Anyone have multiple miscarriages?

E

emackay

Cathlete
Hello ladies,

I went in to the dr last friday b/c of a small spot - thinking it was nothing b/c I'd had a great us at 6 weeks. On friday I was supposed to be 8 weeks, but apprently the baby hadn't grown since the first us. I go in this afternoon to verify it, but my dr thinks i am going to miscarry again (this will be the 2nd time in 1 year and a half). Feeling a bit like a human casket here ... but I am also strangely optimistic about trying again ASAP since this past conception was achieved throught the miracle of robitussin (and now that I know I need to thin my fluids, I feel like it might not take as long to conceive again ... wishful thinking maybe ...). My dr says that this is likely just another fluke - i have no family or medical history that would suggest otherwise. I know that there is a battery of tests that can be performed, but they may not be able to tell me why this has happened, so i'm not sure if i will demend they be done. Has anyone else had back to back m/c ? What happened? If anyone could share their stories, i would appreciate it.

arancini
 
Arancini,

Hugs to you! I know exactly how you feel, so I will share with you my story.

My first m/c was 6 years ago (6/00). I was 11 weeks and it was my first pregnancy. I ended up having an emergency D&C because of severe bleeding. I waited several months before trying again and had my first child in Oct. 01.

When we were ready to try again last spring, I had my 2nd m/c at slightly over 5 weeks. I had another m/c at 6 weeks last December. At that point my dr and I agreed to go ahead and do some basic blood work to see if anything obvious appeared. My insurance didn't cover this, so it cost me about $400 for the tests. Meanwhile, I read TCOYF and started the Robitussin regimen (as well as a daily low-dose aspirin).

I wasn't too worried about taking any precautions about getting pregnant because it has never been "easy" for us. I didn't even have a full cycle after my m/c and I got pregnant again. I miscarried on 12/24 and conceived in mid-January. I am now 28 weeks pg with my 2nd child and doing well!

So, hang in there! Trust your instincts and do what feels right to you! My husband and I had agreed that we couldn't spend thousands of dollars on testing and intervention! Sounds like you have armed yourself with the knowledge to make the right decisions for you.

Tina
 
Tina,

Thanks so much for sharing your story. You have no idea how much better it makes me feel :) I am trying really hard not to completely freak out and start thinking that I'm just going to miscarry again and again with no explanation, and therefore no preventative steps to take.

At my appointment yesterday, the us showed the baby was probably already dead at my first "good" us @ 6 weeks. They just thought it was too early to see a heart beat. I am spotting every once in awhile, but my whopper of a corpus luteum cyst could keep my body fooled into keeping the pregnancy another month ... ugh ... so I will call and schedule a d&c for thurs/fri ... I just want to move on. Then I'll have the blood tests, but it looks like short of having lupus or something bizarre, I'm not likely to have any of the other common problems (diabetes, hypothyroidism, etc.) - so we will be trying again ASAP (it has never been "easy" for us to conceive either, first 6 months, then 7 months ...). I can only hope that my story will have a happy ending like yours!

Congratulations on your current pregnancy!! I am curious - how long did it take you to feel secure in this one? Did your dr have you come in every week? I am excited, but a little scared to try again.

Thanks again,
arancini
 
Arancini,

I am so sorry for you at this time. It is so hard to put your mind and emotions around. We are always taught that once you are pregnant, it is a given you will have a baby...well, not true for many of us. You are not alone and anything you are feeling is totally normal. It is a loss - no matter what.
I had two m/c, one at 14 weeks and one at about 7/8 weeks. I also had a chemical pregnancy. We found out that we had a male infertility problem - poor sperm motility - and ended up doing IVF after 7 rounds of medicated cycles. Now, I am pregnant with boy/girl TWINS!! ahhhhh
It was a long road and I am still nervous and anxious everyday. Having m/c's does change who you are, but soon enough it will change you for the better. This is such a gift and the little ones really are miracles and are very strong little things.
Hang in there, take care of YOURSELF and do not lose hope. Good things will happen. Post anytime you need to "talk."

jenni
 
Jenni,

Thanks for your words of encouragement - and congratulations on TWINS! It is so good to hear success stories ... I'm going to call now and schedule my d&c. I will be thinking about your story and Tina's story a lot. It is one thing to have my dr (who is great) say that lots of people overcome this, but it is another to actually hear from individuals themselves.

arancini
 
It has always helped me to know that I wasn't alone.

I know the feeling of just wanting to move on, so I applaud your decision to go ahead and get the D&C.

I did learn from my blood work than I am borderline hypothyroid, so I don't know if that was part of the contributing factor to the m/c's. I am on thyroid meds now and will do follow up work after this baby is born.

I had an u/s at 6 weeks to confirm the pregnancy was where it was supposed to be and we were lucky enough to see the h/b at that time! I didn't have another ob appt until 12 weeks!!!! That was an agonizing wait. I didn't really feel secure until after my morphology ultrasound at 22 weeks! Every little ache, cramp or twinge really worked on my mind!

My best advice is to be your own advocate with your dr. If you need reassurance that everything is okay, then ask for more frequent appointments or an ultrasound. Also if you haven't read, Taking Charge of Your Fertility -- get it now and read it while you are recovering from the m/c! It is incredibly enlightening and will help you avoid the expensive and invasive tests that your dr might suggest!

You can also visit the TCOYF boards for lots of support! It is at www.ovusoft.com The women there will definitely make you know that you are not alone. Some of the women there have amazing stories to tell!

Hugs, Hugs and more Hugs,

Tina
 
Wow, Tina - you had to wait for another appointment until 12 weeks! I think I would have gone out of my mind (and driven DH out of his). Yes, TCOYF is wonderful - it has been my TTC map - but I didn't know about their boards, I will certainly be checking them out.

My d&c is scheduled for Thursday (I won't know when until tomorrow afternoon - I have my pre-op appointment tomorrow morning with my dr, then the hospital will call with the time for Thursday). I'm a little nervous about being knocked out, but I can't imagine they will use anything really heavy duty. I'm hoping the anesthesia will be like when I had my wisdom teeth out. Sigh - what a comparison, huh?

I think that when we conceive again I will try to go in every week - my dr just got a newer us machine, so it can detect blood flow to the baby, and all kinds of things other than the heart beat - so hopefully, even at the earliest stages I can get some reassurance. That, or DH says he will be getting me a doppler as a special gift :)

BTW - did you have your blood work done right after your m/c or did they wait for any reason? I really really want to know all the answers before we try again - and I want that to be soon.

arancini
 
The D&C anesthesia is pretty mild. I remember that it made me vomit (all anesthesia does that to me including epidural), but I did go to work the next day.

When I m/c in December, I had my original OB appt already scheduled for sometime in January, which would have made me 8 weeks. I started bleeding on Christmas Eve, so I didn't call the dr until 12/28 because of holiday and weekend. I had a quantitative HCG done on 12/28 and then again on 12/30 to confirm that my HCG was falling. I didn't actually see the dr at the time of the m/c because I wasn't really having any problems.

I kept the appt that I had already scheduled for mid January. I knew I would have another quantitative HCG that day to make sure my levels were back down to zero. When I had my consult with my ob, we talked about my options since I had multiple miscarriages. He gave me the choice of having a "recurrent loss panel" of blood work done, just to give us some possible direction. He said it was the first step. Since I was already having blood drawn I agreed to go ahead with the recurrent loss panel. Forgive me for not being any more informed, but I don't remember everything that they were testing for, but I know that thyroid function is one of the factors they looked at.

Little did I know that I was already pg at that time. I took a HPT 2 days later and got a positive. So, I called the dr to ask what my quantitative HCG was. It was elevated from the last test on December 30. The dr. explained that either I had conceived again or I had a persistent pregnancy and needed a d&C. So, I went in again for another HCG that day and my levels were doubling appropriately, consistent with pregnancy. At that point I was only about 9 days post ovulation. So, I had to wait until I was 6 weeks for an u/s to confirm everything.

By the way, I had started charting my temps and using the robitussin after the December m/c. I knew that the potential existed that I had gotten pregnant again, but since it was my first ever cycle of charting and I didn't figure my body was all straightened out from the m/c, I was completely shocked that I was really pg again that quickly. Every pregnancy has taken us atleast 5 or 6 months, so go figure!

Good Luck with the D&C. If you have any more questions, let me know-- it is a slow day at work and I am checking the forums waaaay too frequently!

Tina
 
Well, now that I have a date with my dr, and have heard your story and Jenni's, I am feeling much better. I checked out the TCOYF forum and it has helped as well (although I think that so far, I can identify more closely with your story - except for your previous little one!).

Last time my hcg levels went down to zero in a little over 2 weeks (I credit Cathe with that - exercise has been my panacea for many things). This time it might take a wee bit longer since it wasn't a blighted ovum. Now for the fun of telling my parents the news (they are less supportive and more ummm ... shall we say "impatient" - not that that has been a factor for me, but it makes conversations with them less than easy).

I've read that for some women the first 2 or 3 months after a m/c are actually more fertile since their bodies are all geared up and ready to go (I never found any solid evidence, but it would appear that it does happen - so here's hoping!). I will be hopping on the robitussin bandwagon again as soon as my post-op bleeding stops. Last time I took it for 3 days before ovulation (so did DH), but this time I am on ampicillin for pregnancy acne, which can dry you out even more, so I think I will ramp up sooner.

Thanks so much and I will keep you posted. There is also a slight possibility that i will m/c before my d&c, considering my minor spotting ... but either way, I will be moving on soon!

arancini
 
Hello there :)

I really got "lucky" and didn't have to have a d&c. I came home from my pre-op appointment yesterday and decided to be active, even though I wasn't feeling great. I vacuumed, steam cleaned the floors, and did the Muscle Max upper body pre-mix. Well, I started cramping and bleeding more heavily in the afternoon and this continued through the night. The dr gave me vallium, but I actually decided not to take it - and slept like a rock anyway. I slept through most of the cramping, called my dr @ 6 a.m. and she said to come in for an us before I went to the hospital for the d&c. The us showed I had had a complete spontaneous abortion in the night. Yay! The only crappy part (aside from the obvious - the whole thing is crappy) was that they called and said I had to come BACK again ... so I did, and another dr came in and was all sad and nice and told me the same stuff again. They were just covering their asses since a dr didn't see me after my us (my dr is off today, but was on call in the a.m.). I was probably not too nice to this guy, but oh well.

They really ought to have separate waiting rooms though ... I went in and had to watch this beautiful baby being fawned over by this overly friendly older woman. It made me start crying in the waiting room ... I suppose the obgyn is the only dr's office where a lot of people are happy ... and they should be ... but there are also patients there dealing with loss, cancer, etc. Sigh. Sooo ... for now, c'est fini. Until I go for more blood work and start all over again.

Thanks so much for your support ... hopefully I will be back in the mommies-to-be check in soon.


arancini
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top