Expert: Lawrence Jay Rappaport <B>M.D.</B> - 7/6/2005

Question
--hi again doctor your proberly sick of me now!well i had my blood done and it came back as 1 it was 29so i know now i have lost this one doc said it looks like it was a bio_chemical preg.now since this is my 5 miscarrages i asked if anything else can be done.i was seen by doc at reprodution medison she said all the tests were fine nothing wrong but there must be somthing wrong with me or its my pcos thats causing this.what do you think?my doc said she was going to write back to reprodution med is there any other test i should ask for?maybe progestion because of my pcos ive read abour that? ive heard of women having 11 miscarraiges and it turned out that they needed 1 baby asprin a day somthing so simple like that?please any advice you could give me i am so thankful.-----------------------
Followup To
Question -
---hi again doctor  this this what happens i will have my period then a couple of weeks after it i find out im preg-but miscarry at 6 weeks this has happened 4 times.this time i had a period on may 17 then on the 16 june i went to the docs becase i was peeing all the time with sore boobs as well.she done a blood test and it came back pos+ with a beta of 29 that was on the 27th june. i have since then done a urine test on the2nd july and came back neg they want a positve test 4thjuly to sent me for a scan-why has it showed up neg?will it be because i could be to early to tell?i dont know when i concivced because ive had 2 bleeds i feel preg still at the toilet and felt sick this morning-im going to ask for another blood test tomorrow to find out for sure but it takes time i think i need to be reasured.thank you so much for your advice i really do mean it...-----------------
Followup To
Question -
hi am 32 i was told at sixteen that i had pcos.i had my son at 20yrs one yeat later i had a t.o.p.at 9 weeks.since then weve been trying ive had 4 miscarriages all at 6 weeks my cycle is 28 29 days regular.i had my period on may 17th then i had another period on 16th june a week after my period i still had sore boobs and i was constanly at the toilet so i went to the docs.she done a blood test june 27th and come back pos+++at a rate of 29.i bled a little 1 full day but only when i went to the loo for a wee she wants me to do urine test on monday if it comes back pos she is sending me for a scan.if it does come back pos when did i get preg or am i miscarring again.please help me am so upset .ive tryed asking doc but she cant answer me?i think she doesnt know.
Answer -
If you had a positive pregnancy test on June 27, you must have conceived two weeks before then. HOwever, you claim that you had a period on May 17 and again on June 16, which is impossible. I would take a blood test for pregnancy, twice, 48 hours apart. If there is a doubling of the results, it indicates a viable pregnancy. If there is a halving of the results in 48 hours, it indicates a miscarriage. If you are, indeed, pregnant it is too early for a sonogram to show anything until 6 weeks gestational age (6 weeks from your last period).
Answer -
If you had your period on May 17, then you conceived on May 30. A pregnancy test could not have shown a positive result until at least June 14.  If it was positive on June 27 you are definitely pregnant. You may have not done the urine test correctly on July 2. If you have not had any heavy bleeding since then, you probably are still pregnant. The best time to have a scan (sonogram) is at 6 weeks from the first day of your last period. If you had a sonogram now, it would show a fetus and a fetal heartbeat and that should reassure you. Another way to confirm it is to have two more blood tests for pregnancy, 48 hours apart. If there is a doubling of the results in 48 hours, it indicates a viable pregnancy. Good Luck.

Answer
Early miscarriage, such as yours, is seen in 15-20% of EVERY pregnancy. There is nothing you can do to prevent a miscarriage, and there is nothing you can do to cause a miscarriage. In these early miscarriages, it is sometimes due to some problems with the germ cells (sperm and egg). It can be genetic, if you continue to miscarry, or you may have some autoimmune illness (antiphospholipid syndrome, etc.) Baby asparin has been tried in some "habitual abortion" cases, but there is no clearcut evidence that it helps prevent miscarriage. Heparin treatment may help if you have some blood clotting disorder. You should check your thyroid studies, your sugar (often women with PCOS are carbohydrate intolerant). Most of the time, we never find out why a woman has several miscarriages. I would just continue trying. The odds are in your favor to eventually have a successful pregnancy. Good luck.