Able to get pregnant but not keep

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone - need some advice here. I'm able to get pregnant but keep miscarrying, and it's taking a toll on me physically and emotionally. With every pregnancy, I gain weight, and I'm an emotional rollercoaster.

Besides chromosomal abnormalities, what are the other possible causes of my miscarriages? I have an appointment with fertility clinic but want to have an informed conversation with the doctor.

[Anonymous]

If you do some googling you should be able to find a standard battery of tests for repeat miscarriages. Thyroid issues are a possibility, blood clotting is another. I had a friend with repeat later losses (10w+) whose body just never produced enough progesterone, and she was finally able to carry to term with supplementation.

I'm sorry for your losses and that you are going through this.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry for your losses, OP, and hope you can figure out a cause. Are you seeing a MFM or RE?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry OP. How old are you? Have you seen an RE for testing to see if anything is wrong? Have you had the miscarriage tissue tested? I get pregnant easily but had 4 miscarriages in 8 months at age 40/41. RE tested tissue from some of my miscarriages and also did the recurrent pregnancy loss panel. Determined it was likely due to egg quality. I decided to try once more (without any fertility treatments) and now am seemingly successfully pregnant (no chromosomal abnormalities with the fetus and am now in second tri). If you haven't been tested I recommend Dr Sacks at Columbia Fertility. He can run the panels and also see you through subsequent pregnancies. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

When you get pregnant do they do blood work immediately at your ob's office? I kept losing pregnancies and there was a super easy fix. My progesterone was low so as soon as I got a bfp they called in a prescription for progesterone suppositories. That pregnancy stuck and was actually twins. Good luck and I hope it's as simple and straightforward for you!

[Anonymous]

I had three miscarriages. They tested the third, and it was Down Syndrome.

I gave up after that. But I was kind of ambivalent anyhow about having children.

I got pregnant very easily. The third pregnancy, my doctor said that there really isn't a lot of evidence that progesterone supplementation helps. I don't know if that is accurate.

I got a referral to see an RE but never went because I was pretty certain that the RE would suggest IVF with testing. I just didn't want to go down that road.

I also found the miscarriages to take a huge physical toll. But I actually didn't really find much support for that, even online. People minimize miscarriage and act like it's "just a bad period." But I'm pretty sure that the process of getting pregnant and then losing the pregnancy threw my hormones into disarray. It took months to get back to feeling normal.

Ultimately, I concluded that perhaps I'm just really sensitive to all of the hormonal changes. And deep down, I had a concern that the IVF drugs would be hard for me.

I wrote about it on here, but I actually got a lot of nasty responses that I just wasn't willing to do everything possible to have a child and there was the suggestion that maybe I wasn't mother materials if I wasn't willing to go to any and all lengths.

At the end of the day, depending on your age, you have to decide what you are willing to do. I would avoid seeking out information on the internet. It will drive you crazy.

Go to the RE and explore your options.

[Anonymous]

^^^ me again. I will say that, after my second miscarriage, I had all of the bloodwork done that they do to figure out what could be causing a miscarriage. The only slight thing that turned up was the possibility that I needed a special folate supplement, which I took.

Your regular OB can order all of those tests. To save time, you should ask your OB to order those tests, get the bloodwork for that done so that you have the results at your RE appointment.

[Anonymous]

See an RE stat and have them run a complete recurrent pregnancy loss panel, including for blood clotting factors. Do you have any history of autoimmune disease in your family? If so, you may also want to get an immune panel done. Dr. Abbasi at Columbia Fertility Associates (CFA) is the place to go for this.

Sacks at CFA is well regarded for standard issues, as are the REs at Shady Grove and GW.

Also, what are your cycles like? Do you ovulate very late, like later than day 20 of your cycle?

[Anonymous]

OP here. I will be going to a fertility clinic, but I wanted to gather as much info as possible so that I can have an educated conversation with the doc. I'm in my early 40s but the miscarriages started in mid-30s. I have rather short cycles, about 25 days. My thyroid was tested at my annual physical and nothing out of the ordinary. I do have a family history of autoimmune disorders, but I don't have any. Thanks for the feedback so far. I will definitely check about progesterone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I will be going to a fertility clinic, but I wanted to gather as much info as possible so that I can have an educated conversation with the doc. I'm in my early 40s but the miscarriages started in mid-30s. I have rather short cycles, about 25 days. My thyroid was tested at my annual physical and nothing out of the ordinary. I do have a family history of autoimmune disorders, but I don't have any. Thanks for the feedback so far. I will definitely check about progesterone.

Did they test your thyroid antibodies or only TSH / T4?

[Anonymous]

Thyroid issues can show up as normal to a regular dr. If you're having trouble getting/staying pregnant, you should be targeting your tsh under 2.0. Some labs will call up to 5.5 normal. I was told mine was borderline at 5.7, when in reality I have Hashimoto's and needed thyroid meds to get pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Do you know if your uterus is normal? It took my OB two early losses before they figured out mine was bucornuate and I had a septum...there's a good yahoo group for myllerizn anomalies. That and yes, an RE, a genetic counselor and an MFM. I had two miscarriages and a stillbirth before I had a full term healthy baby...he's 18 months now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had three miscarriages. They tested the third, and it was Down Syndrome.

I gave up after that. But I was kind of ambivalent anyhow about having children.

I got pregnant very easily. The third pregnancy, my doctor said that there really isn't a lot of evidence that progesterone supplementation helps. I don't know if that is accurate.

I got a referral to see an RE but never went because I was pretty certain that the RE would suggest IVF with testing. I just didn't want to go down that road.

I also found the miscarriages to take a huge physical toll. But I actually didn't really find much support for that, even online. People minimize miscarriage and act like it's "just a bad period." But I'm pretty sure that the process of getting pregnant and then losing the pregnancy threw my hormones into disarray. It took months to get back to feeling normal.

Ultimately, I concluded that perhaps I'm just really sensitive to all of the hormonal changes. And deep down, I had a concern that the IVF drugs would be hard for me.

I wrote about it on here, but I actually got a lot of nasty responses that I just wasn't willing to do everything possible to have a child and there was the suggestion that maybe I wasn't mother materials if I wasn't willing to go to any and all lengths.

At the end of the day, depending on your age, you have to decide what you are willing to do. I would avoid seeking out information on the internet. It will drive you crazy.

Go to the RE and explore your options.

Progesterone will 100% help you if that's the reason you are miscarrying. If that's not the reason, then it won't help you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I will be going to a fertility clinic, but I wanted to gather as much info as possible so that I can have an educated conversation with the doc. I'm in my early 40s but the miscarriages started in mid-30s. I have rather short cycles, about 25 days. My thyroid was tested at my annual physical and nothing out of the ordinary. I do have a family history of autoimmune disorders, but I don't have any. Thanks for the feedback so far. I will definitely check about progesterone.

How short is your luteal phase (from when you ovulate until when your period started)? Mine was short (luteal phase defect) so I took vitamin b6 for a few months and it gradually lengthened. I suspect this isn't your issue if you're able to get pregnant in the first place but it's worth looking into if you're getting early bfps and early miscarriages. Also, three miscarriages can be just a fluke at your age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had three miscarriages. They tested the third, and it was Down Syndrome.

I gave up after that. But I was kind of ambivalent anyhow about having children.

I got pregnant very easily. The third pregnancy, my doctor said that there really isn't a lot of evidence that progesterone supplementation helps. I don't know if that is accurate.

I got a referral to see an RE but never went because I was pretty certain that the RE would suggest IVF with testing. I just didn't want to go down that road.

I also found the miscarriages to take a huge physical toll. But I actually didn't really find much support for that, even online. People minimize miscarriage and act like it's "just a bad period." But I'm pretty sure that the process of getting pregnant and then losing the pregnancy threw my hormones into disarray. It took months to get back to feeling normal.

Ultimately, I concluded that perhaps I'm just really sensitive to all of the hormonal changes. And deep down, I had a concern that the IVF drugs would be hard for me.

I wrote about it on here, but I actually got a lot of nasty responses that I just wasn't willing to do everything possible to have a child and there was the suggestion that maybe I wasn't mother materials if I wasn't willing to go to any and all lengths.

At the end of the day, depending on your age, you have to decide what you are willing to do. I would avoid seeking out information on the internet. It will drive you crazy.

Go to the RE and explore your options.

Progesterone will 100% help you if that's the reason you are miscarrying. If that's not the reason, then it won't help you.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/9829-201606229829

http://www.medicaldaily.com/women-first-trimester-pregnancy-dont-benefit-progesterone-supplements-lessen-risk-363076

Recent studies show that progesterone supplements don't necessarily lead to different outcomes. It's also very difficult to determine that low progesterone was the cause of previous miscarriages b/c of the chicken/egg thing, meaning that low progesterone could be the result of the pregnancy not being viable. That's what my doctor told me. That is the prevailing view of the doctors at the practice I went to based on the latest research. My doctor suggested that some doctors prescribe it because they figure it won't do any harm and will put the woman's mind at ease. But my doctor recommended against that because he said there are some who think that progesterone supplements actually might make a nonviable pregnancy last a little longer (but ultimately miscarry anyway). That's not necessarily supported by any evidence. It's a theory.

Again, this is all from my OB.