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Hopefully you guys can share your experience-- I tried one of those baby boards, but I found the experience... off-putting. My partner and I are working on conceiving our first. I ended up pregnant really fast (good!) but miscarried at 6 weeks (bad). Everything checked out fine a week later and my doctor cleared me to try again right away, except... I haven't actually stopped bleeding? It's been like a very light period, and some days it's only a spot or two, but it's been something like 23 days now since my miscarriage. Have any of you experienced anything like this? My doctor seems to think its normal, but I'm just really anxious to try again.
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Aug 7, 2013 02:11
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I basically did the same thing, cailleask. To be perfectly honest, everyone's body handles it differently. Mine was a spontaneous miscarriage with no D&C. I basically had a super brutal period for about a week, tapered off for a few days, then was gone. Others I know bled lightly for a month, though I also believe they did go through a D&C. I was surprised with how anxious I was to try again. At the 7 week mark, my friend made me take a pregnancy test. It turned out that I ovulated (and conceived) about 5 weeks after I miscarried and am now 12 weeks pregnant. I know it is super tough to be patient, but your body will do what your body will do regardless of what you WANT it to do. Try to just enjoy the less planned intimacy for now, and keep in mind that your body is cleansing itself; a necessary process to make sure the next pregnancy sticks.
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Aug 7, 2013 16:20
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This is my very first posting/reply/whatever. I am truly glad to have found this. My s/o and I are having similar problems. I am 35, but, this age should not be a problem (according to my ob/gyn, anyway). I am going 16.Aug.13 to a new ob. I hope for good news, but am SO. SCARED. I will read through the rest of this. I wish everyone success. ~ RB
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Aug 7, 2013 19:07
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Sigh. Got a positive test Thursday, started bleeding bright red Friday night at 10pm. Still bleeding. Spoke with nurse on phone on Saturday and she faxed my info to my doctor who will hopefully be able to see me tomorrow. All this happened on the weekend we were gearing up for and having my daughter's first birthday. I am so emotionally and physically drained, and I don't even know what to think right now. I'm half convinced that I got a false positive, except that this 'period' feels nothing like a period and I hurt all over. Googling other causes of bleeding durning early pregnancy isn't really helping me feel better because I've now got myself half convinced that my c-section scar from my previous pregnancy has split open. I feel like rear end and my head is all messed up. 
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Aug 12, 2013 03:31
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Probably a touchy subject for some folks and there might be a better place to post this, but I had a pregnancy related issue come up within my family. A woman in my family recently had a miscarriage at around 11-13 weeks (I think). Her and her husband had just announced the pregnancy a week prior and it's overall a pretty lovely situation. Two things: 1) I know there probably isn't anything we can do to make this better aside from just being supportive and respecting privacy, but any suggestions on how I can help? 2) How common is this? Google tells me all kinds of things but you all seem to be much more well-read on the subject than me. She has some concerns that she is doomed, barren, etc. but it seems like this is fairly common. This was her first pregnancy and they have been trying for a good length of time (6+ months). Thanks guys.
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Aug 12, 2013 19:10
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raaaan: I'm sorry I've been through both a miscarriage and a pregnancy that had a ton of bleeding in the first trimester but ended with a healthy baby. Both sucked a ton until I knew what was going on, which didn't make it all better, but at least made it easier to me to come to terms with. I hope you get some answers soon. Soxors: Just let them know (if you are close enough for it to be appropriate) that you are there and always willing to chat if they want to talk about it. How common it is depends a bit on what type of miscarriage it was. Missed miscarriages (where the baby stopped developing earlier in the pregnancy but the miscarriage did not start until later) are more common than the baby stopping development that late (which is ~1%). But both are still a lot more common than most people think. And it absolutely doesn't mean she's barren. I've mentioned it before, but I found the book Coming to Term really helpful when I miscarried. It has a lot of information about how common miscarriages are and the reasons they happen that I found really reassuring (though I'm very science-minded, so it might not be as great for everyone).
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Aug 12, 2013 19:23
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Soxors posted:Probably a touchy subject for some folks and there might be a better place to post this, but I had a pregnancy related issue come up within my family. I just lost my first pregnancy, though I wasn't as far along as she was, and we hadn't made the official announcement. The things I appreciated the most were people who wanted to do normal things like go shopping or see a movie, and didn't bring up the miscarriage. What I didn't like was people just "hanging out" because it felt awkward and forced and I wanted to be alone after a while. Let them know you're there if they need anything, and also you can always call if you're going somewhere specific to invite them. Don't hover or ask too many questions. They'll both need time, and their lives will never be the same again, but they will find a normalcy again eventually. For goodness sake don't say "everything's for a reason" or anything about god having a plan or needing angels or crap like that.
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Aug 12, 2013 19:56
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Soxors posted:Probably a touchy subject for some folks and there might be a better place to post this, but I had a pregnancy related issue come up within my family. It is a horrible thing to happen, I had a miscarriage but much earlier and had only told family, so I just sent a text saying 'not pregnant any more' to them because I knew they'd understand I didn't want to talk about it at that time. It was funny though, after a couple of days when I did want to talk about it my mum and sister just skirted the topic and were obviously uncomfortable with the subject but my brother was really supportive and shared his feelings from when his wife miscarried the year before. So I'd say if it seems like she does want to talk about it don't pretend it didn't happen or brush it off, but don't bring it up if she doesn't. Edit: It is common, and it doesn't mean she's barren. But it still sucks.
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Aug 12, 2013 20:23
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So just an hour ago I went to use the bathroom and noticed something rather atypical going on down there. Upon inspection I realized what it was...egg white cervical fluid! It's all clear and stretchy and something I haven't EVER experienced before. WTF, body? I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to conceive this cycle based on my lack of ovulation last cycle, my consistently low temps (just below or just above 97 degrees) and the high-ish TSH level (3.9) test result I got a couple weeks back. My husband keeps saying that he "knows what we're doing tonight."  Ugh. I feel so conflicted, ladies.  On one hand, I am excited to possibly conceive and on the other I don't want to risk getting knocked up when I don't trust my thyroid to not be retarded.
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Aug 12, 2013 23:45
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Thanks jota-- I appreciated it. It figures, though, that as soon as I was finally freaked out enough about my body to tell the Internet about it.. it went back to its normal thing, more or less. Soxors-- my miscarriage was a lot earlier than hers, and everyone's different, but that said the nicest thing my good friend did for me was go out o lunch. She didn't bring it up, but listed when I decided I wanted to talk about it, and gently didn't let it dominate the conversation, if that makes sense. Also, she brought me a little box of my favorite caramels. 
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Aug 13, 2013 16:20
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Stitch Lich posted:So just an hour ago I went to use the bathroom and noticed something rather atypical going on down there. Upon inspection I realized what it was...egg white cervical fluid! It's all clear and stretchy and something I haven't EVER experienced before. WTF, body? I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to conceive this cycle based on my lack of ovulation last cycle, my consistently low temps (just below or just above 97 degrees) and the high-ish TSH level (3.9) test result I got a couple weeks back. I'm just curious what time you take your temps? I know that if I am temping early (like 5am) my temps will be in the 96.? range. It can be normal for some women, especially if you run lower than the average 98.6 anyways.
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Aug 14, 2013 04:08
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Scenty posted:I'm just curious what time you take your temps? I know that if I am temping early (like 5am) my temps will be in the 96.? range. It can be normal for some women, especially if you run lower than the average 98.6 anyways. I typically wake up between 5:30 am - 6:00 am and take my temp within the first five minutes I am up. No idea what my overall average is, but I think I'll start checking later during the day to see. Scenty, have the rest of your cycle/fertility signs been pretty much normal/typical despite the low temps? This morning I got up at 5:00 because I have to be at work a little earlier, and my temp clocked in at 97.5 - a high for the month! I am considering taking the temps vaginally starting next cycle because that is allegedly more accurate than the oral route. And it could potentially be hilarious/messed up because my new thermometer is a digital "children's" model that has a little plastic cow on the end.
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Aug 14, 2013 12:22
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My temps were always on the low end, like less than 97 before ovulation and less than 98 even after ovulation, but I got perfect charts otherwise and got pregnant 2 of the 3 months we tried (one ended in miscarriage). I don't think low temps by themselves are anything to worry about. But my thyroid levels came back normal when tested (we checked them after my miscarriage since I have a family history of thyroid issues). If your levels are abnormal I'd talk to your doc before trying to get pregnant this month.
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Aug 14, 2013 14:09
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Yeah, in the mornings I don't think most people get close to 98.6. Mine were lower all the time and I got pregnant two of two months we tried.
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Aug 14, 2013 15:02
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Stitch Lich posted:I typically wake up between 5:30 am - 6:00 am and take my temp within the first five minutes I am up. No idea what my overall average is, but I think I'll start checking later during the day to see. Scenty, have the rest of your cycle/fertility signs been pretty much normal/typical despite the low temps? Yes, all of my other signs have been more or less normal. For me, if I am waking up at 5am (during the school year) my temps will be way low in the 96.? range, but at times like right now when I wake up at 10am (the lazy student summer) my temps are between 97.1-97.5 pre-ovulation. Looking back at your other posts, it does seem there is a chance you aren't ovulating correctly and so get stuff checked out for sure, I just wanted to add that the temps themselves aren't necessarily a sign of anything, and for some women that range can be considered normal.
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Aug 14, 2013 18:12
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Has anyone gotten pregnant after having a Mirena? I just got mine out and I'm not sure what to expect fertility wise. I did immediately get a period, but I'm not sure if I should expect to ovulate this cycle or what...
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Aug 14, 2013 22:16
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skeetied posted:Has anyone gotten pregnant after having a Mirena? I just got mine out and I'm not sure what to expect fertility wise. I did immediately get a period, but I'm not sure if I should expect to ovulate this cycle or what... I got mine out January 14th, had a period about two weeks later, and was pregnant the next month. I did miscarry 7 weeks in, but immediately got pregnant before I could even have another period. They weren't lying when they said that you're fertile as soon as you've had a period after taking it out.
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Aug 14, 2013 22:35
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Similar to jota, I got mine out in March of 2012, had a period 2 days later, ovulated a couple of days late compared to normal, then ovulated on time and got pregnant the next cycle but miscarried. I had to have a D&C so we waited out one cycle and then got pregnant again in August 2013. That one stuck and I've got a 3 month old (and another Mirena) now. I was using the Mirena for 6.5 years before getting it taken out to get pregnant.
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Aug 14, 2013 22:45
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The same here, got it out, had a period, found out I was pregnant the following month, had a miscarriage at 6 weeks then got pregnant again before having a period after the miscarriage.
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Aug 14, 2013 23:36
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skeetied posted:Has anyone gotten pregnant after having a Mirena? I just got mine out and I'm not sure what to expect fertility wise. I did immediately get a period, but I'm not sure if I should expect to ovulate this cycle or what... Yep, it didn't seem to be a problem for me. I also had some issues with it and had to have it removed for medical reasons so I don't know if that would make a difference or not.
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Aug 15, 2013 15:45
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What a strangely coincidental series. I had a copper IUD, not a Mirena, but I got pregnant two cycles after having it out and also had a miscarriage at six weeks.
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Aug 15, 2013 17:41
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cailleask posted:What a strangely coincidental series. I had a copper IUD, not a Mirena, but I got pregnant two cycles after having it out and also had a miscarriage at six weeks. I was thinking about this after I started seeing other's responses. Someone should start a study or something.
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Aug 15, 2013 18:18
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It started me thinking we should wait a cycle or something!
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Aug 15, 2013 21:10
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Actually, 50% of fertilizations result in miscarriage. Most very early in pregnancy and for a long list of reasons. I'm a medical student whose really interested in embryology and we just went over these statistics yesterday. Probably not related to IUD and more related to small sample size and since many here were trying to get pregnant they were testing/watching for the signs. Many miscarriages go unnoticed and are perceived as a very heavy (but a little late) period.
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Aug 15, 2013 22:54
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Welp, after a week of people giving me exams, stealing my blood and ultrasounds, miscarriage confirmed. Everything appears to be cleaned out and in good health, and my doctor told me to take a cycle off to replenish iron stores. I am going to be so impatient over the next cycle.
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Aug 16, 2013 02:36
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Eponymous Bosch posted:Probably not related to IUD and more related to small sample size and since many here were trying to get pregnant they were testing/watching for the signs. I'm a researcher and had pretty much come to that conclusion, but that was still quite a string of responses!
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Aug 16, 2013 04:36
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Eponymous Bosch posted:Actually, 50% of fertilizations result in miscarriage. Most very early in pregnancy and for a long list of reasons. Ugh, I hate these statistics. I thought it was only 25%?
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Aug 16, 2013 04:50
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Drunkboxer posted:Ugh, I hate these statistics. I thought it was only 25%? From my looking around at papers, after 6 weeks (when most people who aren't actually trying to conceive would probably just start to realize their period was late and that they might be pregnant) the percentage is already down to 15%, but it is true that about half of all fertilizations result in miscarriage/chemical pregnancy but most of these don't even implant correctly. How many people here are actively trying to conceive? This is the first month my fiance and I are trying, and I had a positive ovulation test today so I am pretty nervous about everything. I am tracking with temperatures, cervical fluid, the whole shebang. I was never able to get pregnant with my ex-fiance, but he was a severe alcoholic (I mean, he drank everclear daily) and so I know that was most likely the issue, but I can't help but fret. I am overweight, but no PCOS, diabetes, thyroid, or blood pressure issues. In fact, my certified nurse midwife said I am in "perfect" health and gave me the green light.
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Aug 16, 2013 06:35
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I had a full cycle between the Mirena coming out and the miscarriage cycle. Including two very normal periods (the one 2 days after it came out and the one a month later). From the studies I've seen your chance of a successful pregnancy in the year after a Mirena is either the same or maybe very slightly lower than when coming off of other contraceptives, so I can't imagine any strong link with miscarriage exists or I think it would have been noticed by now. It's just that miscarriage is so much more common than people think.
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Aug 16, 2013 06:48
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There's definitely perks to being a sonographer. I had some free time between patients today and a full bladder so I had a go at scanning myself standing up. I was sure the other day that I was having ovulation pain on my right side, and turns out I was right! Guess I'll be able to save money on ovulation tests when the time comes we start trying :3
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Aug 16, 2013 08:40
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Ceridwen posted:I had a full cycle between the Mirena coming out and the miscarriage cycle. Including two very normal periods (the one 2 days after it came out and the one a month later). From the studies I've seen your chance of a successful pregnancy in the year after a Mirena is either the same or maybe very slightly lower than when coming off of other contraceptives, so I can't imagine any strong link with miscarriage exists or I think it would have been noticed by now. It's just that miscarriage is so much more common than people think. yeah, and pregnancy tests are getting so much more accurate at detecting early pregnancies as well as cheap enough to use a load of them on the off chance. I kept thinking when I had my miscarriage that if I hadn't been obsessively checking my pee for the week before my period was due I'd have probably just thought my period was a couple of days late.
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Aug 16, 2013 11:00
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Hello everyone! I've been following this thread for a couple of months, and have just worked up the nerve to start posting. My husband and I have been trying for out first since May. I use a menstruation cycle app (which I've been using for a little over a year and a half with maybe 90% accuracy) to keep track of possibly fertile days, as well as being on the lookout for physical signs of ovulation. Is there anything else I could/should be doing?
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Aug 17, 2013 01:00
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Something Positive posted:I use a menstruation cycle app (which I've been using for a little over a year and a half with maybe 90% accuracy) to keep track of possibly fertile days, as well as being on the lookout for physical signs of ovulation. Is there anything else I could/should be doing? If you have sex every couple of days (or more often, wahey!) you don't need to worry about any of this at all. I think all that stuff about body temperatures and so on is just to keep you feeling like you have control over the process, when really it is quite unpredictable.
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Aug 17, 2013 03:33
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DwemerCog posted:If you have sex every couple of days (or more often, wahey!) you don't need to worry about any of this at all. I think all that stuff about body temperatures and so on is just to keep you feeling like you have control over the process, when really it is quite unpredictable. Charting your cycle can be extremely useful if you end up needing to go to a fertility specialist. Some people find out they have a condition just from charting... look back a few posts and see where a woman found out she may have thyroid disease which she might not have found if not charting. Otherwise, she may have gone through a year of heartache experiencing fertility and not known. Plus, there are actually things you can do to increase your chances and its silly to say its wholly unpredictable.
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Aug 17, 2013 08:39
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Scenty posted:Plus, there are actually things you can do to increase your chances and its silly to say its wholly unpredictable. I guess so, although trying since May is only 3 months, so hardly time to get concerned, unless Something Positive is 40 or so and in a real hurry. It took 9 months for me to conceive my daughter and I kept myself busy with work and did not worry myself, as I figured it'd happen when it happened. The doctor said it could take up to a year. I should probably have gone back after 6 months of no results, but I put it off as it was a busy period of work. With hindsight it's good I didn't as I'd have probably ended up on fertility drugs (being 35) for no real purpose.
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Aug 17, 2013 13:08
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I've found charting to be super useful, too... but I'm the sort of person who likes to know every stupid thing my body is doing. I like that I have data and can make educated guesses, like if I'm going to have an anovulatory cycle, or knowing a few days in advance of when my period is due. Like now, I'm on my first real cycle after my miscarriage, and charting told me when I ovulated and also that my hormones are still really high because my cover line is a full half a degree above where it normally is. It's something my doctor might be interested in knowing if I get pregnant again.
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Aug 17, 2013 16:24
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Charting demonstrated to me that I was ovulating, which I was interested in knowing since I'd just had my IUD out and later had just miscarried. It also meant we only needed to worry about how often we were having sex 1 week a month. I liked having the pressure be off the rest of the time.
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Aug 17, 2013 16:57
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DwemerCog posted:I guess so, although trying since May is only 3 months, so hardly time to get concerned, unless Something Positive is 40 or so and in a real hurry. If she does have a thyroid issue it needs to be addressed ASAP as it has life-long implications and affects much more than fertility. It is simply that charting allowed her to see the problem and potentially be diagnosed earlier than she would have otherwise. Why would you want to go through a year of fertility issues when you don't have to? cailleask posted:I've found charting to be super useful, too... but I'm the sort of person who likes to know every stupid thing my body is doing. I like that I have data and can make educated guesses, like if I'm going to have an anovulatory cycle, or knowing a few days in advance of when my period is due. Yeah, this is how I feel. I love seeing the changes my body goes through, things that I never had any idea about before reading TCOYF. All they teach you in school is "once a month you bleed and it sucks." Also, sometimes people are tired and don't want to have sex and it can be super easy to mess up the timing. If I thought I ovulated on day 14 I would be hosed since its usually closer to day 21. So many women go "I'm tired and don't want to have sex, we did it a lot around day 14 so I should be good, this is already day 21," and if they are like me they would be hosed. If you don't want to chart, that's totally fine and up to you, but it does have many many benefits that shouldn't be downplayed.
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Aug 18, 2013 04:52
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Scenty posted:From my looking around at papers, after 6 weeks (when most people who aren't actually trying to conceive would probably just start to realize their period was late and that they might be pregnant) the percentage is already down to 15%, but it is true that about half of all fertilizations result in miscarriage/chemical pregnancy but most of these don't even implant correctly. We often do ultrasounds to date an early pregnancy, or to see if an early pregnancy is viable or not. Here's a quote from Rumack's 4th ed. Diagnostic Ultrasound(bolding mine): Rumack posted:Studies have demonstrated a 20 to 31% rate of early pregnancy loss after implantation in normal healthy volunteers48,49. Overall, about 75% of all pregnancies will fail. About 15% of fertilized ova will fail to divide, 15% are lost before implantation, 30% during implantation, 13 to 16% after implantation and before the first missed period,49 and 9 to 10% after the first missed period. Wilcox et al.48 found that the rate of unrecognized or preclinical pregnancy loss after implantation was 22%. Many pregnancies aborted before the time when a gestational sac would be demonstrable by TVS. The higher numbers of preclinical losses reported more recently likely reflect the use of more sensitive pregnancy tests. Cytogenetic abnormalities have also been documented in 20% of ostensibly normal in vitro fertilization embryos.50 All these findings are consistent with the early pathologic studies of Hertig and Rock,49 who showed a high frequency of morphologic abnormalities in preimplantation embryos. And the references there were: 48: Wilcox AJ, Weinberg CR, O’Connor JF, et al. Incidence of early loss of pregnancy. N Engl J Med 1988;319:189-194. 49: Hertig AT, Rock J. A series of potentially abortive ova recovered from fertile women prior to the first missed menstrual period. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1949;58:968-993, illust. 50: Bateman BG, Nunley WC, Kolp LA, et al. Vaginal sonography findings and hCG dynamics of early intrauterine and tubal pregnancies. Obstet Gynecol 1990;75:421-427. The take home message from which I gathered is this: all things being equal and perfect, and the sperm gets to the egg in time--you still only have a 1/4 chance of that instance of sperm meeting egg resulting in a baby. My plan is to not worry about pregnancy testing until after there's a missed period, and to absolutely not bank on the pregnancy proceeding until they scan me at 8 weeks in and find the embryo's measurements are in line, there's a strong heartbeat, and no other issues around the sac/placenta, and no bleeding. Some urine test strips are sensitive enough to pick up beta HCG even before you miss a period these days, so that's part of the increased sensitivity of tests mentioned above--if you hadn't been even aware that you were pregnant in the first place, you wouldn't take any notice of your period coming as usual (or perhaps a tad later in some cases). Nowadays though, what with urine strip tests being easy to buy in bulk, and early pregnancy sonography being as good as it is, there seems to be a hell of lot of emotional stress that comes out of the 'increased vigilance' of the getting pregnant part of having a kid. There's a kind of forced blind optimism you have to take with these things, I think--there are just too many ways it can go wrong. If you start stressing out like crazy about it there's not much point in trying to fall pregnant in the first place. NB: When they talk about gestational age, what the literature generally means is menstrual age, which is the baby's age from conception + 2 weeks, IF you have perfect 28 day cycles AND ovulate on day 14 like clockwork. Otherwise the early dating age can be out, we usually allow for +/-3 days. That means if we see any sign of a gestational sac at 4.5 weeks gestational age, the embryo's only 2.5 weeks old. When the embryo is 3 weeks old, its entire sac that it's growing in is only 2 millimeters across--that's 5 weeks gestational, so you would've only just missed a period if you're a perfect 28 day cycler.
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Aug 18, 2013 05:48
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nyerf posted:The take home message from which I gathered is this: all things being equal and perfect, and the sperm gets to the egg in time--you still only have a 1/4 chance of that instance of sperm meeting egg resulting in a baby. My plan is to not worry about pregnancy testing until after there's a missed period, and to absolutely not bank on the pregnancy proceeding until they scan me at 8 weeks in and find the embryo's measurements are in line, there's a strong heartbeat, and no other issues around the sac/placenta, and no bleeding. That's a really interesting point. I've thought about this a lot lately. At first I bought a bulk set of Internet test strops so I could test as often as I felt like it, but now I'm not so sure if I want to deal with the emotional stress of a chemical pregnancy or something like that. Now I'm not sure how soon I want to test. On the one hand, I have an obsessive need to know everything. On the other, I'd really like to protect myself from unnecessary heartbreak. Hmm.
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Aug 18, 2013 19:35
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