Friday, October 28, 2011

5 dpo

and I learned how to give myself my hcg injections. I successfully administered 1 cc into my belly and I didn't even flinch. I'm beyond thrilled! Thrilled to be injecting myself and have an answer.

I'm 5 dpo and I'm convinced I'm pregnant.

My boobs hurt, like that feeling you get that you just have to take your bra off. When you get it off your boobs hurt worse for 10 seconds. Know what I'm talking about? Yea, I've had that sensation in most of my pregnancies.

I've also noticed some left ovary twinges. C'mon corpus luteum (CL)!!! Do your job!!!

Also I've noticed more saliva production.

BUT this is all insane at 5dpo!!!!!

I'm trying to tell myself I won't be disappointed if we don't get a  BFP this cycle. I can just look back and say, "hey this was a practice cycle, to get the swing of these shots."

Yesterday, Mike said to me, "I don't think you are pg this cycle." His words stung and still echo in my head.

So if AF doesn't show by 16 dpo, I'm to go in for blood work.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

The day I've been dreading.......

October 23, 2011. The day I've been dreading for some 7 1/2 months. I sit here wide awake past midnight, once again after watching a movie.

I sit here empty handed with a heavy aching heart. Trust me, it makes it easier that I have Landon, no doubt...but I can't help but hurt! And grief the day that should have been my 2nd child's birthday.

I can't help think about the things that should be different, the nursery, the endless sleepless nights, introducing Landon to his new sibling, Landon's big boy room, the cries of a newborn.....I can't help but think about what should have been...

But yet here I sit almost anxious of the thought of having a toddler and a newborn.

Hopefully, after today I will be able to move on. Since getting answers I think, it has brought me some peace but getting through today...will be the last milestone of my 5th pregnancy.

:::Breathe in, breathe out:::


Thankfully, I have very good friends that will help me get through this day. I especially want to thank Lisa who sent me this in the mail (just 2 weeks after having twins)!!!





Thank you so much Lisa for remembering, it means the world to me! Thank you for being there for me in some of my deepest, darkest hours & some of the happiest days of my life!! You are a true friend and a sister forever!!!




Sunday, October 16, 2011

Let's talk....LPD

So as you can imagine, I'm still thrilled that I have a diagnosis, that we have a plan and you can bet that I've spent a lot of time reading about Type III LPD.

There are 5 types of LPD, which I only knew that there was at least 3 types. So let's talk about each of these.

- Type I LPD - In this particular woman, progesterone increases (as it should) after ovulation & within a short amount of time decrease. So instead of progesterone levels peaking around 7dpo, it peaks at 3 dpo and decreases from there.

This abnormality can be associated with RPL and sometimes women with infertility.

- Type II LPD - In this woman, the length of the luteal phase is normal but a low amount of progesterone is produced.

This abnormality is most common and seen in women with regular cycles and women experiencing infertility.

- Type III LPD - aka late luteal defect. In this woman, progesterone rises after ovulation and sometimes even higher than average levels and around 7dpo progesterone falls significantly. Anything more then a 50% drop is consider Type III.

This abnormality is seen in women with infertility, miscarriages & PMS.

- Type IV LPD - In this woman, progesterone levels are much lower on 3 dpo & return to normal on 5 & 7 dpo.

This type is very rare.

- Type V LPD - In this woman, estrogen & progesterone levels are normal before ovulation but after ovulation there is a decrease in estrogen production.

Out of the five types, this is the only one that involves estrogen & it appears this may be a precursor to osteoporosis according to "The NaProTECHNOLOGY Revolution" book, by Dr. Hilgers.

Type IV & V are the least understood.

A lot of modern doctors, in my journey have dismissed LPD and told me that it does not exist and here is why....
"Modern medicine" recognizes the following to test to see if a woman is ovulating: 1) shift in basal body temp 2) endometrial biopsy (which is rarely done now) 3) an elevated progesterone level (which most doctors do on CD 21 4) a positive OPK.  However, none of these 4 options determine if ovulation is normal, defective or if it even occurred.

"Over 56% of women with both infertility and regular cycles the ovulation is either ABSENT OR DEFECTIVE!"

Yet modern medicine has turned their head in the other direction of NaProTECHNOLOGY and its discoveries. Modern medicine is suppose to be evidence based but here NaPro is 30+ years ahead of these guys.

Angry? Frustrated? Yea, I was too and still am for those who don't know better!!! I feel modern medicine is injustice to their patients and thats a darn shame!

Just to prove to you that NaPro is way ahead of the game, I found an article on LPD on Global Library of Women's Medicine. It states:

"The most problematic aspect of a review of LPD is the persistent lack of universal standards for definition and diagnosis. Jones1 claimed that the most accurate means of diagnosis was performing daily assays of serum progesterone throughout the luteal phase but noted that this is impractical except in a research setting. (Impractical or just not willing or fearful insurance companies won't pay???) Divergent opinions persist regarding the clinical gold standard for measurement of LPD; this has led to tremendous variability in the estimated prevalence and cure rates in infertile populations. This chapter reviews seminal points regarding LPD that have been reported in a wide variety of investigations."

Feel free to share your thoughts with me!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

October 15th, WORLDWIDE, Pregnancy & Infant Loss Rememberance Day

Absolutely Beautiful! Please join me this Saturday at 7 PM by lighting a candle for the baby or babies you, a friend, a family member or even a stranger have lost!




New Page

Check out my book review page if you are looking for a book recommendation regarding miscarriage! Yes, I'm a dork! I know. But I wish I would have had this information at my finger tips when I was going through my m/c's. I'm amazed how many books are now on amazon.com regarding infertility, miscarriage, RPL, stillbirth & infant loss.

OMG OMG OMG!!! Jumping up and down!!!!

No...again, I'm NOT pregnant! But I am getting answers!!!!! Despite my awful feeling about my blood work not showing anything... I was so wrong!!!

My ob/gyn's nurse just called. Discussed some of the numbers with me and told me I have Type III Luteal Phase Defect!

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!

So what I do know right now is that my estradiol was low even though the peak was 103 on 7dpo. Dr. Daggs wants to see it at 110-150 (units?! I have no idea). The bigger problem was my progesterone was 17 on 7dpo but drastically dropped to 5.8 in 2 days. Anything over a 50% drop is consider Type III Luteal Phase Defect!!!!

Holy shit people! I could cry but I'm cheesin at the same time from ear to ear!!!

What does this mean and where do I go from here?

Type III LPD is treated with HCG shots (I believe Kathy said at 5dpo & 7dpo). We are starting this cycle!!!! I will learn how to give these injections to myself...and I don't even care that I have to inject myself.

I'm beyond thrilled that I am finally getting somewhere. Landon qualified for early intervention this afternoon after I got the news and I don't even care....it won't ruin this day that I finally feel like I'm on top of this stupid RPL mountain and finally on my way to overcoming it!!!!

Off to see if I can google LPD types!!!

OMG OMG OMG!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

I really love this blog...

If you haven't checked this blog out yet you really, really should Miscarriage - Recurrent Miscarriage!!! I love the stuff that Sandy posts on this blog.

And in particular check out this blog post that Sandy posted! I will warn that this article is from 2008. Funny, I haven't heard of it being successful or anyone in the states trying it. I would like to do some more research about it and ask my doctor.

Here is what I found on wikipedia about anandamide:
"Anandamide is also important for implantation of the early stage embryo in its blastocyst form into the uterus. Therefore cannabinoids such as Δ9-THC might influence processes during the earliest stages of human pregnancy. Peak plasma anandamide occurs at ovulation and positively correlates with peak estradiol and gonadotrophin levels, suggesting that these may be involved in the regulation of AEA levels."

WTF?!?!

I'm angry. Very angry at my body!

Of all cycles that we do hormonal profile and I sit here typing this at 15 dpo. Seriously!?!? I haven't had a cycle like this for a long freakin' time. I'm lucky if I am 12 dpo by the time AF shows her ugly head.

I already checked...twice as a matter of fact...I'm NOT pregnant. So what gives?! Did I subconsciously think about this and my body said, "Ah we'll just F*$& w/ her since she s getting her blood work done this cycle." What gives?!

I'm pissed. I feel like this blood work was a waste this cycle. Can't wait to hear what my Ob/gyn has to say this time....

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Last draw...

Last draw was today.

9 dpo:
Estradiol - 6
Progesterone - 5.8


What's this mean? I'll find out in 2 weeks.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Hormonal Analysis

So I'm now at O + 9 days (aka 9 dpo)....I've had 4 blood draws.

3 dpo:
Progesterone: 7.7   (yup definitely ovulated)
Estradiol: 66

5 dpo:
Progesterone: 13.3
Estradiol: 91

7 dpo:
Progesterone: 17.8
Estradiol: 103
LH: 1.8
FSH: 2.2

So I have no idea what "units" these are in. I know my Progesterone is WNL. But the other 3 are all new to me. I've tried searching on the internet and even asked on my message boards. However, most have never heard of testing LH & FSH except for on CD 3. I think, that they think my doctor is wacko but no just different. ;-) Which is what I need.

So Thursday I will get my levels from today and figure out what "units" these are performed in.

I still don't have a good feeling....I feel defeated and feel I'm doing this for nothing! Its a horrible feeling.



Wanted to share...

I added this to the Poems & Quote page but wanted to share here:

 "A short time ago it was announced on the evening news that there is an epidemic of obesity in my country. An "Epidemic", according to the night time news is 1 in 4 people. So that means anything that is a challenge health wise, bringing suffering must be an epidemic, right? If that's the case then I can confirm that in the western world we have a miscarriage epidemic.

Miscarriage is one of the most common and significant losses in a woman’s life, yet no one talks about it, no one openly discusses it and certainly no one understands it. Especially when it comes to understanding the devastating grief that goes with it.

When you become pregnant you enter a big club for women. Its a subculture. You are accepted into the club with open arms. But when you loose the baby youare no longer a part of this club and you can no longer "fit right back in" to where you were before you were pregnant. You are in limbo. There's no where to go.

At 14 weeks gestation I lost my baby. In fact I painfully gave birth to my dead baby on the bathroom floor, only to be told by friends "you can always have another one" and "yeah but you're a positive person, you'll get over it."

One friend said to me two weeks after I lost my baby "are you all okay now, back to your old positive self?" Was she kidding? Just because I'm a positive person doesn't mean I don't feel grief. (Where DOES that misconception come from?)

One woman I spoke to about it even tried to talk me out of my grief saying "yes but look at all the positives that have come out of it, I bet you're stronger now."

Positives? What's positive about a baby dying in your body?

One social worker friend who I was close to for over ten years didn't even call me when I left a message and told him what happened. He said later he was busy.

It's enough to drive you insane.

And the bonus line that Doctors and care providers love to give "Its very common." So are car accidents but you would never put your arm around a car accident victim and say "Don't worry its very common." You would feel like a right twit. But people don't seem to mind saying it to a woman who has just had a miscarriage. In fact people feel justified because it was not a "real" baby. It was just a bit of blood.

You see a woman connects with that baby from day 1. She imagines a giving birth to a beautiful baby who loves her, and whom she can love. She imagines the bond and the love with her from the moment she finds out she's pregnant. She imagines a 5 year old running around the house, sharing each others lives, sharing each others love. Pregnancy is the promise of a best friend who will never leave you. Its a happiness you can only liken to childhood joy at Christmas time, or being in love for the very first time. Its the most emotionally uplifting time of your life.

When the child dies, whether at 2 weeks of pregnancy or at 18 weeks, that happiness she felt becomes replaced with a crushing loss and heavy sadness. Its not only been taken from her, (often without any answers from medicos as to why) but the physical signs of a death has occurred right in her own body. The blood she experiences for almost two weeks is the blood of the death that has occurred in her own body. The death of the best friend.

The blood is frightening and so is the prospect of facing the world again with this devastating loss. And knowing that she will never get the right support, so she chooses to keep this a secret. This is accompanied with, (Often) crushing feelings of guilt. "What if I hadn't bent over to pick up the spoon that dropped on the floor", "what if I hadn’t stood up for so long at work, "what if I'd had the low fat biscuit instead of the full fat one" etc, etc. The mental hounding is unbearable.

You see the more people express their lack of support, the longer she grieves and the harder the grief is to accept.

The good news is that society can have a big influence on a woman’s healing and emotional recovery. Other people around her have the power to help her, and that’s a great thing. And you will be amzed at what a little thing does to help. Such loving and kind words at a time of loss has the most profound feelings of healing and acceptance. Its the difference between "not knowing how to get through this" and "gee maybe I can get through this after all." Thats the power that supportvie actions have on a woman who has just had a miscarriage.

Lets look at the healing power that we can have for her;

Firstly if a woman you know has had a miscarriage:

Don't try to talk her out of it by always talking about the positive things that have come out of it. Accept her feelings after all that blissful happiness has vanished and been replaced with loss and grief that has changed her as a person its so profound. There's nothing positive about loosing a beloved baby.

Don't Avoid her. She may feel totally rejected. If you are uncomfortable just remember it’s not about you; its about her. It’s her loss and you don't have to feel uncomfortable just because it’s a womens issue.

Don't try to "cheer her up." It will only appear worse and she will feel as if you are not really understanding her or wanting to let her be herself. She doesn't need "cheering up" she needs love and to talk about whats happened.

Don't give her advice. The last thing a grieving woman wants to hear is what she "should" do, or what she "must" so. It will feel like you are shutting out her deep feelings of sadness.

Don't say "yes but at least you have other children." The other children aren't the problem, the loss her new child is the problem, she wanted her new one just as much as she wanted the others. Each child is unique.

Don't say "well at least you conceived straight away, not many couples can do that." Whether it took her five minutes or five years to conceive she's still experienced a huge loss that has profoundly changed her life. She is now a different person.

The best thing that you can do is:

Support her and ask if there is anything you can do.

Send her flowers to acknowledge her loss.

Write a simple message on a card "sorry for the loss of your little baby."

Offer to help her honor her baby in the form of a plant or a candle.

Ask if she needs practical help such as housework or running errands.

Ask her what date the baby would have been born, then around that date send her some flowers to say you are thinking of her.

Take her out and celebrate her baby’s life, no matter how short it was it still touched her deeply.

Treat her miscarriage like you would the death of a loved one in her family- because the baby was a loved one who has indeed died.

And the best thing you can do to start changing how societies view of miscarriage; acknowledge it openly and talk about it with her.

Together we can make a significant change to grieving women and help them recovery and feel happiness again. Just a gentle support, a loving message, a phone call to say hi will be appreciated in ways she may not be able to express. Never underestimate how good your love can be."