To start off this blog post I must share something I thought was rather funny. I had a student yesterday comment to me that "Your life is fine. You have a job, you know what you will be doing tomorrow... etc...". This student on the other hand was upset because he didn't know what his future held, what career he would have, whom he would marry. To him my life appeared to be fine because I am in my 30's, married, and have a job.
The truth of the matter is that we are all waiting on something... Our journey is no different. We went to the Hematologist today, who is amazing. She was very kind and answered all of our questions. Here are some of the highlights:
1) This is a genetic issue.
2) She said that my body cannot properly absorb folic acid. This is crucial for developing babies and prevents things such as Spina Bifida. She wants me to start taking a B complex vitamin to help my body absorb the extra Folic Acid.
3) They took 7 vials of blood to help pinpoint my blood clotting factor as well as reveal if there are other blood clotting issues. This will help us know exactly what we are dealing with (in regards to my blood) as well as what step to take next.
4) They don't know if the MTHFR mutation caused the miscarriages. We are in the early stages of the testing. When I asked her if we could ever have a healthy pregnancy she said "There are a lot of things we don't know yet. It could be another issue... I only deal with blood."
A single mutation of the MTHFR gene is very common. There is no conclusive data as to whether or not it causes miscarriages. Some believe yes, others say no.
What does this mean? Well, it means more waiting, more testing, and then more waiting.... Our next appointment is December 22nd. We are praying fervently that the Lord will guard our hearts since this is so close to Christmas. May we learn to have hearts of gratitude for all the blessings the Lord has given us.
EDIT: The reason I asked about the healthy pregnancy is the Nurse Practioner at the OB's office said that all it would take to have a viable pregnancy is some medication. I was hoping to have that affirmation from the Hematologist. There is hope, but I realized that we won't have cut and dry answer for a while. We are hopeful that the next set of blood test will reveal more answers.
Hi, I work with Neevo. Just to give you some additional information, as your doctor stated, MTHFR is a genetic condition. Perhaps the biggest implication is that traditional folic acid may not be effective in raising/protecting your folate levels. Folate is vital pre-conception and throughout the pregnancy (especially in the first 30 days for the baby). This explains how L-methylfolate bypasses the genetic limitations of MTHFR: http://www.neevoprenatal.com/MTHFRPoly
ReplyDeleteHere is a chart of the methylation cycle that shows just how and where the MTHFR enzyme limits to processing of folic acid into active l-methylfolate:
http://www.neevoprenatal.com/MethylationCycle.
I hope that you have received some additional answers from your doctors. I hope that this information helps as well.