Friday, May 27, 2011

RPL Results...

Emily - you have "impeccable" timing!!! LOL

We finally have our long overdue update and results from all of the blood work I had done. I suppose 13 vials of blood should show something! LOL

I spoke to our RE yesterday and they have determined that I have MTHFR. I am not sure exactly what type yet and am not 100% sure if it is heterozygous or homozygous, I should know more on this next week. Basically, this is a genetic disorder that does not allow my body to properly create and metabolize folic acid and B vitamins. This causes issues with the blood and not only results in recurrent miscarriages but also puts me at a much higher risk of having children with birth defects and genetic disorders like Spina Bifida and Down Syndrome. Thankfully, this can be treated with very high doses of Folic Acid and B vitamins. I will start treatment today and because this not only affects my reproductive system, but causes other issues as well, will likely be on this regimen for the rest of my life. I will follow up with my Primary care Dr. to determine if any other treatments are necessary. I will also be on some sort of blood thinner once we get pregnant throughout my pregnancy.

After speaking with our RE yesterday, he would also like to do a urine culture analysis to check for bacteria and viruses that are not normally checked for in a typical bladder infection check. There are certain bacteria and viruses that can cause recurrent miscarriages that harbor in the bladder and urinary tract and due to my history of chronic bladder infections since the age of 3, he definitely wants to look into that as well.

Even with these results, our RE is not convinced that these are the only causes of our miscarriages and because it is less expensive to just treat for everything that may be causing them than it is to test for them, when I do get pregnant again, I will be on a long string of medications throughout pregnancy to hopefully prevent another miscarriage. This will all be worth it in the end if we can come home with a healthy, full term baby.

I am extremely grateful for the wonderful team of Dr.'s that we have and of course for each and every one of you. Your support, love and prayers have been invaluable in this journey. We have been so blessed even through the tough times and I feel very blessed that we have found this MTHFR mutation so we can now treat it!

I thank God for each and every one of you and realize that it isn't just Pace and I on this journey, all of you are walking this with us and it is so humbling to feel the love that you all have showered on Pace and I.

Friday, May 06, 2011

An update of sorts...

I am not really sure where to start with this post, but I just wanted to let you all know that we are ok. We are heartbroken, sad, confused, angry and really dreading this weekend...but we are ok.

I had 9 vials of blood taken last week for my RPL (Recurrent Pregnancy Loss) panel only to get a phone call yesterday from the lab stating that they couldn't run two of the tests because they didn't have enough blood, so I needed to go again. I went in this afternoon and had 4 more vials of blood taken.

Hopefully that will be enough and we will be able to get some answers soon. Honestly, I am not really looking forward to going to the RE again. Don't get me wrong, I want to get the results of my RPL panel, but I have a lot of anxiety about it too. What if they don't find anything? We will have some very difficult decisions to make I guess. I am just enjoying the break, not having to worry about medications, dr. appts., shots, HPT's, betas, etc. I am not ready yet to jump back into all of it. I guess the little blood mix up at the lab just bought me at least another week before they will have all of the results and for that I am thankful.

I just wanted to kind of check-in. I have been lying low for the last couple of weeks really just not feeling like doing anything, or saying anything. I appreciate the love and support from each of you and I wish all of the other "Wanna-be Mama's" as peaceful of a Mother's Day as possible. For those of you who have a beautiful little one (or more) - Happy Mother's Day to you!