2 miscarriages

muinteoir

I have had two miscarriages both at 9 weeks and a few days, one the end of August and the second the end of November. The first one I lost a lot of blood & had to have a d & c as it was still incomplete. The second was a missed miscarriage. I was still having morning sickness etc. I recently got the results of my d & c and found out the baby died of Turners Syndrome. A little baby girl that was missing one chromosome. I thought that it would help knowing the reason but I still feel devastated. I worry so much for the future as my husband & I don't have children. I feel like there is a hole in my heart & something is missing. Nothing is how it should be. I miss them so much. I am terrified that I wont ever have children.

contrary_mary

I'm so sorry to hear that. I too have had 2 mcs, at around the same stage as you. The first was a missed mc which resulted in a d&c, and the second was a natural mc. I never got any reason for mine but most likely it was chromosomal as that is the most common cause at that stage.

I had some blood tests done for common mc issues such as clotting and autoimmune disorders but all were clear so it was put down to bad luck. As you know, you won't be referred to a mc clinic until you've had 3. I coped very badly with the first so after the second I went to a few counselling sessions - I think they helped a bit. Time is a great healer. I did get pregnant again and so far it's going well, I'm over the halfway point and although it had not been a straightforward pregnancy I'm taking it day by day and I'm delighted to have got this far. I have worried every single day but I think that is natural.

There are lots of tests they can do and treatments they can try so keep the faith. Often they are not needed and it really is just bad luck. I had looked into a mc clinic in London which was going to be my next step, I had heard fantastic things about it. I hope and pray neither of us will need it

Isolt

I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. It really is horrible. I was told in September that I had PCOS and may not be able to conceive naturally and only two weeks later found out I was pregnant. I lost the baby at 10 weeks in December. I can completely understand that feeling of emptiness in your heart. Some people just can't understand, but it's like a piece of you has gone away with them.

I too share that anxiety that what if I can never have a healthy, successful pregnancy. The feeling of waiting - getting pregnant again just to see if there's a problem (which seems to be the line the hospital takes. ''Get pregnant again soon as we'll see where we stand''.) It's a horrible, helpless feeling. I hope the three of us never lose another baby and go on to have happy, healthy pregnancies.
Best of luck

muinteoir

Thank u both for your replies. Mary, ur msg gives me hope that one day I may be in your position after you having two mcs also. I really hope that in a few months u will be holding ur precious baby in your arms. That's the moment I often dream of and that gives me hope for the future.

Isolt, I am so sorry for your loss. U must have been so delighted, espec after getting such bad news only 2wks before. I completely relate to what you're saying about doctors and 'try again' approach with no tests. I went to a consultant for my second mc & he wasnt going to test after the d&c only I insisted on it. I'm so glad I did because its easier having a reason. I wish I knew the reason for my first miscarriage. It doesnt make the grief any easier but it does help ur mind to stop analysing everything! As our result was chromosomal, no tests are required which fills me fear that it will happen again... Or that theres something wrong with our chromosomes. An answer seems to led to more questions.. I know that we will just have to be positive. The hope that I will one day hold my baby in my arms keeps me going. I truely hope & pray that moment will happen for the three of us xxx

czipownik

Hi,

First of all I feel deeply sorry for all your losses.

Together with my wife, we lost two early pregnancies too. After the second miscarriage HSE didn't want to investigate reasons, however they agreed to analyze tissue sample. It came back as genetically okay.

Due to very big psychological impact of miscarriages on both of us, we decided to have the reasons investigated through private healthcare before trying to concieve again. As we are originally from Poland, we were lucky to avail of much cheaper consultations and labs in Poznan City of Western Poland. As I'm writing, my wife has just passed halfway of her healthy pregnancy! There are no complications but we need to monitor a few things via blood tests.

Approach of our Polish doctor (PhD in pregnancy patology) concentrated on:
- hormonal disorders related to thyroid performance
- blood 'thickness'
- Progesteron hormon level between conception and end of 1st trimester
- bacteria/Virus infections

In our case she found issues with thyroid, low Levels of progesteron and bacteria infection.

I know that there could be plenty of various reasons for mc including anatomy disorders.

Just dropped a few lines to say that endless trying without investigation could be a vicious circle...

muinteoir

Thank you for sharing your experience with me and I'm sorry for your losses and delighted for you and your wife that things are going well!

I appreciate your advice but unlike your situation our second miscarriage was due to chromosomes. My consultant was offering testing if results were inconclusive but they are not advising testing now as Turners Syndrome isn't hereditary & chromosomes were the cause. No hospital or private place will see me now as Ive had only two & chromosomes were the cause for the second so I've no choice now but to look forward positively. However they are advising being monitoring once a week in hospital and keeping a close eye on me which I never had before. This requires being private, which I was not for either of the first two pregnancies. Its unfortunate that in order to be more careful & get monitored closely that you have to do that, like you had to go for testing in Poland. Its crazy! I'm not waiting for a third miscarriage to get that kind of care. I want to do everything I can to prevent it. My head has been wrecked researching it all! Thank you so much for taking the time to share. Really glad everything is working out for you now.

czipownik

Hi Muintenoir,

We read this thread a minute ago together with my wife. She also feels deeply sorry for your losses.

We referred a lot to dedicated Internet websites (mainly miscarriage forums in English and Polish). This way we managed to avoid excessive consultant visits:-) As opposed to Ireland good thing in Poland is that you can enter analytic lab and have tests done without referring letter from consultants.

We conducted various tests privately after the first miscarriage but it was only after the second one when we decided to have genetic analysis done on our blood samples. We paid about 2x120=240 EUR and waited 5 weeks for results. There was no chromosomal abnormality on either of us. On the contrary, tissue sample from mc (collected by HSE here) didn't contain enough embrio material.

As far as we understand, your mc sample showed chromosomal abnormality. Did you and your partner/husband have cariotyping done from your blood? If none of the couple carry genetic abnormality, then thumbs up. Minority of eggs and gisms are not healthy and thus abnormal embrio results.

We know very well how couples get scared before conceiving again after multiple miscarriages. More testing decreases worries but 1st trimester was extremely stressing for both of us.

Lucuma

Hi Muinteoir, I know systems are different in the states but an american friend of mine in her mid to late 30s had 3 miscarriages in 2 years, so was investigated. The most recent one was found to be due to a chromosomal issue. So they went for IVF with PGD. PGD is where they screen the embryos created in the IVF process (they literally tests every chromosome) in her case they had 8 embryos created and after PGD they were told that 4 were not genetically sound so one of the ''good'' 4 was put in and she is now 4 months pregnant! PGD didn't used to be available in Ireland but I THINK (you would need to look into it) it's coming in now in the Beacon in Dublin. Good luck !

Lucuma

PGD also available in Cork now

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/first-pregnancy-in-ireland-using-new-screening-technique-1.1582427

lollpop

Muinteoir, i notice that you say no clinic will see you because you have "only" had two miscarriages. I just wanted to say this isn't the case. I had two miscarriages, I went private to a fertility clinic after my first (we were also having difficulty conceiving) and they did lots of testing (hormones, ultrasound, blood clotting tests etc) to see if they could find a reason. You can certainly go private without waiting for a third miscarriage if you wish.

We never got a reason for the miscarriages but a chromosome issue was suspected (it's usually given as the reason for most miscarriages). We eventually decided to go for IVF (without PGD) and it's early days but so far it has been successful for us.

Dinkie

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss. I know exactly what you are going through. We had an identical situation to yours. We thought we would never have children. And the trauma of miscarriages was unreal (blood soaked through my clothes at the airport in a gush and remember standing in a hotel shower with blood flowing down my legs being out of the country for work)

After my second MC, I rang one of the HSE fertility clinics. Although they wouldn't see me they emailed me out a list of the blood tests they routinely carry out and said that if my doctor had problems interpreting the result to email them to the clinic they would offer any help they could. They might do the same for you? My results were all normal, but I still feel it was worth doing.

However I now have a 5 month old girl as a result of my third pregnancy. I'm not gloating, i'm just pointing out (as people did to me, but I didn't believe them), that it may just be 2 random events. I lost a bit of weight (About 2 stone) but I didn't do anything else differently.

Good luck, and it will happen. x