November 15, 2011

Wandering through the mists...



I feel like that's what I've been doing the past week or so. Since I found out my bloodwork results and had the D&C, I feel like I've been standing behind a curtain of mist watching these events. I'm sure it's my head attempting to protect my heart; funny how the mind works sometimes.

(FYI the D&C went fine, I'll post more on that later).

I've talked at length with my Mom and husband about the "probable miscarriage" issue. We all agree it explains a lot in retrospect. I had several episodes of severe pain and bleeding after failed cycles. These were the times I truly believed I was pregnant. I had a very very faint BFP on one cycle...but it couldn't be confirmed because I started my period (or so I thought) before I could get a beta drawn. I always thought that it was a false positive because I tested again the next day and it was negative. I must have caught it at the tail end of dropping. I had called my doctor during these episodes, but they told me not to be concerned about it, that if I was testing negative and bleeding it was probably "just a heavy period". I could kick myself for not listening to my gut more.

I don't know 100% for sure that I did miscarry. I don't know 100% sure that I didn't. Truly, as my mom and husband both said, only God knows the truth at this point.

I was afraid to tell my husband about the probability of these miscarriages because he always said that he didn't want to try anymore if we got pregnant and lost it. He didn't want us going through that. We talked about the blood clotting issues and MTHFR, and he even said that the episodes make a lot more sense given this new information. I didn't know how he would react, but he surprised me. He took it extremely well. He was sad, and he said he wishes that it wouldn't have happened, but that he's glad we found out several years after the fact instead of when it was happening. I don't know if I agree with that or not. It makes sense in a way, because being removed from it by several years, it doesn't have the strong emotional trauma of knowing while it's occurring. However...it also makes it harder in a way. It's almost like trying to get someone to believe in a repressed memory that only I can remember. Although, in all honesty, I don't care if anyone other than my inner circle of family and friends believes it. I wish in a way I had known at the time. I wish I had the opportunity to know I was pregnant. I wish I would have been allowed to mourn them. I wish others could have shared in my grief. I wish there was a way I could acknowledge and honor them without feeling like a fraud. I feel like since I was never "confirmed" to be pregnant, I'm not "allowed" to claim losses. I have to be honest, knowing it's possible that I've miscarried brings a sense of closure to the intense questioning and grief and sense of emptiness I've felt for seven years. Almost as if I've received validation through a simple quick blood test. The reason I've felt so broken, so lost, the reason I've felt such a huge hole in my heart is because I have lost my children. I've always said I miss my children, but that they just hadn't been conceived yet.

I know now that they were. They existed.

I miss my babies. I will always miss my babies.

However, I know that God is watching over them for me until I can meet them in Heaven.

November 9, 2011

More updates...

Wow, where do I begin?

Since I last posted, so much has happened. 

My D&C is still on for tomorrow (actually later today, since I'm posting this at 12:30 am!).  It's scheduled for 4:30 pm.  I'm a little less concerned about the actual procedure and more worried about what they will find when the tissue and everything is sent off to be biopsied. 

I received a call from the doctor on Sunday evening (yep, see how dedicated this new doc is?  Called me himself on a Sunday night!) telling me he wanted to discuss the results of my bloodwork.  He said it was "interesting, and explains a lot".  I was actually at work, so I called him right back, and was totally not expecting to hear what I heard.  Basically, my body is one giant baby killing machine. :(

The results of the RPL panel showed I'm positive for:
     ~Lupus Anticoagulant
     ~Anticardiolipin Syndrome
     ~Compound Heterozygous MTHFR mutation

Sounds fun, huh?

Not so much. 

The Lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin syndrome (from what I've read in the small amount of research I've been able to do since hearing the news) are the two most common Antiphospholipid Antibodies (APL's), basically blood clotting disorders that cause blood clots all through various places in the body and are a primary cause of miscarriages. 
The MTHFR mutation I'm gathering is a mutation of an enzyme that breaks down homocysteine, which is an amino acid.  Elevated homocysteine levels are associated with fetal neural tube defects, blood clots, strokes, and miscarriage.

He told me again that having gastric bypass is a must for me.  This news of the blood clotting issues, my weight, my blood pressure (it's been running high lately...go figure, all this stress!), and other factors, he's extremely concerned of heart attack or stroke.  I've been talking with my family and close friends, and everyone is supportive of the weight loss surgery.  I'm all for it.  However...things can never be easy for me.  I called my insurance company to see what the requirements were to get it covered and was told that gastric bypass was an "employer excluded" benefit.  My insurance itself covers it (after jumping through hoops and red tape of course), but my employer chose NOT to have that particular benefit on our policy.  So there is no way, no how, no sir, that they will pay for it.  I'm just devastated.  I cannot pay for it.  We cannot get a loan for it.  And now I'm told that because my employer chose not to have that benefit, my insurance won't cover it.  My doctor is adamant that this is a lifesaving issue.  I have no idea where to go from here. 

I also am in a very strange place regarding the pregnancy loss issue.  All this time, I've believed I've never been pregnant.  I've thought "maybe" a few times...but it's never been confirmed.  Now someone is telling me that due to my history and these bloodwork results that he's convinced that I've probably had at least one miscarriage, if not more.  I don't know where to go with that.  I don't know where I fit, you know?  I'm not definitively sure I've ever been pregnant.  I'm not definitively sure I've had a miscarriage, yet all the evidence is indicating that I probably have.  I'm in that weird space where nothing is concrete, yet everything weighs a ton.  I don't know how to process it all yet.  It's going to take some time, that's for sure. 

Please keep me in your prayers while I figure all this out.  I sincerely appreciate it.

Love,
Rebecca