Advice re: doctor appointment

[ZoMo]

Hey all,

I have had one confirmed miscarriage (last month) and one suspected miscarriage (last May). The second one mirrored absolutely everything from the first down to the exact day which I lost it. Both were lost very early on - at around 3 weeks. The first one was the most intense pain I have had and then was followed by incredibly painful periods for the last year which I was given prescription meds to take as and when needed. I had an internal ultrasound scan in December which showed nothing unusual and my smear test came back clear. The consultant stated that if the period pain continued, the last test at the hospital would be keyhole surgery to look around inside for endometriosis etc. The pain was starting to ease off until this miscarriage a month ago.

I had been hopeful this month as I was having symptoms i could attribute to pregnancy but AF hit a few days ago (on time) with renewed pain and this morning I have thrown up too which is unheard of for me. We have been TTC since January. As my doctor's surgery were not interested in my miscarriage last month, I am forcing the issue and have made an appointment to see the doctor on Thursday for advice and any tests that can be done.

Can anyone give me any advice on any fertility related conditions which may cause miscarriage which could show up in a blood test? I am wanting to ask for a blood test to rule out any complicating conditions I may have, but I dont know what they can be looking for!

I will ask for general advice too but would be grateful for any advice to point me in the right direction. I am in the UK.

Thanks!

 

[sthorp1179]

Not sure exactly but I know they can check your hormone levels throughout your cycle, it could be that you have low progesterone levels which means you won't be able to support your pregnancy on your own without supplement. Good luck at the doctors, most of them won't investigate without 3 mcs so if you force the issue I hope you get somewhere x

 

[BetsyRN]

Sorry for having to go through another miscarriage Like sthorp1179 said, most doctors won't investigate until you've had 3 mcs, but maybe if you're insistent and the fact you've been trying for 1 year, they might go ahead and run labs? Usually they look for clotting disorders (like factor 5 leiden and APA - anti-phospholipid antibody) and run chromosomal studies on you and your partner. Prolactin levels might be useful but if there's a problem there it usually affects ovulation. Progesterone would definitely be good, both a day 21 or 7 days after your ovulate to conform ovulation (where it should be high) and a CD 3 test (where progesterone should be low). There's another lab called AMH (anti-mullerian hormone) that's supposed to give you an idea of what your ovarian reserve looks like in case you have a egg quality issue; estradiol can also indicate ovarian reserve but AMH is the "latest and greatest" test. And don't forget that your partner can have a semen analysis done. Have they ever done an ultrasound on you while not pregnant to make sure everything looks normal? Hope you get some answers...

 

[PugLuvAh]

Wow! Great information BetsyRN (I take it the RN is for registered nurse?)

 

[BetsyRN]

Yeah, I'm actually a labor and delivery nurse ...with two best friends with PCOS (one who never ovulated and had to do IVF) and my own issues. So, I think I was predisposed to having an overinterest in TTC. My husband would die if he knew how much I googled about TTC, clomid, late ovulation, etc!

 

[ZoMo]

Hi Betsy, thank you for that info! The ultrasounds (internal and external) were whilst I was not pregnant. It is so rubbish that they dont want to know until someone has gone through the very difficult conception process three times (when it can seemingly take forever to get even one BFP) followed by the heartbreak of 3 miscarriages. My doctors surgery said that they did not want to see me until I was 6 weeks pregnant but I have never made it that far and feel like I never will. At my appointment I will probably get told again that they are not interested but at least if I can go in armed with some knowledge of tests that could be possibly be done then they may be slightly more open to considering them.

 

[BetsyRN]

The more you know the better! I have seen people have testing for repeat miscarriages after only two, but I don't know if that was due to the particular MD ordering the tests (and I know our healthcare systems are different and I'm guessing we have more liberty here???) They probably didn't see anything crazy on ultrasound, even though you were pregnant, so that's good. Definitely do some internet research on the labs I mentioned so you know what you're talking about and they listen to you...Good luck and let me know how it goes!

 

[ZoMo]

Thanks, they had a good old root around inside me with the ultrasounds but I was not pregnant at the time. They have not managed to ever see me whilst I have been (very quickly then its over) pregnant yet!

I have figured out why I was sick, my conception support vitamins have been making me ill. I had been taking them for a month before AF came on friday and then took a few days off as I was miserable! Both times I have taken them this week I have been sick, throwing them back up within 5 minutes and I feel fine the rest of the time so I guess that accounts for the waves of nausea before my period arrived last week too. Haha, I may keep them on me for when I fancy a day off work and take them, throw up and get sent home!!! Gotta find a silver lining to this big black cloud somewhere!

 

[BetsyRN]

What a good idea! I might need to take a couple anytime I don't feel like going to work or to dinner with people I don't care for! You're a genius! Ha ha