Anyone else have success after multiple chemical pregnancies?

awerkman

Hi Everyone,

I have been TTC for about a year and a half now. Within that time I have had 5 chemical pregnancies. I have been seeing a specialist and all tests have come back negative which is good news. I have had low progesterone levels and we have been treating it with starting progesterone after ovulation. The doctor said the next step would be to do IVF to check for genetic issues with the embryo. just wondering if anyone has had this issue and if you hsve any suggestions/success stories. Thank you all in advance for your input/support!

Carol77B

I'm really sorry you've experienced so many CPs. Since this board is aimed at women currently experiencing infertility so you won't find a lot of women on here with success stories, unless we have PAIF/SAIF lurkers or IFers trying for a second, etc.

I know that some of the women we've had on the board were in a similar position to you- they had multiple CPs and had moved on to IVF so they could have genetic testing on their embryos. However, in the last couple of months, we've had a lot of women leave the board, so I'm not sure if they are still around, or if they have found success and are now on the PAIF (Pregnant after Infertility) board. You may want to try posting on the PAIF board.

I'm hopeful for you that adding the progesterone will help and you will not have to move onto IVF. 

przemosbabe

It's either like the previous poster said, that you need genetic testing on your embryos, or it's your immune system causing immune implantation dysfunction. To test for this, you would need a reproductive immunologist. There is one in Chicago and her name is JoAnn Kwak Kim. She is at Rosalind and Franklin University. And takes insurance. You will have to go there for initial office visits but after that she can manage you from afar. I have never received a bill from them in two years except for the initial office visit. If it is indeed your immune system causing this, then IVF won't be of much help. If it were me, I would find out if it is my immune system, get a protocol from the reproductive immunologists and try natural as you can easily get pregnant on your own. They won't give you meds if you don't have any issues, so I would go there to rule it out. IVF is for people that are not conceiving at all or for those that suspect genetic issues and want testing on the embryos. If you need anything send me a message. Best wishes to you and I hope you find answers very soon.

HillyJen

I'm so sorry for your losses. I've had 10 chemical pregnancies in the past 2 years, but I think we've finally found the problem. I had low progesterone and a short luteal phase (9-10 days), and while using Crinone (progesterone) from ovulation onwards did extend my pregnancies a few weeks (from 4 to 6 weeks...), this was still not enough in my case. This is not to discourage you in any way - progesterone might very well work for you (I know of many ladies that succeeded with progesterone alone), but if it doesn't, there is still lots of hope!   I agree with the other comments that your miscarriages could be caused by immunologic or genetic issues, but in my case it was clinical hypothyroid which went undetected for years and eventually led to late luteal and early pregnancy seizures and miscarriage. My thyroid had been tested four times over two years, and my TSH
levels were "OK" - e.g. 2.4 to 2.6 range. Ideally you should be
under 2.5 for pregnancy, but even fertility clinics would not address my
TSH levels unless I was TPO positive (and I'm not). Thyroxine (T4) levels
were always on the lowest fringe of normal, so never considered.
The catch was that every time my thyroid was tested, my estrogen levels were
low and this masked my hypothyroid condition. When I lucked out and ended up getting my thyroid tested while my estrogen was high, my TSH doubled to 5.0, and T4 remained low. My seizures and miscarriages were triggered by surging estrogen
levels that caused my T4 levels to plummet  (estrogen promotes
production of TBG in the liver which binds with your T4). I'm now on thyroxine and my seizures are gone... maybe my miscarriages are gone too? Time will tell, but my endocrinologist is almost excessively certain that we'll have a baby. Hypothyroid is a huge factor in early
miscarriage, and it's easy to miss. If you can
find a sympathetic doctor, suggest getting your thyroid checked during
periods of high estrogen in your cycle - late follicular, ovulatory phases
are good, but avoid testing during your period (fertility clinics always
want to test on Day 3 of cycle... to my great detriment). Please rule out a thyroid problem - even if you don't have symptoms, it could be the culprit. I wish you the best of luck!

megasus919

Hi, I have had 5 miscarriages in the past 2 years, many of them chemical pregnancies. I saw a fertility specialist who told me I had bad luck. I knew there was something more to it. I switched Drs and had a blood test done called karyotyping on me and my husband. My first dr said this was unnecessary bc the odds of having an issue were so low. As it turns out, I have a balanced translocation on chromosones 7 and 9. What they means is the chromosomes that make up me are complete but they arent all in the traditional places they should be - a litte piece of chromo 7 is on chromo 9 and vice versa. So I have no defects or symptoms except half of my eggs are chromosomally off so to speak. This puts me at a higher chance of having a m/c. I am happy to report that I am currently 20 weeks pregnant with my first baby and there are no signs of any problems. All 5 of my previous pregnancies ended at 5 or 6 weeks. I did not use IVF and conceived naturally, although IVF with PGD was recommended to me as an option. Having those miscarriages made me feel hopeless and like the odds were against me and I'd never have a family. I went through a lot of ups and downs and wouldnt wish this on anyone. There is hope though and if you keep trying and find the right Dr who will listen to you, you will get your rainbow baby. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to talk to you about what I learned along the way. Best of luck to you.

Meg