IV Iron Administration

Since my iron stores are still low and my body is going to try to increase my blood supply by 50% over the next month or so, I'm thinking that it might be time for a more aggressive anemia treatment.

I've been taking oral iron, and eating iron rich foods but still it seems to me that my body doesn't absorb iron well orally. A friend of mine had suggested intravenous iron to me a while back but I never pursued it, but I really want to help this pg in every way possible.

I just started looking up stuff about it and a recent study showed that it helped, and also could help stave off the need for a transfusion later on in pg.

quote:

IV iron "restores blood stores more rapidly and a prompt increase in hemoglobin may be achieved," they point out. Moreover, it may reduce the need for blood transfusion in pregnant women who have severe anemia near term.
From: Intravenous Iron Rapidly Treats Iron-Deficiency Anemia of Pregnancy, Dec 2005 (Obstet Gynecol 2005;106:1335-1340.)

I feel like this would be the right thing for me to do at this point. I do eat dark leafy greens, chicken, fish, occasional red meat and even chicken liver, plus supplementation (granted I'm not as good as I should be about it) but still, I don't eat crap or a lot of caffeine so this still looks to me like I don't absorb it well. And my period is way less than it was before, so that shouldn't be an issue. I'll have to discuss with my doctor next week.

447%!

First hCG: 15 mIU/ml	Second hCG: 82 mIU/ml
hCG Difference: 67 mIU/ml	Time Difference: 48 hours	Total hCG Increase: 447 % (5.5)
Daily Rate Increase: 134% (2.34)	Two Day Rate Increase: 447% (5.47)
1st Day hCGAs If: 35 mIU/ml	2 Days hCG As If: 82 mIU/ml
Assessment: The Two-Day hCG rise was 447% and is considered adequate.

Up Before Dawn

I've been up since 4am; I had to pee badly (not typical for me but then I'm drinking more fluids and I'm pg) and then all my little aches kept me up. I'm going to be exhausted by later this afternoon, even if I manage to get back to sleep.

My partner told me late last night that he had two friends call him last night to go out for a drink and he declined. He said that he knew he couldn't keep his mouth shut about my being pg and he feels it is too early to tell. He, and we, are holding out for the heartbeat scan.

This pregnancy already feels different to me from the others. With the first I felt like my pregnancy, my baby, had no soul. It was an odd feeling that I didn't really talk about. Then my scan showed that it was an empty sac. The pregnancy last year, from the time I saw the positive pregnancy test I just thought that it would just be a matter of time until it failed.

But this time, I feel like there's a spirit in me, a small one but a very vibrant one. I don't feel like it will fail. I do think it's going to be a rough couple of weeks but I'm going to do my all to try to help keep my baby sticky this time.

My doc said that typically with number like mine are he wouldn't do follow up bloodwork. He agreed with me, though things are going well, that moderate tracking of levels would at least give us more information to work with -- should something go wrong. So I'm going to have my progesterone and beta checked again in a week.

I need to figure out about a scan, though something tells me this one is a keeper.

Thanks for your support and comments. You guys are great. :)

News blast

I just got the call from my ob/gyn...

my beta is now at 82!

my progesterone was at an unbelievable 31.4 (2 days ago)!

Lupus antibodies -- negative

Wow!

Back from acu

My acu is so excited she gave me a hug[:)] I've been seeing her for just about a year (one of two acus who alternate in seeing me at the one practice) and she helped me through my last m/c.

I described to her all the little weirdness I've been experiencing, the random nausea and sinus issue last week, the light fever on Friday, odd aches and pains. The aches I know are related -- I've got a pain in my left foot in the spot where the point is for the uterus in reflexology; around my navel I feel a light burning sensation; above that in my girdle meridian there are little pains. The bottom of both feet just below the ball of my foot in the middle are achey, I've had that since last week -- that's a major kidney point and she said it was just that my body was drawing a lot on my reserves right now.

She did points to secure the fetus -- 3 inches up from my wrist on the inside of my arm, several points on the crown of my head, and several points around my ankles. I fell asleep for a little while even (and now I'm so tired I want a nap!)

She gave me a new herbal formula called Securing the Fetus that contains blood building and kidney nourishing herbs. She told me to bump up my blood building foods and then to use ginger if I was having any nausea symptoms. I'm also supposed to take fish oil capsules, one a day I think to help provide more omega-3s -- it's also another type of blood thinner and it's supposed to help both my body and provide good help for neural development for the baby. She said she wants to see me weekly until at least week 10.

I was thinking about all the people sending me prayers and sticky thoughts and trying to capture that in my body and use that energy. It made me get a bit misty. I really appreciate your support.

My temp was still up this morning (98.5) -- and really I think this implantation was a little earlier than last time. Tomorrow I go for another beta draw, I'll let you know when I get results back.

Am I making this all up?

While I was at the doctor's office this morning all of the sudden I just felt so odd -- like I must be making this up that I've got this positive pregnancy test sitting on my desk at home. I mean how ridiculous is it to have a consult scheduled already and then to test positive that morning?

But my doc was reassuring and then he called me himself (dang! that never happened ever with my RE) and let me know that my beta level was at 15 already and that it surely was something.

The appointment went well; I brought my sister along with me -- she's just back in town and I thought why the heck not. My doctor and I discussed the various options and tests we could do and he fully appreciated that I'm not a regular old OB patient. I let him know about Twyla (my new fibroid) and he wasn't too concerned just wanted to know about its placement (towards the outside of the uterine wall away from the uterine cavity).

I had 5 vials of blood drawn -- beta HCG, progesterone, ferritin, IgG and IgM. He told me to start taking a baby aspirin a day for possible preventative value (against any clotting issues I might have) and then he's likely going to prescribe me progesterone suppositories.

So far so good. I feel like I'm better hands already.

My sister told me to not read too much and my online friends are all sending me prayers which I really really appreciate so much right now.

I go for a repeat beta draw on Thursday. I don't have an ultrasound scheduled yet but I'm sure my doc will make it happen.

Miscarriage Testing

This was posted with permission from my friend ozgal who did a lot of info gathering. It's a list of all the different types of testing that you can get done. My ob/gyn today suggested that I just get the IgG and IgM tests done -- as they more common blood clotting disorders. I'll get the results in a few days time.

Here's a list of suggested post-m/c tests (with resources below):

• Toxoplasmosis


• Antinuclear Antibody Titre (ANA)


• Anti dsDNA Antibody


• Anti ENA screen (ELISA)


• APA – Antiphospholipid Antibodies (Anticardiolipin antibodies)


• Lupus Anticoagulant


• Thrombotic Assays (for clotting factors):

-- Antithrombin III Activity
-- Protein C Assay (functional)
-- Protein S Assay (free)
-- Plasminogen Assay
-- Activated Protein C Resistance (Factor V Leiden)

• Serum Immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM)


• Fertility hormones: Progesterone, HcG, Prolactin


• RIP (Reproductive Immunophenotype – natural killer (NK) cell)


• NKA (NK cell assay)


• Antihistone Antibody


• Coagulation Assay


• DQ alpha HLA antigen (male and female)


• LAD (Lymphocyte Antibody Detection) (male and female)


• TNF alpha (Tumor Necrosis Factor)


• Antibodies to neurotransmitters


• ETA (embryotoxicity assay)


• Ratio of TH1 to TH2


• Genetic/karyotyping of male/female blood


• DNA Integrity Assay (this requires sperm analysis)

Sources:
Dr. Jonathan Scher and Carol Dix, Preventing Miscarriage, the Good News. New York: Harper Collins, 2005.
Jon Cohen, Coming to Term: Uncovering the Truth About Miscarriage. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
http://www.repro-med.net/info/cat1-5.php
http://www.haveababy.com/rpl/basics.asp
http://www.illinoisivf.com/recurrent-pregnancy-loss/post-implantation.html
http://www.inciid.org/article.php?cat=immunology&id=374&pagenumber=1
http://www.asklenore.info/miscarriage/immune_testing.html
http://www.rialab.com/miscarriages_prevented.php
http://sharedjourney.com/loss.html
http://www.infertilitytutorials.com/miscarriage_members/hormonal.cfm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4002539.stm
http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/miscrg.html#Prevention
http://www.sefertility.com/patinfo_progesterone.html

Please send her some prayers as thank you for sharing. She'll need them as she works on TTC post loss.

Bloated as anything

Have you ever had a cycle where you went from feeling normal, almost skinny before ovulation and then felt like you gained 10 pounds after ovulation? It's been driving me nuts and I thought to myself, surely I've not been eating that much. Even my underwear hasn't been fitting right for the past 10 days.

This morning I have my consult with my ob/gyn to discuss my care plan for my next pregnancy. I figured that to rule it out, I would test this morning before my appointment to see if anything was there. I wasn't that optimistic. I took the test and it was blank, and waited and it was blank. So I stuck it in my drawer and then after a couple of minutes I checked again. And sure enough there was the faintest line coming up. I sort of felt like something must be going on for all that bloating.

So here you go, my third BFP, without any enhancement:

So, that's three for three of getting pg around this time of year.

I'm just hanging out, bloated as anything. What a fun LP this one is. And all my pants are tight and I'm fighting with my underwear all the time due to my backside being a little too fluffy for its own sake. I swear I gain inches during my LP. My partner is out with his friends, he should as he's been working, working, working non-stop as he's overloaded with projects right now. The poor guy needs a break. Since I have to fend for myself I'm thinking couscous, salad and grilled asparagus -- I've got a load of veggies to use up.