Miscarriage at 11 weeks. What now...

[LA_Girl]

Hi,

I’ve just miscarried at 11 weeks. I was on the PCOS LE diet for 9 months and struggled with my LP being too short having lost a little too much weight. As soon as I gained a few pounds I fell pregnant straight away.

I had spotting for most of this pregnancy so it seems it was I’ll fated right from the start.

I’m 41 so time isn’t on my side.

I still have Clomid which I’d like to use again.

I went pretty much back to my old diet and had breakfast, juices, smoothies and my prenatals. I can quickly pick up my PCOS LE diet and exercise again, and I’m sure it’ll take me a little while to get my cycle back (maybe 6 weeks as that’s what’s happened after previous miscarriages). Do I just do the exact same things again with regard to diet (note: I’m vegan) and just try again after my next period - so I’ll probably be on the diet again for around 8-10 weeks....

Thanks.

[ksmom]

I don't really have any advice, just wanted to say I'm so sorry. Hugs! :heart:

[LA_Girl]

Thanks ksmom. It’s hard as it’s taken me a year to get to this point, but I always try to focus forwards, so I’m just trying to work out what I need to do next.

[mommymachine]

I'm so sorry.


3 Blue 3 Pink

Hoping to try for #7 in 2019/2020

[dreamofdaughter]

Sorry for your loss. wishing you healing.

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh no I'm so sorry to read this.

As a general rule I don't recommend Clomid for 41 year olds (I think we talked about this already, though)

That is exactly what I'd have you do - pick it up with diet/exercise when you feel able to and then TTC trying to catch the first egg or the second if you prefer.

[LA_Girl]

Thanks ladies.

Atomic - so you think I should skip the Clomid altogether? It kinda makes me nervous as it was my security blanket.... I thought Clomid was supposed to improve the quality of your eggs.

[sunstars]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you will get pregnant quickly and have a healthy baby of your desired gender.

As I remember, atomic have said that for women over 35, Femara is preferable rather than Clomid.

[LA_Girl]

Thanks sunstars. I’ve read that Atomic has said that too, but I can’t get Femara.

When I had a scan once I’d started to bleed, the sonographer said my lining was thin and they couldn’t see a sac or anything. I know Clomid thins the uterine lining, but I’m not sure if it’s unrelated to the fact that I took Clomid that there was no sac. I don’t know if it had already broken down much earlier and I just hadn’t passed anything yet.

I just wonder if I should try to be on the diet for longer (having had a break whilst pregnant) given that my main sway tactics will be diet, exercise and one attempt. I can’t stomach coffee or alcohol. Anything else I should do?

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks ladies.

Atomic - so you think I should skip the Clomid altogether? It kinda makes me nervous as it was my security blanket.... I thought Clomid was supposed to improve the quality of your eggs.

I'm going to lay out the whole case here so you can understand the situation and be fully informed in making your decision.

Clomid raises FSH. For most people this is no big deal, because when you're under 35, most people's FSH is low anyway and so if it goes up a bit, no biggie. But FSH rises as we age so then we toss Clomid onto that and high FSH + higher FSH due to Clomid may end up being poor quality eggs and lower chances of pregnancy. Since Femara does not have this same effect, I prefer Femara for older moms (but since you can't get femara, that's obviously not going to be real helpful. :/)

The thing is, the FSH effect of the Clomid appears to be cumulative and is inconsistent, varying by person. Some people can and have taken Clomid over 35, even into early 40's, with no ill effects and for others as long as they get pregnant very quickly the Clomid doesn't have time to raise the FSH to the point of affecting egg quality. But we can't know who the people are who will do well on it, all we can do is go for it (or not) and hope for the best.

So, I tend to have people over 40 not use Clomid, because the higher FSH goes, the more likely it is that the Clomid will raise FSH and the faster it will do so. But it's your call to make, you may be less affected by it than the norm, and even if you are negatively impacted by it that may not happen for a month or two giving you time to conceive. I just have to give my across the board recommendation and over the whole population, Clomid over 40 makes me nervous.

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks sunstars. I’ve read that Atomic has said that too, but I can’t get Femara.

When I had a scan once I’d started to bleed, the sonographer said my lining was thin and they couldn’t see a sac or anything. I know Clomid thins the uterine lining, but I’m not sure if it’s unrelated to the fact that I took Clomid that there was no sac. I don’t know if it had already broken down much earlier and I just hadn’t passed anything yet.

I just wonder if I should try to be on the diet for longer (having had a break whilst pregnant) given that my main sway tactics will be diet, exercise and one attempt. I can’t stomach coffee or alcohol. Anything else I should do?

Your lining at this point of pregnancy has nothing to do with Clomid. The lining was thin because the pregnancy was sadly not working out and that is just how your body ends things - reducing hormone levels which causes the lining to thin, bleeding begins

Re time on diet, the trouble is, time is not our friend here. While we have had good results with conception at 41, it really starts to drop off steeply at 42/43 and beyond that point, we've had very few successful pregnancies 44 and up (very, very few, despite several people still trying at this age). Just like with the Clomid, this is an individual thing. Some people are staying fertile into their 42nd or even 43rd year, others start having trouble conceiving 38-40 or even younger. Overall, I am observing the line of demarkation to really be 41 and so I don't think it's wise to take time to go back on diet for a certain number of weeks. Most still make good eggs at 41-43, but they become fewer and fewer. So you may be making 6 good eggs a year or 4 or 3 or 2 or maybe even just one. For all we know a)it will take a few months for you to conceive anyway OR b)by waiting, you may miss one or more of those good eggs and then end up into a set of months where you run through some eggs that are not genetically sound. We just can't know, and so I really hesitate to have any 41 year old wait any given amount of time after a loss to try again. Goldie the Golden Egg may be the next egg that shows up.

If you go back on Clomid I really strongly urge you not to do one attempt. I really think even without Clomid you need to consider not doing one attempt and going straight to e4d.

[LA_Girl]

Thanks for the detailed response Atomic.

I think I have to now give Clomid a miss. I’m the sort of person who doesn’t even take a tablet for a headache l, so it was a HUGE deal for me to take it. I think that, given that I took it, and it seems nothing developed at all (and I know it could be different if I took it again) I have to take the evidence and make my decision based on that.

Onwards and upwards....

I might see if the online doctor I went to can prescribe Femara (although again it makes me nervous), but if I can’t, I’ll do what I can without it.

[atomic sagebrush]

Well, in the interest of you being fully informed here, you have no evidence that the empty sac had anything to do with the Clomid. Unfortunately as you already know as we age, our risks of pregnancy loss do increase and it is far more likely that this wasn't a Clomid thing per se.

[LA_Girl]

If I can get my FSH levels tested and they’re not high, do you think it will be OK to take the Clomid? I know you don’t have a crystal ball(!), but previously I’d take Clomid for two months, had two months off, then took it for two months and fell pregnant in that second month. I went hard on the diet initially and I know that caused me problems falling pregnant and had to back pedal a little. Now I’ve gained back a few pounds and can lose them again, I’m hoping to try to catch the second egg.

What are your thoughts and what would you do if you were me?

[atomic sagebrush]

If I were you I'd just take the Clomid and hope it was ok.

FSH levels can vary dramatically by the month and so one month in isolation wouldn't tell us one whit of valuable info. You might have an extra low reading the month u tested, and then a higher FSH in the month you took the Clomid. Or, you might have an unusually high reading the month u tested, then a low reading in subsequent months and could have taken the Clomid just fine. We just can't know and so it seems to me like a big waste of a month to test something that can vary so much anyway. :heart:

[LA_Girl]

OK. I didn’t realise it could vary each month. Thank you. I really value your comments.