autoimmune symptoms in pregnancy?

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autoimmune symptoms in pregnancy? Posted on: Aug 16, 2011 at 8:02pm
Dr. Braverman:

I recently underwent IVF, had a 3dt of a 6 cell and 7 cell embryos, no fragmentation. Got a positive beta today at 14dpo, however the level was only 5.9.. I realize this is low and the prognosis is not good. As of yesterday I started having horrible congestion, sneezing and even a bit of coughing. I also feel like I may have a fever. I have always personally suspected that I have autoimmune issues (symptoms: hair loss, thin pcos'er, low vitamin D levels) have been tested for some (lupus, celiacs, thyroid disease) but so far nothing has "popped up". I am wondering if these flu like symptoms could be caused by my body's immune response to the embryo? Are flu like symptoms common during early pregnancy in those that have autoimmune issues? Just curious. If this ivf does not work I plan on making an appt with you...

Thank you!

Dr. Braverman

2026 Posts
Re: autoimmune symptoms in pregnancy? Posted on: Aug 18, 2011 at 12:49am
this goes back to the old saying the the symptom of a brain tumor is a headache but not every headache is a brain tumor. yes the symptoms you described are seen with immune activation as a cause of embryo rejection but they could have also been a virus. Hard to tell unless this is a similar occurance wtih each pregnancy. Lets see how the numbers go, maybe they will start to go up , I have seen this. If not I will be here to help you. Good Luck.
Braverman Medical Team
Braverman Reproductive Immunology P.C.

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Re: autoimmune symptoms in pregnancy? Posted on: Aug 18, 2011 at 8:46pm
Thanks for the response Dr. Braverman

I just heard from my RE that the beta levels decreased to 2, so obviously this is going to be a chemcial pregnancy. Would right now be the best time to do an autoimmune panel? I sent an email to my doctor asking to have the RPL panel done but my guess is that they will say one loss is not enough to warrant this panel even though I have autoimmune symptoms. I do not want to go any further with IVF though until I have autoimmune testing done though, seems silly to go through the whole process when if the failure autoimmune related I will just end up with the same result.

Is it best to have this testing done while going through a miscarriage? Thanks

Dr. Braverman

2026 Posts
Re: autoimmune symptoms in pregnancy? Posted on: Aug 19, 2011 at 8:55pm
I would want to see my immune panel within 2 weeks of a chemical pregnancy. Please call my office and schedule a consultation and let them know I wanted to get you in so we can get your testing done ASAP. I agree with you that in light of autoimmune disease i would not wait to do this workup.
Braverman Medical Team
Braverman Reproductive Immunology P.C.