Friday, February 1, 2008

Blood work

Fragile X blood test

Sam took my blood and had a lovely chat with me about what I did for work. She seemed genuinely interested in it. I complimented her on her blood drawing skills - I love the blood folks here, no pain and really lovely to interact with – and was strangely sad to leave. Our conversation felt like it could have really lead somewhere. I walked out with a smile that I've come so far from the hour of crying post blood tests when I was going in for weekly bloodwork 2 years ago.

That probably is because I highly doubt I will test positive for Fragile X. It is just a precaution in case it is also contributing to the POF.

Also, the blood work two years ago was a challenge for me. Then my goals were to determine if my ovaries were functioning properly and if I could wait to start trying to conceive until after my job transfer. It did not seem very convenient to move overseas pregnant or with an infant in arms. Plus, my new post was in a country with GREAT maternity coverage. If I could, I wanted to wait until after my transfer to start our family. The blood work was a precaution. No one seemed to understand what I wanted the tests for. In my new locale the fertility clinics do 'egg checks' which is exactly what I was looking for, instead I was made to feel like a freak for wanting to get check out for fertility when I was young and not even trying to conceive.

Really, now that I look back on those tests from two years ago (FSH between 15-19), coupled with all the hot flashes I was having, the doctors should have been suggesting the bloodwork not me. Instead I was told that even though I only had a few eggs, they were young ones, and that there was no reason not to wait, just to make sure that IVF facilities were available where we were moving to in case we had trouble.

I kept asking the doctor 'is my window of fertility' closing, and he said no no no.

I guess it no longer matters who was right on that one, because I waited and now my FSH is at 50. I think now we both would agree that the window has closed. Then again, perhaps I was as infertile then as I was the day after my surgery. I will never know.

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