How long did you wait, and other questions (loss mentioned)

Maebb

Quick intro - I have a 1 year old DS, and DH and I love him dearly. I had a m/c the month before he was conceived. I did not have a period in between. The doctor told us to wait through one cycle to TTC again, but we didn't wait. The whole pregnancy and labor and everything went well, and he is healthy and doing great. I BF and didn't have a period for a while, but I weaned and got my period back at 11 months, and we TTC immediately after that. I got pregnant the first month, but I had a m/c at 6 weeks. This was on Wednesday. It's difficult. The doctor said to wait through one cycle to start trying again, but DH thinks that since it "worked" with DS after the first m/c, maybe we should just see what happens. But I told him I would be devastated if we didn't listen to the doctor and then I had another loss. How long after your m/c did you wait before TTC again? DH's coworker knows some people who have a pattern of loss, baby, loss, baby - has anyone experienced that or heard about it? Final question - the doctor said they normally wait until the 3rd loss to start doing tests, but I know I need to be my own health advocate. My mom has had thyroid issues, and I'm thinking about getting those levels tested. Do you think I should request it now, or wait for another loss? I just feel like if I can prevent another loss, I'd rather do it now. Thanks, ladies.

KikiCohen

I'm so sorry for your losses.  

I had a missed m/c around 12 weeks and had to have a D&E.  My OB told me at least to wait one cycle before trying again, and honestly it was difficult.  I'm very glad that we did though b/c we both needed time to heal emotionally and I needed to also heal physically.  If we wouldn't have listened and I would have had another loss, I don't think I could have forgiven myself.  I highly recommend waiting as your doctor suggested.  

As far as your thyroid, I don't think it would hurt to have it checked now.  DH has hypothyroidism and sees an endocrinologist a few times a year as well as has his hormone levels checked (by a simple blood test).  I'm sure your PCP could order the tests for you or if your insurance doesn't require a referral, you could find an endocrinologist in your area to have order the bloodwork.  

(hugs)

Mom2anAngel2

I definitely suggest listening to your doctor.  We lost our son at 19 weeks, so I was induced and delivered him.  I had a rough recovery and needed a D&C 1 month later.  So, when we were told to wait 1 cycle, it ended up being almost 3 months.  We did wait for the exact reason you mentioned.  I would have blamed myself if we had another loss and I didn't listen. 

I agree with KikiCohen and don't think it would hurt to check your thyroid functions.  It is a basic blood test and I am sure any doctor would check it for you. 

I am so sorry for your losses.  ((HUGS))

Maebb

Thank you both, and I'm sorry for your losses too.

luvboston

I would wait 1 cycle. I would also not listen to your doctor and have your thyroid checked as well as a loss panel. Having one miscarriage is bad luck anymore need to be looked into.

FmrAFBrat

((HUGS)) Like PP said I would wait. A lot of ladies are given the go ahead to try again and then have what they think is a loss, but it's hard to distinguish to most doctors as part of the loss or a separate pregnancy and loss.  I hope that's not confusing, but give yourself time to heal and get an actual cycle, it will make things easier.

I've had hashimoto's thyroiditis (hypo) since I was 8 and I've taken just about every thyroid medication out there. I'm currently taking Armour Thyroid, but I've taken synthroid, synthroid & cytomel combo, and a formula made at the pharmacy for awhile when Armour was off the market. My thyroid is pretty much a loss. While it did not cause my loss, I was told by my endo before I ever got pregnant that I was to call them as soon as I found out I was pregnant because if the levels are off there is a 1 in 4 chance of a miscarriage. I would never trust a regular doctor or OB to check on my levels, because there were a few times my OB thought my levels looked good, but my endo changed the levels.

My rec is to go see a good endo and have all of your T levels tested and not just your T4 (which is what most doctors test). You can have seemingly normal T4 levels and still have an issue with your T3 or have issues with both as I do.  I thought for years something was mentally wrong with me until I went to an actually endo and they checket my T3. I was just on the wrong meds for 20 years. The thyroid can F*** your world up. I was getting my period every other week too as a preteen and teen and no one ever figured it out. They just gave my a script for BCPs.

hopefulmom81

I am so sorry for your lost babies.

I had a missed m/c and a blighted ovum before DD and I pushed for testing.  I was not going to wait to lose another baby.  My OB was awesome and very agreeable to doing the full recurring loss testing if I was willing to undergo all of the bloodwork and procedures.  Nothing turned up, so I pushed for progesterone testing (thanks to petrastonegirl's suggestion) and that ended up being an issue.

I always waited the prescribed amount of cycles (OB had us wait 2 or 3 after the first loss and 1 after the second loss) before trying.  My logic was the EXACT same as yours.  If I had a m/c after not listening to the doctor I would be very upset with myself.

I have never heard of the pattern of loss, baby, loss, baby, but I would think due to pure statistics that would definitely be possible, but I am not sure that it has anything to do with anything beyond simple math and odds.


GL.

ct103

I'm so sorry for your losses. I would listen to my doctor and wait the one cycle if I were you, for the exact reasons that you mentioned. Having your Thyroid checked is usually just a simple blood test, so it couldn't hurt. I hope you get to have another rainbow soon.

adoxyinherear

I am incredibly sorry for your losses.

We waited the recommended month after our loss. I felt like I wanted to give my body time to recover, and it seemed like sound advice.

MickeyM04

I would definitely listen to your doctor, not just because you'd feel guilty but because I could see a situation where someone has a loss, then a baby, then a loss, then doesn't listen to their doctor who recommended waiting, and then has another loss and asks for testing and the doctor says they should hold off because the third loss is probably just because the body didn't have time to heal after the miscarriage, blah blah blah.  Does that make sense?  Like if heaven forbid you had another loss and then your doctor basically chalked it up as being your fault, so no need to test yet and then you delay the testing even further.

I am VERY sorry for your losses.

ksyknelvr73

First of all, I'm sorry for your losses, and especially the one you are dealing with right now.

I would just wait the one cycle, honestly. I don't think it hurts to wait. I was always told to wait one for the ones that required D&C's, and then with my CP I wasn't told to wait. Either way, I never got pregnant the very next month anyway so I have no idea if that would have worked out.

I personally advocate for asking your doctor to test things if you want to do that. It won't hurt anything to know! I had RPL testing done in August after my 3rd loss but I was worried they wouldn't "count" the 3rd one since it was a CP. But my doctor is pretty great and he understood that I was getting very frustrated and felt like something was wrong. So you should at least ask, especially knowing there are certain issues in your family.

BootsOrHearts

I'm sorry for your losses. We got pregnant on the cycle right after a c/p, they didn't tell us to wait because well, I'm infertile so I guess they thought it didn't matter. The c/p was from an IVF cycle. I'd still listen to your doctor or at least ask WHY they say to wait - is there a physical reason or just that you need time to heal emotionally?

salsa_wifey

I'm sorry for your losses.

My dr told me the same thing. No testing until they confirmed 3 losses.  I went to and RE after that. I wasn't going to wait for a third loss. If you suspect your Tyroid, I think it would be good to get it tested if for nothing else but peace of mind.

As for weather to wait, if you have reservations about not waiting then I would wait. You could ask your dr the reason why you should wait. My dr told me to wait for one cycle and then ttc again. I've heard others say that the main reason for that was for a good conception date because they go by LMP. I'm not sure if that's the only reason or if there is an increased risk of loss. Like the pp mentioned, healing emotionally is important too.

Maebb

Thanks, ladies!  I got the thyroid results back, and it was 4.3, which is normal.  My htc levels have not gone down to zero yet, but they're still very low at around 2300.  The waiting is going to be hard, but my birthday is in February, so maybe that is when we'll start trying again.  In the meantime, I have some time off work for the holidays, so I'm enjoying spending time with DH and DS.  Thanks again.