First appointment with consultant on Monday

[City74]

Hi all

I've never posted here before but I see all you ladies are very supportive so I hope you don't mind me asking a question.

Me and my dh have been trying for a baby for over 2 years now. I'm 41 so I am feeling a sense of urgency. After nothing happening for nearly 2 years this year I had a chemical pregnancy in January, got a bfp in May but then had a miscarriage in June around 7 weeks. They thought it was a molar pregnancy as my hcg levels were so high but nothing was visible on the scan. However it turned out not to be molar so we are ttc again.

My doctor referred us to the consultant as we had been trying so long and we have our first appointment on Monday. I was wondering what might happen at that appointment? I guess a lot of form filling and perhaps arranging for more tests? I'm also a bit worried that they will send us away because I had a miscarriage and say they won't see me as I had got pregnant (I had to rearrange the appointment and told them I had a mc but they didn't say I couldn't come).

Anyway any advice that anyone has would be appreciated.

Best wishes to everyone on this ttc journey.

[Esmes2013]

Hi, welcome! I am also 41 and sadly had 5 early miscarriages in 2015 but now in 2016 I cannot get pregnant at all----puzzling lol. It depends on which consultant you are seeing and what they will be looking at. One consultant just tested me for Hughes and packed me off with aspirin, clexane and progesterone pessaries to try on next pregnancy but I have not got pregnant since. The miscarriage clinic consultant ran a battery of blood tests and said everything was normal and just to keep trying. Interestingly they tested for LH and FSH, which were ok, but not for AMH. I had this tested privately and it is very low. I have spoken to Tommys in Birmingham and they have said I should consider the NK killer test. My overall investigations have led me to believe either my egg reserve is very low or I have high NK killer cells. My normal consultant is erring on side of NK as I was getting pregnant so easily and now I am not. Good Luck- They will take a history at the appointment, probably run some blood tests and then call you back in to discuss possible treatment, although you may get the same response I got, which was you are getting pregnant, just keep trying and eventually it should work. Easy for them to say not so easy for us ladies who have to keep going through the devastation of miscarriage. Best wishes

[City74 in reply to Esmes2013]

Thank you so much for your reply Esmes - I really appreciate it. I am so sorry for your losses. Miscarriage is devastating and I can't imagine having 5. I have been reading about that NK killer test and I think it sounds like it's worth having it done if you can. I think I might consider that in the future as well. I have heard of Hughes but not exactly sure what it is so I might read about that as well. I think you are right that they might say for us to keep trying and we'll get there eventually but I suppose it's worth going along just to see if anything can be done. Did your consultant offer you IVF? Best wishes to you too. I really hope you get some answers.

[Esmes2013 in reply to City74]

Thank you, no IVF not even mentioned so far because I was getting pregnant so readily not sure what they will say now. Yes have a look at Hughes they do 2 tests 12 weeks apart my first was positive (whilst pregnant) my second was negative (while not pregnant) so mmmmm I would request the test to be done -sadly for us all in this position is ruling as much out as you can test my test but even then some struggle to find out exactly why! It's one hell of an emotional roller coaster please let me know how you get on as I am further down the testing route than you so happy to give you any info that may help you X

[City74 in reply to Esmes2013]

Hi Esmes - sorry for the late response. Been a busy week. We had our appointment and they said because of my age we would go straight to ivf. If it all works out think would be having it in about October/November but not too sure.

When I went to my GP she ordered the day 2 and day 21 blood tests and also some swabs to check for infections etc. When I went for the blood tests they told me about everything they would test for. When I went to see the GP to get my results she said everything looked fine and said that my progesterone level was high so I was ovulating. However, on Monday it turns out that she didn't tell me that my fsh level was high. It's 12.5 which the nurse said was a bit of a concern and has suggested I get a repeat test. They also didn't test me for oestrogen so I have to get that done again. They also didn't tell me that I'm not immune to Rubella so I have to get the MMR injection. I don't understand this as I have had Rubella and also I remember having the Rubella injection in my last year at primary school. However the most annoying thing about it is that I can't get pregnant for a month afterwards (and I think it might involve 2 injections which could be 2 months of not trying naturally). I don't understand why my gp didn't tell me this. When I was waiting to find out whether my miscarriage was the result of a molar pregnancy I couldn't ttc so I could have had that injection then. Grr. Never mind. Of course I am secretly hoping that I've managed to get pregnant naturally this month but I realise that is very unlikely!

I also went for swabs and tests for chlamydia as part of my tests and the clinic said that these hadn't been done either so I'm going to have to repeat them again. I don't really understand what happened here but I suppose I've got some time until my next appointment in 6-8 weeks. I've also got to have a scan sometime on day 6-10 of my cycle.

the nurse also recommended that I get a blood test to check my amh levels. I had to pay for this but I thought it was worth it. Have you had yours checked? I am feeling a bit worried about what that test will find out but I suppose it's better knowing.

Sorry for the very long post. Hope you are OK?

[Esmes2013 in reply to City74]

Hi! Sorry its took me a while to reply, we sadly had a sudden family bereavement. Well, it seems like you have a lot going on! I have had FSH done twice now, the first time it was 10.5 and a few months later it was 8, I tried DHEA, COQ10 and royal jelly supplements inbetween so they seemed to do something! Yes, I paid privately to have the AMH test and it was very low only 2.7pmol which is pretty bad. My consultant was not concerned about this however as I was getting pregnant so easily. I am seeing him again in a few weeks so my question will be, well I am not getting pregnant at all now! And good news for you about getting referred for IVF straight away! It would be worthwhile getting your AMH level checked, especially if you are looking at IVF as I know some clinics want it to be a certain level before they proceed as I have read somewhere if the level is low they are not confident about egg retrieval numbers. Hope you're doing ok x

[City74 in reply to Esmes2013]

Hi Esmes. Sorry to hear about your family bereavement. That must have been a shock and I hope you are as well as can be expected.

Thanks for letting me know about your FSH and AMH levels. The clinic have told me I need to have my fsh tested again so I'm going tomorrow for that. Also my GPs should have checked my oestrogen levels but didn't so I'm getting that checked too. I paid for the AMH test at my appointment so I'll get the results of that soon at my next appointment I assume. I am prepared for it to be low though so we'll just have to see what happens.

My period came today so I'm disappointed about that but I'm just trying to look at the future and at least I'm getting the tests done etc.

I have wondered about taking DHEA and COQ10. The clinic said not to take any supplements apart from folic acid but I have read good things about them.

Good luck at your next appointment - I hope you get some answers too.

[Orangepie1]

Hi, I am 30 but my partner is 36 and I have had 7/8 early miscarriages including chemical pregnancies. I was referred to women's health and the first thing they did was take note of my history. How many months it took , how many miscarriages, how far a long I was. They were not interested in my partner at all. I was quite surprised. They then put me down for some tests they thought were relevant which were only two tests in the end. Blood clotting disorder and a pelvic scan because I requested it due to a private scan they thought my lining was thin. So these tests came back with the all clear. Then they also said if I have another miscarriage- I were to give my miscarriage tissue for testing. You guessed it- I had another miscarriage. So , once we did this we discovered that miscarriage was causes by an extra male abnormal- trisomy 16 miscarriage. They put on the results sheet this does not explain the reason for previous losses but it does explain this loss. We then paid £375 to get my partners sperm dna fragmentation test. The results were fine. They say to keep trying. I am on medication for thyroid antibodies but that shouldn't be an issue as they are not too high and I am meds. I just have to keep on trying. And I have another appointment at Tommy's miscarriage clinic to see if they have missed anything. I have a blog if you want to read. tryingforbaby.org

[City74 in reply to Orangepie1]

Thank you so much for your reply Orangepie - it's so kind of you and thank you for your blog as well. I'll definitely have a read of that. I am so sorry to hear of your losses - that must be so devastating for you. I really hope that your appointment at Tommy's miscarriage clinic is OK.

I've had blood tests so far to check I'm ovulating (I am) and all those other things they test for at the GP. They all came back fine and my dh's sperm was fine too. I got pregnant in May literally just after I had seen my doctor and so I hoped I wouldn't have to be referred to the fertility doctors. I'm just going to go along and see what they say. I expect a lot more blood tests as everyone says and possibly lots more waiting.

Best wishes to you.