update

I feel a lot more like myself again these last couple days. I've still had my moments, but overall I am feeling much better! Thanks for your kind words and support! It has meant a lot. Getting through this experience has been much easier because of sweet phone calls, text messages, and comments on the blog. Putting all this on here helps me get it off my chest. I know that if I didn't have a way to get it out like this, it would be much harder to deal with. One good thing about the miscarriage experience is that both times it has brought me and Sam closer together. I guess going through this can either bring you closer together or push you apart. Thankfully, it only benefits us in the end.

Anyway, on to an update....

We have been looking forward to today all week. We were able to meet with my dear Dr. Detti, our fertility doctor at Fertility Associates (she just got back in town yesterday evening from a medical conference). She is without a doubt the best doctor I think Sam and I have seen collectively in our lives. She has such great God-given gifts of intelligence and compassion. Talking with her today was such a benefit. Here are the highlights of today's visit:

* Dr. Detti has begun a full blood screening on both Sam and me. The new testing will check our chromosomes for any irregularities or incompatibilities. She doesn't seem to think there will be an issue. She said it's just something that she'd like to rule out as we move forward. The results won't be back until December, since it's such a complicated test.

* In addition to the bloodwork for the chromosome testing, she also had my blood tested for thrombofilia, which is a pregnancy-related blood disorder that can cause my blood, if I have this condition, to overactively coagulate during pregnancy and make the baby receive much less circulated blood than it should during development. I can't remember when she said the results would be back for this. In the mean time, when we start trying again and if/when I become pregnant, she will have me take Baby Aspirin every day to keep my blood thin so that it's not as likely to coagulate.

* I asked how the heartbeat could've been okay one day and how everything could've changed so quickly in a matter of a couple days. She said that doctors haven't yet determined how quickly miscarriages begin once the baby's heartbeat stops, but that many believe it can be almost immediate. Oddly enough, this kind of helped me understand this whole thing.

* She said that two consecutive miscarriages (plus the fact that I have pcos) doesn't significantly increase my chance of miscarriage in the future. She said that if/when I get pregnant that my chance of successful pregnancy will be around 70% and become better and better each week. She said that the hope would be to get to ten weeks because the rate of miscarriage is drastically smaller after that.

* Here's the best part.... we get to start the process again soon! I am so excited to be able to try again. Starting the process again (without having to wait a few months) really puts my mind at ease. If you know me at all, you know how much I want to get a plan together and start it. So, the fact that we have a new plan and that we get to start it next cycle made my day today. The new plan is that I'll take Clomid for five days, my thyroid meds every day, and Baby Aspirin every day starting after the Clomid. I'll have an ultrasound and the hcg shot when my body is ready. Hopefully this combination will lead to some good results.

Today was so good. We both left the doctors' office feeling a sense of peace about the miscarriage and excitement about what is to come. I think we both feel good about starting the process again sooner than later. It's in God's hands anyway, but it makes us feel better than we are getting to utilize all the resources available to us. We're hoping we can continue to be faithful and patient as we watch and learn what He has in store for us. :)