blood test results

One of Dr. Schmidt's nurses, Patty, called today with my blood test results. I tested positive for MTHFR genetic mutation, which means that my body doesn't process folic acid/folate efficiently. Folic acid is crucial during pregnancy and fetal development. So, I will have to take a high dose of prescription folic acid (in addition to my daily prenatal vitamin) twice daily, starting now and going until the end of a pregnancy. I also tested positive for two blood clotting disorders ... protein C deficiency and anticardiolipin antibodies. So, I will have to take prednisone (steroid) at some point ... not sure when that will start or how long I will have to take it. I will also have to take daily low-dose aspirin and daily Lovenox (heparin, which is a blood thinner) injections in my abdomen for the entire pregnancy (if I get pregnant again). I didn't test positive for any of the issues that require the intralipid IV infusions for treatment, but Patty said that Dr. Schmidt may want me to have those infusions anyway. Patty said that Dr. Schmidt is actually thankful that I have these issues, because they are easy to fix in terms of getting pregnant and maintaining a pregnancy. In a way, I am disappointed that we didn't discover these issues earlier, because they may have prevented one or more miscarriages. In another way, I am a little overwhelmed. In yet another way, I am relieved that we may finally have some answers, and I am somewhat hopeful that I may actually be able to sustain a pregnancy going forward.

We have decided to move forward with the chromosome analysis blood test for Brian, for our own peace of mind. He will have that blood draw on Thursday, and we should find out the results within a couple weeks. If he tests positive for any genetic issues, we won't be using our remaining frozen embryos, and our journey to get pregnant will be over. If he doesn't test positive for anything, then we are planning to do a frozen embryo transfer (with the treatments for my genetic mutation and clotting disorders) sometime in the next couple months. For now, I am hopeful that we are one step closer to a successful pregnancy ...