Anyone who's never been pregnant w/ immune issues

[beth1968]

I've never had a positive pregnancy test but have been ttc for 2 years. My doctor recently tested me for immune issues and they came back positive (still waiting for more results). Some articles say that immune issues are only related to miscarriage and have nothing to do with lack of conception. I was wondering who else on this message board has never had a BFP.

What prompted your doctor to test you for immune issues? Do you have endometriosis? Are you doing any immune treatment while ttc? Just trying to figure out who here is in the same situation as me. Also trying to figure out if my doctor is moving in the right direction.

Cheers,
Beth

[Tanya T.]

Hi Beth,
I'm so sorry that you are dealing with immune issues... It's very difficult to get a grasp on all of the information out there & to understand it all... And there are so many Dr.s who are basically clueless &/or refuse to acknowledge that there is a connection between the immune system & our reproductive systems...

This is a very good place to come for answers - a lot of very wise women that can help with information & support...

You said "Some articles say that immune issues are only related to miscarriage and have nothing to do with lack of conception"

I want to tell you that this is NOT true... Yes, many (in fact MOST reproductive immune patients) will have troubles with losses - everything from Chemical losses (where there is a conception & implantation tries to take place but fails - The HCG "chemical" raises just enough to get a slight positive on a Beta HCG - pregnancy test only to fall to a negative within days)... Anyway as I was saying; everything from Chemical pregnancies to still births & any loss in between... The fact is that we as immune patients are at an extremely higher risk for loss than the general population. This can be rectified through proper testing & treatment of our various immune issues... But immune issues also make it extremely difficult for some of us to concieve as well... There are several immune patients who go for years & years TTC - even with advanced technology such as IUI or IVF & still have not concieved at all... Also, there are the patients that have been concieving & don't even realize it... Let me explain - for a lot of women, (including myself) I could get pg easily (although I didn't know that) - But my period was late & I'd wait for a few days to see if it would start before getting a home pg test... It would usually start on it's own & I would just chalk it up to a whacked out cycle... Sometimes, I would actually get a HPT to just find out before AF started just in case I was pg - But even though I had concieved, they were all Chemical pg's & the HCG in my system wasn't high enough to register as a positive on a HPT test... Basically I was getting pg over & over & had no clue because they were all lost within days from AF being due... So possibly - if you've had any whacked out cycles (late by a few days or a week) then possibly you could be concieving as well & just not known... This is extremely common... The way to find this out is to start getting a Beta test done every month (CD 28 is usually the best) to verify if pg has been acheived or not... So immune issues can actually show up in many different ways... And every persons story is unique...

As far as my situation goes - I have been TTC #1 for over 14 yrs... I went for years & years having chemical losses & not knowing it... I was clinically DX as unexplained --- Then after 6 long yrs I got a positve Pg test - Only to loose it at 11 weeks (it was a blighted ovum)... I was tested for ACA's after the loss & was told that I was positve... It wasn't explained to me - All that I was told was that I would have to take heparin shots for any other pg. 4 years later & still no confirmed pg's - then my ex left & a while later I remarried... My husband now has 4 children from his 1st marraige... He is a great guy & wanted to share that experience with me... So we started TTC right away... Again I was having several "late" cycles & had no clue that I was concieving... All the basic tests were done (again) & I got the same dx - Unexplained infertility... UGGHHH!!! Then one day I got a positive HPT result... I immeadiately confirmed it with my RE & Begged him for heparin - he refused saying that I didn't need it... I started feeling as though everything would be fine when we saw our baby's heartbeat at 7 weeks - but again I lost it... 12 weeks - the only thing I was told was that it appeared to be a blood clot (or several of them) in my uterus that caused his death... At that point Ally (the moderator here) begged me to go see her immune specialist - which I did... After several months of immune treatment - I got another BFP (through IUI) - this time I was on all of the immune treatments pre conception... And guess what??? I am only days away from giving birth to my first child... I was on heparin, IVIg & baby aspirin... I am proof positive that immune treatment does work...

I think that your Dr. is on the right track for at least testing you for immune issues... Once you know what you are dealing with it's so much easier to find the solution that will lead you to a healthy pg too...

Wishing you tons & tons of luck!!!
Hugs
Tanya

[beth1968]

Thank you so much Tanya. You have really made me feel better about this.

Best of luck with the end of your pregnancy and birth of your little one.

Beth