We had our follow up appointment with our fertility doctor yesterday to review the results from all the bloodwork I had taken a few weeks ago. We thought it was a good visit because we finally got some ANSWERS!
I promised myself that I would share all the tests that our doctor ran on me, mainly because I want anyone and everyone that is going through fertility treatments, to have these tests run on them too. And more importantly, I hope that you will request that your doctor run these tests immediately, instead of waiting until after you have spent thousands of dollars or experienced the heartache of miscarriage.
Here is the list of tests that my doctor ran on me:
Lupus Anticoagulant Evaluation
PTT LA Screen
Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome
Factor V (Leiden) Mutation Analysis
Cardiolipin AB
Prothrombin Gene Analysis
Homocysteine
Cardiolipin AB
What a long and crazy list...isn't it??? I honestly can't pronounce half of these tests!!
Well our doctor discovered that I have two of these....Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (APLS) and Homocysteine.
In a nut shell, APLS is a syndrome where my body thinks the baby is some form of a disease and my immune system goes into overdrive trying to get rid of the disease (the baby). Homocysteine is a Folic Acid deficiency.
My doctor is sending me to a Hematologist to confirm these tests and to ensure that the preventative measures he plans to implement during our next cycle will not be harmful to me.
My appointment with the Hematologist is next Tuesday, so I will update you on the results and how we plan to move forward. In the meantime, please share these tests with your fertility specialists and request that you get tested NOW.
After six years of trying to have a baby, knowing that we have some answers is the BEST feeling in the world!
19 comments:
I'm so glad that you finally got some answers! What an answer to prayer!!
So glad you and David have some answers!! Continuing to pray for your miracle.
My sister in law has both of these. Good luck!
Glad you got some answers! Do you have any idea how much these tests would cost without insurance? I don't think mine would cover them.
What a relief to finally get answers. I hope your next appts go well. Good luck!
What a blessing to find out what is wrong. I'll keep praying for you.
I am SO HAPPY you have some answers. I told you, they could find some scary things on these tests.
Praying hard for you ; )
just wanted to give you a bit of encouragement (i hope, please pardon me if this comes out wrong ). i have a very dear friend who also had several m/c's. she too was diagnosed with apls. under the guidence of some great dr.s, she now has 4 beautiful and healthy children. i am praying that you as well will see some precious ones in your arms soon. (((hugs)))
I just randomly came across your blog. I read that you have APLS. I don't personally have experience with it, but I am a nurse. One of my co-workers has a sister who has this same condition. She and her husband had never used any form of birth control during their marriage, and had never gotten pregnant. His nephew became ill and had to be hospitalized in another state., so they had to care for his younger brother for quite a while. It broke her heart when the child had to go home to his family. She then decided she would persue fertility treatments. After 6 failed IUI's with a HSG in the middle, they moved on to IVF. She became pregnant on the first attempt. However, within a few weeks miscarried. After the D & C, specimens were sent to pathology. They learned that the placenta had clotted off. So, further testing was done to find out that she had APLS (which also gave her a reason as to why she has such horrible migraines). They attempted IVF again. It was successful the second time, so she was started on Heparin injections immediately. They just delivered their healthy baby boy last week. There is hope for you! Don't give up!
So thankful you got answers!! What wonderful news!
Lianna, I have been praying for you, and am so glad that you have some answers now! I will pray that the Dr.s will be able to use these results to help you! With God all things are possible, and I continue to pray for your miracle baby!! Hugs friend!
I am SOOO grateful to God that you recieved some answers. I wrote on a blog a few posts ago and I believe I told you that the same thing happened to us. Years and thousands of dollars later... we found out from the same full thrombosis panel that I had lupus anticoagulant disorder and protein S deficiancy... which led me to take heperin shots twice a day throughout my whole pregnancy.... but that was all that it took! 2 healthy babies here now! I have no IDEA why they do not run these panels from the very word go... I feel that they should do it upon walking into the fertility clinic on the very first visit... could have saved us both a ton of heartache and not to mention, money! ha! not that money matters... I am so glad you are spreading the word to others to have the panel ran up front! I tell all of my friends to do the same! Praying for God to use this to bring you your miracle baby (or babies) ;)
Yay for getting answers! Course, I don't need to tell you that this was not a surprise to God, He's known it all along, and He's BIGGER than all of it! My friend had the very same condition as you and she now has 4 kids, two through adoption, and two through IVF. Nothing is too great for our God!
I'm so glad that you got some answers!!! Praying that your next appt goes well!
I have that too and had 3 successful pregnancies after multiple miscarriages. I just needed a baby aspirin, but others use Heparin and do well too. Crossing my fingers for you!
I just randomly came across your blog! Thanks for sharing your list. I am finding out tomorrow the results of many of these tests...plus a few more. I am nervous/anxious as up to this point Dr's can't find an answer to my secondary recurring miscarriages. I am glad you found your answer!
Hi I like your blog, hope you can check mine out to and follow if you want to :)
I have been reading your blog for quite some time now. When I read your last post about all the testing you had to do I thought and prayed that this will give you some answers. I am also glad God lead me to your blog. I have experienced 2 miscarriages in less than 9 months. Our latest being last week with the loss of twins. With this last pregnancy I developed 2 clots exactly 2 weeks apart. My Fertility specialist is now ordering testing to be done and I believe it will be these tests. I will be writing down this list in case he doesn't order all of these. I have done 1 IVF cycle, 3 embryo adoption cycles as well. I want some answers!!!!
Sorry I didn't mean to be anonymous... Just in case it publishes anonymous again, I am Kristy and you can check me out here: www.greatkiserfamily.blogspot.com
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