health update

Hey girls, I just wanted to give you guys a quick update. As you know, I had my 3rd miscarriage in November and I had mentioned that we would be doing some testing to try to figure out what might have caused them and then decide if we would be having any more children. So I have a little update on that. Most of my test results were perfectly normal. However, they did find that I have a Factor V Leiden deficiency, which is basically thrombophilia or a blood clotting disorder. Long story short, my blood is too thick. It is genetic and mine is the less severe form because it is only linked genetically to one of my genes and not both sides. However, it can cause miscarriage. It is usually more associated with later term fetal loss. (my grandma lost a baby at 7 months pregnant for no apparent reason. We're thinking that might be the genetic link) The disorder more than triples my risk of stillbirth and miscarriage. In hindsight, it is actually kind of miraculous that I had three healthy babies with no late pregnancy incidences. It is possible that this caused my early miscarriages as well because blood clots can form at the placenta, which would prevent the pregnancy from progressing. If I ever intend to have another baby, I would need to see a hematologist and would likely need to be on heparin for my pregnancy. This would move me into a whole new high risk category. I am also susceptible to blood clots should I ever have a medical procedure or any other blood clot inducing situations. I have to be on aspirin every day for the rest of my life and I cannot ever take birth control or any other hormone replacement therapy and I have to fly first class for extra leg room should I have a long flight (too bad about that one. hehe) I will likely be on coumadin (sp?) if I ever end up in the hospital for anything to prevent blood clots. For the most part, this is not a big deal diagnosis. It's pretty easy to manage and will have very few repercussions in my life. However, since I have 3 healthy children, I doubt we will tempt fate at this point and try for more. I don't want to be on heparin (2 shots a day for whole pregnancy, plus high risk for bleeding out should I get injured) and I can't bear the thought of losing a late term pregnancy. I would be anxious beyond reason because a blood clot is not noticeable until the baby has been lost. Also, I have 3 kids to take care of and I can't risk a potentially fatal blood clot for myself that would take me away from them. So, I think we have our answer in that area. I just wanted to give you guys a quick update so you knew the scoop. Love you all and miss you!