The beginning

It's not really the beginning, just the start of my fertility story...  for this blog, I am not delving into the emotions around the miscarriages.. rather sticking to the medical stuff.  I think that the range of emotions we went through deserves its own blog post.

Image: M_Bartosch

We had been trying for about 6 months when I finally had the first signs of pregnancy.  When I took the test I thought it was a negative (impatient person that I am, I didn't wait before I saw just one line). After a couple of minutes, I realised when I looked again that there was the faintest pink line.  Mike & I were thrilled!  I booked an appointment with the gynae, and we saw a heartbeat.  Unfortunately, I started to bleed a few weeks later, and a visit to the doctor confirmed that we had lost the baby.
At this stage I was sad, but philosophical - I knew that miscarriages were not uncommon and believed that if we tried again, I would not have any more problems. I was wrong. We had another two miscarriages before my doctor sent me for tests. She tested for antibodies, thyroid issues and progesterone levels, but nothing came up abnormal.

The tests
I had another miscarriage, and decided to see a fertility specialist. We tested for karyotypes (to make sure that my husband & my dna was compatible), and Mike had his sperm tested. I was put on chlomid and prednisone and monitored closely. The clomid made me quite bitchy - poor Mike!

I also went to a blood specialist, who did a whole battery of tests on my blood. eventually they found out that I have sticky platelets - similar to the antiphospholipid syndrome, but harder to diagnose.

I had to inject myself daily with a blood thinner (Clexane), and my husband would give me another injection of progesterone.

Blood sugars
Despite this being the only thing that they could find wrong with me, I continued to miscarry at around 6-8 weeks.  I researched a lot on the internet, as well as talking to other people who had gone through similar issues. I suspected that I had insulin resistance, although my doctor at the time did not think so, because I don't have trouble conceiving.  I went ahead and did the test privately, and my blood sugar came back as abnormally high. 

I started to eat like a diabetic and took Metformin to help control the blood sugar, which helped me to lose about 8kgs.  Despite the medicines, we did not see a heartbeat for pregnancies 2 - 7.

Life coaching
In the meantime, I'd begun studying to become a life coach, which was a great tool for managing my stress, especially around the pregnancies.  I found out I was pregnant for the 8th time. We followed the same medical routine, and I worked on good outlets for my emotions - talking, writing and helping other people who were going through the same thing. 

The shock
At about 7 weeks (over a long weekend), I started to spot again.  I didn't bother to call the doctor, because I knew what to expect.  I was going to take some painkillers to avoid the pain of the impending miscarriage, but I stuck it out, preferring to wait until the first cramp hit.  I waited and waited, and cried.  Eventually, after the long weekend, I booked an appointment with my gynae so that we could schedule a D&C. 

Mike & I went to the gynae at around lunchtime.  The ultrasound totally shocked Mike & I - there was a heartbeat!!  We cried.

The joy
About 8 months later, we had Joshua, a perfectly healthy baby, weighing in at 3.68kgs, and measuring 49cm.

Images courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net