AF is MIA

Wow, I should be starting my first ever frozen embryo transfer (FET) sometime this week! I've been crampy since Tuesday, so I know that AF is on her way. I'm excited, but also extremely petrified. I have put so much faith into this procedure, that if it doesn't work, I really don't know what I'm going to do.

Here is what our doctor thinks our problem is….my body becomes a hostile environment for an embryo that is transferred while I still have the stimulation medication in my system. Ok, I can buy that. It would explain why every single IVF cycle failed. Now, the confusing part for me is, what does that have to do with us not being able to get pregnant on our own? Obviously, I'm not on any medication during my natural cycles. So, perhaps we also have an issue where Mark's sperm don't recognize my eggs…why my eggs don't like Mark's sperm is beyond me…but that's what we have right now.

As a matter of course, my doctor recommends getting lymphocyte immunotherapy for those couples with repeated ivf failures. I guess not knowing exactly what our issue is, what could it hurt, yes?

Mark and I had to get immunological testing done for our upcoming LIT procedure. One of the things they test for is DQ Alpha. The Dq alpha test gives you back 2 numbers each. In a normal pregnancy, the father's DNA in the embryo tells the mother's body to set up a protective reaction around the developing embryo. If the father's dna is too closely matched to the mother's, there is a good chance that the embryo created by them is unable to differentiate itself from the mother's body. The mother's body then rejects the embryo because it cannot identify the embryo as a baby. Mark Dq alpha revealed 0102, and 0103. My Dq alpha revealed 0103 and 0201. So, according to the above description, we have a match…and perhaps this has been our issue all along. I do believe that LIT will take care of that for us.

So, it would seem like after we do LIT, and then come back to U.S. to do our FET, I should get pregnant. That's what I've been thinking too. However, things don't always work out the way you want, hope, or expect them to. There is also the variable of how many embryos will actually make it through the thaw, and if they will continue to divide. We currently have 5 on ice. I think that Mark and I would like to transfer 3. Ideally, all 3 survive the thaw, and 2 stick, and we have twins…and then in 1 or 2 years, we transfer the remaining 2 frozen embies and have another baby.

All in all, I'm so excited to get the ball rolling on a new protocol, and I'm trying not to dwell on the what ifs. Wish me luck. I'll probably post again after I go in for my cycle day 2 blood work and ultrasound.