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TTC After a Loss
Mmm79
member
D&C F/U Appointment tomorrow- soliciting feedback on qs to ask (long)
Mmm79
member
Geez, even the title is long...
Good Morning Ladies. I have my d&c f/u appointment tomorrow. It will be one month to the day since I had my d%c. Since this is my second loss in just a few months, I want to be armed with the right questions and expectations.
Background:
I am 33, DH is 44. We began TTC in October 2011.
We got our first BFP on 11/12/11 and were thrilled. At my first appointment they did a u/s and found a baby measuring small w/a HB of 80. A week later there was no heartbeat. I waited a week to see if things would progress on their own and when they didn't, I had a d&c. I did great with the procedure, bled for about 4 days then spotted for a few. I got AF about 28 days later, though shorter and lighter than I had been expecting.
We had genetic testing and learned the baby had Turner's Syndrone. meanwhile, we had my karotyping done as I had a younger sibling born with Trisomy 22 and since this happened back in the late 1908s/early 1990s we couldn't get ahold of her medical records to see if it was the type caused by a balanced translocation. The tests on me came back all clear and we were told we could begin TTC since AF had returned. We waited two cycles and began TTC again in March 2012.
We got our second BFP on 3/25/12. 2.5 weeks later I had a bright red bleed, including some stuff that looked tissue-like. I went to the doctor and had an emergency u/s and to my surprise they found a baby measuring right on schedule with a HB of 141. The bleeding was called a "fluke" and since it stopped completely by that night and never returned, we felt better. But two weeks later at my next appointment there was no heartbeat and measurements showed the baby had stopped growing a week earlier. Since once again my body did not seem to be sensing when it had lost a baby, I scheduled a d&c. Same experience as before, with AF returning 27 days after the d&c, but again short and light.
We are having genetic testing on the baby this time as well. Since it has been 4 weeks since the d&c my doctor thought she should have the results at tomorrow's appointment.
My own observations that have led to questions:
I had absolutely no symptoms with either pregnancy. Nada. I have not had a blood draw with either pregnancy to check my levels (my OB office schedules your first appointment as an u/s). I also have no symptoms when I lose the pregnancy- not even spotting. It's like my body neither recognizes that I am pregnant nor that I have lost it. Why is this? Could there be something wrong with my hormone levels?
The doctors and nurses at my practice seem to be focused on the whole "well, at least you can get pregnant easily", but this doesn't really help if I can't stay pregnant.
My 2 AFs following the first d&c and preceding the 2nd BFP were lighter and shorter. My cycles also seemed to be shorter, though I wasn't charting so I can't really give specifics. I had been on BCPs for about 11 years prior to October 2011 and my periods were typically 4-5 days with some medium flow days in the middle. In contrast, I got AF this past Saturday and just had light bleeding on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (liner was enough) and today's she's flown the coop. Are my lighter periods indicative of a problem? Was my lining not thick enough to support the second pregnancy? Can this be tested?
I did start charting after my second loss, though I am still getting the hang of it, but according to temps and FF, I did ovulate this month and I saw the temp dip right as AF arrived.
I am going to push for testing, RPL if possible, but I am not sure yet what my insurance allows. If they won't do an RPL, can any one suggest any specific tests that I should ask/push for given my circumstance?
I really do not want to have to go through a third loss before getting at least some testing done. Plus, my biological clock may not be "ticking" just yet, but DH's is and I am feeling a lot of pressure to get and stay pregnant because there may come a time sooner rather than later when he feels he is too old.
Any advice ladies?
Btw, if you made it this far, these are for you:
This discussion has been closed.
Re: D&C F/U Appointment tomorrow- soliciting feedback on qs to ask (long)
I am so sorry for your losses.
I would call your insurance company and ask what they cover. Mine specifically does not cover fertility treatments but will cover anything that is coded as RPL. I am older than you but I went to see an RE after my second loss.
I would definitely ask about the RPL panel and see what your insurance company says about covering testing and treatment for RPL.
((Hugs)) Again, I've very sorry for your loss and hope you get to take home a sweet baby very soon!
If they find another chromosomal abnormality on the second pregnancy, then sadly that probably answers the "why" question. The most relevant testing for this would be the karyotype of you and DH to look for a balanced translocation. You've already had this testing, but you could look into it for your DH.
You could get other testing--for blood clotting disorders, thyroid disorder, diabetes, hormone levels, and imaging of the uterus (sonohistogram probably)--but if it is two chromosomal abnormalities in a row then I don't see how those tests would diagnose problems that could prevent that type of loss in the future.
If they find no chromosomal abnormalities this time, then I'd be more inclined toward the other types of RPL testing.
But those are just my 2 cents. Obviously you should see what your doctor thinks about it.