So here we are, the first month of the year and I figured we would give a thorough update on our TTC journey. As many know we have suffered many miscarriages which have been heartbreaking, we've had many tests done and now we're into a new year.
I didn't want to publish any updates during this time purely because we didn't have any of the answers. We still don't have exact answers but maybe we've reached a conclusion.
Between August 2017 and November 2018 Connor and I had seven miscarriages. SEVEN!
Doctors and consultants cheekily responded at times with ''1 in 3 pregnancies miscarry, just keep trying' now I'm not an idiot, I am aware the risk for miscarriage is high for us due to health and my age however not eight losses. Seven heart wrenching, soul-destroying losses.
They say anything above three is unusual. We were referred to the recurrent miscarriage clinic in January 2018. We never got a physical appointment until August 2018 and only, because an official complaint was placed by myself. We had many appointments but the NHS would cancel them a few days before the appointment was due to take place. No reason was given.
Fast forward and we've now had the following tests:
* Hormone panel - All normal but my LH and Testosterone was ''slightly'' elevated.
* Ovulation tests on day 21, 24 and 28 - This showed I do ovulate normally
* Internal scan to check my reproduction system - This was all clear.
* Scan to check for growths, PCOS etc. - This showed zero issues and no PCOS
* Liver function tests - All within a normal range at the moment
* Thyroid panel - Zero issues
* Thrombosis and blood clotting disorders - Zero issues
* Auto-Immune conditions (Lupus, ANA, AMA etc) - I do have AMA-M2. It's not a miscarriage risk apparently.
* Normal blood panel (WBC, RBC etc) - All normal.
* Chromosome / Karyotyping tests - Both completely normal.
* Sperm sample testing - Results were off slightly but improved on the second test.
* Antibody Testing - I have anti-Jka, Anti-E and Anti-S from previous pregnancies, they wanted to test to see if Connor has the non-anti versions that could cause an immune response. These were normal also.
* I have MTHFR C677T - I take Methylfolate and stay away from non-methylated versions.
* Connor has MTHFR A1298C - He manages through diet.
The NHS, at least in my area do not test for NK Cells. We were presuming that it could be that given I do have auto-immune conditions and I suppose that any exaggerated immune response can trigger an influx of NK Cells that could cause miscarriage. We've battled with the departments and the overall census is that no-one really cares. We've been left to do a lot of the research and leg work and have proposed to them many of the tests which they have agreed on. Luckily I'm a bit of a firecracker with this stuff, mainly because it's my babies lives that are being balanced. However, we're now on a plan that will take into account both the NK cells as well as my immune system.
This is the final hope we have really because if it's not immune or NK cell-based then I've no idea what the hell could be happening. Does anyone else have any other tests or outcomes that we've missed that you know off?
Any help appreciated...
Elyse
Statement: Nothing to Disclose
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