Once
we arrived back from Australia, we began the next main lot of testing. I had a
blood test done to confirm that my hCG levels had to returned to zero, and the
next day went to have my thrombophilia panel blood work done. The following
week my period arrived and on day two I went to have the Day 2 blood work done,
which included a test for my egg reserves (the hormone, AMH). Over the next
couple of weeks I had my pap and cultures done, as well as a saline
hysterosonogram (SHG) to test that everything was as expected in my uterus i.e.
with no septum etc.
We had our follow up consultation with Dr Sauer on Monday 10th August. Dr Sauer asked us what had been happening with over the last two months and I explained the remaining tissue after we'd seen him and the required MVA, and the differences in procedures from the one in January. He did say that it can be different with different doctors, but also could be a result of my cervix being in a different state. He asked how all of the testing had gone and then proceeded to explain to us our results. He told me that my thrombophilia panel, which tests for coagulation abnormalities possibly related to recurrent pregnancy loss or implantation failure, had come back positive for two of the tested genes. The main one, cardiolipin antibody IgG, was normal if it returned a result of less than 20, but mine had come back at 103, which Dr Sauer was surprised about. He said that if it had come back at, say, between 20-25 he would have me do the test again, but because it was so much higher than the normal range, it was definitely a true positive. This meant that going forward, if we were to fall pregnant, I would have the option of taking blood thinning medication. The other option would be to do nothing and hope for the best. I have decided that I want to take the medication option, despite the risks, which could be easy bruising or, worse, hemorrhaging and even miscarriage as a result. I feel like I want and really need to do as much as we can, now that we are armed with the test result information. How very lucky we are that Hunter was able to survive and that the conditions were just right for him.
It’s been another tough few months mentally. I stumbled across a web chat blog where Zita West had written of women who suffer miscarriages: “Many of the women I see in my miscarriage clinic have lost confidence and feel their lives are on hold. They are very anxious and need a lot of support.” I feel like that just perfectly sums me up right now. The impact on my confidence has been tremendous. I had someone try and offer support by saying, “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”. It couldn’t be further from the truth for me. I feel like the last year has really battered me in that respect. It’s become all-consuming, which leads to the constant anxiety. I have been considering seeing a psychologist again. I think I’ll see how the next couple of weeks go and then decide. The psychologist I saw in February wasn’t someone who I felt I could really ‘break down’ to as she didn’t really show a lot of compassion, which is what I would have expected from someone in her position. I do know, though, that I do need to keep sight of what I have right in front of me, with Mark and Hunter and our little family.
We had our follow up consultation with Dr Sauer on Monday 10th August. Dr Sauer asked us what had been happening with over the last two months and I explained the remaining tissue after we'd seen him and the required MVA, and the differences in procedures from the one in January. He did say that it can be different with different doctors, but also could be a result of my cervix being in a different state. He asked how all of the testing had gone and then proceeded to explain to us our results. He told me that my thrombophilia panel, which tests for coagulation abnormalities possibly related to recurrent pregnancy loss or implantation failure, had come back positive for two of the tested genes. The main one, cardiolipin antibody IgG, was normal if it returned a result of less than 20, but mine had come back at 103, which Dr Sauer was surprised about. He said that if it had come back at, say, between 20-25 he would have me do the test again, but because it was so much higher than the normal range, it was definitely a true positive. This meant that going forward, if we were to fall pregnant, I would have the option of taking blood thinning medication. The other option would be to do nothing and hope for the best. I have decided that I want to take the medication option, despite the risks, which could be easy bruising or, worse, hemorrhaging and even miscarriage as a result. I feel like I want and really need to do as much as we can, now that we are armed with the test result information. How very lucky we are that Hunter was able to survive and that the conditions were just right for him.
It’s been another tough few months mentally. I stumbled across a web chat blog where Zita West had written of women who suffer miscarriages: “Many of the women I see in my miscarriage clinic have lost confidence and feel their lives are on hold. They are very anxious and need a lot of support.” I feel like that just perfectly sums me up right now. The impact on my confidence has been tremendous. I had someone try and offer support by saying, “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”. It couldn’t be further from the truth for me. I feel like the last year has really battered me in that respect. It’s become all-consuming, which leads to the constant anxiety. I have been considering seeing a psychologist again. I think I’ll see how the next couple of weeks go and then decide. The psychologist I saw in February wasn’t someone who I felt I could really ‘break down’ to as she didn’t really show a lot of compassion, which is what I would have expected from someone in her position. I do know, though, that I do need to keep sight of what I have right in front of me, with Mark and Hunter and our little family.
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