Thanks to everyone from LFCA who had come over to my new little blog! I truly appreciate it - I've been reading links from LFCA for over a year now, and commenting some, but never felt like I was up for a blog of my own. I don't really know what changed, but it's nice to have a virtual support group, when my friends IRL are all very much fertile and don't really have an understanding.
Going on to address the title...yesterday afternoon at 4:50, I got a call from a hematology/oncology clinic. My RE had referred me for an appointment, but the woman doing the scheduling couldn't tell me why. Of course I went into ultra-panic mode. Oncology? What did he see in my blood work? I put in a call to my RE immediately following scheduling my appointment (I could barely remember my social or name when talking to the woman, I was really shocked.) My RE called back and said that I have the genetic mutation with the acronym MTHFR - which, in some cases, can lead to miscarriage, late pregnancy loss, etc. All of my losses have been early (chemical pregnancies), but we don't really know if this could be an issue. He said not to worry, and we should go ahead with the IUI. I was hesitant - I of course don't want another loss, but I also don't want to "waste" this cycle by cancelling it at the last minute. After some talking, Jer (my husband) and I decided to go ahead with the procedure and trust my RE's assurance that if he felt it was a serious threat, that he would never go ahead with something that would put me or a potential baby at risk. I'm hoping this was the right decision.
So...we spent the morning at the clinic, while Christopher spent the morning playing with friends. All seemed to go well, Jer had good swimmers, and the procedure itself took seconds. Now we just wait. Jer would like me to not test at all until the beta, but I'm not sure if I can hold out.
Hoping for reassurance from the hematologist on Tuesday. I didn't have any clotting issues with my successful pregnancy, and I wasn't on anything (no baby aspirin, etc). This time, my RE does have my on the aspirin therapy just as a precaution. I honestly have no idea how my son made it through the early stages of pregnancy with the way my body seems to be working against any future babies...
Thanks again for all the comments...I'm off to do some blog reading!
1017th Friday Blog Roundup
2 days ago
Via LCA
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blogosphere! My husband and I battled primary infertility as well as secondary infertility -- it's such an amazing community that we have here to support one another. I wish you luck on this IUI, I hope it's the answer to your secondary IF journey!
Oh, and I am so sorry about your mom. :(
I hope this IUI is "the one." I am having my 2nd IUI on Friday morning, so our 2WWs will be (mostly) shared.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
ICLW
Hey, taking extra doses of folate if you have MTHFR is pretty common, I'm surprised your RE didn't have you do anything differently? do you want blog addresses of other women who have this?
ReplyDeletehttp://unicornuterus-myjourney.blogspot.com/2009/04/mthfr.html
ReplyDeletehere's the link for Mary's blog. A lot of fellow IFers have left comments too. I hope that helps :)
Thanks Melissa for the link! I am also taking extra doses of Folate, B6, and B12. The thing that my RE wasn't sure about was the Lovenox or Heparin during pregnancy. That will depend on the category I fall into as far as this gene mutation goes. It can be a scary condition...I'm hoping for the "less scary" kind. Not that I need anything else to worry about... :( I am actually going to try to get into the hematologist earlier than next Tuesday if possible. I just can't stand the waiting.
ReplyDeleteI hope everything goes well at the hematologist. Keep us posted! And I'm happy to have a 2WW buddy. We will have to encourage each other not to POAS before the beta. :)
ReplyDeleteTina, thanks for your comment on my blog. I'll have to answer your question in the comments here since your blogger profile doesn't allow me to email you directly.
ReplyDeleteMy RE does not do a post-IUI progesterone check. (He doesn't check any bloodwork at all during IUI cycles, just does one mid-cycle follicle check u/s.) He routinely prescribes progesterone gel for all patients to take following the IUI, though, so maybe he feels it's unnecessary?
He has also told me before that if a patient's cycles are regular and of roughly the same length each month (and between 25 to 33 days), he assumes that she is ovulating and doesn't do any further investigation unless an unusual situation warrants it. His rationale is that typically women who are anovulatory have long, erratic cycles.