I first got pregnant in 1991 and was thrilled. I started spotting off and on when I was about 8-9 weeks pregnant and although it scared me, I figured everything was okay. Everything wasn't okay and at 11.5 weeks I miscarried and underwent a D&C.
In December 1991 I found out I was pregnant again and this time had extremely heavy bleeding in January 1992 and was found to have had a complete miscarriage which did not require a D&C.
In July 1993 I got pregnant again and although scared, we were excited. In September after having some spotting I was sent for an ultrasound which confirmed the fetus was not viable. I was suppose to be approx. 9 weeks and the ultrasound showed me measuring only 6.5 weeks. Another piece of my heart ripped out along with another D&C.
I had decided to stay with the OBGYN who had been doing my D&C's as the family doctor I was going to was not interested in doing any testing to investigate further.
In the Fall of 1993 I again got pregnant and was scared to death. In the beginning of December at my prenatal check it was found that the baby was non-viable. I was sent to the hospital for a D&C. Before being put under the anesthesia my OBGYN came to talk to me and told me that she had a pretty good idea what was wrong and she would start testing me.
With a new year approaching I had some hope. In the beginning of 1994 I underwent blood tests on certain days of my cycle followed by an endometrial biopsy. The results came back showing that I had low progesterone (luteal phase defect). My progesterone was barely a 3 and I was given progesterone suppositories 50 mg twice a day to be started the day I ovulate until my period begins or until 14 weeks gestation, whichever.
I became pregnant again and took my suppositories faithfully until 14 weeks. I spotted off and on and had some bleeding during the entire pregnancy, as well as pre-term labor starting at 30 weeks, but my beautiful daughter arrived on Feb. 13/95 at 35 weeks weighing 5 lbs. 15.5 oz. After hemorrhaging and manual removal of the placenta it was discovered that all the excess bleeding during pregnancy was probably because my pregnancy was a twin pregnancy and the other baby had been miscarried.
Later that same year, Fall of 1995, I became pregnant again and this time my OBGYN told me to take the progesterone suppositories until 16 weeks instead of 14. My OBGYN was involved in the studies on women and progesterone and it was found that some women need the progesterone longer than others (a lady in their study stopped the progesterone at 14 weeks and the fetus was non-viable by 16 weeks). There is no way to overdose on progesterone so better safe than sorry and I took it until 16 weeks. This time I had very little spotting, but leaked my water at 24 weeks and was told we would have to deliver a baby that would only have a 22% chance of living. A miracle happened while awaiting the final decision and the leak in my amniotic sac sealed over (rarely happens according to the doctors) and I went on to have another beautiful daughter on July 13/96 at 37 weeks gestation weighing 7 lbs 1 oz.
My husband and I ended up divorcing in 1997 and I moved to another Province. I ended up meeting someone else in 2000 and starting a new life for me and the girls.
In the Fall of 2000 I became pregnant again and because my OBGYN was five hours away in another Province I stayed with the family physician I had found here and explained to him why I needed the progesterone and that I needed it until 16 weeks. My family physician asked a local OBGYN how long I should take the progesterone and I was told only until 12 weeks - no longer. I argued the point and begged for him to consult my OBGYN in the other Province, but he insisted that new research has been done and 12 weeks was sufficient. I trusted him. I had an early ultrasound at 8 weeks and saw a strong little heartbeat and was relieved for the time being. At my 12 week check-up I heard the heartbeat and felt more relieved. My prescription for suppositories ran out when I was exactly 12 weeks so I stopped taking them (the doctor wouldn't write another prescription anyways so I had no choice but to stop). At my 16 week check-up the doctor could not find the heartbeat and I was terrified. He said the baby was just swimming around too much and that I had more of a chance of getting in a car accident driving home from my appointment than I did have losing the baby. I went back to work (I work in a radiology department) and after talking with a friend about the situation it was decided to have a quick peek with the ultrasound to see what this little baby was doing and to ease my mind. Well, the news was not good - the baby was not viable. Remember I stopped the progesterone at 12 weeks, well the baby stopped growing at 12 weeks 2 days. I underwent a D&C and was devastated. I blamed myself as I knew I needed the progesterone for the full 16 weeks and I fell into a deep depression.
I was referred to a OBGYN in my city and he told me that progesterone has nothing to do with maintaining a pregnancy and wanted to send me for tons of infertility tests. He told me I had something genetically wrong with me to which I replied then how do I have two healthy girls if there is something wrong genetically. I knew better than what he was babbling about so that appointment ended there.
I travelled back to my OBGYN and told her what happened and she confirmed my suspicions of being taken off the progesterone too early. She gave me a year supply of a new pill that was being used, which was Prometrium 100 mg once a day and I started taking it in the hopes of having another baby.
We waited the required month before trying again and got pregnant the next month (March 2001). That is when I discovered a wonderful family physician who believes highly in progesterone and I started going to him. He told me to stay on the Prometrium (progesterone) for the whole pregnancy as low progesterone has been linked with pre-term labor (which I had with the girls), so I did. Besides having a few bleeding episodes with hemorrhaging around the baby at 10 weeks, everything went much smoother than my other pregnancies. I felt way better on the Prometrium, especially in the last trimester and because my hormones were leveled out I hardly gained any weight (15 pounds) even though I was eating like a horse. I delivered a handsome little boy on Nov. 11/01 at 37 weeks gestation weighing 8 lbs 2 oz. I continued the Prometrium until I was done the prescription, which was a couple months after giving birth and within three weeks of stopping the Prometrium I gained 20 pounds. I have since found out that having low progesterone will make it very hard to lose weight so that explained my small weight gain during pregnancy and the heavy weight gain after pregnancy.
In the Fall of 2002 I became pregnant again and took my Prometrium faithfully throughout the entire pregnancy. I delivered a handsome little boy on Aug. 18/03 at 40 weeks 1 day gestation weighing 9 lbs. Again I only gained 16 pounds and within a few weeks of stopping the Prometrium I gained another 20 lbs.
My husband and I decided we were done our family and he had a vasectomy in the Fall of 2003. I was in the process of waiting for an appointment with my doctor to discuss staying on the Prometrium indefinately because of the benefits I have gotten from it and ended up having an ultrasound done in February 2004 for pelvic pain where it was discovered I was 10 weeks pregnant with identical twins. I was shocked and scared to death because I have had no progesterone. I started the Prometrium a few days later when I got a prescription from the doctor, but had already started spotting and we lost our precious twins on March 24/04 at 14 weeks gestation.
The past ten years has been such an up and down rollercoaster ride and I am so thankful and blessed to have my four precious children, but since losing the twins I have made a vow to myself that I will do whatever it takes to inform other women of my story because nobody should have to go through six miscarriages the way I have. I know my babies are in heaven waiting for me to hold them, but that doesn't make it any easier, the pain is still there, especially when I know this all could have been prevented by a simple routine blood test.
Carady
dd - 02/95
dd - 07/96
ds - 11/01
ds - 08/03
-7- angels in heaven
#53 Posted 5/8/2004
Hi: I have a story you may share. I found out I was pregnant on March 6, 2004...I already have a 2-1/2 year old little boy and I am 37 years old. Near the end of March I started spotting and was told to come in for an ultrasound. Baby measured 6 weeks, right on target. They did a progesterone test just to see. It took 4 days for the results to get back to me...it was on the low side at 10.9. They put me on suppositories and I was told to come back in a few days to retest. Retested on a Thursday, Saturday morning I found out the levels dropped to 9.2. I saw some red in my spotting and the dr. said I may be miscarrying, but to come for an ultrasound on Monday. I was very upset. On Monday, the baby measured 7 weeks 3 days and everything seemed fine but he put me on a different progesterone supplement called Crinone since the first kind didn't seem to work. The spotting stopped and I was retested a few days later. It went up to 12.2 then! I was told to retest again a few days later. Then it only went up to 12.7, and I was spotting again. Went in for an ultrasound in early April and the baby was fine at 8 weeks 4 days. They just couldn't understand the spotting. I made an appt. in a few days for a heartbeat check. I started bleeding like a light period, no cramping though. I called the dr. they said to just come for my heartbeat check in a few days, but if things get worse to call. On Monday, April 19 I went for the heartbeat check...he found it right away. So, he decided to check my progesterone again. It had gone up to 16 now! I thought I was in the clear. On Tuesday, I was bleeding like a period again and called the dr. He said since we just heard the heartbeat, there wasn't much he could do, but to come Thursday for another heartbeat check. With the bleeding stopping, then starting up again I was getting really nervous but still hopeful since my levels went up. It was red like a period now. So Thursday, April 22 I go for a heartbeat check...again, he found it. It took a little longer than it did on Monday evening, but it was there! Then on Friday, April 23, I was passing some clots and soaked a pad pretty quick so I called the dr. and he told me to come right away for an ultrasound. Well, the ultrasound was fine...baby measured 10 weeks 4 days, right on schedule. They could not explain the bleeding. He told me I could come as often as I wanted to hear the heartbeat so I scheduled an appt. for Monday, April 26 at 6:30 p.m. The bleeding had stopped all day Sat. April 24...then that night the severe cramping had started and heavy bleeding and passing clots. I couldn't even sleep it was so painful and I almost went to the emergency room, but didn't because I had been bleeding off and on for a month now and I just saw the baby the day before on the ultrasound. Well, I went to my heartbeat appt. on Monday, April 26 and he could not find the heartbeat. By now I was bleeding consistently like a period and it was not stopping. He told me to go to their other office on Tuesday for an ultrasound. (my doctors have two offices, but only one has an ultrasound machine). When I got there Tuesday morning, there was no more pregnancy. He told me I could try to get rid of everything on my own or have a D&C. Well, I had a D&C on Tuesday evening, April 27, 2004. I was devastated. I have to believe progesterone was the problem with this pregnancy. I didn't start the progesterone suppositories until I was a little past the 7 week mark and I think that was too late. It was so hard going through this, but finding your website, I realize I am not alone. I am still hurting tremendously. My wonderful son is great medicine for me...just hearing him laugh makes me feel better. My husband and I have decided we are going to try again as soon as we can. Being 37 I don't have a lot of time on my side. I go to the dr. for a follow appt. on May 11 and I am going to ask about being more proactive with the progesterone right away. If I don't hear an answer I like, I plan to switch to a dr. who will address this issue with me right away. I know too many friends, sisters who have lost pregnancies due to low progesterone and it just doesn't seem fair. Why is it not a standard test when a woman first finds out she is pregnant??? Thank you so much for letting me get my story out there...it has helped me with my healing process.
-Lisa
#54 Posted 5/8/2004
Caneel and Cathy,
I applaud your mission! I too have had low progesterone
levels with all three of my pregnancies. Because of my
situation, I was fortunate. Before my first pregnancy, I had
already had a long journey of infertility so I was closely
monitored by physicians who were up to date on all of the
advanced medical stuff and it was their practice to work VERY
hard to keep the women pregnant that had finally achieved
conception after such long, gruelling journeys there. Even the
two OB' s that I have worked with during my two consecutive
pregnancies were very willing to test my P levels when I first
had my blood pregnancy levels done - And even though I was the
one to initiate that the P count be taken and I was the one who
suggested that I be put on supplements if my levels turned out
to be low they were generally very wonderful doctors to work
with anyway. Neither doctor seemed to have any problem with my
requests and as it turned out I have done P supplements with all
three pregnancies. (The first was by injection and then
suppositories, the second by suppositories only and the third -
orally.) This also means that I have no idea what either
physician's normal testing protocol is for a patient who didn't
specifically request a P level to be counted at the time the HCG
levels were taken. I do know that the general OB population has
not caught up to this concept and may be resistant to it, which
is a shame! No, a tragedy! It all goes back to each patient
being their own best physician and knowing their own bodies well
enough to be the director of their medical care. Perhaps you
can find someone to finally do the much needed research to
finally prove to these physicians that progesterone supplements
actually do decrease a woman's chance of miscarriage and then
they would all be convinced! Good luck in your efforts! ~
-J
From J:
Just a few tidbits:
- No "Formal" research has been done to prove that
progesterone works to help prevent miscarriages - BUT that
doesn't mean that it doesn't work - its just that no "formal"
studies have proven it. Any OB physician who has used it in
their practice can plainly see that progesterone levels are, in
fact, raised and that miscarriages are much less likely when
progesterone levels are monitored and supplemented for in the
first trimester. It may be that doctors are so afraid of making
any claims without the research to back them up, since, of
course, women miscarry for many reasons and taking progesterone
supplements would not guarantee a healthy baby to term, it may
be that many doctors fear claiming things only to get slammed
with a mal-practice suit when those claims don't pan out. - Progesterone levels begin low at the start of a pregnancy
and rise with the advancing pregnancy (in the first trimester).
These levels and the rate at which they rise are as predictable
as HCG lelvels, which also rise in the beginning of the first
trimester at a predictable rate. For this reason, if a woman
has a blood pregnancy test and the levels are significantly
higher than the woman predicts for her number of weeks pregnant,
then often an early sonogram is scheduled to get a more accurate
due date, to see if the woman is instead, carrying multiple
fetus' or to rule out if the woman has a rare, but dangerous
"molar" pregnancy.
- Progesterone levels are as easy to test as HCG levels (-
the hormone detected in a blood test to determine if a woman is
pregnant or not). In fact the same blood taken to detect HCG
can be used to determine progesterone levels. (OR two small
vials can be taken at the same time.) Most insurance companies
would not argue the weekly blood test required to monitor safe
progesterone levels during the first trimester.
- It ought to be standard procedure to do a blood pregnancy
test early and to test progesterone levels at that same time.
- It doesn't hurt a woman or a fetus to take progesterone
supplements so the defense that, "We can't prove it works, but
what could it hurt" is a perfect one for this problem.
- Any doctor who fears even testing progesterone levels
early in the pregnancy and refuses to try progesterone
supplements should be distrusted by patients as either paranoid
of being sued or of medical ignorance in their field. They may
just be arrogant and then who would want to work with them as
their trusted physican anyway? It is recommended that you find
a doctor willing to work with you and FOR you and FOR the baby's
best interest.
- Once the placenta is fully established and functioning
properly - at about the beginning of the second trimester -
progesterone is no longer the pregnancy-sustaining hormone
because the placenta takes over that task and therefore, under a
doctor's recommendation, a mother can be safely weaned off of
the supplements. (A large reason why women, on or off
supplements, typically experince "morning sickness" during the
first trimester and not usually after that.) (Also, with a well
established placenta in charge, the rate of miscarriage overall,
goes down.)
#55 Posted 7/3
I'm 30 years old. It took my husband and I exactly a year to conceive.
Ironically, I found out I was pregnant just 2 weeks after seeing a
reproductive endocrinologist for a consultation.
He planned to set up a hysterosalpingogram and some blood work after my period, which of course I never got since I was pregnant.
I had a positive home pregnancy test when my period was 4 days late and sadly miscarried just a week later.
After trying for 6 more months to conceive, I consulted
an OB/GYN and they agreed that we should begin an infertility workup. The first test as a progesterone level at 7 dpo. I was
informed that my level was borderline" at 10. Apparently, normal is 10-20; however, they say they like to see it at 15 or
higher. I now truly believe this was what caused my miscarriage 6 months ago and my difficulty conceiving. It's very upsetting
to me to think that this could have been prevented. A simple blood test may have saved me months of torture and the pain of
losing a desperately wanted pregnancy. If this is a common problem, maybe a progesterone level should be a routine test done
at a preconception counseling visit or as soon as a pregnancy is confirmed. It is also upsetting to me that my caregiver didn't
even want to schedule a first OB until I was around 12 weeks. I'm just grateful that my OB/GYN didn't expect me to
have more miscarriages before agreeing that testing was warranted. I really feel for women who have to go through that as
I know how emotionally painful even just one miscarriage is.
I don't know where I'll go from here, but I feel hopeful that knowledge
is power. Hopefully I will never experience another miscarriage and maybe now with treatment I will conceive and carry a pregnancy
to term.
Sincerely,
Amy
# 57 Posted 7/3
Thanks so much for your website at babycenter.com. My 1st pregnancy ended in m/c in Feb. 04, reason unknown. I found out I as pregnant at 6 wks, went in for a blood test and u/s, the u/s showed nothing but a sac and a yolk. I went back at 8 wks for a 2nd u/s and was told that no development (no fetal pole, no cardiac activity) had occured since the last u/s, and my dr. gave me Misoprostol to begin the m/c as I was showing no physical sings of m/c. I am now pregant again. LMP was 4/3/04, so if I was on a 28 day cycle I should have started on 5/1/04 or on a 35 day cycle I should have started on 5/8/04. No period so I did a home pregnancy test on 5/3/04 and got a very faint positive on a First Response Early Detection. My dr. was able to get me in that same day for a blood test; my HCG was 30 and Progesterone was 17. 2nd blood test was done on 5/6/04 and HCG was 154 and Progesterone was 24.3. My dr. said that was good and to come back in two 2wks for an u/s and another blood test. I had an u/s on 5/20/04, and the gestational sac measured 5 wks 5 days or pregnancy, however according to LMP I whould be 6 wks 5 days. My dr. didn't seem too concerned about the 1 week difference and said I probably had a 35 day cycle rather than a 28. The gestational sac and yolk looked good and instact, but there was no fetal pole or cardiac activity. My dr. said if I was truly 5 wks 5 days, a sac and yolk is all we would and things looked good for that age in pregnancy. My HCG was 10,000 however my Progesterone dropped from 24.3 on 5/6/04 to 10 on 5/20/04. My dr. gave me Prometrium 200mg at bedtime which I started last night (5/21/04). I am such a nervous wreck as I don't know how long my Progesterone level had been so low as my last test was done 2 wks ago. Do you know if it's common to have such a drastic drop in Progesterone (24.3 to 10 in two wks) and with Prometrium, go on to have a normal pregnancy? Also, does a HCG level of 10,000 sound normal for 5 wks 5 days or pregnancy? Any insight you can offer is greatly appreciated. I look forward to reading more of your postings.
Wendy
# 58 Posted 7/3
Hi,
My name is Jeanette. Im 27 and live in Portland,OR. After several miscarriages and an infertility specialist who didn't know
what she was doing I finally switched to a wonderful new infertility specialist and got pregnant again. After my ovulation
they checked my progesterone and told me it was to low to have ovulated but 1 wk later I had a positive pregnancy test. They
immediately checked my progesterone again and it was only 7 so the put me on prometrum. My HCG was doubling but my progesterone
would not go up so they doubled it. That still did not work so then they put me on progesterone injections 2 ml that my husband
had to give me daily for the first 12 wks. My progesterone shot up and I delivered my daughter 11/20/02.
I am so thankful for her and for the fact that I finally found a doctor that knew what she was doing! We are getting ready
to have another child and Im so glad that we are finally aware of low progesterone. My old infertility doctor never
checked my progesterone or my HCG with any of my past miscarriages. She even performed and insemination on me when I was already
pregnant. I think its so important to have a good doctor and If your not happy with yours you shouldn't wait to switch.
-Jeanette
# 59 Posted 7/3
To make a long story short, I was told I had PCOS and would need fertility drugs to get pregnant. I tried clomid three times and artificial insemination once but all failed. I then decided to do IVF, at which time my doctor placed me on Prometrium (natural progesterone) to start my period before taking the fertility drugs to start IVF.
Right before I was to take the fertility drugs, I found out I was pregnant. Between the many prayers and prometrium, I was finally pregnant. I started going to a regular obgyn (because he was closer to where I live), and I begged him to check my progesterone level so that I would not miscarry. He refused saying, "let nature take it's course"," if it is going to happen then it is going to happen". However, I didn't want to loose a baby that it took me six years to conceive, so I called my infertility doctor and set an appointment up right away. They checked my progesterone level and it was indeed too low (I can't remember now what the number was). I started taking prometrium 200 mg a day oral for the first twelve weeks of my pregnancy, and I have a beautiful healthy baby boy that is turning one year old on Tuesday. I just feel bad for my sister, because it took two miscarraiges before they prescribed prometrium supp. which saved her son Matthew.
Kim
PS I am getting ready to start prometrium again to try for my second child.
# 60 Posted 7/3
I had 2 uncomplicated pregnancies in my 20's. In my 30's when we went for #3, I had two early mc's which were linked to
low prog. I was put on prog just after ovulation, and had a healty boy soon after. I just had a 3rd m/c (going
for #4), but this was at 11 weeks and not progesterone related ? I was on prog for this preg also, so my body was just
plugging along like everything was just fine. I was maintainging a pregnancy where the fetus had died, so this is one
downside to prog. With both pregnancies where I took prog, I continuded prog till 12 weeks. I do not think, however,
that I would be able to maintain a pregnancy at all w/o prog.
hope this helps
michelle
# 61 Posted 7/3
hi i am 9wks pregnant with my fourth pregnancy but i have only 1 child he is 3 yr old i had 2 miscarrages in 2003 which i belive is to do with low progestrone as they both had nothing wrong with the fetous and both passed away around about the sametime i had no idea that this could cause a miscarrage or even be of issue until i read about it on a web site that started me thinking that maybe that was what i had wrong with me it was not brought to my attention by my GP but i had to ask for the test this pregnancy which the results came back low i was then put on supplemnts it is the other mothers out there that i have to thanks for this because if it was not for them i would have experienced another miscarrage and called it quits i think that blood tests should be done every 2-3 weeks for ladies that have experienced a miscarrage and even mothers that havent one other thing that i am questioning is weather antidepresants can have some kind of affect on it because after the birth of my son with the pregnancy was all normal and the delivery i was put on the antidepresants and ever since then it has been taking longer to concieve and i havent held a pregnancy as yet to full term i hope that this helps and that things will be done soon thanks for you time
sharon, Australia
#62 Posted 9/12/2004
Hi,
On 11dpo I had HCG of 8 and progesterone of 6.4. 13dpo my HCG was 36 and progesterone 8.6. My doctor put me on vaginal suppositories on 13dpo (50mg 2x daily). I'm now 4w5d and have not had my levels checked again. My Doctor wants to wait until the end of this week. He says my HCG is rising "appropriately" and what will happen will happen. This is of true concern to me. In December I had a m/c, but do not know what my levels were. In March I lost another pregnancy due to an ectopic pregnancy. In that one my HCG failed to double and my progesterone just kept getting lower. He did not give me progesterone for that one. I'm really hoping there are stories out there with women who had a positive outcome from low numbers like this. We want this so badly.
I am 33 and live in New York (Long Island).
Please let me know if you need anything else!
~Beth
______________________________________________________________________#63 Posted 9/12/2004
Cathy:
I was so happy to see your website.
I just found out I was pregnant on Friday, July 2, 2004 and my Dr. confirmed it on Sunday, July 4, 2004. When she examined me she said that I was spotting, I have not seen any sign of this, so I am not sure if this was just because of the exam. She said that I was a week behind where I should be and I think that is because my cycles are not the typical 28 days. She did a vaginal ultrasound and she showed us the sac.
I had blood work done yesterday, July 6, 2004 and my Progesterone level was 8.8 and she said it should be 20, so she has me on progesterone suppositories 2x a day. I have another appt. with my ob/gyn on Monday, July 12, 2004. I was just wondering if you had any additional information or some words of wisdom. I am sooo scared and worried and want to carry this baby to term.
Thanks so much and god bless.
Danielle
27 years old
New York
_____________________________________________________________________#64 Posted 9/12/2004
Hi my name is Sonja, I am from Washington state. I have had two bad miscarrages in my past. My last pregnancy was a molor pregnancy. which was hard for me and my boyfreind, sence we have been together for 5 years now. I am 29 years old, and never had the pleasure of taking one of my babies home with me. I feel every day the lost that I have felt through these years. My boyfreind already has three children from a previous marriage, but we want on of our own. the last time we found out we were pregnant, we could not be any happier. then I was up stairs making peanut butter cookies, went to the restroom and was spotting. I then called the doctor the next morning and went in for a U/S. there was no baby just the sac and cells. my dreams were just shattered. I packed up my stuff and went to live with my parents (could not handle being around my boyfreind. I felt I let him down). The doctor did a D&C a week later.
I recentally found out that I am pregnant. I am almost 8 w, and have already had my first U/S. The U/S is totally normal, I am not having another molor pregnancy (thank heavens). I got a call from the doctors yesturday, they wanted to put me on a pill called Prometruim. I went into my pharmacy the first thing they did was give me a pill and a glass of water. As soon as I came home I searched the internet for answers to this drug that they were giving me. I came across this site, and read all the stories. I feel that my life is already changed for the best. Just from reading everyones great stories of this wonderful drug. I am praying that this time my baby will be safe and in my arms very soon. everyone always tells me that everything happens for a reason. I am just about ready to strangle the next person who says that to me. thanks for all your help and stories. I wish everyone a world of luck on your up coming adventures. |
_____________________________________________________________________#65 Posted 9/12/2004
HI MY NAME IS LINDA. I AM A MEMBER ON FF. I READ YOUR POST AND WENT TO YOUR SITE HERE, I AM 36 AND DH AND I DECIDED JUST OVER A YEAR AGO THAT WE WANTED A CHILD TOGETHER I ALREADY HAVE 2 OLDER KIDS FROM MY EX. AS WELL HE DOES. BUT NONE TOGETHER WE HAVE BEEN TOGETHER FOR 9 YEARS. ANY HOW I HAD A TUBAL REVERSAL ON JUNE 18TH 2003 AND TRIED FOR A YEAR WITH NO LUCK BUT IN MAY 12TH I BELIEVE 2004 I WAS PUT ON 50 MG OF CLOMID TO HELP ME GET PG AND IT WORKED FOUND OUT ON JUNE 14TH I WAS PG DR. SAID ABOUT 5 WEEKS MY BETA THAT DAY WAS 725 DR. SAID IT WAS A GOOD NUMBER AND NOT TO BE CONCERNED HE DIDNT DUE PROGESTREN CHECK THOUGH AND I WISH HE WOULD HAVE. I HAVE HAD LOW PROGESTREN FOR ALONG TIME, I NEVER WORRIED ABOUT BEFORE BECAUSE I WASENT TRYING TO GET PG BEFORE THAT YEAR. HE CHECKED IT A FEW TIMES OVER THAT YEAR AND ALWAYS SAID ITS OK JUST A LITTLE LOW. WELL ON JUNE 16TH STARTED SPOTTING AND ON THE 17TH FULL BLOWN PERIOD I M/C DR. SAID IT WAS WHAT THEY CALL A FAILED IMPLANTATION. NOW MY FIRST AF SINCE THEN WAS ON JULY 17TH 2004 BUT IT WAS WEIRD 1ST DAY SPOTTED 2ND DAY HEAVY BUT TAPERED OFF BY NITE 3RD DAY SPOTTING AND LOTS OF BROWN AND 4TH DAY NOTHING JUST LOTS OF BROWN. NORMALLY AF FOR ME IS HEAVY 1ST AND 2ND DAY I MEAN I GO THROUGH THE PAD OVER NITE TILL ABOUT 3RD DAY NOT AT ALL THIS TIME,. I WAS TOLD THOUGH AFTER M/C FIRST AF COULD BE LIKE THAT. SO I STARTED CLOMID AGAIN THIS CYCLE ONLY THIS TIME ITS 100MG TOMORROW IS MY LAST PILL. THANK GOODNESS, LOL. IM THINKING HE PUT ME ON A HIGHER DOSE DUE TO PROGESTREN BEING LOW BUT WHO KNOWS, HE SAID IF I BECOME PG AGAIN HE WANTS ME TO START SUPPOSITOIRES TILL IM 12 WEEKS . IM WORRIED THOUGH BECAUSE THE LAST PG I WAS ONLY 5 WEEKS AND M/C SO IT WOULDNT HAVE WORKED ANY HOW AND USUALLY BY THE TIME YOU FIND OUT YOUR PG FOR SURE YOUR ABOUT THAT FAR ALONG ARENT YOU? HE SAID HE DOESENT THINK IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN I HOPE NOT.
_____________________________________________________
#66 Posted 9/12/2004
My names is Liz. I am 29 and live in the suburbs of Chicago. I have had 2 miscarriages, the first when I was 18 and the second when I was 20. Not one time was my progesterone even thought of to be tested. In my case my Dr. told me both times I was "too young to be tied down with children", especially since I was unmarried. I guess when your unmarried you dont feel the sense of loss that a married woman would feel when she's miscarried, right? I was completely and utterly devastated both times for months on end. To this day I still remember what would of been my childrens birthdays had they been alive, and mourn their loss.
When I was 22 I became pregnant again, this time married. I got lucky and delivered a beautiful baby girl who was completely healthy. After this I went on the Depo shot for 4 years almost (which is another story in itself). A few years later when I went off the shot my Dr. had discovered I had a dermoid tumor the size of a grapefruit attached to my left ovary. Unfortunatley it could not be saved, and I was left with one ovary. In October of '03 we had found another tumor inside my remaining ovary and several cysts as well. I was told that if I wanted to conceive again, I better make it quick.
I am now 4 weeks pregnant. A week after the positive result I was having severe pain in my side. It took 3 days to get into my Dr's office. There we ran labs and did an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that my ovary was more swollen than previously and when I asked if the pregnancy was visible, I was told "What Pregnancy?" Automatically my Dr. assumed that it was an ectopic pregnancy. I was crushed. When the labs came back they showed an HCG of 61 and a Progesterone of 4.8. Not encouraging, but my Dr. sent me for the next week to repeat the labs every 72 hours. Each and everytime my HCG almost doubled. I was amazed to see though that not once did my Dr. have my progesterone re-tested. Unfortunately when I did ask, it still had not raised at all. Last week I went for another ultrasound. There visible to the eye during a transvaginal ultrasound was my baby. Not my baby yet, but will be my baby hopefully. My Dr. was wrong and it is not ectopic. Still though, my Dr. said that this does not appear to be a viable pregnancy because of my low progesterone and asked me if I was ready to have a D&C which I said No to. I had to request to be put on progesterone. My Dr. did accomodate my request, although he said he didnt think it would help, and I am now on 200mg of Prometrium 1X a day before bed. Does that seem like the right amount? My last HCG went from a 182 to a 854 which I believe is very promising. I am confused though, with all the research I am doing in an effort to save my baby. 1) Why would progesterone not of been offered to me the moment the labs came back? Would it of not been better to attempt to save a child who was in trouble rather than assume it could not be saved at all? I would rather chance prolonging a miscarriage than not give my baby a chance because it doesnt seem "viable". 2) With 2 miscarriages already, the loss of an ovary, and the impending loss of my 2nd ovary, why wasnt I tested for a progesterone deficiency when I was told to conceive? I wish I had the answers to my questions. The only thing I can say at this point to any woman is educate yourself and speak up. This is the life of you and your unborn child. I wish I would of been more forceful 2 weeks ago and demanded to be put on progesterone. It may of made the difference.
I am going into my fifth week. Still pregnant. Still scared that I didnt educate myself soon enogh to save my child and praying that somehow there is a way to save my baby. |
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#67 Posted 9/12/2004I am so glad you are working to bring this problem more out in the open. I am a mother of 5 and a grandmother of six and I never heard of this condition until last week.
My daughter is 32 years old and has had two miscarriages in the past year. She may have had another one a couple of years ago but we aren't sure. It breaks my heart to see her go through this when her hopes are so high and then everything comes to an abrupt halt. After the last loss the doctor found that she has a blood clotting disorder that would require blood thinning medication during pregnancy.
She is now pregnant again and has been taking a baby aspirin daily. They may start her on Heparin injections as they usually do for this condition. Last week she found she also has a low progesterone level, it is 13. She has been using vaginal suppositories twice daily for the past week (50 mg. each). She has had two ultrasounds and they both show that the baby is fine, the right size, heartbeat is good, etc. She is now 9 weeks along and has an appointment tomorrow. This is the longest she has stayed pregnant, she is already showing quite a bit! I am tense, she is tense. She said she is afraid to breathe too deep and I understand the fear she has. She knows nothing she does will change whatever is going to happen but the fear takes over anyway. All she can do at this point is do as the doctors say and pray for the best.
I wish they would have tested her hormone levels at her first visit instead of waiting 8 weeks. I hope she started the suppositories soon enough. If doctors know these conditions exist and a woman has a history of miscarriages the test should be done immediately. It should actually be done routinely on every pregnant woman to prevent what quite possibly could be avoided.
By the way I stayed up all night reading everyone's experiences and it really made me feel a lot better. Most web sites are so negative on this subject but reading the actual stories here gave me a lot of hope. I told my daughter I read of a lot of positive experiences and I think it cheered her up a bit. She is afraid to read any more about it because all she could find was bad news.
Concerned Mom _____________________________________________________
#68 Posted 9/12/2004
hi my name is nicole and i am 24. the first time i got pg i was 19 and i had mc very early around 4-5 weeks. then 3 months later i got pg with my dd jessica who i snow a healthy 3 yo. i had complications later on in my pg which resulted in her being born at 37 weeks after being in labor 5 times. then i remarried and started ttc again last oct. we got pg and i lost that baby very early on as well around the same time. then we waited 3 months and got pg again and lost that one in march again around 5 weeks. before that last mc my doctor had done testing on me and saw that i had low progesterone. so now i am ttc again and i am on prog supplements called prochieve. hopefully this will work. i thought i was pg this past month so i started taking the supplements but when it came time for af to show she never did but my b/w also came back negative. so my doctor told me to go off the prochieve and wait for af to come and then we will see what happens but i have been off for 2 days and no af yet. all i know is the hormones are driving me nuts! :) thanks for letting me write my story.
Nicole
_____________________________________________________#69 Posted 9/12/2004
Hi, I am 31 years old and would like to share my progesterone story. During my first pregnancy, at about 5 weeks I started spotting. Luckily I had a great doctor and he checked my hormone levels right away and it showed I had low progesterone, 11.7 ? maybe not as low as some, but it was causing me to spot. I was then put on 8% crinone suppositories and took that to around 11 weeks. I absolutely believe that my baby would not have made it if I wasn?t on the crinone. I now have a beautiful, healthy 2 ? year old daughter. I am now pregnant with my second and am having the exact same problems. I am in a new city with a different doctor and this doctor doesn?t get it the same as my last. I told her before we were trying that I had low progesterone and wanted to monitor it very closely when I get pregnant. Well, I got pregnant and my first results showed a level of 11.5 ? nearly the same as with my first pregnancy. She told me everything looked great and I had nothing to worry about. I didn?t understand because my first doctor put me on progesterone with a slightly higher level. She said that anything above 10 is normal. I told her I thought you want it above 15 and then she told me that 15-20 is ideal, but my numbers were fine and to stop worrying about it. I went it for a second test that I demanded to see if my levels were still the same, they came back 11.3. I spoke to another doctor in the practice who said it was a gray area and that she would put me on progesterone. I wanted to be on it because I did not want to risk anything. My regular doctor then said that she would put me on it if I wanted to if it made me feel better, but she didn?t see any reason for it. She made me feel like a real idiot, but I went on it anyways because this is my baby and I don?t want to risk anything. Well, the day I was picking up the prescription I started to get a little spotting, just like I did with my first pregnancy. I then got more spotting after being on it for 2 days. I still am spotting and I go in on Monday for an ultrasound. I am sure it is related to my low progesterone. Right now since it has only been a few days, I keep taking the crinone and hope it brings my levels up. What really makes me angry is how some doctors or researchers say that if your progesterone is low it is because there is something already wrong with the pregnancy and there is nothing you can do. That simply is not true in all cases. Another thing that annoys me is how some say it will just prolong an inevitable miscarriage. I would rather prolong a miscarriage then give up on a healthy, viable baby that will make it and prove everyone wrong. My daughter is absolutely perfect and I could have lost her simply because my body does not produce enough progesterone. Luckily, there is something we can do about it and that is take progesterone.
_____________________________________________________________Posted 9/12/2004#70
I saw your post and had to reply! I had 2 early m/c; one at 6 weeks and one at 9 weeks and I am pretty sure it was due to low progesterone! My first m/c was at 6 weeks and at that point I had not had any u/s, but when I started to bleed I immediately went for an u/s and everything "looked" normal. It ended in m/c. I started trying to find answers as to why I m/c, but as many women will tell you that m/c is so common that most Dr's will not do any research into why you m/c. That was not good enough for me! So, I found some info. on low progesterone and when I got pg. the second time I demanded to be tested. At that time, my dr. was not a big believer in prog. supplements if your numbers were low b/c she believed that low prog. numbers where an indication of an unhealthy pg. Anyways, when my test came back the nurse called me and said my results were "fine" but did not offer a number which is what I was looking for. I finally got an answer and my number was low, not terrible, but it was lower than it should have been in a normal prenancy. My dr. finally agreed to give me prog. supplements which I started at 6 weeks, but it was a very low dose 50 mg. That pg. did end in m/c at 9 weeks, but aside for the low prog. levels everything else was great....measurements were on track, heartbeat was good, it was perfect until I had another m/c and was devistated! Low Progesterone seemed to be the only answer to my unexplainable m/c. I feel like my 2nd pg. made it longer than the first b/c I did have the supplements, but it just was not enough. After 9 long months of trying again, I got pg. and immediatly had my progesterone tested and once again it was in the low/mid range and my dr. offered prog. supplements knowing that I had used them in the past, but refused to up the dosage. So, I went to another dr. and was retested and he agreed that my levels were low and I needed the supplement. He gave me a much higher dose (200mg vaginal suppositories) and what do you know, I had a successful pregnancy! I am a total believer in progesterone supplements and do not understand why dr's do not test progesterone levels on all pg. It seems to be a common reason for early m/c and can be detected by a simple bloodtest!
From what the second dr. explained to me, progeseterone can not hurt you or the baby. It's not ALWAYS an indication of an unhealthy pg. Some women just have low progesterone and need that extra boost. Progesterone is important in the implantation of the embro and it is vital in the success of the pg.
I encourage all my friends who are pg. to be tested for low progesterone. I truly believe that a simple test could prevent many m/c and heartache!
You have my support! Jen |
_________________________________________________________________________Posted 9/12/2004#71
I give you permission to post this as you would like. My story is as follows:
I am now 35 years old and have 2 liveborn children - they are my 3rd and 4th pregnancies and I am sure it is only because of the progesterone supplements I was on after my 2nd miscarriage that I have two beautiful children.
I m/c my first pregnancy at 6.6 w - it was such a shock - I had had a pregnancy test that was positive and next thing you knew (a week later) I was bleeding like anything. After an u/s and d&c we were told to try whenever we liked to get pregnant again. It took us nearly 4 months to fall pregnant and in that time my very proactive GP had booked us into a fertility specialist for a review - I was actually 4w pregnant when I went to see him. He was fantastic and did a vaginal u/s (which we saw not much in) and some blood work. He is very involved in IVF programmes and when my blood results came back said my progesterone was a little low and to start progesterone 200mg pessaries every night till 10w. I had an u/s at 6w and we saw a fantastic heart beat and another at 10w and all was fine. I came off the pessaries and m/c a week later at 11w. It was a very distressing time.
Another u/s and d&c later my obstetrician said to wait a cycle and try again - which we did and got immediately pregnant. He saw us very early on (5w) did blood work each week and saw us every 2 w in the first 13w. At week 7 my progesterone dived and back onto the pessaries every night went I. This continued until 13w. I delivered a healthy baby boy at 38w via c-section because of breech presentation.
We found out we were pregnant again when my son was 4 months old (4w) and rushed to the doctors for blood work. Once again weekly blood tests were taken and the progesterone levels started to dip around the week 7 mark and back on the progesterone pessaries went I until 13 w. My new ob only saw me twice during the first trimester. Our lovely baby girl arrived last September and is now 14 months old.
I commend you on your attempts to include testing for progesterone as early as possible in order to prevent recurrent m/c due to this. I really believe that this treatment helped us to have the two beautiful children we have today.
I was 33 and 34 when pregnant during those two years. I live in Victoria, Australia and as a result our antenatal care is probably different from that in the U.S. I thought you might like to know what happens over here anyway.
Lyndelle
m/c 4.21.00
m/c 10.23.00
Jamie 8.13.01
Natasha 9.20.02
_________________________________________________________________________Posted 9/12/2004 (Email from Jan 2004)#72
Here is my story--
"My first pregnancy was in February of 2001. At 12 weeks I went for my first appointment, assuming that all was fine. I told my husband to not take off work because this was a short, quick appointment that wouldn't tell us much. . .to wait until the ultrasound appointmennts and the ones later. The doctor examined me and listened for a heartbeat with a doppler. He couldn't find one, but I had been told by others not to worry that a lot of times they couldn't get a heartbeat with a doppler at the first appointment. He brought in the ultrasound machine and first did an abdominal screen and then a vaginal one. He told me that maybe I wasn't as far along as we thought. I went to another room for an ultrasound with a tech, she said that she saw no heartbeat that the sac measured 12 weeks and the baby only 10 weeks. I was alone and devastated. I had a D&C 2 days later. I got pregnant again three months later. In April 2002 I delivered a normal, healthy baby boy.
He is now 1 1/2 years old and we started trying in this past summer to conceive again. I got pregnant in October 2003. I had both my HCG and progesterone levels tested when I found out. My HCG doubled and my progesterone level was 17.9. At 6 weeks I had an ultrasound--no baby was seen. The dr. thought maybe my dates were off or it was just a few days too early. Three days later I had cramping so I went in for bloodwork and ultrasound to our astonishment we saw the baby and a visible heartbeat. A week later saw the baby and an audible heartbeat of 140. We were so excited.
Four days later, on Thanksgiving evening I started spotting. Went to ER and found heartbeat was only 90 and HCG levels had dropped some from 2 weeks prior. Miscarried two days later at home naturally (not that there is anything natural about it!!).
After all this happened over the holiday weekend my doctor called after seeing the ER report. He said he didn't know what happened. He did say that on the day I had cramping that they tested my HCG which I knew but also my progesterone which I DID NOT KNOW. They NEVER reported the level to me--needless to say it was 11.2--borderline for a "safe" level. He said he didn't think this caused the miscarriage; however, I have read information that supports it might have. Plus he said we would try progesterone in the next pregnancy. I am so confused if the lowering progesterone levels were simply a sign of an inevitable miscarriage or should have been a sign that I needed progesterone supplements.
I agree with all the stories that doctors and insurance companies should be more proactive with their testing. The cost of most miscarriages is astronomical with multiple blood tests and ultrasounds and sometimes a D&C--you would think that they would realize this. Also, the humanity of the situation. The emotional trauma is life altering. And to think that a simple supplement might have saved this baby and many others is almost unthinkable.
I hope that the supplements will maintain my next pregnancy. I wish the best of luck to everyone else also.
God Bless.
A LATER EMAIL/UPDATE..................(September 2004)
Yes, you may post my story. I think that your site is wonderful. You have done a great justice for pregnant women and those trying to conceive. Information is hard to come by and hopefully we can shed some light by each and every story. God Bless you and your friend for doing this site. Also, a lot has happened since I wrote this story. Here is an addition to it-- "Three months after my second miscarriage, I found out I was again pregnant. This time was confusing from the beginning. My home test did not show positive until almost a week after my period was due and then it was VERY faint. I went for a blood test. My HCG was 18.6--the nurse told me that they don't even consider this level as being pregnant~~more confusion?? Possibly a chemical pregnancy was suggested. BUT as promised my doctor did have the sense to start me on Prometrium suppositories and a daily dose of baby aspirin. I no longer felt comfortable with my current OB, so I visited my family doctor. My HCG levels two days later were 59--pregnant indeed. To make a long story short, my HCG levels kept rising, I remained on Prometrium, and baby aspirin and prayed a lot. I am currently 6 months pregnant with a baby boy. Looking back from test results that I gathered, I do believe that I have a luteal phase defect and that the Prometrium saved this baby. My progesterone levels were high enough to show ovulation, but not nearly as high as recommended. And they fell throughout each pregnancy (they should always increase somewhat). . .I can't explain my first baby boy, now 2. My levels dipped with him also, but I didn't know that at the time. I guess he was just a determined little guy and still is!! I hope that everyone else can benefit from my story and has the success that I have. My number one suggestion is to be in control of your situation, find out as much as you can, and don't be scared to let the doctors know what you want, know, or think. After all, it is a little life inside of you--not them. " God Bless
_________________________________________________________________________Posted 9/12/2004#73
Cathy,
I was reading the Baby Center boards and read your post. I too had two miscarriages due to low progesterone. I found out after my first miscarriage and starting taking 50mg of progesterone at night. During my second MC the doctor tried raising my progesterone to 100mg. That didn't work. It's now 7 months later and my progesterone level is normal but we have since done two IUI's and 1 IVF. I will know the result of the IVF on Monday of next week. I have been on clomid and injectables. I would be very interested in any information you may have.
Feel free to email me back with any questions you have, I have much more to my trip down fertility lane but didn't know how much information you wanted. Good luck with your research.
AMY 28yrs old
_________________________________________________________Posted 9/12/2004# 74
I lost my first child at 10 weeks pregnant because my progesterone level was at 3 when it should've been 10-15 at the least. My doctor put me on progesterone supplements ( prometrium) 2 x a day with my second pregnancy and that helped me to give birth to a wonderful son who is now 17 months old. I am again pregnant with my 3rd pregnancy and again had a low progesterone level. I was on prometrium again 2x a day until 12 weeks. Everything has been going good so far with no signs of bleeding or problems. I have a feeling that if we do decide to have another child that I will have to take supplements again. Anything to allow a wonderful child to come into this world.
Thank you for your time.
Crista |
_________________________________________________________Posted 9/12/2004# 75
My name is Cheryl and I have a problem with low progesterone. I have had 4 miscarriages since September of 1996. I also had an ectopic, for a total of 5 lost pregnancies. I have had 2 live births, my son in July 1993 and my daughter in January 2004. I was on progesterone and baby asprin with my daughter. Both pregnancies went wonderfully, however my son died in September 1993 from SIDS.
I am not sure what information you want or need. Please let me know.
Cheryl
Jessica Paige 1/12/04 Rolled over twice, holds her bottle and sleeps like a dream!
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