Talked to a dr in the states....

I just got off the phone talking to a dr in the States.  He seemed very nice...and didn't harp on my age and the blood clotting disorders...which made me like him even more.

He said that from looking at my history - pregnancy and just in general - he doesn't think the problem is the blood clotting...he said that I may have the genetic disposition for the disorders, but the fact that I have never had a clotting issue makes him think that that is not the problem.  He said that while they do take my age into account...there's nothing that can be done about that...so the next step was to look at other issues.  Ideally...if I weren't living in a country that's only in the mid-20th century medical care wise (if that in some places...I could give you horror stories on what the average poverty stricken person gets in medical care here)...ideally, it would've been nice if they had of been able to conduct chromosome tests on any of my miscarriages...but since that's not possible...nothing to do there either.

He said that it sounds very much to him like it's a hormonal imbalance...the progesterone specifically.  He said that even though I was on progesterone...it probably wasn't enough...and when I mentioned I was on Prochieve, which is a progesterone suppository from the U.S., he said that if that's what I was on, he could guarantee it's not enough.  He said that most drs in the U.S. now don't use prochieve for someone w/a progesterone deficiency resulting in recurrent miscarriages...because it doesn't contain enough progesterone.  He gave me the name of one he says they use at their clinic...Endometrin...which is tables that are used vaginally, 100mg tablets 3x a day, starting 3 days after a positive OPK or one day after IUI.

He said that all the blood work I've had done covers pretty much everything they'd check in the states, and that the only thing he can see that could be a possibility to check would be an endometrium biopsy to test the natural killer cells...but he said that he thinks that's pushing it fo rnow.

He also told me - contrary to what my other dr has said - to wait until September (two cycles including the mc and the August cycle) before TTC again.  He said a lot of statistics show that getting pg immediately after a mc (ie less than three cycles)  has shown an increase in another mc.

Overall, he seems pretty optimistic that I do have a good chance of succeeding if I increase the progesterone...and while taking into consideration my age and the blood clotting issues...he didn't stop looking at anything at those two issues.  He told me to have my dr here contact him if he has any questions...that he'd be more than willing to correspond w/the dr here and give advice/suggestions on appropriate treatment when/if I get pg again.

How it's just a matter of waiting.  My DH will likely be traveling to Egypt to see his family next month...and wants to stay for three months to work on something w/his brother....so I may just decide to go to Egypt and pay a visit to my DH to either have my way w/him while there...or even do the IUI again there while on vacation.  We'll see.

I am trying to remind myself that it'll happen in time if it's meant to happen.

Holly, I am so glad that you were able to talk to a doctor in the US.  Most of all, I am glad that he didn't say that you were having issues because of your age or blood disorder.  I hope that he is on to something and that it can result in a happy and healthy pregnancy.  I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!

M

Holly over all that sounds like good news! Go to Egypt - find yourself your hubby and an ancient fertility idol and bring on the baby! :)

So glad that this Dr was less focused on age and less concerned with the clotting disorder!

I feel so bad that you have had to go through all of this...but I remain hopeful that you will be successful at carrying a baby soon.  All I can say about the medical treatment (not having gone through infertility treatments) is that my Dr who is a reproductive / infertility specialist have different opinions within their own clinic...one Dr doesn't believe progesterone supplements do much and the others support it in injections only (best way to get the level up according to them).  So, my first pregnancy (in which I had not consulted with the fertility Dr's) ended with a m/c- I believe because they weren't monitoring my labs...and my progesterone crashed, but I have no proof.  The second pregnancy I had just started seeing fertility clinic to find out why I was having problems getting pregnant after m/c...and bam I was pregnant after my first consult (I tease them they scared the baby into implating with all the testing, etc they wanted to do)...anyways they closedly monitored my labs as soon as I got a positive..and I was supplementing until about 15 weeks.  My daughter just turned 1.  Now I am pregnant again...supplemented because my labs were again down under 10.  So I got the needle in the @ss till 15 or 16 weeks this time...so far so good, I am 23 weeks.  Whoot.  So- I tend to believe progesterone supplements, specifically progesterone suspending in oil...have allowed me to have my daughter and hopefully will allow me to have another healthy little one.  Sending lots of great wishing and hoping they get the answer so it can be resolved ASAP. 

Holly,

I am glad you were able to talk to a doctor today. It seems like he had some good information for you!

I wish you all the luck for a sticky bean!

Traci

Well at least it is a plan. I wish I could remember the name of the suppository I did. It was a compound and I did it twice a day. High dose too...until 13 weeks. I took it an extra week just because I was paranoid! LOL
And I say go to Egypt....have your way with him...although if his family is like ours in Morocco...someone is always around...and being the walls are super thing, doors extra creaky, and all tile...things echo...as we so found out the next morning at breakfast....talk about embarrasment!

Holly...sounds like a great update all things considered! I really had a feeling it had to do with hormone inbalance, and your doctors there were so out of the loop on when to even start the progesterone. I hope this new stuff is the trick for you. Will you be able to get that prescription where you are? Any way for the doctor here to prescribe it for you and get it to you prior to a next pregnancy? Sounds like you have a nice vacation planned. And if the family and bd thing seems like it might be hard maybe you could plan a few days away from family with dh while you are there. I know we do that, just take off for a few days on our own. GL and keep us posted okay. Shari

The news from the doctor sounds promising. I was wondering if you were getting enough progesterone.

Hugs,
Angie

Wow Holly, sounds like a very good phone conversation with an experienced doctor.  I can sense the relief in your post and I think I'm picking up on some...wait for it...real hope!!!  The progesterone deficit seems like such a no-brainer now that you explained it.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if that's all it took to make the little bean stick?!

I'm so happy that you're a step closer to carrying a full-term pregnancy.  You have been so patient and dedicated in your pursuit of answers.  You truly deserve to be pregnant and happy for more than 6 weeks.  A brief hiatus from the 'business' of TTC might not be a bad thing.  Kind of a chance to recharge the batteries and focus on JUST YOU for a few weeks?!  A bit of retail therapy never hurts either

Please keep us posted and know that I'm here if you need support or venting along the way.

Hugs,

LOL...you're funny Jo.  Yeah...I'm a little more optimistic after talking to this dr.  He was very easy to talk to...and the fact that he didn't beat me over the head w/my age and my mutant blood...and agreed that though they could be factors in mc's...they didn't sound like it in mine.  At least not all of them. 

In a way...NOT TTC for the next two months will be a hiatus...even if we dtd as normal...at least it doesn't have a 'must-do-right-now-it's-time!' feeling...which I think we both need at this point. 

Retail therapy?  As my poor DH sadly knows, I'm GOOD at retail therapy.  I have my credit card # memorized, including the expiration date and three digit code on the back...I go online, find what I want, and buy it.  ; o  If my DH or DS tell me they want something...it usually takes just a few minutes to get the best price and it's on its way.  My husband laughed at me a few years ago when I went to a conference in Washington DC...he and my son gave me their lists of what they wanted - including donuts, halal (muslim) chinese food, a flat screen monitor for the computer, and some books.  I put my clothes for the two weeks I'd be there in a huge duffle bag (I call it a body bag), w/an empty duffle bag inside that.  By the time I was done, I had mailed at least 6 boxes home...and the airlines at that time allowed 2 bags at 70 pounds each...I had one bag at 69.5 pounds, and the 2nd was 90 pounds...I had two carry ons - one w/the donuts and monitor, one w/some stuff from Costco...so the guy at the counter let me take a smaller bag out of the heavy bag and have three carryons...then sent my 2nd bag on its way w/o re-weighing it.  I know I didn't take out 20 pounds, so was glad he just pushed it through. I called my DH when I was getting on the plane and told him to meet me w/the Land Cruiser - not the little compact car - and when I got there, he was shocked at how much I came home w/versus what I left with!  I think when I left, my total luggage weight - the bag in the bag w/my clothes - was about 14 pounds (it was summer and I took very light weight clothes) and I came back w/200 pounds plus what I mailed!  The guy at the front desk in the hotel was a huge help...he was working nights the day I left...so he went and got me the donuts for my son - fresh - at 4 a.m.! The day before I left, I found the halal chinese food, so got some of those blue freezer things and had the hotel freeze them, then the morning of the day I was leaving, I got up, ran to the mall to get the food, brought it back and put it in some rubbermaid dishes I'd bought and packed it w/the freezer things.  There's probably not much of anything I haven't brought back to wherever we're at...hotels are very cooperative in freezing things for me. 

Speaking of shopping...my dad (who's in a nursing home w/a broken leg)...mentioned he wanted some Tabasco sauce for his food...hmmm....netgrocer...here I come!