Trying again after chemical pregnancy

[Hooplehead]

Hi guys!

I just left the April DDC after figuring out that I had a chemical pregnancy.  What a bummer.  I swear if I had not been paying attention and had not taken those early result HPTs, I would have never known I had missed anything.  It would just seem like a period that was a week late and extra heavy as a result.

I have elected not to go and see my OB/Midwife office even though they want to give me a blood test to make sure my HCG level has dropped.  I figure if the less sensitive HPT is showing negative, that means that my level has dropped.  I highly doubt it would go back up.

Anywho, I did talk to the triage nurse on the phone and she recommended waiting a cycle until TTC.  I don't see the point in this case since nothing much really developed?  Have any of you TTC immediately after a chemical pregnancy?  I was going to count today as the first day of my period since that is exactly what it feels like.

Would taking vitamin B6 help out for the next try?

[mamaforever]

Hi there... sorry about your early miscarriage.  I had one as well before I became pregnant with my son.  I had the blood tests done to make sure my levels dropped, but I agree that it probably isn't necessary if it happened so early.  Most women wouldn't ever have known they were pregnant.  My dr. also suggested to wait one cycle before TTC again.  I followed her advice and become pregnant again 3 months later.  I'm glad I didn't try that first month though because my luteal phase was only 8 days and could have caused another early miscarriage.... certainly not something I needed when I was so devastated with the first one!  I've heard that the cycle following a miscarriage can be quite wacky which is why doctors suggest to wait a month, but I don't know if there's any health concern.  The women who wouldn't have known of the pregnancy wouldn't know to wait a month, right?!  Good luck to you!

[Hooplehead]

Interesting!

The triage nurse told me that the reason to wait a cycle was to make sure that the "debris" from the miscarriage cleared out before TTC again. I have ended up not bleeding as much as I thought I would and now I am wondering if I am going to end up having a weird cycle like you had.  Time to sit back and wait I guess.

[CorgiMommy]

I also think that you could TTC again immediatly, as not much happened and no D&C was done, so you should be favourable for pregnancy right away?

Well let us know and good luck

[Jaimee]

I'm sorry for your loss!  It's generally agreed that doctors tell women to wait a cycle before TTC again after an early m/c for two main reasons: to recover emotionally and establish an accurate LMP for dating purposes.  Some will also tell you that the uterine lining could be thinner the next cycle.  However, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that women tend to be more fertile the cycle immediately following an early m/c because their hormone levels remain slighly elevated and conducive to conception and sustaining the pregnancy.  If you chart and know your date of conception then having an accurate LMP is not important.  Really then what it comes down to is how emotionally ready you feel. 

I have had two early m/c myself and conceived my dd immediately after the first and concevied my son two cycles after my second.  Go with your gut!

[kittenbritches]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

I'm sorry for your loss!  It's generally agreed that doctors tell women to wait a cycle before TTC again after an early m/c for two main reasons: to recover emotionally and establish an accurate LMP for dating purposes.  Some will also tell you that the uterine lining could be thinner the next cycle.  However, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that women tend to be more fertile the cycle immediately following an early m/c because their hormone levels remain slighly elevated and conducive to conception and sustaining the pregnancy.  If you chart and know your date of conception then having an accurate LMP is not important.  Really then what it comes down to is how emotionally ready you feel. 

I have had two early m/c myself and conceived my dd immediately after the first and concevied my son two cycles after my second.  Go with your gut!

  Definitely follow your gut and do what feels right for you.  If you're not charting, I recommend you start so you can have a solid idea of what your body is doing this next cycle.

The B6 couldn't hurt.  I'm taking it currently to (hopefully) lengthen my LP.  Just make sure that if you are taking it and get your BFP that you don't stop taking it right away.  I've read you should taper off or just take it through your 12th week of pregnancy (I plan to do the latter).

Best of luck, and I'm so sorry for your loss. *hug*
 

[ecook26]

I just went thru the same thing and the thing that hurt the most is that the doctor tried to make me feel as if I was crazy, like I completely made up the positive test results from home. After they did the blood work they saw that my hcg level was at an all time low of 12 and they told me that I was simply having my normal period. I was outraged to have somebody make me feel that way after the news. I took three DIGITAL tests and all three read pregnant. The same day I went to the hospital I took one that morning and it was a BFN, but I refuse to give up. Me and my husband aren't going to stop in spite of them trying to make us seem crazy.

[rs11]

I had the same thing happen in March. My beta DID go up however -it took over three weeks for it to totally resolve, even after the bleeding (I'm stubborn -apparently my uterus is as well). We skipped TTC in April because of it.

The studies I've read show that increased fertility after a miscarriage is not just anecdotal; apparently, most women have some increased levels of fertility for three cycles afterwards.

Ecook -12 is a positive test; your body was still pregnant when they drew that blood,even if you had already miscarried. I would find another doctor, one who won't treat you like you're crazy. That's the last thing you need while going through this!

[BetsyPage]

I am not quite two weeks out from a "chemical pregnancy" but I really knew I was pregnant... I would have been six weeks, but there was no gestational sac, and my levels had fallen to 75 when I went to the ER b/c of bleeding. I normally have 26 day cycles and know I had to have conceived within a 3 day window so I was pretty sure of my "dates". Anyway, I was told that I did not have to wait and also was told (by midwives) that I am likely to be more fertile. However I have not actually been getting the usual changes in CM that I would expect, so I am wondering whether this first cycle is going to be pretty wonky for me... I'm not holding my breath that I will get pregnant right away. (And honestly would love to have what happened to my friend following a loss--- she looked down and noticed she looked bigger, only to find out that she was 3 months pregnant- I would love to "skip" the first trimester somehow! Or at least through the first 8 weeks or so...I fear I will be a mess...)

[fruitfulmomma]

My son was conceived right after my 1st miscarriage...I did not realize I was pregnant and did not have a positive test but had lots of clumpy tissue which the only other time I did this was with my last miscarriage which I knew I was pregnant and labored off and on for three days before baby passed. So first baby must have been only a few weeks and then I got pregnant right away with ds, only problem with his pregnancy was some light bleeding around the end of 1st trimester. 

Second time I was somewhere between 8 and 12 weeks, no heavy bleeding so I stayed home and let it happen. We abstained till bleeding had stopped but other than that we were hoping for another right away baby. But my body got thrown into a hormonal mess with randome bleeding and totally erratic cycles for quite a while. It took about 15 months to get pregnant, I was just working on finding time to get back to my ob to get my progesterone tested when dh started on insisting I was alredy pregnant. And I wasn't paying any attention to my cycles so the only date we have on baby girl is based on ultrasound, but she is due just about two years after we lost baby knock-knock (my children's knick name for baby.)

[Very Very Viole]

I miscarried a week ago.  I wasn't very far along- 5 or 6 weeks, but I was TTC and had been having symptoms (evening sickness, craving pistachios, heartburn, sore boobs, etc.).  This wasn't my first pregnancy, but it was my first miscarriage.  I took the test on Wednesday evening and it was positive, and I was SO happy and excited.  About three hours later the bleeding started.  The next day the cramps were awful and my symptoms were gone.  I've resolved to try again next cycle- i.e. next week.  I have bright red spotting this evening and am concerned....  I hope what I read about successfully conceiving immediately afterwards is true.  I never thought I'd miss nausea, especially since I had 7 months of non-stop vomit while pregnant with my first child.  Anyhoo... thanks for reading and wish me luck.