Immune System Rejecting Pregnancies

• By chiquitatriste
• Reply 373419
• May 2, 2009 at 9:41 pm
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If you go to the library, you can get access to medline or questia. You can get the published articles on those issues/conditions. The librarian could help on that. Most medical journals are by subscription only so that's why you have to go to the library b/c they often subscribe to a bunch of these databases. Good luck.

• By heatherandmike
• Reply 373597
• May 3, 2009 at 8:20 am
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There's a book called "Is your body baby friendly?" by Alan E. Beer, M.D. you should read. Many doctors don't believe in this as a real possibility, but it definitely is.

• By suzanne33
• Reply 373847 · In reply to 373419 by chiquitatriste
• May 3, 2009 at 1:17 pm
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Thank you, I will check it out! suzanne

• By suzanne33
• Reply 373849 · In reply to 373597 by heatherandmike
• May 3, 2009 at 1:18 pm
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Thank you Heather, I will track it down and read it, have no more time to waste. suzanne

• By andigage
• Reply 373888
• May 3, 2009 at 2:28 pm
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HI Suzanne,
I'm worried about the same thing. Are those the tests that you had? I'm thinking I want to have them, but I hear that they cost quite a bit to get them done. What other tests did you have?
Thanks, Andrea

• By suzanne33
• Reply 373918 · In reply to 373888 by andigage
• May 3, 2009 at 3:21 pm
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Andrea, I will have to back into my records (i keep a copy of them). I have been tested on most of the know/basic immune studies/tests, but dug deeper when they all came back negative. The two new tests are listed on my original discussion note which each came back as positives.

I did most all of my research online to find out why I keep having these miscarriages. I will get back to you on the others I have been tested for.

My insurance paid for most everything since I have had now 4 miscarriages, if they had not, I would have written them letters telling them that they need to pay. Having gone through those losses has been awful, I would not wish what I have been through on anyone, especially since I so desperately want another child. suzanne

• By suzanne33
• Reply 373969 · In reply to 373888 by andigage
• May 3, 2009 at 4:25 pm
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http://www.rialab.com/miscarriages_prevented.php

check out this site, at the bottom of the site there is a list of some of the immune tests that can be done. While I know the list looks overwhelming, some will not be necessary & there are some not listed, ie; the two I just had done. at least a place to begin.

• By mmmhope
• Reply 374083
• May 3, 2009 at 7:41 pm
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Suzanne,

I'm so sorry you are going through all of this craziness. I'm your age too and have been trying unsuccessfully (7 times) to keep a pregnancy. My first pregnancy happened quickly, easily and resulted in the birth of my wonderful daughter. I was 39. All of the other pregnancies also happened easily but ended up in miscarriages. I've had lots of tests (i.e. thyroid, recurrent pregnancy loss panel) and all came back negative. My Dr. put me on heparin even though I didn't test positive for the clotting disorder. On our last attempt, we used donor eggs since my Dr. seemed to think my eggs were the issue. Well, I became pregnant and unfortunately, miscarried. So either a test to find out what's going on here has not been developed or I haven't had the test yet. We've decided to end this journey- we have a beautiful daughter whom I'm extremely grateful to have in my life. Emotionally, I can't go through this again- It's going to take me some time to get myself back to where I need to be. I still find myself visiting this site and am having a hard time letting go.
Did your Dr. tell you what the treatment plan is for your positive test results?
I will be thinking about you.
Take care,
Michele

• By andigage
• Reply 374084
• May 3, 2009 at 7:41 pm
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Suzanne!
Thank you so much. I'm also going to get that book that was recommended and see what I can learn before my next dr. appointment. Hope you'll keep us updated as to what treatments you decide to undergo.
All the best!
Andrea

• By andigage
• Reply 374100
• May 3, 2009 at 7:54 pm
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http://repro-med.net/index.php

Suzanne, this is the web site of the authors of the book. They have all sorts of articles that may be of use to you.
They are not that far from me, so if I need to, I may make an appointment. I'm waiting for some of my preliminary tests to come back.
Best, Andrea

• By futuremom
• Reply 374144
• May 3, 2009 at 8:47 pm
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Suzanne,
Just a clarification: the studies you had (Fibrinogen and Factor XIII) are not immune studies. They are studies of genes/proteins involved in the clot formation. If you want some interpretation of these studies you should see a hematologist. However you will probably discover that the current medical knowledge gives no clear answers of how those results fit in with your history of m/c

• By suzanne33
• Reply 374175
• May 3, 2009 at 9:34 pm
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Thank you FutureMom for straightening me out in regard to my referring to the above as immune issues when indeed it is looking due to test results (see previous for tests) as a possible blood clotting disorder from gene/protein malfunction. I did find this exert from NCBI:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3607295?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2 .PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_ RA&linkpos=2&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed

Rodeghiero F, Castaman GC, Di Bona E, Ruggeri M, Dini E.
A syndrome of marked fetal wastage is associated with congenital factor XIII deficiency in adult women. A previously unreported case of a woman with factor XIII deficiency is described, in which substitutive treatment with normal plasma or placental factor XIII concentrate permitted two normal pregnancies. Factor XIII activity was maintained above 1-2% with intermittent infusion of 300 ml to 450 ml of plasma every 14 days or of 500 units of concentrate every 21 days. This case confirms the only other case so far reported in which factor XIII substitutive therapy was able to permit a normal pregnancy in a woman with factor XIII deficiency and seems to suggest factor XIII to be involved in the process of annidation.

I will copy this, take to my dr. & see what we can come up with. Thank you, and keep the info flowing. suzanne

• By suzanne33
• Reply 374199 · In reply to 374083 by mmmhope
• May 3, 2009 at 10:11 pm
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Hello Michele, Thank you for sharing your story. I too am sorry for your pain & suffering, I can completely empathize w/ what you have been through. I have not reached the point of letting go as you have begun, I have a feeling when that time comes it will not be easy & I pray I have one more child before that occurs. I have not tried ivf but feel if I do, it would be the same story of m/c since I have an unresolved issue. The fertility dr. wants to blame everything I have experienced on egg quality. Finally now, the dr. I am seeing just a plain simple ob/gyn who is local, not a million miles away, believes me in what I have suspected is going on in my body. She also feels egg donor is not necessary for me; that we need to find out why my body is rejecting my pregnancies.

Now we need to focus on the treatment, once again, I will need to find the answer to that too, she is not trained in regard to the findings we have discovered from the bloodwork & how to proceed.

It is amazing how much work a layperson has to do to find out what ails them/us & how little help our doctors we have grown to count on happen to be. I wish fertility/infertility drs. would focus on the real problem in helping women become preg naturally. Isn't that the way we would all like it to be; making babies at home & not in a clinic.

• By lisatx
• Reply 382543
• May 11, 2009 at 10:32 am
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If you look under my profile I have a posting called something like Miscarriage Panel which lists all the tests I had done. I don't know specifically about the tests you are positive for but I am homozygous for MTHFR which is a blood clotting disorder, I also have an auto-immune disease with high Anti-thyroid antibodies.

For the blood clotting issue, I started baby aspirin and Lovenox 40mg (injectible blood thinner) at egg transfer on my last IVF. I'm taking both the entire pregnancy to help with blood clots and getting enough blood to my reproductive organs.

For the immune issues, I started taking 5mg Prednisone 2xday starting at stims (day 3 of my cycle) for the last IVF. This helps suppress your bodies immune system to help allow implantation so your body doesn't fight it. It's a corticosteriod.

*ments*
I'm 33 with FSH 15 (diminished ovarian reserve). 5 clomid, 6 IUIs and 3 IVFs. Finally got a BFP on the last IVF and I'm 28wk6d with a boy.

Best of luck to you.
- Lisa Z

• By suzanne33
• Reply 382610 · In reply to 382543 by lisatx
• May 11, 2009 at 11:09 am
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I am thrilled for you. Thank you for the info. I am taking my test results to a high risk preg dr locally next week & will travel w/ your treatments in hopes of a resolution.

great news on your end! good luck!
suzanne

• By cntrygrl2001
• Reply 391064
• May 18, 2009 at 1:39 pm
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suzanne33
I have had 4 successful pregnancies, and now have just experienced my 4th second trimester loss. I had the complete workup done by the Alan Beer Center. One of the tests that came back positive was the factor xiii V34L Gene polymorphism. I see that you have also tested positive for this, but then in a following post you quoted an article dealing with factor xiii DEFICIENCY. What I've been trying to figure out for myself is if factor xiii V34L and factor xiii deficiency are the same things. Because from what I can tell factor xiii deficiency is a BLEEDING disorder that is treated with frozen plasma and factor xiii V34L is a clotting disorder that is treated with blood thinners. I could be wrong about this. I am just totally confused. Please help if you can find the answer to this.
Thanks Amy

• By suzanne33
• Reply 391580 · In reply to 391064 by cntrygrl2001
• May 18, 2009 at 9:15 pm
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Hello Amy,

I am sorry to hear about your losses & during a second trimester I can only imagine how more awful that must be, but how fortunate you are to have 4 children! I just want one more for my son's sake. How can our bodies change so dramatically from preg to preg?

As far as I can tell they are one in the same issue/factor/deficiency. I am just now going to collect all of my test results from 5 or so different doctors, all thus far being diagnosed as normal/negative with the exception of the two above mentioned tests done recently by a 6th doctor here in Annapolis. I will take it all to a specialist in high risk pregnancies tomorrow to determine if this is an issue with my now 4 miscarriages & if there is treatment. Please keep in touch & let me know what you find out. I am so looking forward to tomorrow & finding answers to this awful 3 years of wondering why. suzanne

• By cntrygrl2001
• Reply 396653
• May 23, 2009 at 11:59 am
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Suzanne
What did you find out from your appointment?
Amy

• By suzanne33
• Reply 398397 · In reply to 382543 by lisatx
• May 25, 2009 at 1:32 pm
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When you told me you took 5mg of prednisone on day 3 of your cycle, did you continue the meds or take it only on day 3? I am trying to come up with a treatment plan for myself & need to know specifics. thank you. suzanne

• By suzanne33
• Reply 398415 · In reply to 396653 by cntrygrl2001
• May 25, 2009 at 1:56 pm
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Hello Amy, With the info that I took to my doctor (he is a high risk preg dr) he offered shots of lovenox once my pregnancy is established, meaning as soon as we get a positive test result, the shots will start immediately and continue throughout my preg. With that said, after visiting him I got more of my records in the mail from my last dr. at Hopkins in Baltimore. One of the tests showed I have yet another issue he never mentioned & since most of us don't ever see our test results~how would I have ever known. Thank goodness I have everything in my possession to review & will move forward on that issues as well.

Now I believe I will need something to help my immune system promote implantation, not just maintain my preg once we have a + test result. With my 4 m/c & other times I know I was also preg, I will need more treatment. I will keep you posted as I learn more. Feel free to email in case I get lost in the process. The factor is M