Anyone deal with repeat miscarriages, and blame allergies?

DavezWife

Long shot, but thought I would throw this out there...

I've had several miscarriages, most with infertility treatments (8 chemical pregnancies plus 3 first-tri m/c), however had my daughter sans-ART.

I seem to be "allergic" to becoming pregnant. My body flares up (severe scalp itching, other itchies on my body, low-grade fever at implantation, etc.)

We've ran a ton of tests, and nothing is obvious. Sometimes I suspect the estrogen and/or progesterone support... other times I wonder if it's foods.  (I have no "standard" allergies, other than a FREAKY reaction to calimari long ago)

In attempts to get a baby to stick, I recently went on what I call "The Deprivation Diet" - no gluten, no dairy, and as long as I'm doing it... no carbs and no sugar. (I need to loose weight)

My symtoms have stopped. My scalp doesn't itch.

Of course, I'm on steroids, and doing IVIG (an infusion that's supposed to stop all reactions) SO who knows.

I guess I'm just throwing my story out there to see if any people who have DELT with allergies have any ideas.

Thanks so much.

westcoaststyle

K, so I haven't dealt with allergies and miscarriages personally (my son has Celiac) but I do know that untreated Celiac Disease can cause miscarriages in women. You've cut out so much at once, it could be hard to narrow it down to one allergy... but if you're feeling better, why stop? Good luck to you!

erinkate23

I have often wondered this.  I have Crohns...which seems to be related to allergies to corn/gluten/oat/soy and lord knows what else. I've had 2 losses, and they all coincided with a nasty flare. 

Are you doing the Specific Carbohydrate diet?  It's working wonders.

I flared badly through my entire pregnancy with DS, and I was on prednisone (80mg, so BIG dose) the whole time.  I wonder if the pred is one of the reasons I didn't lose him, that and I really didn't want carbs/sugar; I wanted MEAT, lol.

DavezWife

erinkate23:

I have often wondered this.  I have Crohns...which seems to be related to allergies to corn/gluten/oat/soy and lord knows what else. I've had 2 losses, and they all coincided with a nasty flare. 

Are you doing the Specific Carbohydrate diet?  It's working wonders.

I flared badly through my entire pregnancy with DS, and I was on prednisone (80mg, so BIG dose) the whole time.  I wonder if the pred is one of the reasons I didn't lose him, that and I really didn't want carbs/sugar; I wanted MEAT, lol.

EIGHTY????????????????? holychit. I'm just about DEAD on 20. I fricken hate this med. On top of DIETING, the lupron and BCP to prep for my FET, I'm one MEAN motherhen. lol.

to add.... I don't show typical signs of CD, gluten intolerance, or chron's... but no one seems to be able to point me in one direction, so WTF. I'll try anything at this point to get "lucky" pregnancy #13 to stick.   I do know that I've had this scalp thing, and weird histimine flare ups since years ago. I just wasn't trying to get pregnant, and thought it was something else.

cynasmin

i did an elimination diet in nov much like what your doing - meat,fish, eggs, fruits and veggies felt like a whole new person in 4 days. Nothing packaged as there are so many hidden ingredients like whey in chicken bouillon for example. then i started testing different things to see how i reacted - gluten, dairy soy. kept a food diary of the reactions and starting piecing it together. watch out for supplements too i'm sensitive enough to dairy that i need dairy free ones! don't be discouraged if a limited food selection doesn't have you feeling better i can be really difficult - i met a girl who has having issues w/ eggs and all sorts of fruits and veggies and it ended up being a corn thing!

i haven't had any MC or anything, expecting our first in Jan but i definitely think things can be heightened (or lessened) during pregnancy. seems totally worth it to take a month or two off see how food effects you. i've since been able to add in some rices (can't digest them all), potatoes, sweet potatoes. i still don't eat much in a package and it really challenging some times - can't have alot of normal american fair w/out adjustments and i don't really do well w/ gluten free, this or that. but i'm feeling fantastic!

also i'm finding alot of interesting information about food toxins etc at https://thehealthyskeptic.org/9-steps-to-perfect-health-1-dont-eat-toxins he's got some stuff on pregnancy too.

astroMom

I'm Celiac and have definitely heard of people having multiple miscarriages and/or infertility then having "luck" after going gluten free.  Are you sure you are not getting hidden sources of gluten?  It took me a long time to figure it *all* out.

Also, did you get any tests, blood or cheek swab/genetic to rule it out?

I'm sure any food allergy could cause increased risk of infertility, though, since there is an immune reaction.  The only problem is, if you ARE Celiac, I've heard it recommended that you are gluten free for a long period before TTC.

Good luck!

Meow71

My sister in law miscarried her first in december. As soon as she got preg she became allergic to a lot of stuff...Oats, barley, pecans, pineapple, peaches, peanuts, pears, corn, soy, and a few others I cannot remember. Miscarrying did not cure her new found food allergies and she has not been able to get pregnant since.

firefightersgal

I have Celiac Disease, but didn't find out about it until last August.  I had (previously) unexplained secondary infertility with long, anovulatory cycles.  I finally got pregnant with the help of Clomid, but lost the baby.  After doing research, I found that the antibodies formed when someone with CD attack and destroy the placenta.  This made a bell go off for me.  When my DD was born, she had no amniotic fluid and had to be induced to avoid stillbirth.  When my doctor examined the placenta, it was not functioning at all.

Since I've been gluten-free, my cycles have finally started to regulate and I am ovulating on my own.  However, I had a gluten binge on CD 1 (feeling sorry for myself), and that caused my current cycle's ovulation to be significantly delayed. 

I have dermatitus herpitformus along with my CD, which was a horribly itchy rash.  It was first diagnosed with eczema, but none of the creams worked.  Not long after going GF, the rash started to go away.  I had suffered with it for months on end, keeping me up at night and making me insane.

Anyway, I'm hoping now to get and stay pregnant on my own.  Sooner than later would be great--we've been TTC #2 for 2.5 years. 

ETA: I did not have the "typical" symptoms of CD.  I had a terrible rash, painful joints (tested for RA), and infertility/miscarriage. 

DavezWife

thank you everyone for your thoughts. more are welcome!

lavril

I have been wondering the same thing. I had a loss in Dec (first pregnancy) and I wonder if it had to do w/ allergies.  I was DX w/ IBS a long time ago and nothing I've tried has given me any relief.   My GI wants me to try going gluten free to see if it's a wheat sensitivity (tested negative for Celiac).  I'm also trying to avoid most fructose (certainly hfcs).