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Has anyone seen Dr. Mary Stephenson?

BookishMommaBookishMomma member
in Infertility
XP from TTCAL and PGAL

*loss mentioned*




Another AL bumpie recommended I post this question here because some of the ladies on this board have gone through reproductive immunology-type testing and treatment, which is the road I might be going down. I lurk here from time to time, so I know you ladies are a smart bunch.

Long story short, I'm 35 and have had 4 miscarriages since November 2013, all at less than 9 weeks. I have set up an appointment to see Dr. Mary Stephenson at her University of IL-Chicago clinic. She's known for her work with recurrent pregnancy loss and I believe also for reproductive immunology. I've read a lot of her articles & research and finally just decided to bite the bullet and make an appointment to see her in February. Chicago is a 3 hour drive from where I live. The cost of seeing her will be out of pocket, but then again, so are my RE visits, and I feel like I've reached the end of my RE's considerable well of knowledge at this point. I've had boat loads of testing already (clotting panels, DOR, structural issues, etc.) and we are "unexplained" except that DH has low morphology (1%), which my RE thinks is canceled out by a high count.  

I realize that when all is said and done, the answer for our 4 losses might still be "no answer," but I feel like I owe it to myself to at least see what Dr. Stephenson has to say and whether there's any additional testing or treatment she recommends. If anyone has seen Dr. Stephenson and is willing to share their experience, good or bad, I'd much appreciate it. 

Have some hot cocoa if you made it this far.

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DX: I'm a Recurrent Loser
Me (35) + DH (37) - Married Sept. 2007
BFP #1 - DS born 7/11/11
BFP#2 11/13/13 - EDD 7/29/14 - M/C at 5w3d
BFP #3 12/28/13 - EDD 9/7/14 - M/C at 4w6d
BFP#4 3/27/14 -  EDD 12/5/14 - Girl lost to 45X at 8w6d - D&C 
BFP#5 10/15/14 - EDD 6/30/15 - M/C at 7w2d
BFP #6 1/5/15 - EDD 9.16.14 [CLICKY for progress]
In search of a image


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Re: Has anyone seen Dr. Mary Stephenson?

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    IfMamaAintHappyIfMamaAintHappy member
    I have not seen her, but had an appointment scheduled with her back in August that we ultimately cancelled after meeting with my RE. I am in Texas but was willing to travel that far if I didn't feel I was going to have any confidence in my RE's recommendations (which I ultimately did). I'm sorry I can't help you but I will be following in case someone else has. FWIW I found out about her in the book Coming to Term:the truth about miscarriages.

    *** siggy warning- losses mentioned- everyone welcome *****

     

    Me:  36

    DH:  42  (w/ 2 children from prior marriage)

    Us:  TTC for our 1st together since August 2013

    1st BFP:  November 2013  (m/c at 7 wks)

    2nd BFP:  February 2014  (m/c at 6 wks)

    RPL Panel started in March 2014

    3rd BFP:  May 2014 (m/c at 5 wks)

    4th BFP:  June 2014 (CP at 4 wks)

    RE appt in June 2014 (all RPL panel tests are normal...it's likely egg quality due to my age and borderline DOR)

    Baseline AFC: 8 follies

    2 IUI cycles (July and August 2014- both BFN)

    IVF #1 w/ ICSI & PGS- October 2014 (AFC: 8 follies; ER Oct 20:  5R/3M/2F;  the 2 only made it to day 3 and stopped growing before biopsy)

    key supplements: DHEA (25mg- 3x/day); CoQ10 (300 mg/day) ISWTE believer here!

    IVF #2 EPP w/ ICSI & PGS- AFC:  13 follies!   10R/6M/6F-  5 biopsied for PGS- 1 normal embryo

    FET scheduled for February 2015 delayed in order to do one more ER in hopes of getting at least 1 more normal embryo

    IVF #3 EPP w/ ICSI & PGS:  7R/5M/5F-  2 biopsied for PGS- 1 normal embryo

    FET #1 April 23, 2015:  1 PGS tested embryo transferred - BFN

    FET #2 June 30, 2015:  1 PGS tested embryo transferred- BFP!! 

     image

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