Sunday, September 8, 2013

Rambling along

First, I owe the Indian lab testing establishment a bit of an apology, it appears that THEY do follow the TSH mandates; the normal reference range according to a leading testing lab (Metropolis) during the first trimester is 0.5-2.5 microIU/mL.

J (very thankfully) is anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody negative, and her TSH has decreased from 2.77 to 2.3. How I believe this happens: your need for thyroid hormones increases during pregnancy. Soon after you become pregnant, you body increases its production of TSH. This causes your thyroid to make more T4 and consequently, T3, and these in turn, through negative feedback regulation, could suppress your TSH.

This is what happens when your thyroid function is normal. If you do have anti-TPO antibodies, this process could be out of whack, and your TSH could be elevated during pregnancy, as in my experience: I have anti-thyroid antibodies and my TSH levels increased during pregnancy because my body may have not been able to meet my thyroid needs: In my opinion, the prudent thing to do is check TSH twice, once before, and after, you get pregnant. If your TSH is high and you turn out to have anti-TPO antibodies (seen in one of of every ten women), then, you should treat with thyroid hormone.

Unfortunately, J is vitamin D insufficient (20 ng/mL), and this is after I gave Vitamin D pills (2000 IU/day). I believe she took them for a while, because her levels are not terribly low, especially for a newly pregnant Indian woman: Indians on the whole tend to be more deficient, for whatever reason, that white people, while people of African origin appear to be even more deficient than Indians, and I don't know the situation for Asians.

Insulin resistance is rife among Indians today, and one reason for the this increased incidence may be the seemingly endemic-nature of Vitamin D deficiency. Studies now suggest that if you are vitamin D-deficient during pregnancy, even if everything goes well, your child, depending on his or her genetic vulnerabilities, will be at increased risk for wheezing and asthma, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and insulin resistance. And maybe even the most scary thing of all, Autism.

The good news is that J is still having nausea. Unfortunately, this makes her unable to gulp down pills. I'll now have to make her have the Vitamin D sachets, which have ridiculously high dosages of 60,000 IU per sachet.

The next ultrasound is in 10 days, according to the handler. That should be just short of 8 weeks.

Thank you Augusta and Sloper (and indirectly, the wonderful Adele), for what you said. I am thankful that there are many people out here who truly get what I am going through. On the other had I'm also sad that they get it, because the only way you can is to have gone through one or multiple losses.

I still have no faith that this will work, I'm just watching and waiting. That faith can only come with time. Like I commented on Jo's blog (who has successfully crossed the 12 week point, YAY!) is that while we can feel optimistic about somebody else's chances, it is hard to summon up a similar optimism about our own situations, especially if you have had "normal" ultrasounds at the 6-week point end in in miscarriages at the 8-week point, thrice. What Augusta said a while ago, that it is human nature to keep expecting history to repeat itself, is something I remind myself of regularly:  I know it does not mean it HAS to, again. It is just hard believing that in my heart.

8 comments:

  1. I think you hit the nail on the head. It's so much easier to envision happy endings for other people, even those with a common history. It's much more difficult to imagine yourself on the good side of the odds for a change. I, for one, can easily and quite joyously imagine that this is it for you, and I await future updates on the health of your little bub!

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  2. Hi! I’m a long time follower, but new time commenter. I just wanted to mention you should check what form of Vitamin D is in the sachet: ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) or cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). The health institution where I work only uses cholecalciferol (D3) now, and most of the really high dose pills I see are ergocalciferol (D2). There have been recent studies showing that cholecalciferol is much better at raising the levels of the storage form of vitamin D in your body and keeps those levels raised for longer, it also has a higher affinity for vitamin-D binding proteins. I know a lot of people use ergocalciferol since they can buy it in such high dose pills, but it is actually better to consume a lower dose of cholecalciferol.
    Dee
    http://childoftheuniverse88.blogspot.com/

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  3. I'm glad things are still going well. You are in my thoughts.

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  4. I think the sachet available in India is cholecalciferol, I'll have to confirm though. Thanks for pointing it out; from what I've read I am not a fan of the other form either!

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  5. Rebecca (Which Way to Baby)September 9, 2013 at 1:15 PM

    "I still have no faith that this will work, I'm just watching and waiting. That faith can only come with time." I think this is totally normal, given the losses you've been through. I hope that the faith comes sooner rather than later for you, but even if you find that it doesn't come until you're actually holding your living, breathing baby in your arms, that's okay too.

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  6. I'm so glad to hear that things are going well. I love that you are so knowledgable and use that knowledge to advocate for your own health (and for J's!) Keep the updates coming!

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  7. You're going to worry, not matter what, but hopefully with each passing week, & each encouraging u/s, your faith will also increase. In the mean time, we all will keep that faith for you.

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  8. This is the hardest part, Jay. You somehow have to muddle through it, and you will. I am pulling for you, dear woman. It is indeed easier to believe in a happy outcome for others than for oneself. I remained incredulous until I saw our tiny bundle last February. I sure hope your incredulity will be transformed in about 8 months.
    Glad that my comments are helpful to you. I have appreciated your support very much and it is a pleasure to support you.

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