Thursday, May 29, 2008

And We Have A Winner!...

Yep, that's right folks!  It has taken 2 months and a lot of blood, but I now know what my problem is.  My doctor called today with the news.  Before I go further I just have to say that I love my gynecologist!  She is the most wonderful doctor I have ever dealt with and I may not have any answers today if she wasn't such a wonderful doctor.  She ordered several strange blood tests for me a few weeks ago and I had an appointment to discuss the results with her set for next week.  Well, she called me today to let me know she knew what the problem was and I don't need to see her in person to talk about it.  What I need is a Hematologist.  Yep, I have a blood disorder.  It's called protein C deficiency.  She said mine is more than a deficiency though.  I pretty much have no protein C at all.  She said it barely registered and she had to consult with 3 different specialists before she was comfortable talking about it with me.  Apparently a person with protein C deficiency has a problem with blood clots.  So, both of my pregnancies started out normally, but then when the placenta tried to form it couldn't because I was clotting so much.  The really good news is there was no genetic abnormalities there.  If I didn't have this clotting problem I would have had a perfectly normal, healthy baby.  I have been really busy and haven't had any time to do research on this problem, but my wonderful sister looked up some things for me.  She tells me that all I have to do in order to have a normal pregnancy is get a heparin shot EVERY SINGLE DAY for my entire pregnancy.  Did you get that?  I need a shot EVERY DAY!  That will really suck.  Of course, that sounds like a very simple solution, and I am absolutely willing to do it if that's what it takes.  I would get used to it pretty quickly.  Its much better than having some problem where we would have to go through invitro fertilization or something drastic like that.  I can do the shot thing.  Of course, that's just preliminary Google research.  I will still need to wait and see what the specialist says.  This diagnosis explains some things though.  I have had knee problems for several years now, and I have a lot of leg pain.  A clotting disorder would definitely explain both of those things.  It means I have really poor circulation which causes my pain.  Its a big comfort to have a reason for something that has bothered me for so long.  I also think this explains why people have a hard time drawing my blood.  It just doesn't flow like it does for normal people.  I am at a much higher risk for blood clots though, so I need to be careful and keep the circulation in my legs going.  That's all I have for now.  I will update again after my appointment with the specialist.  If anyone reads this who has more knowledge on the subject, please feel free to let me know.  I'm very interested in any information I can get.