I've been a member of this wonderful group since 2004, when I lost my baby at nine weeks due to a missed miscarriage. One week, all was well, and the next, the little heart had stopped beating for no reason at all. I had a D&C, as per the recommendation of my doctor at the time (I wasn’t given the option of trying to wait it out and let my body deal with this normally), and after this surgery, my periods became scant and very, very brief. I had a regular, 28-day cycle before this.

I made the usual run of doctors and did not get any satisfactory responses. Suggestions varied from waiting it out to testing my husband to hormone therapy. We waited it out for a few months. I became pregnant again, but had a chemical pregnancy. I then had an exploratory hysteroscopy and went on hormone (estrogen, followed by progesterone) therapy for three months, because of a thin lining. When I stopped the hormones, my periods went back to being scanty as before.

By this time, I was frustrated and mystified. I started researching “scanty periods” online and found this wonderful group. The amount of information and support here was amazing and played a large part in keeping me sane. Following in the footsteps of many of the women here, I e-mailed an A-list doctor for a consultation. That was the second-best decision I made, after signing up for this group. The doctor reviewed my records and advised me to get an HSG. I did, and he suspected uterine scarring, perhaps in combination with a septum. After discussions with him and his staff, my husband and I decided to fly down to LA for surgery. I had a combination lap/hyst in May of 2005. After the surgery, I was prescribed hormones during the recovery phase to help heal the lining. In August, I was overjoyed and stunned to discover that I was pregnant.

I had some complications, including regular spotting till about 10 weeks, low amniotic fluid (diagnosed at 28 weeks) that persisted till the delivery, and a breech baby. During the last trimester, I had hospital visits twice weekly for level II ultrasounds and non-stress tests. They wanted to make sure that the fluid level was acceptable and that the blood flow to the baby via the placenta was good. The latter two complications resulted in a scheduled c-section. My husband and I were blessed to welcome our little baby boy in April 2006. He is the most cheerful, peaceful baby and is the absolute miracle of our life, and we never forget how lucky we are to be here to be able to see his smiling face.

I thank god every day for having found this group and my A-list doctor. If it were not for the group's efforts, my little boy would not be scampering around my house today. I just wanted to drop in and express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone here for their help and advice. Thank you!

I also wanted to share a few things that I think helped me in this route:

- Getting an accurate diagnosis/treatment from an AS-specialist. I think this is critical.

- Asking questions and comparing notes with others on this list. Believe me, I got help on everything from finding a doctor, preparing for surgery, getting through the surgery, recovery, pregnancy...everything.

- Charting. Keeping track of my cycles, in combination with OPKs, helped me understand what was going on each month.

- Baby aspirin (my doctor also supported this. I took it immediately after surgery and up to the end of the first trimester.)

- Acupuncture (I went for weekly sessions after the surgery. I really believe it helped my lining.)

I wish everyone out there on the AS/TTC route all the luck in the world. Never a day goes by when I do not look at my son and remember all of you out there battling Ashermans. All my thoughts and prayers go out to you.