Blighted Ovum/ Low Progesterone Relationship?

[italianlady14]

Hello everyone. I had a miscarriage this past week, diagnosed with a blighted ovum. The U/S showed just the gestational sac and nothing else at 7 weeks. The Dr took blood Friday and wants to take more this coming Friday to check my hormone levels. She said Friday my progesterone level was low, which she says was the cause of the miscarriage. She basically said that for some reason that cycle my ovary didn't produce enough progesterone to develop the embryo. But that this isn't likely to happen again because my cycles are regular. My online research on blighted ovum says it was a chromosome issue usually.

So whats the deal? Anyone else have a similar explanation? That sounds like something to be concerned with in the future to me. She told me, if I wanted, the next cycle we could test my progesterone levels in the 3rd week, but she made it sound completely unneeded, more for my peace of mind.

Why would an ovary just decide this time, "I'm not going to produce progesterone", but every other time the Dr expects it to be fine? I would have preferred the chromosome explanation. Sigh.

 

[Pretty Please]

Sorry have u started bleeding ?
There is no point doing bloods as hormones keep on being produced even if at low scale.

They need to re scan u in 2 weeks just in case your dates were off / tilted uterus etc . That will show you exactly what's going on .....

Sorry bo are crap I had one at Xmas takes forever to get a proper diagnosis nothing to do with lack of progestrone unfortunately bo equal Bo I can't believe someone told u that usually there is very large sac which is another indicator that something is wrong .... Even if u was on progestrone it wouldn't of prevented a b/o that really is crap saying that

Xxxxx

 

[Topanga053]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I had a blighted ovum last year that was diagnosed at 9 weeks. Months later, when we were having some issues TTC, I had my progesterone checked and got conflicting results (one month it was low, the next month it was fine). When we got the low result, I asked my doctor if low progesterone could have caused the BO. She said it's possible, but sounded skeptical. She had previously told me, as you said, that BO's are almost always caused by chromosomal abnormalities. She seemed to think that was the more likely explanation.

To be safe, when I got pregnant again (8 cycles later.. agh), I took progesterone supplements during the first trimester. I don't know if it mattered at all, but I'm 18+1 today and so far things have been going well (except for a scary spotting incident earlier this week, but baby seems to be fine).

 

[italianlady14]

Thanks for the support ladies. Yes, I am hopefully atleast halfway through the natural miscarriage, so the doctor was definitely right that something was wrong. Last night I spent some time googling the corpus luteum and trying to understand how everything is conencted. I found two websites that mentioned that sometimes the corpus luteum (the follicle that the egg is released from, which is unique to that egg and produces the progesterone until the plancenta can - don't know how much you all google that stuff like I did last night haha) just doesn't produce enough progesterone but the next cycle it could be fine because its a new corpus luteum. It doesnt seem like a common theory..but I guess its out there and my Dr happens to support it.

Also, Topanga, did your doctor ever say maybe one ovary was better at producing progesterone than the other? I was thinking that I'd have the Dr check my levels the next two months (we're going to wait until dec to try again) to make sure both perform right the next few cycles. Just wondering if that is a possibility.

Thanks for the support ladies. I am sorry for your losses, and I wish you well in your current and future pregnancies.

 

[Topanga053]

No, my doctor didn't mention that. I tested two months in a row for different reasons. My doctor ordered the tests originally because I always got multiple + OPKs (I got anywhere from 7-11 days of + every month... bizarre). We did the first CD21 (progesterone) test 7 days after my first positive OPK. That test was very low (1.9)... so low that my doctor said she couldn't tell if I was ovulating and recommended that I start Clomid, just in case I wasn't ovulating. I started temping the next month and noticed that I didn't get a noticeable temp spike until several days after my first positive OPK. That month, I did the CD21 test 7 days after the TEMP SPIKE (rather than the first + OPK) and my result was normal. So, I was ovulating, but I was just ovulating later in my cycle and in the MIDDLE of my LH surge (which is, frankly, just freaking weird).

I mention all of this only because if you do the CD21 test, it is possible to get weird results if you're not correctly guessing when you're ovulating. I wish I had known that before I did them because the first test scared the hell out of me... I thought I wasn't ovulating at all!!!

Good luck with the tests and with getting your rainbow baby.

 

[MrsPhez]

I had a b/o at 7 weeks too, last October. I had a luteal phase of 10 days which is quite short so had doctor do my day 21 bloods which came back at 26 so they didn't think there was a progesterone problem (NHS so I wasn't convinced and perhaps it was taken when I had a "good cycle"?) So I started using progesterone cream without mentioning to doctor. Lo and behold, that month I fell pregnant and stayed pregnant. Make of that what you will, I don't know if it helped or if it was just going to be a successful pregnancy without it but just thought I'd share my story. Hope you're OK

 

[ttcmoon]

I am so sorry for you dear.I too had a blighted ovum last yr in december.I was on progesterone support then and was taking it daily.We did not get my progesterone levels tested after the miscarriage but I do not think it was because of progesterone.My Doctor told BO is generally caused by chromosomal issues and very rare to happen again.
Since then I am trying to get pregnant but seems luck is not in my favour ....