So after the "we don't have enough blood fiasco" they finally got enough and I got my results back last week. I tested positive for 2 gene mutations for blood clotting disorders. I am heterozygous for G20210A which causes the blood to clot too fast. I am also heterozygous for MTHFR. Apparently that is not considered abnormal, since 44% of the population has it, but if you have it in conjunction with another mutation, it may or may not cause other issues.
Thanks Dad. Or Mom. Whoever gave it to me.
When I told my parents that one of them gave me a gene mutation they both kinda stared at me for a minute then my Mom said - it was your Dad. ha! What I'm wondering is how on earth did my grandparents have HUGE families without anyone ever having pregnancy or miscarriage problems? It came from one of the 4 of them.
The Dr. doesn't seem to be to worried about it. I can take baby aspirin and heparin shots after ovulation. I did a lot of research on therapies that I can do myself and believe me, there is not a lot of info out there about how this relates to infertility. Most of the info is women asking questions in forums and never getting any answers. I did read about Folgard, but couldn't find it in the store, so I bought Folic Acid, Vitamins B6, B12 & E, and some baby aspirin. Lifestyle is an important factor so my diet and exercise changes should be for the better. Though most people wouldn't consider me obese, I know I need to get serious and lose 40 to 50 lbs permanently. Not just for getting pregnant but for long term health benefits.
So, for now, I don't have to have the laparoscopy surgery and I'm glad. I wasn't that worried about the procedure itself, I just don't want to go to the hospital and be in a recovery room. I can try a few more cycles and see what happens. I know I will get a baby. My sister has already offered, it's just that I want to be the one having it. And now my biggest fear is that I won't get to carry it. I guess when you wait until your late 30's to start having babies, and you find you are reproductively challenged, you can't be to upset about HOW you get your baby. You just have to be grateful that you actually DO get your baby.
Got a call from the RE's office yesterday. There was some sort of mixup and the lab didn't have enough blood to run the clotting and genetic test and they needed me to come back and give them 2 more vials. I asked if I could come right then so I didn't have to get up early today and they said yes. I was the only one in the office at 3:30 in the afternoon. Apparently all fertility treatments happen between 7:30 - 10:00 am because the office is always packed in the mornings.
I've been thinking for several days that Aunt Flo should arrive any day but I couldn't remember when the miscarriage started last month. Luckily I had called it in and the nurse checked my chart. Looks like I have a week or two more before the next cycle starts. I need to have the laparoscopy this month and I'm worried it's going to fall on the wedding weekend. I hope not because I'll have to postpone the surgery if it does since I'm the maid of honor. Brides tend to get bent out of shape when the MOH backs out last minute.
I've almost talked myself out of the surgery. Has anyone else every had the surgery and had nothing wrong in there? I've never had any symptoms of endo, I've gotten pregnant twice, and after researching PCOS ad nauseum, I really believe weight and egg quality are my biggest problems. The Dr. insists my BMI is not too high, though my family Dr would disagree with that, but I've gained 20 lbs since starting fertility treatments and I needed to lose 20 before we started trying. They say even a 5% loss of body mass can significantly improve hormone levels and egg quality.
(Diet update - still sticking with it, no cheating, weight loss has slowed a bit, but still trending down).
On a fun note, as I've been lurking and stalking these past few months I kept seeing this little box for IComLeavWe but I had no idea what it was. So I decided to click on it and find out about it. Turns out it's a great way to get more involved with others on this same path and I decided to participate this month. So far, I've "met" some really cool people and it's great to hear that you're not crazy and to find out these weird treatments and procedures I try every month are actually working for some people. It gives me a lot of hope.
Does anyone else find it hard to keep up with where you've commented? I didn't want to start at the top of the list, but I'm seeing now why that's a good idea. I tried clicking on random blogs, then I would get involved in reading the entire thing, then - did I comment? which post? maybe I left 2 comments, who knows? I feel like I've been at a college mixer, I met a whole bunch of cool chics I like and want to hang with, but I can't remember their names, or which dorm they live in (ummm, URL) and I feel like I'm never going to see them again! AAGGGHHHH! Guess I'm going to be reading EVERYONE'S blog again. Happy Reading!
I was seriously considering googling this. I sometimes wonder how many times they can draw my blood. I don't have to worry about a vampire attacking me anytime soon. He's gonna want someone juicer than me. He could stop by my RE's office, cause they have about half my blood.
I've never had a problem with a nurse not finding a vein or having to poke me twice. However, my left arm let me know a few weeks ago that it's done being poked for now. She dug around in there and nothing ever would come out. Can't say I blame the little vein as he's been poked once or twice per week since April of last year with just a couple of little breaks in there. The fecal collection the Chinese medicine Dr wanted me to do sounds like a good idea to my left arm right now.
But my right arm still cooperates. I went yesterday morning and they drew like 6 vials. Usually it's just one small one. Then they call the same day with the results. Apparently testing for a clotting disorder takes a few days so I won't know until next week. I hate being in limbo. Waiting for test results, waiting to start. As soon as I do start, I can schedule the laparoscopy, which I'm still undecided on. The more I read about PCOS, the more I think it was simply egg quality and not ectopic. We couldn't tell for sure since my HCG levels never got high enough to see any tissue in the uterus or tubes.
The good news is, I've lost 6 lbs since we started the PCOS diet last Monday. Hubbs is losing faster than me, but he has exercised more. Go figure. I want to step that up a notch this week and cut down on red meat and cheese.
And I've GOT to get rid of the ants that are plaguing me. Are they hanging out in the kitchen around the food? Nooooooo. They're in the office. Every 1/2 hour or so another one will just come strolling by my computer and then I have to squash him. Mr. exterminator is all lined up for next week and he says he can fix it. Hopefully he'll get the giant bumble bee that has set up camp on our back deck too. I'm tired of him buzzing around my head while I grill all these healthy, no carb foods. I did find some carb balance tortillas today that have 2 net carbs and I ate a couple tonight with dinner. That's less carbs than the creamer I like in my coffee so I figure it's OK. That and 5 peanut M&M's is the only cheating I've done in 2 weeks. Yeah me!
Bring the baby you already have with you, sit in the waiting room and brag about the shopping you've been doing at Babies R Us, complain about your lack of sleep and tell everyone you're trying for a second at the top of your voice. Apparently dirty looks can't stop these people. I know cause I gave her the evil eye for the better part of the fifteen minutes I waited for my blood draw. Seems to me if you're in the infertile club you would know not to bring a baby to an office full of crazy, drugged up women trying everything they can to get knocked up. But some people never get it. NO MATTER WHAT.
My HCG level came back less than 2, which surprised me because this miscarriage was way worse than the first one and the bleeding just stopped a few days ago. I go next week for another test to see if I have a blood clotting disorder. If that comes back normal I just wait to start and then schedule my laparoscropy to see what's going in my tubes and uterus. Already having panic attacks about the hospital visit, but I'm trying not to think about it.
I read a book called the PCOS diet and it's very similar to Atkins and Chris is doing it with me. We started Monday and as of this morning I've lost 4.5 lbs and Chris has lost 6 lbs. 20 lbs by June seems doable at this rate. Surprisingly, it's not really been that hard. Cheese saves me. We pretty much cut out eating out, we've been cooking a lot and our fridge is overflowing with all the egg cartons, different lettuces and all the veggies. I'm cheating on my first love REAL COKE, and I'm now IN LOVE with Crystal Light Peach Mango Green Tea. Sorry Coke, get rid of your carbs and you're back in.
I made a huge step today. I put my entire TTC jouney on my side bar. Up until this point, I wasn't putting it all out there, because I think that I thought if I kept it to myself it wouldn't be true. And I kept thinking this is the month I will be pregnant. Way to much thinking, not enough doing.
I've been a long time lurker of some many TTC blogs and I decided it's time to come out of the woodwork. For all the people in my life who "say" they understand, no one knows what it's like unless they've been there. So much of what people have written has helped me right then, in that moment. Maybe I won't help a single person. But I think (uh oh, thinking again) it's time I show support to my peers and participate in life, even if it's not the journey I had orginially planned.
I know, I know. I haven't posted in a while. But, we HAVE been doing some exciting things. We celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary on October 11th. Chris offered to take me somewhere fun for an extended weekend trip and I was able to convince him we should go for the whole week. We still wanted to keep it small and low key, so we got this adorable little condo on the Isle of Palms for the week. It wasn't super warm and it rained a few days, but we had a fabulous time.
Chris chillin' in the condo when we first got there. Before he could scatter cords for all his different electronics throughout the room. I was sooo covetous of this cool circle rug.
The beautiful beach where I walked (almost) everyday and sat and read.
It was FREEZING our last day. I had to go put on warmer clothes before we left.
The view from our screened porch.
Like I said, we did a lot of eating. The view from our breakfast table was significantly better than our breakfast table at home.
I actually visited my Grandmother about a month ago, but since we're leaving for the Isle of Palms tomorrow, I thought I better get these pics up. I LOVE my grandmother's spaghetti sauce and I'm picky about sharing it. (OK, I horde it and I won't share it with my sister.) Since Grandmother is almost 88 years old and losing her eyesight, I thought it was time I learned how to make it. There was indeed a secret ingredient, and at her request, will remain so. Personally I think the other "secret" is the home grown tomatoes. Check out this cherry tomato plant. My dad and I picked 5 ice cream buckets FULL and could have picked more during the 3 days we were there. 
Not a great picture of her, but the only one I got. (Not sure why I didn't take any people pictures while there.)
THE Sauce.
In the pressure cooker.
