First of all, thank you so, so much for all the prayers and positive words of encouragement. And to those of you that have asked how things are going, thank you. Sometimes with my sitch, it is kinda like a big elephant in the room and probably easier to avoid discussing for some people. Understandable. But to those of you who genuinely text me, called me, spoke with me... thank you. For real.
So, basically the past 17 months have gone like this..
October 2010, decide to start trying. Unsuccessful month.
November 2010 also unsuccessful.
December 2010 decide not to try, get pregnant naturally without fertility meds!
January 2011 miscarriage #1. Not out of the ordinary to have 1, continue trying in a few months.
3 month break.
May 2011 start trying, doctor would like to see how/if I'm ovulating on my own. I'm not.
June 2011 clomid. Failed.
July 2011 clomid. Pregnant, found out on my birthday.
August 2011 miscarriage #2 deemed "ectopic", but overall a pretty vague situation, but still called ectopic for all documentation purposes. Had to take methotrexate shots. Took 100 days for my hcg to reach non-pregnant levels. Weird. Decided both were separate flukes. Decide not to do testing.
October 2011 hcg levels finally drop to 0.
December 2011 decide to try again, took Femara.
January 2011 pregnant, found out on New Year's Day. Miscarriage #3. Not a fluke. You don't have 3 miscarriages in one calendar year. Diagnosis- recurrent pregnancy loss or habitual abortion. Followed shortly by the "recurrent pregnancy loss workup", which was the 16 vials of blood that were ran for all SORTS of different things. From what I've read, something like 50% of the time, there is nothing even found in these lab tests. So, I went into it thinking that since my odds have sucked thus far, I probably wouldn't find anything out.
Much the opposite. Two of my tests came back abnormal. Not one, two. I have two hereditary thrombophilias (clotting disorders); Factor V Leiden (V as in Roman Numeral 5, so it's said "Factor 5") and another one called MTHFR which is a short abbreviation for something called, get ready... methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Phew! Seriously.
Ok, so... Factor V is not a disease, it is the presence of a particular gene that is passed on from the parents. Factor V Leiden is a variant of the protein Factor V, which is needed for blood clotting.
People who have a Factor V deficiency are more likely to bleed badly while people with Factor V Leiden have blood that has an increased tendency to clot.
People carrying the Factor V Leiden gene have a five times greater risk of developing a blood clot (thrombosis) than the rest of the population. However, many people with the gene will never suffer from blood clots
Researchers are still studying the exact nature of the relationship between Factor V Leiden (and other hereditary thrombophilias) and recurrent miscarriages. Different genetic blood clotting disorders have different levels of relationship to miscarriage, but Factor V Leiden is one of the hereditary thrombophilias that does appear to have a role in causing miscarriages (or at least increasing risk), because women with the mutation have a higher rate of miscarriages than women without it.
MTHFR can affect how a person's body processes homocysteine, an amino acid found in the blood. Researchers have looked at MTHFR gene mutations as being a possible factor in recurrent miscarriages with quite mixed results. Some studies find that MTHFR gene variations increase the risk of miscarriages while others find no link. MTHFR gene mutations are fairly common; nearly half the population of the United States may be at least heterozygous (one copy of the gene from one parent) for an MTHFR gene mutation.
Many doctors believe that hereditary thrombophilias, such as Factor V Leiden, may increase the risk of miscarriage by creating tiny blood clots that block nutrient flow to the placenta and so they include MTHFR gene mutations in this category. Doctors who follow the theory of MTHFR variations as a thrombophilia disorder may prescribe anti-clotting therapy such as heparin and low dose "baby" aspirin to reduce the risk of blood clots. Others may recommend high doses of folic acid and possibly other B vitamins with the idea that this will reduce homocysteine levels and eliminate any added risk on that front.
Both of these are said to affect later term miscarriages, and not necessarily early ones, like mine. So, I was left feeling pretty blah about it.
Had an appointment with a hematologist, whose office is in the "Cancer Care" clinic. Talk about putting me in my place. In the grand scheme, cakewalk is what I've got. Anyway, this doctor was pretty nice, but told me that miscarriages were just a normal part of the trying to conceive process. Sorry, doc... not three... in a row. He told me that we could treat it, or we could just continue on with trying (and miscarrying). He said that there really isn't research that shows it would help, nor otherwise really. But he also said that the treatment used wouldn't harm me or baby and that if I wanted to, then he wouldn't see why not. So, I left there still pretty confused and bummed.
This week I had an appointment with my regular OBGYN and we discussed and developed our plan of action. There are no guarantees that it will work, but it doesn't hurt to try. It is our only option, and therefore, we decided that I'd be silly not to at least try.
Plan is- start taking a pill that is extra folic acid and b vitamins, take baby aspirin. Take fertility meds to get pregnant. Get pregnant. Begin a (very expensive into the thousands, but found out this week that my insurance covers it awesomely!) blood-thinner shot that I have to give myself twice a day in my belly and continue to take for the duration of the pregnancy, also start taking progesterone.
So, two hereditary thrombophilias. Take a bunch of medicine. Pray it works.
That's that in a giant nutshell. :)
Happy weekend, friends!
2 comments:
Ryan, I know this is a deadly serious matter and you know I love you beyond all reason...That said, it is just like you to have a condition called MTHFR. I keep giggling like a junior high schooler. Sorry, you may also want to test for hereditary sick sense of humor gene.
Will continue praying for good news. I had a friend who had MTHFR and another who had to have shots every day in her belly. Both of them had healthy babies, so I pray the same for you.
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