Chemical pregnancy 😔

[Aiday]

I’m in the worst place ever after finding out I was pregnant and now I’m not. I’m desperate for this to make sense. What happened to cause my chemical pregnancy. I know no one can give me that answer but it’s killing me inside. This is my first round of icsi and I only produced two eggs and one of them fertilised. I had a fet at 3 days. I’m 41 , have an under active thyroid , low reserve and literally put all our savings in this one chance to get pregnant. I’ve never been pregnant before and to see those two lines fading away breaks my heart. I’m in tears all the time and I just don’t know how I’m going to get through this.

I wonder if it was because I missed one progesterone pessary , or if my normal due date would have affected anything, was it my thyroid, may be because I slipped up on my diet a bit and had too much sugar, would I have got a better result with a 5 day transfer rather than 3 day?

I want to know is there anything I could do second time round to hope for a better result.

Can anyone share any positive stories or things they changed to get a better outcome. I just need anything x

[Franjohn]

I don’t have much advice (apart from the fact missing the one pessarie would make no difference so don’t beat yourself up on that) chemicals are super common unfortunately. I had one naturally a few years ago, and remember the pain when I did another test. Just wanted to say you’re not alone, how you’re feeling is how I’ve felt going through all of this and so so so many other women. Have the consultation with the clinic see what they say and ask them about additional supplements like DHEA that you could take. Stay strong and be kind to yourself. Have a self care day of junk food and crap tele xxxxx

[Aiday in reply to Franjohn]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate that advice. To be fair I wrote that post in a real emotion state. I’ve spent a few days just releasing so much emotion, punching into pillows and have a good ol scream. I feel a lot better now and ready for my consultation with my clinic. Can I ask what DHEA is please? X

[Franjohn in reply to Aiday]

Oh good for you!!! It’s a supplement that can help with egg quality! Xx

[Aiday in reply to Franjohn]

Thank you, do you take that before egg collection then?

[Franjohn in reply to Aiday]

Yea for around 3 months for it to work properly xx

[Aiday in reply to Franjohn]

Did you purchase them yourself or did the clinic give them to you? I should go and purchase some now as I prepping now in the hope to do the next cycle in a few months.

[Franjohn in reply to Aiday]

I would defo double check with the clinic that they’re happy. My consultant recommended it but it isn’t licensed in the uk so I managed to find some from Switzerland I think!! It’s quite pricey. Also have a look at impryl that’s for men and women and is meant to hugely help both soerm and egg quality. Again pretty pricey but was defo worth it for my partner and i have a friend who took it and she went on to conceive naturally xxx

[Franjohn in reply to Franjohn]

Oh also have a look at coq10 - do you have the book it starts with the egg? It actually has a section all about the best supplements depending on your situation, perhaps get on Amazon and grab that and then decide which ones suit you best xxx

[Aiday in reply to Franjohn]

Thank you so much. I haven’t got the book no but will look into getting that too. Thanks for this info x

[Arlie123]

Hi there, so sorry to hear this, sending lots of love. Do you have your latest thyroid results that you could post on the forum thread? An under active thyroid can commonly factor into miscarriages. Officially TSH should be under 2.5 when ttc but ideally under 1. Also other factors like low vitamins can exacerbate thyroid problems and are very common if you have the autoimmune version (even when you eat really well!). The peeps over on the thyroid board are really good at giving advice on blood test results. Defo don’t beat yourself up about a bit of sugar here and there, it’s not your fault Xxx

[Aiday in reply to Arlie123]

Thank you for your response. That’s really interesting as I didn’t realise it had to be 2.5 or below. Mine was 3.95 last time I checked in November 2020. They didn’t ask me about my thyroid results just asked if it’s under control and within normal range. Which I said it was. I wish I was more clued up before I went into my first round. 😔

[Arlie123 in reply to Aiday]

No problem. It’s a shame they didn’t probe more but I think it’s quite common for clinics and gps to be clueless about thyroid issues here’s the British thyroid info that covers it btf-thyroid.org/pregnancy-a...

as I mentioned my endo would prefer it to be 1 or under for TTC. Over on the thyroid forum they advice tsh is usually under 1 when on medication. 3.95 is defo too high whether trying to conceive or not. Head over there and have a browse - I have learnt so much from reading threads xxx

[Aiday in reply to Arlie123]

Thank you so much. I’ll have a good read and definitely won’t have another cycle until I’ve reduced my numbers. That’s really helpful. I’ll check out that thread x

[Rain415]

There is nothing you could have done this is not your fault at all. ❤️ I had an early miscarriage last month and after waiting so long to see those two lines then being told stop developing at 5 and a half weeks like you said it is devasting. But not your fault. I wish you all the luck for your next steps. X

[Aiday]

Thank you so much , I appreciate that x I have my end of cycle consultation on Tuesday so let me see what they say.

[Marisa32]

Hey, I have been in your shoes. It sucks and it will take some time to move past it. I had 2 chemicals at 41 also and IVF was such a bust that I got BFN from my one egg that I made on max stims. My AMH was so low that doctor didn't even want to do another IVF with my OE. I was devastated. Chemicals are predominantly caused by chromosomal abnormalities in embryo so it's not your fault. Genetic testing of blastocysts would help eliminate unviable embryos but if you only make 1 - not sure it's worth it.

I wouldn't worry about missing the progesterone one day. I have Hashimoto's, so I like to keep my TSH under 2 if not lower when TTC. That's important. To give you some hope, I'm 12 weeks now at 42 with a baby conceived naturally.

[Aiday in reply to Marisa32]

Aww that’s fab news, I’m so happy for you. I wish you all the best with your pregnancy. I’m really annoyed that they didn’t even question my thyroid levels. I will do all I can to reduce my thyroid before I try my next cycle. For some reason they didn’t give us any option on when to transfer. They transferred after 3 days and I didn’t even question it . Do you think I should have asked for 5 day transfer and testing?

[Marisa32 in reply to Aiday]

Thank you. My clinic wouldn't even do a transfer unless the embryo made it to day 5 to cut down on transferring unviable ones. I did get a blastocyst on day 5 from that one egg but it wasn't good enough to be tested, so I just put it in without testing. It was probably abnormal, so it didn't even take. The thyroid thing is crucial when TTC and during pregnancy. My doctor tested that first and wouldn't proceed with treatment until I found an endocrinologist and got my thyroid levels fixed. It should be below 1 and no higher than 2 when trying. I take Synthroid for it but there are other generics that work and are cheaper. If you get blastocysts that are good enough to be tested, it's worth doing. I used 3 different clinics for IVF (one in Slovakia and two in the USA), all of them do only 5 day transfers and recommend the embryo testing for women over 40. Not sure how it works in the UK. Hopefully after you fix your TSH, it will just happen!