# what to ask for ? please help



## hopeleeds (Nov 8, 2014)

Hi all well new to this forum page but not Fertility Friends ( its a life saver and helped me through so much pain ) 

I started off in the 2week wait forum after my IVF attempt, then went onto the miscarriage forum and now here.  We have been trying for over 4 years to have a baby.  In the last year and a half i have fallen pregnant 3 times and miscarried them all.  The last was so painful it was our first IVF go and it worked we were over the moon and just about to find out how many we were having ( had 3 embryos put back in ) but at 6 weeks we lost the pregnancy.  Devastated is not the word that was a month ago and just getting back to normal now my period started yesterday which i was so happy to see never knew i would say that.    I just want to have a baby now everyone around me has bumps and its just so not fair  next week i am seeing the recurrent miscarriage unit and i am also seeing the fertility hospital my question is even thou we could do IVF again is their any drugs i could ask for that may help or a mini IVF ?? We are happy to pay for 5k for the IVF but want to try other ways too .  I have unexplained fertility, 42, in good health, BMI just over what it should be not a massive drinker and dont smoke.  Any tips ladies about what i could ask for or tips in general ??  Also going to try the sperm to egg plan i am pretty much open to try anything if it gets us our baby xxxx thanks for any advice x Hope x


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## Goodlife (Jan 13, 2015)

I'm guessing they checked your thyroid function as part of IVF? Any autoimmune indicators? They are the things I have, so that's what I think of.


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## hopeleeds (Nov 8, 2014)

Hi Goodlife 

yeah had thyroid tests all fine.  Just want to get to the bottom has to why this is happening now 3 in a row now.  Looking forward to going to the recurrent miscarriage unit tomorrow they sound so nice on the phone and i hope they are the answer to my prays 

hope your dreams come true too x


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## bombsh3ll (Apr 19, 2012)

Hi hopeleeds,

I'm sorry for your losses  .

I would ask for a thrombophilia screen and any immune tests you can get. Is this an NHS recurrent miscarriage clinic?

You could also ask whether they would suggest any empirical treatment eg aspirin, steroids in subsequent pregnancies in the event nothing conclusive is found.

Two things jump out from your post - 1. you have conceived 3 x within the past year and a half; assuming the first two were natural I would be a bit concerned about a clinic recommending IVF, particularly at 5k a go (unless using DE), in someone who can conceive naturally. Unfortunately IVF is not an appropriate treatment for recurrent miscarriages as it can only get you to the point of conception & whatever is going wrong is happening further down the line.

2.  Your age. Please don't be upset or offended, but at 42 this is by far the likeliest explanation, & if the clinic don't mention this or if they give you the impression nothing can be done about it, then they would be being less than honest with you.

If you decide on doing more IVF, I would really give DE some consideration if you haven't already rather than chucking thousands more pounds on IVF with the same eggs and sperm that are clearly capable of meeting, fertilising and implanting in your own body. I had DE at 31 for other reasons & couldn't be happier with the result.

Best wishes, I hope your appointment brings some clarity and peace of mind & that you get your take-home baby in the end.

B xxx


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## hopeleeds (Nov 8, 2014)

Hi B 

Thanks so much for your post yes its a recurrent miscarriage unit on the NHS they did loads of bloods yesterday and they have sent them off to get tested they are testing for quite a few things she did not say but she did say that paying £380 to get my NK Killer cells checked and a bioposy on my womb might be a good idea also.  For this i have to go to warrick university 

They have told me to start taking aspirin and the second i get pregnant again then to call them and they will give me a early scan but also hormone support 

yeah first two cycles natural and yeah your so right about the IVF they did say about DE yesterday and this is something i would do i would love the baby no less 

and no offence taken about my age yes the hospital did say that this could be the reason its happening and i would rather they tell me straight like this i know that their are risks with my age 

I am just trying to keep fit eat healthy have no stress in my life and hope this miracle will happen xx i cant give up even thou yesterday i did feel like given up 

do you think asking for fertility drugs may help because even thou i have been pregnant natually before it did take 3 years to get to that stage 

thanks so much xx


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## bombsh3ll (Apr 19, 2012)

Hi hopeleeds,

I'm glad your appointment with the recurrent miscarriage clinic was helpful & they have been thorough.

I have no experience with non-IVF fertility drugs, but it would definitely be worth asking about this when you go back for your results. You may have a good case for clomid or similar if your cycle is normally irregular or your tests show you aren't ovulating consistently.

Wishing you luck with your next steps,

B xxx


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## Greyhoundgal (Oct 7, 2013)

Hopeleeds - sorry to read what you have been through   Dr Quenby at Warwick definitely has a good reputation for the uterine biopsy so that would be a good idea. Contrary to what bombsh3ll says I don't think you're too old yet....it's a very individual thing and egg quality may have nothing to do with why you are miscarrying.  Every woman is different. It woukd be worth being sure of the stats in terms of is your clinic the right clinic to work with for women over 40 (check and compare on the hfea website). You might want to consider embryo screening just in case it's a chromosomal abnormality which would screen out the good ones to transfer. And finally, probably worth taking some supplements....read Rebecca Fett's book "it starts with the egg" for some sensible and practical advice.

Good luck with next steps  

Grey xx


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## hopeleeds (Nov 8, 2014)

Hi ladies well i went to see the fertilty lady today she was really nice and said taking fertility drugs would not help.  She said she would try different drugs on IVF next time around ie steriods etc 

She did say that the embies thou i had put back in were growing too quick and that they either had no DNA makeup, burnout too quick or had down syndrome.  Its quite common and no one had any way of knowing that i would miscarry normally she says they like to see cells that are 8 cells and not what i had.  But i gave my little ones the best chance i could and who would of know things would of ended the way they did 

we are now going to get the results from our blood tests from the recurrent miscarriage unit and then go to warrick uni after that we will try IVF again this time we will have to pay 5k but its worth it to get our dream come true 

Grey we used a timelaspe machine at our last go and they said they looked fine is this the same has the embryo screening  going to google now because will defo use that 

and also going to google that book will do all i can to make my dream comes true xx lots of love ladies and thank you 

Grey keep strong too we can do this xxx


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## Greyhoundgal (Oct 7, 2013)

Hope - glad you had a good meeting  Thsts a great start. The screening I was talking about is called PGD or PGS and is where they take some cells away from the embryo and do a biopsy on them. For some it's considered quite controversial but others are very much in favour of it. There is an explanation here on the HFEA website

Explanation about PGD

And another one from a clinic in the USA

Explanation from Advanced Fertility's Website

Hopefully those will give you something to think about. I haven't tried it myself 

Grey xx

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## hopeleeds (Nov 8, 2014)

Thank you so much grey your a star defo Gonna Google this xx


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