Update...

We will be going to Palm Beach this weekend, we have Marriott reward points and we were able to rent a 2 bedroom suite/apartment for free! We are soo excited, its beachfront and the weather is supposed to be great! We are staying just one night, but at least we are going somewhere!!

On the studying front, I'm soo behind... I haven't been able to study much, life has been crazy! My best friend gave birth to a little girl, AS, and she is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! I just love her to pieces! I'm so sad they are moving back to Ecuador, I will miss them soo much, but I know its the best for them now. I just hope that someday they will come back! :) So I have been spending my studying time with this little girl! She is going to make me fail!! LOL... I need to get back on track! My exam is on Nov 24!

TTC front, we decided to give it a ONE more try... we cant afford many rounds at this point since the intralipids infusion is 1,200 every 28 days! We are doing Femara this cycle, we will see how this works out! I'm OK either way... God knows when the best time will be... and we are patiently waiting for it!

I have a Dr's appointment on Monday, to go over the results and to hear the whole plan, since for now all we know is that we need to have the intralipids infusion... not sure if we need any more meds...

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Oct 15th... Pregnancy & Infant Loss Remembrance Day

Today is national pregnancy and infant loss remembrance day. Light a candle at 7pm to remember those we have lost.

As you all know we have 3 angels in heaven, we miss them soo much... this is such an important day for us.

People that havent been through a m/c have a hard time understanding the pain we have gone through, even if we loose them in early pregnancy... it was our baby, our miracle, a LO we wanted so much...

Today is a hard day for many parents, please light a candle for all those LOs now in heaven and for their families to have the strength to get through such a difficult time, keep their faith and to be blessed with another miracle very soon.

BTW, today is my 1 yr blogiversary! :)

Results are in...

I get a call this morning from my new RE... well his nurse actually. She said my Reproductive Immunophenotype (RIP) results are in and the results are.....

POSITIVE!

I know is sad to have something... but OMG I cant believe we finally have an answer from my recurrent losses and infertility!!! Apparently this is the reason why its hard for me to get preggo and why I keep m/c... so now we have an answer!!! She mentioned something about saline infusion... but she said I need to talk to the RE to see what our plan will be (she said is not that easy but that there is treatment for it, so that is good news!)... he is off for 2 weeks so she gave me the appointment for NOVEMBER 2!!!

I was researching online... and I guess the sad part is that maybe I have been preggo many more times... my poor babies have been rejected :( Apparently this cells even attack the eggs and sperm!! Good news is MAYBE I will just have problems conceiving my first and I wont have problems after that... I cant wait for my appointment and have a clearer picture!!

We will get the ETA result either tomorrow or Friday... and we will have a plan in 2 weeks.. :)

Finally....

Finally after 6 months of waiting and saving... I had my immune panels DONE!!! I was supposed to do them yesterday, but couldn't go so I went today. So here is a description of the 2 panels (last panels) since the Dr told me today that after this NO MORE TESTING. So I'm here hoping we get an answer from this.

1) Embryotoxicity Assay (EPA)

Introduction
Recurrent pregnancy loss, unexplained infertility, and infertility associated with endometriosis affect a large number of reproductive age couples. Data are accumulating to suggest that a proportion of these individuals have circulating embryotoxins associated with their reproductive failure. It has been proposed that positive and negative embryotoxic factors provide the basis for a new classification of idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss and in vitro fertilization (IVF) failure. The prevalence of embryotoxic activity among women experiencing recurrent pregnancy loss is 10% to 15% and among IVF failures is 20% to 25%. Embryotoxic factors have also been reported in women experiencing unexplained infertility and infertility associated with endometriosis.

Indications for Testing
All women experiencing unexplained infertility, implantation failure after IVF, infertility associated with endometriosis or two or more consecutive pregnancy losses should be tested for circulating embryotoxins.

Detection Method
Embryotoxins are identiied by screening the patient's serum using a mouse blastocyst bioassay controlling for variability among mice. Two cell embryos are collected from superovulated mated CB6F1/J mice and cultured in media supplemented with FBS or 10% serum at 37° C with 5% CO2 and high humidity. Each sample is assayed in triplicate using three mice, with at least five embryos from the same mouse per well. Embryonic development is evaluated at 72 hours and the frequency of atretic embryos is recorded. Intra-sample (inter-assay) variation yields a coefficient of variation of 10%. When repeated samples from a given individual are evaluated, the coefficient of variation is 9.7%. Inter-operator variability is 4% inter-assay and 2% intra-assay.

Interpretation of Test Results

A normal value is absent circulating embryotoxins.
Atretric Embryos %
Embryotoxins Absent < 9.4
Borderline 9.4 - 12
Embryotoxins Present > 12

Using the above thresholds, this assay has a specificity of 97%, positive predictive value of 83% and a negative predictive value of 74%, with p=0.0078.



2) Reproductive Immunophenotype (RIP)


Introduction
Identification of the type of relative concentrations of various white blood cell populations in blood is valuable in determining risk factors for pregnancy loss. Evaluation of circulating percentage of CD56+ cells has been shown to be associated with reproductive failure. An elevated ratio of CD4+/CD8+ cells is seen in a number of autoimmune disorders including reproductive autoimmune failure syndrome. Detection of elevation of circulating CD56+ cell is helpful in identifying individuals at risk for not implanting embryos and for losing a karyotypically normal pregnancy. Both of these patient populations can enhance live birth rates by treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin.

Indications for Testing
All women who have unexplained infertility or who fail to conceive after in vitro Fertilization and embryo transfer of apparently normal embryos or who experience two or more consecutive pregnancy losses should be tested for the presence of elevated percentage of circulating CD56+ cells. Elevated percentage of circulating CD56+ cells should be monitored during pregnancy to aid in management of treatment.

Detection Method
The percentage of mononuclear cells expressing CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, CD16 and CD56 is detected by flow cytometry using an immunofluoroescence technique.

Interpretation of Test Results

Normal values in blood:
Lymphocytes %
CD3 51 - 79
CD4 30 - 52
CD8 16 - 40
CD19 5 - 17
CD56+/16- 3 - 16
CD56+/16+ 0 - 11
Inter-assay and Intra-assay
variability: 3.48 + 0.4%, respectively.

Here is the website if you want more info:

http://www.millenova.com/tests/inditests.cfm

Results will take from 7-10 business days... wish me luck!

Surgery....

My mom will be having surgery on Oct 26th... its an hernia repair. It will be outpatient so she will be home the same day. They told her its a bit painful and they she can't lift or exercise for 3 months. The hernia its very close to the intestines, that is what makes it a bit riskier. The Dr is full before that date so they can't do it sooner. The only concern is that the hernia bursts before the surgery, that will be an emergency surgery and with a high risk of infection. So please keep her in your prayers that nothing happens until the surgery and that everything goes smoothly with a fast recovery!

Thanks!