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#1 Posted 11/18/03I have had 2 miscarriages and 2 successful pregnancies. In July of 1998 I
had a m/c at 5 weeks. ER doctor did nothing as far as treatment goes, except
to diagnose. In August of 1998 I got pg again. At 8 weeks along (2 days
before my first prenatal visit) I started bleeding. I went the the ER where
they performed blood tests and an ultrasound. No heartbeat. They said I may
have miscalculated the dates and that it was too early to see the heartbeat.
They sent my results to my OB for my appt. in 2 days. At my appt. they took
more blood. The hcg levels had fallen quite a bit since the ER and I was
told to go home and let the m/c happen. Five days later after lots of
bleeding and cramping I still had not passed the tissue so I called Dr and
they took more blood and did an ultrasound. I was told baby stopped
developing at 5 weeks. A D&C was scheduled for 3 days later. I had the D&C.
At the follow-up appt. the Dr told me to wait 3 months before trying again.
I asked what could be done to prevent this and he said he would not do any
testing or investigating until I had a third m/c! Needless to say that was
not acceptable to me so I found a new OB!
My first appt with my new OB was during the 2 week wait between ovulation
and when I could take a pg test, in March 1999. She did an exam and
suspected I may be pg. She told me that insurance wouldn't pay for extensive
testing until I'd had 3 m/c but there were preventative things they could
try. Main one being using progesterone suppositories throughout the first
trimester. She said it would not harm the baby and that the most common
reason for a m/c was low progesterone. She gave me a prescription that day
as well as took blood. I ended up getting a positive pg test! I used the
prog. supp. throughout the first trimester. I had no complications. My son
was born healthy the day before my due date, 11/29/99.
In Nov. 2001 I became pg again. My doctor again prescribed the prog. supp.
for the 1st trimester. Again no complications and my daughter was born on
July 4, 2002.
I have never had any formal testing to confirm my progesterone was low, but
I had m/c without the prog. supp. and healthy pregnancies when using it so I
really think that was the problem! It makes me sick that my first doctor
couldn't have done this for me sooner! I am so happy that I found a
knowledgeable, proactive, caring doctor! I believe anyone who has a
miscarriage should have a blood test done at the time to measure the
progesterone so it can be prevented in future pg. Nobody should have to go
through this when it is so easily prevented!
Shelley
#2. Posted 11/18/2003I am 28 years old. When I was 26, I found out I was pregnant with my first son. It had taken us 3.5 years to get pregnant with him. Even though I had been diagnosed with a low progesterone level when going through fertility treatments, I had never been given a progesterone supplement. I only took one round of Clomid. It did not work and we ended up eventually getting pregnant on our own.
When I found out I was pregnant, I was having some pink spotting. I went to my doctor who ran blood tests, including a progesterone serum test. This detected I had a progesterone level of only 11.2. The doctor said she was leaving it up to me. I could take the supplement or not. Of course, I wanted to be safe than sorry, so I opted for the supplement. Who wouldn't? My spotting stopped and I ended up having a beautiful baby boy on 2/22/02.
I just found out I'm pregnant again. I'm only 5 weeks along. Last week I had a progesterone test done, but I had to ask the doctor over and over to do the test. I explained that my last pregnancy it had been detected as low, so they did it. I had a level of 16!!! I was so happy that it's normal this time.
I know that the progesterone supplement saved my precious child. I am so happy that I did this in the very early stages. I hope that this pregnancy turns out as wonderful as my last.
I have to say that most women do not know about this problem. A friend of mine had a lot of spotting during the early stages of her pregnancy and ended up miscarrying. I am worried that the doctors did not get to her blood work in time, or maybe didn't take her spotting seriously. At week 8, they determined the baby was not growing properly and her hormone levels began to drop. I wish that doctors took this more seriously than they do.
You are educating a lot of women by doing this.
Christi
#3. Post 11/18/2003Hello Cathy
I was so pleased to find your post on babycenter.com. I just suffered a miscarriage on 11/11/03 at 5 weeks exactly. From all of the research I have done in the last week and from examinig the charting that I have done in my cycles prior to getting pregnant, I have found that my temperature does not spike much after ovulation and I have a fairly short Luteal Phase - both symptoms of low progesterone. The only problem is that my Doctor and P.A. do not seem too concerned about me seeing that this was only my first miscarriage. They do not start to do testing until you have at least 2 or 3. My thought is this: if you could diagnose low progeterone with something as easy as a blood test, why not just do it in order to rule it out?? I currently work for a wonderful doctor (not an OB or Gyn) who has said that he would be willing to write be a Rx for Progesterone (Prometrium) Suppositories because he knows how worried I am about this. I just wish that my OB Dr. would be more proactive about this and put me on it as soon as I get pregnant next time so that I could feel more comfortable about taking it - I hate to take something that she is not aware of. Thank you for sharing your story - feel free to write me back if you have any advice. I would be really interested to know how many people have responded to your post.
Here is a little more information about me: I am 28 years old (as is my husband) and have no previous children. Live in Scottsdale, AZ and cannot wait until I can start trying again - I have to wait at least one cycle. Thanks, I will keep in touch to find out how things are going.
Would love to hear from you,
Kim
#4. Posted 11/21/2003Hi am 30 years old and after 1 1/2 year bout with 4 miscarriages I now have a beautiful 9 month old baby. My first 3 miscarriages were early at about 5-6 weeks. I had just gotten a positive tests and my blood work always showed my hcg levels dropping instead of going up. With the first pregnancy my levels went up some when I was put on prometrium in the pill form. A low level, I don't remember exactly (Ioo mgs 2x's day?). But I did loose that pregnancy after spotting off and on for a week. Then my next pregnancy (#2) ended in a similar way. My OB said I had gotten pregnant too soon after the first miscarriage and to wait longer next time. I had waited 3 months. He said he would do nothing until after 3 miscarriages. After very little sympathy from my OB I switched to a new Dr. in the group who put me on prometrium in the beginning of pregnancy. The next miscarriage (no. 3) happened while we were moving and I hadn't had time to make it into the Dr. office for tests. I took left over progesterone pills and hoped that this one would work out and that the others were just bad luck. After the last pill I began to spot and miscarried a third time. The fourth pregnancy I took progesterone ( I think 100 mgs. 2X's a day) from the beginning and got pregnant with twins. This time we saw heart beats and were very optimistic. At 9 1/2 weeks I started to spot and went in for an ultrasound where we saw the twins had died at 8 weeks. I was so devastated and we took our savings and went to see a wonderful RE who saved our next pregnancy. The only problems he found wrong with me was I tested positive for thyroid antibodies (my thyroid levels were normal) and Strep B infection. These things don't always lead to miscarriage, but he treated me and put me on progesterone suppositories and pills. He said I could not overdose on progesterone so to take it as I needed it. Because of spotting off and on I sometimes took 800mgs.a day. I think the suppositories are best b/c they go straight to the uterous. I would usually stop spotting right after using one. By 10 weeks things seemed to stabilize and he released me from his service. After every spotting episode the ultrasound showed a healthy thriving baby. I stayed off of my feet as much as possible and took the progesterone as needed. My RE suggested I stay on the suppositories until 20 weeks, but he did taper off my dosage. He said this was just precautionary. My troubles did not end here. I went to a new OB and explained my history and asked that I see a high risk specialist as suggested by my RE because of my past history. After crying a lot and much stress I was allowed to go. I was with an HMO and there was only one high risk specialist in the group, so they did not let you go unless warranted. The high risk Dr. found that our baby had a single umbilical artery (which scared us to death. This means that she was missing an artery in her umbilical cord and this could compromise growth. With this there are a higher risk of birth defects and still births as well, but other than that she looked healthy. We got lots of ultrasounds and our baby was growing fine. He release us at 8 months because our baby girls was at 5 1/2 pds. and he said fine. I have to admit that after looking at what little research there was about progesterone I saw some studies that said it was beneficial to keep taking it throughout pregnancy. I had a friend who worked for an OBGYN and could get me free progesterone, so I took a pill a day until the end of my pregnancy. I just couldn't let go. I did start having preterm contractions at 7 months that started with spotting, but after giving me three shots of Brethene(sp?) they stopped and I did well until 34 weeks when I spotted again and started having contractions. I was given Brethene again and sent home on pills. Which I now know is controversial because this medicine is for asthma not for pre-term labor and many people have had life threatening complications from long term use of the the pills and pump. Anyway I made it to 37 weeks after 2 weeks on pills and bedrest my water began to leak. Since I was a carrier for Strep B I was sent to the hospital to have my baby. I needed to be put on antibiotics as precaution (as I had been several times before when in pre-term labor) and given pitocin. Then my water was broken and I delivered a beautiful 5 pd 8 ounce baby girl in a very short time. I feel I started going into preterm labor because she had stopped growing in utero. But that is just my feeling, no proof. She did great and was perfectly healthy. She stayed one extra day in the hospital while we waited on blood work because of the Strep B, but all was fine. I believe progesterone saved my pregnancy. I want to have another child, but I am scared to go through the stress again. I only will try again if I have a Dr. who will listen to my needs and provide me with the progesterone I need. I believe there is a link between my thyroid condition and hormone levels that makes my body not produce enough progesterone. I grieve for the children I lost, only thinking that if I knew what I know now I might be holding them in my arms. But I am so very blessed to have our angel. My heart aches when I hear of others going through a similar situation. I always lend advice and a caring ear to those who are having problems. I believe Dr.'s should be more proactive and not "just wait" for the third miscarriage to act. It is a very sad fact that this is how miscarriages are treated. Statistically my chances may have been in my favor that I would have eventually had a baby without treatment, but I couldn't not suffer anymore and put my mind and body through any more torture without seeking treatment. I hope my story will help others. Demand help and seek out specialists. Don't let uninformed Dr.s control you life.
MandiAtlanta GA
#5. Posted 11/21/2003Hi there,
I was so pleased to read this and so glad that someone is being proactive about this serious and sad situation. I am a Canadian mother of 2 with another one on the way and for all three of my successful pregnancies I have taken progesterone suppositories. I am just finishing my last 6 this week (13weeks).
I suffered through two horrible and traumatic pregnancy losses before having my kids. The first at 7 weeks and the second at 13 weeks (however, the fetus had stopped developing at the pivotal 7-8 week margin). Fortunately for me I had a wonderful and proactive obstetrician who immediately put me on progesterone and I had my first daughter successfully at full term. They never tested me or took any bloodwork, they just decided to try this and see if it would help. Whether it really did or whether it was just a placebo effect for me, I will never know. I do know that progesterone for me was a godsend!!! Good luck with all your efforts.susan
# 6. Posted 11/23/2003
Hi! I was so excited to find this at Baby Center. You are welcome to use my story on your site.
My name is Jacque and I live in KY. I am 28 years old and suffered a miscarriage in Aug 2003. My pregnancy was going along fine until I went in for an appt. at 10wks. My husband and I were excited to hear the heartbeat. When they couldn't find in using a doppler, they said they would do a quick u/s to ease my nerves. The tech searced for my baby. I had no idea what I was looking at. My baby measured 6w 2d and my sac was 10w 4d. My baby had stopped growing. My husband and I were devastated. This was our first pregnancy and the first grandchild in our families. My dr did bloodwork that day and discovered my progesterone to be 10.3, too low. I had a D&C 2 days later. After talking to a friend who miscarried 1 year before due to low levels, we both agree that this test should be given to every pregnant woman immediately. Low levels could be identified and supplements given to them. They may not save every baby, but they could save many. I am currently TTC and taking Prometrium (200mg/3xday). I hope this helps. Good luck to all the women out there and this site!
Thanks for all you are doing to bring attention to this.
Jacque
#7. Posted 11/24/03
Hi. I was diagnosed with low progesterone at 4 weeks into my pregnancy. It
was less than 2 (1.9). In the following week it even dropped to 1.2!. They
told me to expect a miscarriage and even encouraged me to get the methotrexate
shot to miscarry. Despite the doc's advice, I decided to keep up with the
pregnancy. At 6 1/2 weeks I had an ultrasound which revealed a healthy baby and
heartbeat. My progesterone rose to 6 which is still low. I was never given
progesterone supplements because they said it would prolong the inevitable
miscarriage. During this time my hcg #'s were doubling. To make long story
short, I delivered a healthy baby girl on Oct 8, she is 5 weeks old now and
thriving! I am 40 now (39 at conception), My name is Theresa and I live in
Boca Raton, Florida. Hope this helps. By the way, the doctor's say that they have
never seen anyone with progesterone so low carry, so my baby is a miracle.
#8.Posted 11/24/03
My name is Kelly and I am 25 years old. I live in Ohio and have had twomiscarriages. My first miscarriage was at 6 weeks and the second was at 9
weeks. I was then diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The doctor
prescribed Glucophage XR 1500 Mg. which I took daily. After I became
pregnant a third time my progesterone was tested. I had a progesterone
level of 8. The doctor immediately prescribed progesterone suppositories
for me which I took until I was 14 weeks pregnant. I now have a happy and
healthy 8 month old baby boy. Along with a 5 1/2 year old daughter. They
are the light in my life and I don't believe I would have a son now if it
weren't for the progesterone and Glucophage. I am now pregnant with my
third child and I am almost 8 weeks along. I am taking the glucophage and
progesterone and can only pray that this little person will be alright. I
have heard of many women having miscarriage due to low progesterone levels,
and had I know about it sooner maybe I wouldn't have lost two. I
strongly urge any pregnant woman to demand that her progesterone levels be
tested. Then maybe she wouldn't have to go through the awful pain of
losing a baby.
#9. Posted 11/25/2003
HI, I am so glad you are doing this for furture childrens lives!!
My name is Kelly and I am 26 years old. I have 2 kids 6 and 8, I was just 19 when I had my 8 year old and didnt have any problems with either pregnancies. I married my 2nd Husband last April and since I have had 3 miscarriages. My first was June 4th at 5w3d. I never got to the doctor with that one and really didn't know much about m/c's. We moved across town 1 week later and changed doctors. I became pregnant 2 weeks after the 1st m/c. My aunt told me about progesterone and told me to insist to be put on it. My doctor ordered 200mg Prometrium when I was 5 weeks but my insurance wouldnt pay for it, so I had to wait until about 6 and a half weeks for the insurance approval. I had a heart beat at 6w3d and then at 8w4d the fetal pole was gone but the baby was to size. I had a d&c on Aug 8th 2003. I have been thinking that we started the prometrium to late and we could have saved my baby girl. Which her genetics came back completely normal. We took two cycles off and tried to conceive last month, which ended up being a chemical pregnancy. My aunt told me that I need to take progesterone for at least 12 weeks before trying again. That is what she did 15 years ago after 2 m/c's and now has 2 beautiful daughters (teenagers now), she will pass her story on too. We are currently trying but not trying to conceive, if that makes sense. I am testing on Dec. 1st for many possibilities and I am going to ask to be put on progesterone full time.
Kelly
Glendale, AZ
#10. Posted 12/2/2003
Cathy,
You may use my story on your website.
My name is Michelle, I am 33 yrs. old and live in Pennsylvania. I now have two healthy boys and have had two miscarriages. My first son was born 12/00 after an uneventful preganancy and no difficulty conceiving so I was stunned when i started having trouble when we decided to expand our family. I became pg again in August of 2002 - first month trying. We were elated and of course told the world only to m/c at 6 weeks on 11/21/02. I had no testing done this time and went ahead and got pregnant again at the end of November 2002. This time I m/c at 4 ? weeks - my hcg's never doubled. After this time my doc agreed to do the extensive work up and had me get my labs done at 7 days post-ovulation and said we could still ttc if we wanted. My progesterone level was only 9( should be greqater than 10 in the luteal phase and greater than 16 to sustain a preganancy). My doc was waiting for my next cycle to start clomid to treat this "luteal phase defect" but deep down I knew I was already pg. The next week (new years eve actually) I had a + hpt and called my doc in tears thinking I would just m/c again. He rechecked my progesterone and it went up to 16.6 - which is fine. Lucky for me my doc is proactive. He checked my progesterone level each week. At 6 weeks it dropped again to 13 so he started me on progesterone injections which quickly brought my levels way up (> 40!). I stayed on the progesterone until 12 weeks and had a very uneventful pregnancy. I gave birth to a healthy 9lb 10 oz baby boy on 9/10/03 - his due date. There is a lot of controversy about progesterone because the medical literature is very conflicting based on the current studies on it. I agree that progesterone can save a pregnancy in danger from low levels but I also believe that there are dangers in using it in pregnanies that do not have a documented low level. Progesterone levels fluctuate from cycle to cycle so one m/c from low progesterone followed by emperic use of pregesterone with a then succesful pregnancy is not proof necessarily that it worked - the progesterone level may have been fine to begin with. Progesterone supplements do not treat all types of low progesterone either - some types of luteal phase defects respond better to clomid and other ovulation inducing medications rather than just replacement. There needs to be more research on the subject and more willingness to check levels as appropriate. I think if levels were checked and insurance companies would cover the costs then maybe more pregnancies would be saved. Thank you for this website to bring awareness to the situation.
#11. Posted 12/2/2003Cathy,
I wanted to write to let people know that having knowledge about your progesterone levels is not enough. I have recently moved to the White Mountains of Arizona. When I moved I made an appointment with an Obstetrician. I made him aware of my three miscarriages and how me progesterone levels were a main factor. He told me to call the minute I thought I was pregnant. Last Saturday, I had a home pregnancy test come back positive. Monday I called his office. He is no longer practicing Obstetrics. I called the doctor they recommended. I demanded to get in the next day. I went in. Instead of starting me on progesterone, they insisted on running the test. The next day I started spotting. I went in to his office right away. They called for my level and it was faxed over. I don't remember anything else except seeing that level... it was 1.2. He gave me a prescription for progesterone 200mg vaginal suppositories. He said to pick them up and go home and get them into my system as soon as possible. My husband and I ran frantically all over town to each pharmacy. No one carried them. We ended up driving 2 hours to get to a pharmacy that carried them. By the time we walked into the pharmacy I was gushing. The pregnancy was gone. Needless to say, it was the day before Thanksgiving. I had to put a smile on my face and cook dinner. I can't help but to think that this miscarriage could have been saved. It's Sunday now. I just can't believe you can experience so many emotions in one week.Barbara
#12. Posted 12/2/2003
HI Cathi,
I got pregnant w/my 1rst son and had him 10/96 w/ no problems at all. I got prego again a few yrs later....it was a chemicall pregnancy. We tried again and got pregnant a yr later I started spotting at 4 wks. They did do an hcg and progesterone blood test immediantly. my prog. was a 4. and my hcg levels were skyrocketing. I took the prog. starting at 51/2 wks they did an ultrasound at 6wks.....no hb just a gest.sak. I was devistated. my body expelled everything on its own. On my followup appointment the ob said she suspected i must have a luteal phase defect because of the 2 prior very early misscarriages. She said they could not investigate this untill i had had 3 misscarriages in a row!! so basically get pregnant again, misscarry again, be devastated.......and then they would figure out what was wrong!! I got pregnant again in Sept.2002. My ob tested my progesterone immediantly at 4 1/2 wks it was an 11.6 or around there? I thought oh no not again! i started prog.suppositories immediantly. They did an ultrasound at 6 wks..........beautifull heartbeat!! I stopped them at 14wks. My son was born on his due date, June 24,2003 weighing in at 11 lbs. 7 oz. 21"!! NATURALLY! i also believe dr's should pay close attention to prog.levels! the next time i get preg. i am insisting on a prog.test as early as possible!
~Ali
#13. Posted 12/11/2003
Hello ladies, I would like to briefly share my story on the progesterone
difficulties I have had with three seperate pregnancies.
First of all, I was pregnant 1 1/2 years ago, they found a heartbeat at 6 weeks,
then the embryo was lost the very next day. The doc couldn't explain why, and
we continued to try again. Two months later, I was pregnant again, and the
exact same thing happened again. Each time I told the doc I was pregnant, they gave me a test which showed up negative each time until I was about 5 1/2 -6 wks. By the third pg, only 2 more months later, I had to tell the doc I was pg again, and they started running tests on me. They told me once again, that I was not pg, and I lost this one too, except I was only roughly 4 wks or so. They couldn't find anything wrong with me after running several chromosomal tests, and said it was probably just an attahcment problem, but put me on progesterone suppositories 2x/day. These seemed to be the solution, since I am now 36 wks pg and healthy. I hope they will do more research on progesterone, I believe it is a hormone which is overlooked by many busy doctors, who don't seem to have all of the information on it. Good luck to all of you women trying to conceive who continue to have progesterone or progesterone related problems.
Take Care
Beth
#14. Posted 12/11/2003
Hi
I have had to take progesterone supplements during my pregnancies. I have a 21 month old little boy and had two miscarriages before him due to low progesterone. I am 38 wks pregnant with a little boy. This pregnancy was twins but we lost one at 6 1/2 weeks. I am not sure if that was due to low progesterone or not. I was taking progesterone at the time. I spotted with all of my pregnancies except for this one. I had both of my miscarriages at about 9 wks. I have had to see a specialist with this pregnancy due to a positive afp test. All looks well so far.
BJ
miscarriages @ 9 wks - 1993 and 2000
Lawson 03-04-02
edd 12/22/03-baby boy
vanishing twin - 06/03
#15. Posted 12/11/2003
Cathy,
I was heartened to find your website after hours and hours of research on the internet and what seemed to be conflicting information about progesterone levels and pregnancy. I am 35 years old and had a miscarriage three months ago with my first pregnancy. I live in urban Georgia.
The details of my pregnancy are as follows. My husband and I decided to try conceiving during our 2003 summer vacation. We had no trouble, and within one cycle, we were ecstatic to find out I was pregnant. Around week 4 of the pregnancy, I started spotting, and was experiencing mild cramping, very similar to cramping during a period. It was on a Saturday, so I called the on call physician, who happened to be a physician's assistant. She told me "not to worry- spotting is very normal/common." She told me to call back and make an appointment for an ultrasound the next week. I did so and went in for both an ultrasound and HCg blood level. During the ultrasound, I sensed something was wrong as the ultrasound tech was very quiet. The news was that they had not found a heartbeat. Over the next few weeks and three more ultrasounds as well as multiple HCg levels, again no heartbeat was found, and my HCg levels were not doubling as they should have.
During this whole time, progesterone levels were NEVER discussed, and in all my extensive research, I never even considered them. Finally, I opted for a D&C at week 6.5 after what I considered to be a fair amount of diagnostic tests and research on the internet about miscarriage. It was a heart wrenching decision, as I had a glimmer of hope when my HCg levels went from 12,000 to 31, 000 over a week and a half period- not the doubling every 2-4 days as is expected, and still no heartbeat even at 31,000.
I had the D&C in September, and after telling my physician about hormonal troubles I had experienced in my twenties (mother's mask marks on my face in the absence of pregnancy or taking the birth control pill), as well as a mysterious, skin pigment change that occured just before trying to conceive, she decided to test my progesterone level. Low and behold, she found my level to be low- around 12! She told me that a normal level should be around 19 (I have seen MANY conflicting reports about 'normal' progesterone levels on various websites), and proscribed Prometrium.
My husband and I are going to be trying for a baby yet again starting this week, and I am armed to the hilt with a three month's supply of Prometrium to be taken two times a day, starting around day 12-13 of my cycle.
When I read stories of women whose levels were checked during early pregnancy due to bleeding, I get very angry. Maybe my baby could have been saved had I been put on prometrium at the first signs of bleeding- not all spotting is normal and warrants at LEAST a hormone check.
I hope this story helps other people who are going through or have been through the same experience. Make sure to advocate for yourself and your baby as no one else will.
Godspeed,
Belinda, GA
#16. Posted 12/14/2003
My name is Nicole, I am 22 years old. I have been pregnant 3 times, 1 pregnancy was successful. After that pregnancy I got on the Noraplant. After getting off I got pregnant 2 more times, both ended in miscarriage as early as 4 weeks. No problem getting pregnant, I just couldnot hold the baby. My OB said that after the first miscarriage I should have a successful pregnancy. That did not happen, just as the first time it happened again. I am pregnant again and noew my doctor is putting me on progesterone pills. My level was 5, I am 3 weeks pregnant my hcg is 300, which is fine. I am praying that I end up with a successful pregnancy. May, I add this doctor is not the one I experienced the other two miscarriages with. I just wish that I knew this before, maybe I would have had my other children. It is very depressing not to be able to have children, or to get pregnant and not be able to carry a baby to term. When everyone else gets pregnant and can carry there baby. I had to loose 2 babies to find out something as simple as a pill could hender you from carrying a baby to term. I give you my permission to post my story.
#17. Posted 12/14/2003
Hello. My name is Kelly. I live in Ohio. In August of 2002, I found out that I was pregnant for the first time. I had a miscarriage 3 weeks later at 7 weeks. My doctor said this is quite normal and told me to try again. I had a D&C and I was pregnant again in February 2003. Again I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks. Was told to go to a high risk doctor who could find nothing wrong. Waited a few months and became pregnant again in July 2003. Miscarried again at 7 weeks. My doctor finally referred me to an infertility specialist. He found that I had thyroid disease, beginning diabetes, a blood clotting disorder and polyps on my uterus. Had all these problems fixed and Dr. gave the go ahead to try again. He said on day 19 of my cycle to start 200 mg. progesterone 2 times a day. I got pregnant right away (November 30, 2003 was when I found out, and that was my birthday! What a great present!) That was a sunday. Called the Dr. on monday and they had me come in that day for bloodwork. Also had to go back Wednesday (which is today Dec. 3, 2003). Dr. called later to say things look good, but my progesterone is low so I have to go up to 3 times a day. Could this still all work out? Im hoping for the best! I am convinced that progesterone was the problem for every miscarriage. Other women have had healthy babies with all the other problems, so I think it has a lot to do with progesterone. I completely agree that progesterone testing should be done at the first prenatal visit. It could save so many babies and it is only a simple blood test. They tested my hcg levels and progesterone at the same time! A simple test to save the life of an unborn baby and should definitely be included in the numerous tests for pregnancy. I go back on Friday to see if everything is going good and have my 1st sonogram Dec. 18, 2003. I am praying to see something on that screen and that the whole pregancy goes well! Good luck to anyone else out there going through any problem during pregnancy because I know how hard this all can be. Good luck and God Bless!!
Kelly
#18. Posted 12/14/2003
My name is Jennifer and I am 23 and live in New Mexico. Here is my history: I
began taking birth control pills when I was 19 and did not stop taking them
until November 2002. I had a positive pregnancy test in February. At my first
appointment the OB did a pap, did blood work, and told me that everything was
normal and they would see me in a month. They neven mentioned anything about
hormones, or even HCG testing. The initial BW was mostly for STD's. At 9 weeks
I began spotting and went to the ER. They then did an ultrasound and found that
the baby measured 6 weeks. Even at that time they never tested HCG or
Progesterone. A day later the spotting turning into gushing, and passing large
clots. That was my first Miscarriage. The doctor did not recommend any
testing, and just told me to wait one cycle to try again.
After two cycles I became pregnant again, and again began bleeding at 5 weeks.
I went in to my OBGyn and they did an ultrasound and the baby measured 6 weeks,
but my HCG was 13. They still did not ever test progesterone. This was
miscarriage number two.
The third was much like this except I had just swithed to a new doctor who is
great. She wanted to have me do a quantitative preg test, and a progesteron
test every cd 26 so we would know early on what was going on. The first time I
tested with her, it was negative, but my period did not come and had a Pos hpt.
She immediately tested quant HCG and Progesterone. My HCG was 12 and
Progesterone was 3. This implied that I have a luteal phase defect. I began
bleeding that day and lost that baby.
She decided to start me on prometrium on cd16-menses every cycle just in case I
became pregnant. After three months I became pregnant on the prometrium. At cd
26 my progesterone was 30 and my HCG was 31. After two more days my HCG was 75.
I am now having pregnancy symptoms for the first time. I am now 5 weeks today,
and I know that it is still early, but so far so good. I have my first
appointment in a few days and should know more then.
My current OB is actually a nurse midwife and had been more helpful than any of
my OBGYNs. She keeps frequent phone contact with me. She is always coming up
with new ideas, and she always reminds me to have fun while baby dancing. She
also lets me do BW whenever I feel necessary, and knows all of the tricks to get
my insurance to pay for it. It is so unfair that docs would even think about
making women suffer through 3 miscarriages before taking any action. I just
hope that prometrium helps me have my miracle baby.
Jen
#19. Posted 12/14/2003
Hello Cathy, I cant tell you how excited I was to discover your website. I have been searching for women with the same problems I have, for over a year. My name is Paula and I am now 35. My husband and I have been TTC for over two years now with no success, yet...I have a very irregular cycle so I purchased the clear plan easy fertility monitor to determine exactly when I ovulate. After four months I got pregnant. Unfortunately, I started bleeding after only 1 weeks and thought for sure I was having a miscarriage. However, when my HCG levels were checked, they kept going up, this is not a pattern of a miscarriage. Sadly to say, when I went for an internal ultrasound, they found that I had a rare optopic pregnancy called a "cervical pregnancy" and it had to be terminated w/ eight days of hospitalization. After several months we started to try again. I noticed last April, I was having abnormal bleeding prior to my period. My doctor tested and found that I had a luteal Phase defect and put me on Crinone 8% ( progesterone gel suppositories ) 3 days after ovulation. To our delight I got pregnant the first month. I went to the doctor and my HCG level was only at 5, which is very low. Sure enough, I miscarried only 4 days later. I am certain that the reason for the cervical pregnancy was due to low progesterone. I am so hopeful that this Crinone will do the trick for me.
I was wondering if anyone has tried the progesterone shots ? Are the shots more effective??? Your are welcome to post my message on your website...
Thanks for the support.
Paula
#20. Posted 1/12/2004
Matthew R. Magee 8-31-2003
I don't know if I "qualify" because I am unsure of what caused my miscarriage.
In July, I had a 14 week baby boy who "seemed" perfect. He was the right size and was developed exactly to the point he should have been. He had ten fingers, ten toes......PERFECT.
Except, he was born at the wrong time. No one offered me any explanation as to WHY. However, several weeks ago I discovered I was pregnant again, and the first thing my Dr. did THIS time was to test my progesterone levels and immediately put me on Progesterone gel.
I am thankful that my Dr. seems to be acting proactively THIS time but, I do wonder why this early testing was not done last time. My questions:
"Was this the reason Matthew did not survive?" "Will this baby be helped by this Progesterone?"???
I hope this will be helpful and would be more than willing to answer any questions and or let you know if I get any answers in this pregnancy.
EM
#21. Posted 1/12/2004
Cathy and Caneel,
thank you so much for taking a stand for us! I am 33 years old, a mother of one and have since had 4 miscarriages over the past 3 years. All due to low progesterone. My most recent being on 12/21/03 at 10 weeks. My first was at 10, second at 16 weeks (extremely devasting), and third at 12 weeks. My only successful pregnancy also showed low progesterone - level was at 7. I know my child is a miracle. It's a tragedy that I and others have to experience this unnecessary agony. I am only now being met with about solutions to this. I meet with my Ob/Gyn next week. Thanks again for being so proactive.
All the best for continued success! Please feel free to post this on your site.
Kelly
#22. Posted 1/12/2004
Hello Cathy and bless you for creating such a wonderful and informative site. You may post my story if you'd like.
My name is Jenny. I am 27 and from Maryland. I lost my first pregnancy at 8 weeks in August 2003. I was told before I got pregnant that I may have problems because I have recurrent ovarian cysts. With great enthusiasm my husband and I got pregnant in June. My doctor sent me for the normal hormonal levels and such, everything came back o.k. One night I just started feeling "not right" like I was losing my baby. Everyone thought I was crazy and just over reacting as I was a bit nervous, being my first pregnancy and all. Unfortunately, my intuition was right and I was taken to the ER the next morning with cramping and bleeding. A sonogram confirmed my fear, although no one at the hospital told me, but I could see the screen and saw that there was no heartbeat. I went straight from the hospital to my gyn and she set the appointment to have the d&c the next day. Luckily, I have a very understanding and modern doctor so she did send the tissue for pathology, even though it was only my first miscarriage. As I understand it, most doctors don't test until three or more. The pathology came back.. a perfectly normal baby girl. No chromosomal abnormalities what-so-ever. I am happy to know that, but it still doesn't make it any easier. I went for the hormonal test and they confirmed low progesterone. I haven't began the therapy or hormonal replacement yet, but I will soon. I totally support doctors checking for this right away as soon as pregnancy is confirmed.
No matter how far along you are or how many times it's happened..these pregnancies don't have to end in miscarriage. Get a doctor that cares enough about you and your baby!! I know my doctor would be willing to support this cause!!
Jenny-
Baltimore, Maryland
#23. Posted 1/14/2004
I was so glad to find your site! I did a LOT of research on this topic and even found out that many Dr's do not believe that additional progesterone can help a pregnancy, but I believe that quick reaction on my OB's part saved my baby!!
Here is my story: I was late on my period in April/May of 1999. I took several home pregnancy tests, all of which came up negative.I then went to the OB to get a prescription to start my period. While there, they told me I was pregnant!! I was SO excited!! I gave blood that day at the office, and was very excited to wait a couple weeks to get my sonogram! Well, I had to go to a different place to get my sonogram, and they didn?t tell me anything, but there was no heartbeat. They just said that we must have the wrong dates. I knew this was wrong, and that if anything, I should be further along. I went home and called my OB, who took 3 DAYS to call me back, then telling me that my blood work indicated low numbers and that I needed to come back in. They would not tell me what it meant, so I switched to my sisters OB, who was very understanding and took me in that day for a sonogram in her office. She then told me that the baby had died, and gave me the option of a DNC or to wait to let me miscarry naturally. I chose the latter. She told me to call if I suspected I was pregnaant again. I miscarried a week later. Unfortunately, she left the practice. The new OB who came in was very nice and understanding too, and when I was having a hard time getting pregnant, she suggested that we make love at the right time and then track things very closely and come in ASAP if I could get an ultrasensitive pregnancy test to come up positive. In November of 2001, that day finally came, and my OB did bloodwork every other day for a week just to make sure. My initial numbers looked good, but it was a good thing she had me come back in every other day b/c the numbers started dropping. She then put me on progesterone suppositories, and kept monitoring my numbers every other day for the first couple weeks. I had track marks on my arms, but my numbers were improving! My little boy is now 17 months old and I know that when I try for #2, I will need progesterone to sustain my pregnancy!
Christie
#24. Posted 1/14/2004Hi! I am so encouraged to see someone is addressing this issue. I've had two miscarriages in less than a year and both times my progesterone level was very low. The first time was a what the medical community calls a 'missed abortion'. My hormone levels were tested at about 5 weeks and showed a low p-level so my doctor did prescribe suppositories but at only 50-mg once a day. It wasn't a very aggressive treatment. However my miscarriage was discovered at 8 weeks at my first visit. Nothing else was done. I did research after this and read literature about starting the treatment much earlier is the pregnancy process but my doctor didn't respond to my concerns. So the second time I discovered I was pregnant I immediately was tested for my hormone levels and once again had a very low progesterone. However, at that point it was too late I was already in the process of losing the baby. I felt that doctors that I talked to about this didn?t view progesterone levels as a real problem. I've been told even the testing for it is not reliable. Thank you for taking on this issue.
Sincerely, Kim
#25. Posted 1/14/2004Cathy, thanks so much for the awareness you are putting out there. My name is Karen, I'm 36, married 1 1/2 yrs to dh, have one ds, 11. We live in Western N.C.
You may post my e-mail if you think it's relevent.
I am just finishing up w/ my 2nd miscarriage, (diagnosed as Blighted Ovum)and so fed up w/ the lack of information that the Dr's are willing and/or capable of giving, that I've resorted to devouring all the books and info I can get on the internet.
Doesn't it just infuriate you that most Dr's seem to think we have to suffer multiple miscarriages b/f anyone will even bother to look into it?!?!?
When I went to my Dr's appt. 2 days ago for another Ultra Sound to make sure my body is expelling the way it should, I was armed with questions to ask the Dr. (However, I didn't know Anything about progesterone.) He did tell me that when I get my regular period back, we'll do a blood test to check the progesterone, and explained that it will determine whether or not I will be able to carry a baby to term. I didn't know what he was talking about, but was glad there was some kind of test...solution, if you will, ( we can hope, anyway) to delivering a healthy baby.
I can't wait to get tested now, and see if I can perhaps talk the Dr. into giving me the progesterone while we're trying.I think what you're doing here is wonderful. I believe that your efforts really could be saving the lives of many little precious babies!Thanks so much!
Karen, Western NC
Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals. This website is for information purposes only and is not a prescription for your particular needs. Consult with your health care professional if in doubt or if you have questions. We do not try to overrule the advice of your health care professional and can only say that if you question your doctor, you need to get a second opinion.
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