it could be implantation for you in which case progesterone after ovulation might help?? Next time I am going to take 75mg or aspirin along with clexane injections and progesterone, so i'll let you know how that works out. Thanks for posting and best of luck next time x x

 

[LisaL79]

An HSG is where they inject dye in to your uterus to mostly check that the uterus is shaped ok and that your tubes are clear. It was all clear for me.
My lining isn't a problem. Since I have to do injection cycles, I'm monitored very closely. Usually when I trigger my lining is between 16-19mm, so pretty thick.
I asked if that was a problem being so thick, but they never said it was and always saw it as a good sign.
My first 3 BFPs, I got a + on 12-13dpo. This last one was on 10dpo.
I do spot a day before AF shows and I have a short 10-11 day LP so I think progesterone could be one of the problems. My RE doesn't think progesterone is a big deal, but he seems open to letting his patients try things anyway.
So yeah... we'll see what happens.

Oh I agree, I think seeing a heartbeat and then m/c after it would be more heartbreaking... not that any of this is ever easy though. Hopefully we'll all have our LOs and put these hardships behind us.

 

[shirlls]

I wonder too if it could be implantation for you in which case progesterone after ovulation might help?? Next time I am going to take 75mg or aspirin along with clexane injections and progesterone, so i'll let you know how that works out. Thanks for posting and best of luck next time x x

Thank you for your reply, appreciate it Funny you should say that about implantation as because of the timings of both mcs I have wondered that myself. I have started taking an aspirin a day in case it is blood clotting. Let me know how you get on. Good luck, and sorry about your losses xx

 

[filipenko32]

LisaL79 -

I think it's all hard like you say no matter what stage the loss it's all just as painful as a loss is a loss and it's devastating. I really hope the progesterone works for you next time and that this is the answer, or everything just works out anyway. It's good to have an open-minded RE too I really like mine because of that reason. Yes let's hope we can all put this behind us very soon!

 

[filipenko32]

I wonder too if it could be implantation for you in which case progesterone after ovulation might help?? Next time I am going to take 75mg or aspirin along with clexane injections and progesterone, so i'll let you know how that works out. Thanks for posting and best of luck next time x x

Thank you for your reply, appreciate it Funny you should say that about implantation as because of the timings of both mcs I have wondered that myself. I have started taking an aspirin a day in case it is blood clotting. Let me know how you get on. Good luck, and sorry about your losses xx

You're welsome, I'm no medical expert but sometimes I think it helps to just throw things out there and discuss. We're all in the same boat when it comes down to it and pretty much everyone is successful eventually but maybe if we can all share info we can speed things up a bit!! for example I took my first aspirin today and it made me feel really positive!

 

[Justkeeptryin]

Hi justkeeptryin, you sound a bit like me apart from the womb structure, that won't be the cause of your mc's though will it? Your mc patterns are similar to mine so I will let you know if my chromosome result comes back normal, then i am definitely attributing my mc's to blood problems and upping the blood clotting meds. Did you ever measure behind dates according to LMP or were your CRL measurements spot on? Sorry you're going through this x x

Hi, my measurements were always spot on as I knew exactly when I ovulated using my clearblue fertility monitor.
My consultant advised that the fact I seen a heartbeat 4 times at scans up until 8.5 weeks suggests a problem with implantation due to a clotting disorder and this is what they found my levels are higher than normal for clotting.
Further confirmation of this is the fact that my first miscarriage was early at 5 weeks so the second time around I started taking low dose aspirin which obviously worked to an extent and got me to 8.5 weeks.But obviously wasnt adequate enough to thin my blood enough. Keep us posted on what your results show.

 

[LisaL79]

How long does it take to get results back for the blood clotting tests?

 

[filipenko32]

LisaL - I had mine done privately at a clinic in the UK and they were back in a couple of weeks. Nobody would refer me as at that time I had 'only' had 2 mc's

 

[filipenko32]

Hi justkeeptryin, you sound a bit like me apart from the womb structure, that won't be the cause of your mc's though will it? Your mc patterns are similar to mine so I will let you know if my chromosome result comes back normal, then i am definitely attributing my mc's to blood problems and upping the blood clotting meds. Did you ever measure behind dates according to LMP or were your CRL measurements spot on? Sorry you're going through this x x

Hi, my measurements were always spot on as I knew exactly when I ovulated using my clearblue fertility monitor.
My consultant advised that the fact I seen a heartbeat 4 times at scans up until 8.5 weeks suggests a problem with implantation due to a clotting disorder and this is what they found my levels are higher than normal for clotting.
Further confirmation of this is the fact that my first miscarriage was early at 5 weeks so the second time around I started taking low dose aspirin which obviously worked to an extent and got me to 8.5 weeks.But obviously wasnt adequate enough to thin my blood enough. Keep us posted on what your results show.

That's really interesting. I just want the results back from the chromosome tests on the foetus now so I can finally see if it is something wrong with blood clotting or an inherent problem with the foetus - i think it is blood clotting problems. I have seen the heartbeat in 2nd and 3rd miscarriages too, all the way up to 7 weeks. This last one's HB got quite strong too at 145. On the 2nd mc th yolk sac was too large (so doctor warned me it would miscarry), the HB was beating strong for a few more days, then nothing. However mine have always been behind dates by a week or it gradually got to be a gap of a week... If you have aps you will definitely get there with adequate heparin and aspirin!

 

[Justkeeptryin]

LisaL my first lot of blood got taken on the 21st July and took 8 weeks to come back!! It felt like forever on the NHS. Then as it showed high clotting levels they want to repeat the test and its going to take another 8 weeks.
It sounds much quicker going private but the only thing I wasnt sure about private is who would then prescribe me the heparin and would I then need to stay under private consultant care. I thought I would give the NHS its place first but I am getting quite impatient. I really thot Id be pregnant before Christmas again but who knows with these time scales.