Anyone With Recurrent M/C ?

isitmytimeyet · 04-23-2003, 11:04 PM

I was just wondering if anyone who has had numerous m/c's found out the reasons why. It seems that I might be experiencing my 5th one (u/s in the a.m.) and so far I don't know why I can't get out of the 1st trimester. The farthest that I've ever gotten was around 11 weeks but the baby stopped developing before that. I know having pcos makes this a possibility and my DES exposure in utero but other than that I'm stumped.

One tattered Angel · 04-24-2003, 02:35 AM

I have had 3 completely diffrent misscarriages. The first I made it to 14 1/2 weeks. The second was 8 weeks. ANd the third was 19
weeks. We do not know what caused the first but I had to have a D&C because I was bleeding so bad but I had no cramps ect. The second is when they found I had Antiphospholipid syndrome. It is a blood clotting disorder that can go into a form of Lupus. The third time my water broke and it thru me into labor for 3 1/2 days before they gave me pitocin to deliver. After tests on me and the baby we found it was caused by the Antiphospholipid syndrome again but they dont know what caused my water to break. The doctor said if I ever get pregnant again he wants me taking a baby asprin every day and I would probley be given heparin to keep my blood from causing a clot to end the pregnancy. ( my sil also has this but hers is not as bad. She has been able to have 3 children but had to take baby asprin during all the pregnancies) I have tried a few rounds of clomid but my cycles are about 2 or 3 a year. I have not gotten pregnant since my last back in 1995. I still hold on for hope but it gets pretty discouraging at times. Im not ready to give up yet.I will keep you in my prayers tonight. Keep me posted on how things are going. If you ever need anyone to talk with I am here ok. Keep your chin up.

Sarah in Louisiana · 04-24-2003, 08:42 AM

3 here also.

The first two I only made it to around 8 weeks with both. The OB I had at the time, felt m/c's were quite common and two in a row were nothing to be concerned with, therefore; no testing was done. (found a new OB soon after)

The third I was 20 weeks, with twins (two separate sacs, one developed perfectly, the other had nothing but ''fetal tissue'' they said) apparently my body was trying to get rid of the somewhat empty sac, which I did deliver first, then my water broke on Rhianna's sac, and they had to put me on a drip and force delivery.

They tested her, she was completely normal, all they could come up with was my body was trying to abort the abnormality of the undeveloped twin.

cystermoon · 04-24-2003, 11:53 AM

I have had 3 losses myself. The first one I suspect may have had something to do with not knowing I had PCOS so I had low progesterone and couldn't maintain the pg but that is just a guess. My second loss was an ectopic. Once again just guessing here, but since I didn't have a d&c done after the first m/c, there was still some "material" left blocking my tubes so they egg got wedged in between the layers of my tubes. My third loss was another m/c. I went thru IVF just to get pg with this one. This time we had tests done and they came back as a chromosomal defect. An extra chromosome where it shouldn't be.

I do notice that a lot of us PCOSers have been thru multiple m/c's and losses and it seems to be very interesting...

isitmytimeyet · 04-24-2003, 02:19 PM

Thanks for the replys! I went for the u/s this morning and it showed a big clot in the uterus. Of course they don't know when the baby stopped developing. They are leaving my pics and chart for my dr. to review tomorrow when she gets back in town. I don't know if I will get a d&c or not.

So this really has me wondering if I have a clotting disorder. There are a few people in my family with autoimmune issues-on both sides-so this could be a possibility. My sis has MS, a first cousin has lupus since childhood, and my moms sis had lupus.
I'm not sure if I was ever tested for the antiphospholipid syndrome among all of the numerous blood test but I will definitely inquire about that.

Louie · 04-24-2003, 02:54 PM

I've had two and really hoping not to have another. I hope you are able to get to the bottom of it. I take a baby asprin daily just to be safe. It can't hurt. I am going to see a specialist in recurrent m/c next week and it will be interesting to see what he has to say. I have read two of his research articles and the things I recall that can contribute are: high prolactin levels, thyroid that is either hyper or hypo, antibodies/clotting problems, vaginal infections such as strep B and bacterial vaginosis, low progesterone, chromosomal problems (like Downs), genetics like balanced translocation (where you and DH both have the same damaged gene on your DNA), rare parasites... and the list goes on. If you haven't already had thyroid and prolactin testing be sure to do that and be sure to address a thyroid with a TSH over 3 even if they tell you it's "normal" (under 2.5 is ideal for fertility and over 3 it can cause m/c). I would definitely recommend going to the very best doc in the field that you can find. I've found that the average infertility doc is not so well versed in m/c and/or how to prevent them. Best of luck and so sorry you are going through this again.

ktlynn · 04-24-2003, 03:00 PM

I've never personally had a m/c but my mother has had 7 and my sis has had one. Neither of them are diagnosed with PCOS but my mom has many mild symptoms. my mom had 5 that never made it past 20 wks; the other 2 were something else--not sure about spelling but something like a blite ovum or something. The docs were never able to tell her exactly why, she has a retroverted uterus and they said that could be the cause -- i'm not too sure if I believe that though. My sis had one about a year and a half ago, no reason there either. But my mom has had 3 very healthy (well, with the exception of me having PCOS

) babies and my sis gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last September. Good luck and lots of baby dust to you if you guys decide to try again!

Katie

paragrap · 04-25-2003, 12:16 AM

Yvette,

I have had 3 m/c all before 8 weeks. My last pg I saw the h/b but unfortunately m/c 2 days later. I went to an immunologist and had a complete workup and they found that my DH and I share an HLA (human leukocyte antigen). When a woman becomes pg, her immune system creates protective, blocking antibodies to protect the baby from being attacked by the mother's cells. If the mother and father HLA look too much alike, the mother's body does not create the protective, blocking antibodies and a m/c occurs. My treatment is low dose prednisone, heparin and IVIg treatments. Here's a link to a website that talks about the different immunological tests that are done and the treatments:

http://www.rialab.com/

I hope that you will be able to find some answers soon.

isitmytimeyet · 04-25-2003, 04:14 AM

Jenifer,

Thanks for posting the info on that site, it is very informative. I am going to look into this asap!

cystermoon · 04-26-2003, 10:13 PM

BTW, forgot to bring up that after my third m/c I had a genetic work-up done, and besides finding that the baby had an extra chromosome, I was informed I have a blood-clotting disorder and that had the baby lived to 14 weeks, then the possibility of losing her to a blood clot in the placenta could have occurred. Armed with this info I now know to take baby aspirin and possibly even have to go on a blood thinner for the duration of the next pg. If there is one

isitmytimeyet · 04-28-2003, 12:01 AM

i was telling dh about the immunological workup at the ria lab (thanks paragrap!) and he said that if our drs. don't do a complete series of b/w here then we will go to L.A. and get it done!!

paragrap · 04-28-2003, 01:50 AM

Yvette,

I'm so glad that the website was informative for you. I've done a lot of research in the last week and just in case your doctor doesn't do a complete workup, the Sher institute for Reproductive Medicine does recurrent pregnancy loss workups and they have several offices, one of which is in Missouri and one in Illinois which would probably be closer for you. You can even have your doctor's office take your blood and have it sent to their labs for the workup. Dr. Carylyn Coulam is one of the doctors at the Illinois office and is an expert in reproductive immunology and recurrent prenancy loss. Here's the web site so you can find out more about the offices:

http://haveababy.com/index.asp

When you get to the website click on Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and there is a lot of info. Hope this helps. I just wanted you to have another option instead of having to come all the way to LA.

isitmytimeyet · 04-28-2003, 02:10 AM

Thanks Jennifer! I will check this site out too! DH is from the west coast-Richmond CA-so he's always looking for a reason to go there. He used to live in LA and has a lot of friends there too. I will see which place will be best for us. Did you go to the RIA clinic?

paragrap · 04-28-2003, 02:13 AM

Yes, I went to the RIA labs in LA since I live only 30 minutes away from there. It's a great lab so I would recommend it. Just a warning though, the immunology workup is expensive, so if money is an issue you may want to check out the prices for the workup at both places. Take care!

isitmytimeyet · 04-28-2003, 02:25 AM

Hey Jennifer, when you went to the lab how long were you there, how long to get your results back, and how did it take you to get an appointmen? If I go there, do you recommend that I see anyone in particular? I think my insurance might cover it if my dr. codes it right since it is " the diagnosis and treatment of the underlying cause of infertility". That's how my ins. booklet reads!
yvette