Itching like mad!
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Sat 4 Nov 2006
So the LIT went smoothy. The injections hurt quite a bit. And now the sites are swollen, red and very very very itchy… thats what they are supposed to do. It is my body doing what it needs to to hand on to a pregnancy. We I get my next period, in a week or so I figure, we are doing another frozen embryo cycle using the last 3 embies that we have. I’ll keep you posted!
Sooooo close…….
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Thu 5 Oct 2006
Yup, met with Dr. C today. Providing all blood work comes in ok (just virus testing) we will be doing LIT on November 1st. Will be doing my FET the cycle following that! I am excited for this next step, and seeing the end to all this in sight is such a relief!
The next step
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Wed 20 Sep 2006
October 4th we both meet with Dr. Clark to discuss LIT and sign up for the LIT study. We will also have pre-screening blood work done that day, to make sure we are elligble for the treatment. Not sure when LIT would end up being, but maybe the next time I am scheduled to go (Oct 25 or Nov 1st?). I’ll keep you posted.
LIT here we come
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Sun 17 Sep 2006
As positive as that title sounds, it means that AF has arrived, and the evil pee stick has confirmed her existance. BFN
I won’t go for a beta on thursday. Not worth the drive. I will be done with AF by then likely, so who needs a prick in the arm and a “matter of fact” phone call from the nurse to tell me what I already know.
I’ll call Dr. Clark on Tuesday when his office is next open, and remind him of his promise to let me have LIT before we give it our last hurrah.
So far very few tears… just feeling like a failure. But I am sure they will come later, and once it is all out I can move on, ready to face the next challenge.
One week down, one to go
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Thu 14 Sep 2006
I have made it through a week. And there isn’t even an evil pee stick in my house. Good for me.
I think I have talked myself into waiting for the pee stick test till Sunday, so I can enjoy my night on saturday first with Andy and the gang then with Katie and the other gang.
But… that could change at any second. And if it does, you all will know about it!
Sticky Vibes Please
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Fri 8 Sep 2006
Yesterday went very well. They thawed two embies, and they both survived the thaw with only 10% cell loss, which is amazing. I was happy with it. Better than my dream the night before that they all died.
I spent the day in bed watching movies and TV and today am off to work.
Beta is set for the 21st, but if I am pg I’ll know before that as my period would be due on the 17th or so. I’ll be peeing on sticks for sure… and I’ll keep you posted.
Melting down already
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Tue 5 Sep 2006
So I have confirmed that Dr. Clark does want to have me do IVIg tomorrow. So that is two days off work this week.
I barely slept last night and my stomach is in knots just thinking about it all… And I am days away from the transfer, never mind the two weeks of living hell afterwards to find out.
I remember now why I didn’t cycle for the last year. Never in a million years did I imagine something as simple as having a baby could be so very hard.
I have a massage booked for next thursday (14th) and that will be midway thorugh my two weeks of hell, so that should help. Gotta take care of me.
Liftoff
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Sat 2 Sep 2006
Surge today. Start progesterone tomorrow. Go for embryo transfer thursday. So much for it landing on the long weekend.
I’ll get ahold of Dr. Clark on wed to see if I am going to see him for IVIg on Wed or not.
Now we pray for a successful thaw of one straw with two embies in it. And that the embies continue to divide so they can snuggle in…
Likely no more updates till thursday. Thanks everyone for your support. I really need it.
…or maybe like a snales pace?
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Fri 1 Sep 2006
Lining 1.1, estrogen climbing nicely, LH slowly moving up - a surge is a huge jump like from 5-25 or so… mine has gone 4,6,8 in the last three days… so the surge must be on it’s way soon.
Not going to be transfering this weekend as far as I can tell. Dr. H would prefer 5 days after ovulation, which takes place approx 36 hours after the surge. Understand? So I don’t know when. And I really don’t like the aprehension of it all. Plus, I am scheduled for IVIg on wed. And I tried to call Dr. Clark today to see if I should bump it up a week or not but his office is aparently closed on Fridays. And Monday is the holiday. I just have to not stress over it. If I miss 2 days of work next week, so be it. But shit, that is not what I had in the cards.
Regarding the blood work - prolactin is fine today. Hep B was sent STAT, and Dr. Hannam said not to worry about it… whatever that means. But I did ask Jennifer the nurse, why on earth would they have not picked up the phone to talk to me about these things. I am in an active cycle, and those two days the req’s were in the mail could have made it or broke it for me ya know. Anyhow, she was going to talk to the girl who did it. And I will be sure to talk to Dr. H when I see him for my transfer. Al says the need a manager, not just the Dr. at the top off the office. I agree. Maybe I’ll send in my resume.
So tomorrow I go back for b/s & u/s… and tomorrow I will update again. Meh.
It’s like baby steps
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Thu 31 Aug 2006
B/W & U/S again today… lining is up to 1… no LH surge yet. Back tomorrow morning.
Got a package in the mail from Dr. Hannams office today. I need to get my Hep B test redone because the lab forgot to do it or something. I hope it isn’t one that takes time, or that is mandatory to be done in order to cycle. And I also need to retest my prolactin. The req for that came with a form letter stating what high prolactin can mean, and possible causes… so I am guessing that it was high??? I will be making sure to talk to Dr. H or his nurse Jennifer tomorrow morning. WTF. I figure since I have been there 3 times this week they might have just talked to me about this rather than sending stuff in the mail blindly. If I get pg from this it will be worth all this… if not I may just write a letter to someone. Or maybe even a book about my experience. It shouldn’t have to be like this.
The hour commute to get into the city is nuts… So glad I don’t work downtown! Three days in a row is enough for me. I’ll write again tomorrow if I remember.
I can’t believe it!
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Wed 22 Feb 2006
Well, I should believe it! I have pushed for this for so long… We got in to see Dr. Clark. I can’t even put words to describe how amazingling excited I am about this!!! Just the best darn thing ever! We see Dr. David Clark of McMaster University Hospital next Wednesday at 11am. I just can’t believe this is finally happening. I am going to have a baby… I can feel it!
The Referral
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Sun 19 Feb 2006
The referral from my gp was sent to Dr. Clark in Hamilton on Monday the 13th. I will follow up with Dr. Clarks office tomorrow to see if he will take me. I need him too! Al told me the other day he isn’t comfortable going to Mexico for the LIT, and without it we won’t get pregnant. So we HAVE to get in to see Dr. Clark. Cross your fingers for us ok…
After the Apointment - there is hope.
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Wed 8 Feb 2006
SO Dr. Beer confirmed that we do infact need the LIT treatment and then there will be a 15% chance that we need IVIg as well. After we do the LIT our levels will be checked again. If we need IVIg we will go ahead with that as well. Then our treatment plan is to go home and try on our own for 2 months. Sex every day from day 11-17 of my cycle. And guess what the best part is? With that we have a 60% chance of conceiving on our own in those two months. That my friends is what normal people have. A 60% chance in any given cycle of conceiving. I am absolutely elated with it really. I never expected this. After Dr. Hannam told us in September that we would never coneive on our own naturally.
Our next plan of action is to pursue getting this treatment in Canada where it is all covered by health care. The Dr. is in Hamilton, which is less than an hours drive from home. I have sent him all my records and results along with a nice sob story letter. I then spoke to his assistant. She told me I need to get an offical referral from my GP. So I have spoke to my GP’s office and I hope they will do the referral for me without me having to go see the Dr. I will know more today I hope.
Another thing that came out of the consult with Dr. Beer was that based on the numbers in our blood tests, he can say without a doubt, that Al and I together have been pregant before. Likely this pg is what triggered the immune issues that we have going on now. But with treatment (LIT) the issues will be corrected, and shouldn’t flare up again after another pregancy. FYI, many people (85% or somehting like that) actually are pregnant and loose it before they even know. You can get your period on time and have been pregant. Sad, but true. So it means that we can get pg. And that in itself is a small victory.
If anyone wants to know more, email me or reply here. I can tell you tonns more, but you really need to be a biologist to understand so much of it. I am well on my way to a degree in infertility.
JO
The Results (before the consultation)
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Sat 4 Feb 2006
Ok, so I have the results, and have researched enough to know that I do infact have immune issues… reasons for not getting pregnant all this time. This post is simply to give some links/info to you regarding what treatments we are going to need. The big update after the consult on Monday will follow.
http://repro-med.net/guides/consume.php A link to a list of the testing that we had done (most of them)
About IVIg - may need this due to over active Natural Killer Cells
IVIG is a solution of globulins containing antibodies normally present in adult human blood. Globulins are simple proteins that provide immunity against disease. A protein is made up of several amino acids, which are the microscopic building blocks that make up all cells. Many globulins are inherited, so that the body is able from birth to fight off bacteria and other infections. IVIG is used for maintenance treatment of people who are unable to produce sufficient amounts of immune globulin antibodies. . IVIG can help prevent or treat infections such as meningitis, bacteremia, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, acute sinusitis, pneumonia, acute mastoiditis, or abscess of an internal organ.
The immune response to a foreign protein is to neutralize or destroy the antigen. An antigen is a protein marker on the surface of a cell that identifies the cell as “self” or “nonself” An antigen can cause the production of antibodies. Antibodies are complex compounds made by the white blood cells (WBCs) that combine with specific antigens to destroy or control bacterial infections. As bacteria enter the body, WBCs produce antibodies to provide protection against illness.
This is the sceintific version. This is administered via IV and takes approx 2.5-3hours to infuse. It basically realigns all the cells that may be destroying the embryo prior to, or shortly after implantation.
This therapy has been used for many many years for people who suffer with all kinds of immune issues that make them sick. I met a women whose immune system had been ravaged due to Downs and she has been getting infusions for 20years with no ill side effects.
LIT, for sure I will be needing due to elevated LAD #’s.
II. What is LIT (Lymphocyte Immune Therapy)?
(Taken from Dr Beer’s old LIT document http://repro-med.net/tests/litdoc.html)
Lymphocytes (white blood cells) of two classes are isolated from the male spouse. The two classes isolated from whole blood are the T cells (CD-3) and the B cells (CD-19). The Consumer’s Guide to the Reproductive Immunophenotype further defines how these white blood cells differ from others. Forty million lymphocytes are washed three times and then concentrated into an immunization that is less than 0.6 cc. This concentrate of lymphocytes is then injected in the skin of the woman (intradermally) just like an allergy skin test. It usually requires 4 injections, two on each forearm. The injected areas then become red, slightly swollen and itch just like a positive skin test. One month later the process and the injections are repeated. The second injection sites usually become less red, swollen and itch less than the first ones. One month later blood is drawn from the woman (serum) and blood is drawn from the man (lymphocytes). A test called the lymphocyte antibody detection assay (or Crossmatch) is done to determine if the immunizations have worked and the woman has made blocking antibody to her spouse’s T and B cells.
This test has two parts, 1) a microcytotoxicity assay and 2) a flow cytometry assay. The first test (microcytotoxicity) becomes positive in only 30% of women. If it does not become positive, this is not a bad result. Women who remain negative in this assay become mothers with the same frequency as women who become positive in this microcytotoxicity assay. The proper response is for the woman to become positive in the flow cytometry test. If the second part of the test does not become positive, then booster immunizations are given or donor lymphocytes are mixed with the husband’s lymphocytes and the immunizations are done again with donor plus paternal. It should be noted here that there are two types of donors, and both types are screened. Type I uses blood that has been frozen for a minimum of six months. Type II uses fresh blood from the donor. Testing for the leukocyte antibody detection assay (Crossmatch) is done one month later.
Alright, so this is all VERY confusing. For me too. IF you want to know more, please feel free to ask.
Jo
Oh Boy
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Thu 26 Jan 2006
So ALL my blood has been drawn and results are coming in. I have a consultation with Dr. Beer on Feb 6th. This is the next step for us and I am excited to see what happens next.
Blood Work
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Tue 27 Dec 2005
So I go to my gp on thursday to ask her to draw the first series of blood work to be sent to Dr. Beer. Then remainder is being drawn by a friend of a friend who is a nurse. I will then be shipping it to Chicago to the lab, and the results will then go to Dr. Beer. I am thrilled to finally be moving on again. I do feel that I have had enough of a rest from the IF beast, to move to the next phase of our treatment plan.
I made it through the days of Christmas fairly painlessly. We had some great time with John & Meg. The 4 days off from work has been a Godsend, I can tell you for sure. Tomorrow we are back at it, but I feel rested and ready to tackle the world. And I never know how long these feelings will last, so I gotta get a move on.
Love and wishes to all. Jo
The next step
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Mon 28 Nov 2005
Last week we submitted paperwork to the Dr. in the USA who treats immune issues. (www.repro-med.net) They called me the day after they got my paperwork. As opposed to our Dr. here who hasn’t returned my call (I left him two messages).
Bottom line we are very frustrated with the whole situation. I pray that we go ahead with testing with Dr. Beer and FIND SOMETHING WRONG. Because if something is wrong, I have a reason for all of this. If not, my woes have all been for naught, and then we have to play the stupid numbers game that the Dr’s here want us to play.
An Introduction
Filed under: Uncategorized — babyinmyheart @ Mon 14 Nov 2005
I certainly never thought I would be one to write a blog… but here I am. But I want you to know that this isn’t a daily update or venting type of blog. I have created it based on a suggestion from a friend that I do it as a way for my friends an family to keep up to date with what is going on with our infertilty struggle, without having to ask me or Mom about it.
So I’ll start at the begininng I guess. Then those of you who don’t really know what is going on can follow my thoughts easier. We have been trying to conceive (ttc) since May of 2002. In late 2003 we sought out an infertilty specialist after having gone 1 year without being pregnant. During 2004 we had 5 assisted cycles, known as IUI. This means intra-uterine insemination. Simply put, they monitor the cycle to know when ovulation is going to occur, and put sperm into the uterus with a cathedar at that time. The sperm has been washed so only the strongest and best ones are left. This is a relatively simple procedure. After the first 3 IUI’s my dr. did a laparoscopy to look for endomitriosis. This is when the uterine lining “back flows” into the abdominal cavity. It then attaches itself to organs and begins to grow. It sheds with the normal mentral flow, however, it is shedding into the abdomen, usually causing pain. For some reason, still being researched by doctors world wide, endo can affect feritility. So, I had the lap done and “moderatly-severe” endo was found and cleared. I then did 2 more IUI’s. These were medicated, meaning I was on drugs to stimulate my ovaries to make more than one egg each cycle.
These cycles also failed, and that left us feeling very empty. Our dr. was suggesting that I go on a drug that basically stops your cycle and therefore treats the endo. It is also a good prep. for doing IVF. So we agreed to do the treatment and then in the new year (2005) go ahead with IVF. IVF means invetro-fertilization. Basically, they retreive your eggs (used same drugs to produce multiple eggs) and put them together with the sperm in a petri dish. Then after several days of growing the newly formed embryos are placed in the uterus with a cathedar, pretty much like the IUI.
During the time off with the endo treating drug (no period for about 4 months) we decided to change doctors. This was not an easy decision. However, I had been researching some interesting fields relating to infertility known as “immune issues”, and wanted further testing done before moving to IVF. Our Dr. at the time didn’t believe in immune issues (which are usually clotting disorders that can cause implantation failure) so this is what sparked us to change doctors.
We saw the new Dr. in the early months on 2005 and he agreed right away to do the immune testing that I was asking for (I had got my referal for this clinic knowing that I would get the tests). It was a lot of blood draws, but it seemed that all the tests came back A-OK! So we then decided to go ahead and do the IVF. This process started with medications in June. July was filled with anticpation of starting the daily injections to start the process of making multiple eggs. We did injections for the last 10 days of July or so and then had the egg retrieval (ER) on the Tuesday following the long weekend in August. The ER is a procedure where I was put into a semi-concious state and they put a needle through the vaginal wall into the ovaries. Using ultra sound the suction extract each egg folicle. I do remember the procedure, which for some is very painful. It wasn’t really bad for me… Lots of drugs! 5 days later the two best embroys at the blastocyst stage (look up your biology folks!) were transfered into my uterus. This is basically the same as the IUI, where a cathedar is used. 12 days later on August 19th we had a blood draw to test my beta numbers (a pregnancy test). Sadly it was negative.
I am not one to be very good with words, but I can tell you that this was the most devistating day of my life. The IVF cycle was perfect… Our Dr was thrilled with everything. All was perfect. The only good part was that we had 5 frozen embroys and we can use those for a frozen tranfer cycle anytime we feel we are ready.
After the failed IVF, we had a follow up consultation with Dr. Hannam. He basically said that everything was perfect and that it is a numbers game… if we do it again it should work. BUT… I then asked for copies of those immune tests he did. And when I finally got them 2 weeks later (late september) I realized that the one test that is most important for gals with endo, wasn’t done. I have since been reserching immune issues more, and I am trying to get in touch with Dr. Hannam. He was on vacation and now isn’t calling me back.
I am leaning towards doing the full immune testing through a Dr. from California. He does all his consults on the phone or via email, so we don’t have to go to the US. We will have to get the blood drawn here, and courier it to him for testing. (I know where to get this done however!!!)
The drawback to this is the cost. Everything in IF costs lots of money. The IVF procedure with drugs is just shy of $10,000. Each frozen cycle we do will be approx $1500-$2000. The testing throgh the Dr. in the states (Dr. Beer) is approx $3000.
So that in a fairly compressed version is what we have gone through in the last 3.5 years. I want each and every one of you to know that we are willing to talk to you about our struggle. Here is a link that very well describes much of what we are going through emotionally and physically, and it helps you understand what we need from you, our friends & family. http://www.ferre.org/newbrow/infbroc/helpothr.html More than anything I want my life to not be all-consumed by this beast. And if I can get the support from you all, I am sure that I can succeed.
Below are some links to give you more information about the procedures we have had and about our clinic.
http://www.ivf-infertility.com/ivf/standard/procedure/index.php
http://fertilethoughts.net/ft/infertility/ (this is where I post (on the bulletin boards) and have made many close friends. It is truly my lifeline through all of this.
Hope this helps us all. Jo (& Al)
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