Well my doctor's appointment is over and done with.
I needed a day to basically collect my thoughts on it before I wrote a post. Right afterward I was feeling extra emotional and I knew that I was being completely irrational.
I'm feeling a little better today so I think I'm ready to recap everything.
First of all, we got my test results back. I had blood drawn on 4,7, and 10 days past ovulation (DPO). The 7DPO blood draw was the really important one because I believe that is the one where we checked my thyroid levels (TSH), progesterone, Vitamin D and Iron. None of those levels came back great.
Thyroid- Came out at 2.97. My doctor told me that for someone who is trying to achieve and maintain a pregnancy they like that level to be under 2, preferably closer to or under 1.5.
Progesterone- At 7DPO my progesterone was 7.6. After ovulation they usually look for a level somewhere over 10. At 10DPO my progesterone was already down to 4.8 which is still much too low. My doctor showed me a graph that showed what normal progesterone levels looked like and mine were below the below average curve.
Vitamin D- Much too low, I'm not sure of the exact number.
Iron- Also too low, my doctor said that my iron levels indicated anemia. Yikes.
So basically we need to get all of those numbers up because every single one is contributing to me losing the pregnancies. I've been doing a lot of thyroid-related research lately and I've come to believe that my thyroid problem is really the thing causing all of the issues. One of the main effects of high thyroid is low progesterone. Voila, it all fits together! I display a freakish amount of thyroid-related symptoms too that I'd never connected until recently (separate post regarding just that soon to come). Hopefully that is the missing part of the puzzle that, if we fix it, will help maintain the next pregnancy.
I'm going to be taking about 12 pills a day (not an exaggeration AT ALL) and I'll go over those in another post also. Long story short, we're taking this cycle off too. I really really struggled with that at first but after talking to some Josh and some trusted friends along with a fairly epic emotional breakdown I've come to peace with the decision. My doctor said that if I was to get pregnant this cycle we probably would have enough things in place to protect the pregnancy but she'd feel a little more confident if we waited. I trust her more than almost anyone and I also know that if I did get pregnant and something went wrong I'd blame myself for my impatience.
So we have one more little bump in the road but at least we get to see what my new meds do for me this cycle.
And so the adventure continues...
I needed a day to basically collect my thoughts on it before I wrote a post. Right afterward I was feeling extra emotional and I knew that I was being completely irrational.
I'm feeling a little better today so I think I'm ready to recap everything.
First of all, we got my test results back. I had blood drawn on 4,7, and 10 days past ovulation (DPO). The 7DPO blood draw was the really important one because I believe that is the one where we checked my thyroid levels (TSH), progesterone, Vitamin D and Iron. None of those levels came back great.
Thyroid- Came out at 2.97. My doctor told me that for someone who is trying to achieve and maintain a pregnancy they like that level to be under 2, preferably closer to or under 1.5.
Progesterone- At 7DPO my progesterone was 7.6. After ovulation they usually look for a level somewhere over 10. At 10DPO my progesterone was already down to 4.8 which is still much too low. My doctor showed me a graph that showed what normal progesterone levels looked like and mine were below the below average curve.
Vitamin D- Much too low, I'm not sure of the exact number.
Iron- Also too low, my doctor said that my iron levels indicated anemia. Yikes.
So basically we need to get all of those numbers up because every single one is contributing to me losing the pregnancies. I've been doing a lot of thyroid-related research lately and I've come to believe that my thyroid problem is really the thing causing all of the issues. One of the main effects of high thyroid is low progesterone. Voila, it all fits together! I display a freakish amount of thyroid-related symptoms too that I'd never connected until recently (separate post regarding just that soon to come). Hopefully that is the missing part of the puzzle that, if we fix it, will help maintain the next pregnancy.
I'm going to be taking about 12 pills a day (not an exaggeration AT ALL) and I'll go over those in another post also. Long story short, we're taking this cycle off too. I really really struggled with that at first but after talking to some Josh and some trusted friends along with a fairly epic emotional breakdown I've come to peace with the decision. My doctor said that if I was to get pregnant this cycle we probably would have enough things in place to protect the pregnancy but she'd feel a little more confident if we waited. I trust her more than almost anyone and I also know that if I did get pregnant and something went wrong I'd blame myself for my impatience.
So we have one more little bump in the road but at least we get to see what my new meds do for me this cycle.
And so the adventure continues...
At least it seems like you and your doctor are making progress! Figuring out what the problem is the hardest part. Fingers crossed that the new meds help and you can try again next cycle!!!
ReplyDeleteStay strong!
I'm glad you have the answers and I hope you fix it all this month so you can have a fabulously January!
ReplyDeleteBig hugs to you guys - at least you have a very proactive doctor to help you out along the way. Does she want to be mine as well, from afar? ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you ladies for all of your support :) Our fingers are crossed that all of the hard work (I so suck at swallowing pills haha) that we put in this cycle will pay off with better results next time!
ReplyDelete@BreatheGently: I'd gladly share my doctor with you!!!