Tuesday, June 9, 2009

1 in 20,000

Apparently I have just won the genetic lottery. A mere one in every 20,000 people have a protein s deficiency and I am one of those people. Normally winning something would be quite exciting but it isn't really so exciting to find out that you are genetically predisposed to forming blood clots.


Thankfully, the doctor I saw today said that this should not stop us from trying for a third child. She even said that using fertility drugs during a frozen embryo transfer cycle would be okay so long as I was doing daily injections of Lovenox and wearing compression stockings. That doesn't sound like the most fun but I could manage.


Scarier than all the talk about possible pregnancy complications and giving myself more shots in my stomach for what could amount to a full year was her telling me that I should be taking precautions even when doing something simple like taking a car ride of longer than two hours. She feels that I should be making certain that I'm moving around every hour or so during work hours, stopping for walking breaks if in the car for longer than an hour and she even said if I have to take a plane anywhere that I should consider doing Lovenox injections prior to boarding the plane, in addition to wearing the compression stockings. Her telling me all this sounded to me as though she was basically saying that I will almost certainly get another clot at some point in my lifetime. This just isn't something I want to have to worry about the rest of my life.

Another thing I wish I didn't even have to think about is trying to lose weight. I managed to lose ten pounds in just two weeks but making good choices is hard. Planning what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks takes time not to mention the additional time spent grocery shopping, cooking and packaging things up. It's hard to work full time, raise two children, keep up with everything around the house and eat right.

My goal right now is just about tomorrow since I've decided small steps are best. So, I will eat better tomorrow, make some real progress on a project at work and do some laundry to get SB ready for his big trip to grandma and grandpa's house.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know you, I just stumbled on this post from google. It sounds like a lot to handle and I feel pity for you and wish you well in maintaining a routine to avoid clots. I myself have probably inherited my mother's (and her mother's) varicose veins... I guess when things become part of our lives and daily grind it's not so bad. Good luck!

Kelly said...

I don't know if it's so bad that I deserve anyone's pity but thanks for your concern. I have been thinking that it's pretty amazing that I didn't have any issues until now and who knows, maybe I'll make it another 37 years before I have any more issues.