Hey guys, I just wanted to check in and let you know how it has been going. It has been a week today and so far I am doing ok. I saw my OB and asked her about getting some blood work done (I’ll go into detail in a minute) to see what is going on. I was done bleeding as of yesterday which is just like last time. I’m still upset that this keeps happening but I think that it has given me some determination to get a diagnosis. I have done some research on causes on recurrent MC and I think that I have figured out what could be wrong. I mentioned in the last post about a possible cause. I just want to say before I go any further that I am not a cybercondriac. I am a medical professional and I work with people with similar syndromes to find a cure or treatment. I do know what I am doing for the most part. I have several of the symptoms of antiphospholipid (Hughes) syndrome. You can google it if you want but the ones that apply to me are of course recurrent MC, memory problems (I frequently forget things and am afraid I will end up like my grandmother), a rash called livedo reticularis, heart flutter, and bleeding before the 20th week of pregnancy with or without MC (I bled with Sylas around week 13). My mom and dad had a very hard time conceiving and it took them eight years to have me. Now this was back in the 80’s so we weren’t as medically advanced. She had many early MC’s and one stillbirth. My brother was also born premature which is another symptom. I think that these are a lot of symptoms to be coincidental but that could be the case.
So the blood work that I asked for is for clotting disorders. I had two tests done and I’m not sure when the results will be back. It will probably take a week or so. The first one is called an antiphospholipid panel and it consists of about 10 different tests. The other one is called a lupus anticoagulant evaluation. I will post the links at the end of the blog so you can take a look at what these tests are if you want (they are directly from the performing laboratory’s website). They basically test for proteins in the blood that would cause me to hyper-coagulate (which means that I get blood clots easily). I am pretty convinced that this is my problem, but it could always be something else. I will have to be re tested no sooner than 12 weeks to get a definitive diagnosis. I am really torn about how to feel about the results. I kind of hope that they come back abnormal so that I have a diagnosis and treatment plan but at the same time it is scary. If I am positive for one/some of the tests, I will be at increased risk for heart attack and stroke at a young age. I don’t want that either. I may have to be put on an aspirin regimen for life and have regular blood monitoring. I just want an answer as to why this is happening. So far all I get is “maybe its just a couple rounds of bad luck.” I just can’t take that for an answer, its not good enough. If it is just bad luck I hope it has all run out and third time is the charm. If I test positive for antiphospholipids, I will have to take a baby aspirin throughout the whole pregnancy and have to do Lovenox or heparin injections. I don’t really know when those start. From what I have read, it depends on the woman. It will be a long scary road. Risk of MC, stillbirth or premature labor is high. I am getting anxious to hear back from the doctor. I will keep you in the loop on the results. Please keep me in your prayers!
ttyl
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/testcenter/TestDetail.action?ntc=14890
http://www.questdiagnostics.com/testcenter/TestDetail.action?ntc=7079