Lovenox Preconception

Workshop:
I have been enjoying my rental. It is a small suv. I always thought by now that I would have a mini suv filled with kids. So it is weird to drive it empty. I will be spending the next 3 days at a workshop with members of State Ed. It is great bc my state involves teachers in their test creation. There are many different committees that are needed throughout the test creation process. I am working on item review. We have to sign a confidentially paper stating that we will not give away the questions.We get to see  potential questions.  Then we evaluate them to make sure they are aligned to the standards, are age appropriate, clear, rigorous etc. Most of the questions were fine, but there were some that we had a heated debate over. Then the leader suggests changes and we debate them. Sometimes we just vote to reject the question. We spent all day from 8 to 5pm taking math test questions and debating them. It was very interesting to hear the rationale behind the questions and all that goes into them. I got to speak to other teachers and learn about the upcoming common core.We had lots of snack breaks and had a great free lunch including chocolate cake.

On to some TTC News
My only immune issue is elevated NK and I control that with neupogen. I have 4 blood clotting factors. MTHFR homo, Pai homo, Factor V hetero, and low protein S. I tried lovenox two months in a row at 30mg once a day starting on CD6. I am wondering if I am taking enough. I asked my Dr to double the dose and he is hesitant. I know that sunshine commented on here the other day that most women take it twice a day.

If you take/took lovenox preconception, can you please tell me what your dose is and how often you take it? Did you have success? How long did it take you?Thanks in advance,
Simone

Car Drama

My mom called me over the weekend and asks me if I want to buy a new car. HMMM well yes I would love to but I am saving for a new house, adoption. etc. Then she tells me that she gave my sister money when she crashed her car last month. So she wants to give me some. I told her it was not necessary but realized that I had to take it since my sister has not spoken to me in 3 years I think my mom feels guilty etc. I agree to take it but she won't tell me how much bc she wants me to having something to look forward to.

Then she tells me that my sister is having another boy and she keeps wishing for us. That is when I lost it and started crying. She said she wanted to give me good news and then bad. She had a lot of sympathy for me which she is getting better at. I think she finally realized  that I am really infertile.

After I got off the phone, I spoke to DH and we decided to put the money towards the house. My car is 14 years old but I really wanted a new house.

Two days later my brake light comes on and then the brakes die. I had it towed to the dealer. They told me that the brake line rusted and fell off which made the brake fluid drain out. They said they have to replace the brake lines and the fuel lines and it will cost around $2,000. I just had it in for brake pads two weeks ago. There are also some other issues that had decided in the past not to fix so I knew this would not be the end or repair bills. This was the breaking point, so now I am getting a new to me car. It is crazy bc I am sad to lose the house money but I am really glad that my mom decided to help me out days before I really needed it.

I got a rental. The dealer gave me their discount which is about half off. This way I can take my time and not get something bc I have to.

Teachers Pay Teachers is Having a Cyber Monday Sale

Teachers Pay Teachers is a great site where teachers create lessons and activities and post them online. The site gets a portion of the sale and the teacher gets the rest. I have a store and I also buy stuff from other teachers.


 Teachers Pay Teachers is having a Cyber Monday Sale. The site is offering 10% off with this promo code CMS28. Many of the teachers listed are also having a sale in addition to the 10%. I am throwing a 15% sale, so if you buy from me you will get 25% off. The coupon says up to 30% off because the teachers can give a sale up to 20%. Any sale we give subtracts from our commission, but the sale offered by the company does not.

Please check out this site There are many great activities and lessons all created by teachers. This is great for any teacher, tutor, homeschooling, parent etc.

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My store is http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Simone if you buy from me on Monday, you will get a total 25% off. You will see the 15% when you click on an item and then you will get the 10% when you use  the promo code CMS28 as you check out.


My most popular items are my math bingo games. I have order of operations, coordinate grid, solving simple equations, solving proportions, exponents, and customary capacity If you give me a topic, I can make one for you.

My newest items are my math flash cards. It is almost impossible to find flash cards for the specific topic you want. I have created them for my topics that I teach in my class, but I can make some for yours. The cards are made to be photocopied so the answer is on the back. Since the answer is on the back, students can work independently and check themselves.  I  use them with games boards often. Students who finish early can grab one of the baggies I have premade with different flash cards to work on independently. You can mix the topics to make a mixed review or keep them separate. Right now, I have decimal place value, decimal rounding and exponents. I am going to list more in the future.

Test Day Nov 2011

Today is p+14. 

The past few days I got excited. I reminded myself of everything that went well this month. I had a great baseline, follicle development, CM, lining and P+7 numbers. I was very relaxed this month and had no stress. No PMS. This was my second month with my new protocol of using blood thinners. I kept going back and forth between getting excited and then remembering that I have a bad track record.

Then today came and reality slapped me in the face. Another BFN. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I am in shock and cannot cry about it yet. That will probably happen when AF arrives in a few days after I stop the progesterone. I am numb right now.

So now is the time to evaluate what went wrong and what I should do to correct it. Everything that I can measure was in perfect working order. So now I am wondering  if I am taking enough blood thinners or if there is something wrong with my uterus or tubes. Every BFN  makes me want to have another surgery just to be sure. In the spring it will be two years since  my last lap/tubes check and 3 years since my last hysteroscopy when they found polyps. 

I am going to talk to my napro dr about upping the blood thinners to twice a day which is what pg women take. Right now I take them once a day. If that does not work within a few months, I am seriously thinking about a spring cleaning.

At least I have today off, so I can bum around the house. =(

My New Vitamin

For the past 5 years I have been taking Promise Prenatal http://www.promiseprenatal.com I originally chose this one because it had a high dose of folic acid and all the other vitamins I thought I needed. It was small and I liked the idea that they had 3 stages although I never moved out of stage one. I never had any issue with it and every time I thought about changing to something new, I always came back to this one.

Once  I found out I have a double MTHFR gene mutation and other immune related issues I started to have new demands for my vitamin. I have been searching for 3 months for something better. At first I was looking for the immune issues. I  cannot have any wierd herbs in my vitamin bc I never know how they will affect me. The average person wants to enhance thier immune system and would love those immune boosting herbs. I want to stay away from them.

Now with MTHFR, I decided that I no longer want folic acid. We have been brain washed into thinking we need folic acid. In reality we need folate to prevent birth defects. Folic acid is synthetic and converts to folate. Natural food such as spinach contains folate. The FDA has fortied our food with folic acid. I never knew the difference until I learned about MTHFR. If you have MTHFR, then you have trouble converting folic acid to folate. Too much folic acid building up in your body is not good for you. It was really hard to find a vitamin with folate and not folic acid.  I started to give up on the idea that I had to have a prenatal and started to look for multivitamins. Most of the more natural vitamins that actually had folate also had lots of herbs..UGH so it was almost impossible.

Then last week when my B12 level came back really high, I started to read about B12. I read that the synthetic form of b12 in our vitamins is cyanocobalamin From wikipedia "Cyanocobalamin usually does not even occur in nature, and is not one of the forms of the vitamin that are directly used in the human body  However, animals and humans can convert cyanocobalamin to active (cofactor) forms of the vitamin, such as methylcobalamin.This process happens by equilibration, as cyanocobalamin slowly loses its cyanide in surroundings that contain no cyanide.

This just really grossed me out bc that is what was in my prenatal. I got really frustrated and started to search for whole food vitamins. These are made from real food and not created in a lab. I found a few that were interesting but had to deal with the herb issue. Then I found my new vtiamin. It is not a prenatal. It is a multivitamin that has folate and real B12 and is made from real food.  I went with http://www.megafood.com/  I got the one daily http://www.megafood.com/one-daily-multi-vitamins/one-daily
I found a local green grocer and went to go get it. It was only $21 for a month, which I thought was a great price. The cashier commented on how they are great vitamins. I am happy to have found something that seems healthier and has a reasonable price.


So until I find something better, I am happy to have this.

Folate and B12

Over the summer I tested positive for the MTHFR mutation. There is a lot of disagreement among doctors on whether or not this can cause miscarriage. People who have this mutation in their genes have a harder time converting folic acid to folate. Everyone knows that folate helps reduce birth defects. At that point I could not tell if MTHFR was even a factor in my infertility but I thought just in case I get lucky I do not want to worry about birth defects. I did not want to worry that I was not getting enough folate or b12 so I decided to start supplements.

I waited for three months and then I got my levels tested. I went off the supplements for  a few days before the test. I was shocked when the results came back. They were very high. My folate came back at 2,451 (normal is 468-1,258). My B12 was 1,577 (normal is 211-946)

I freaked out that I overdosed. I went to the internet and most sources said that it was better to have too much than not enough. Being deficient in folate or b12 can really mess you up. I even read that low levels can cause fertility problems.

I do eat a lot of salad and broccoli and they both are high in folate so I guess I do not need the supplement every day. I may take one  a week to be sure. It was interesting that they said  a high folate level could mask a B12 deficiency. Well I do not have to worry about that.

Foxp3 Cells

 

Yesterday was p+7 and my bw was average. I am happy with average. My estrogen was 98 and my progesterone was 14.4.  I am taking supplements of both, so I know without them, my levels would be terrible. I am taking a tiny amount of estrogen which is half of a pill twice a day. I am glad to see that the number is low enough to indicate ovulation but not too low which could cause trouble. I was cautiously optimistic yesterday but today I started to talk myself into doubt.


Today while I was driving I saw a fox walking down the road. I had never seen one in the wild like that before. It reminded me that I need to deal with my fox cells. In Sept, I had a uterine biopsy and the results show that my uterine natural killer cells were fine but my Foxp3 cells were low which is bad. These cells turn off your body's immune response. I left the immune dr in June, bc he charged too much and did not provide good service. The consultant who I hired and suggested the test told me I am her first client to have this issue. I waited for her to find the treatment but she just wrote me back today to say she is still not sure. She even contacted Dr. Winger at the Beer center where the test was run but he never got back to her. UGH I am trying not to get annoyed. I thougth about contacting him myself or asking my awesome napro dr to contact him, but he will probably want a  lot of money and make me become his patient etc which is not what I want.

I went back on the internet to do some research. I could not find a treatment. I found some research articles but I could only see the abstract  and most of them were way above my reading level. I saw the same name pop up a few times. I googled it and found out that she is a Dr in Australia who does research. I got the nerve to email her and ask her if she knows of any treatments. I figured that I have nothing to lose. I am hoping that she will take pity on me. Maybe she will be flattered that someone read her research and is interested. Maybe she will ignore me. Who knows? I had to take a chance. When I contacted the Dr in Japan last Nov he wrote me right back and helped me move along. Now it is a year later and I just contacted a Dr. in Australia.

I still have a lot of neupogen in my fridge. I also saw this pop up in my research. I am hoping that it will be a treatment. Right now, I am taking it subcutaneously. I have read about uterine washes and wonder if this could help get to the area better so I asked her about that too. I told her that I need some research to back my up before I ask my napro Dr to try it.

I have one more week until I find out if this worked. I need to try to get some answers on this low foxp3 cells so I can have peace of mind that I am doing everything right. My DH tried to remind me last night that normal people can take up to six months. I reminded him that I don't know if am normal yet bc I have so many issues that I am trying to fix. This foxp3 is the last one that I know of that needs to be addressed.

So if anyone out there has the same issue or knows of any research, please let me know.