Monday, July 16, 2012

Three amazing days and new treatment plan

I just left Salt Lake city for the second part of my trip in the USA and I cannot even wrap my head around all the many  gifts from the last days .

I met so many amazing people that I had long admired that its really a blessing for me to have been among them.

Just  a few:   Dr B from Ireland, an amazing doctor from Australia, TCIE´s boss who is such an amazing lady and who told me again how wonderful TCIE is and many other very committed people to helping women.


I also met  2 bloggers!!!

One Perfect Power in Weakness who was there for a few hours and I got to meet baby Rachel who is absolutely gorgeous.  I am sad I had a meeting to attend so we did not get to talk a lot,     but I am very grateful to have met her baby who is truly an inspiration for me.

And I lso met Polkadot  from Making God Laugh who was a very big highlight from this trip.  She is amazing and beautiful both inside and outside and has the most wonderful eyes.  We were able to talk several times and I am so grateful for my time with her.  I will keep you in my prayers.


One of the great gifts from this trip was that one  night I went to dinner with Dr B, another doctor  (Dr Y from St Louis who many people told me is an amazing endo surgeon )   and several practitioners.

Later everybody left,  but Dr Y and Dr B and my friend B and me ended  up talking for a very long time after dinner  about the wealth of information in the blogs and about the "Infertility companion for catholics" book.  Dr.B thought that the blogs could provide very valuable insights for the Napro doctors and even asked me to compile a list of the things that we see as important for them to consider.

 I specially told him about the success stories with reproductive inmunology and that felt Napro still had a long way to go with this. He promised to read all suggestions that I would send him so if you want anything to be considered by a Napro doctor send them my way.

I found this  openness to listen amazing  and very,  very admirable for such a recognized doctor.


After dinner while walking back to the hotel and very surprisingly to me Dr B offered  too look at both my friend B`s and my chart.  

Dr B is a family doctor who is perhaps Europe´s most recognized Napro doctor.  His approach includes lifestyle, nutrition and he is very open to alternative medicine and I have been watching his videos on Youtube forever as well reading some of this protocols online.

 When he told us this I really saw it as an opportunity from God to have a fresh look at my case from what I believe is a very different Napro perspective from the normal one.

Here are his recommendations in case they help anybody with fresh ideas:

First and foremost:
Every woman 38 and over and her DH MUST be on:

  • Alpha Lipoic Acid 300 mgs
  • Vitamine C 1000 mgs 
  • DHEA 25mgs a day

This he considers to be an anti-aging treatment  for both egg and sperm and crucial for us older patients.

Then:
No wheat, no caffeine, no milk.
He does also allergy testing via blood samples, but considers that most people respond very well to taking the above out and if still not remarkably better  do the testing .  He has seen many great results with this. In some cases even only doing this people have pregnancies after years of trying


Medicines: 


Most are very similar to the ones suggested by the Gianna center, but a couple are some what different and I discussed with him the pros and cons of them,.  

  1. I am on 50 mgs Naltrexone which is controversial among Napro doctors.  Some consider it to be too high and that you can get great results by doing 4.5 which is the low dose naltrexone.  Several doctors at the conference mentioned that they thought it was much better this way so I am really considering it and they mentioned that lowering the dose should not have bad effects.   He recommended I speak about this with  Dr. H.
  2. Clomid is also the way to go when you are older even if you ovulate since it " can make the egg stronger".  I do not know the exact mechanism but I have been told this by Dr. H , Dr B and Dr. N so all agree that I need to do it and I will start the next cycle.  He mentioned that you can do this for a year with no problems.    
  3. In case its too drying I will need to go on Femara which works similar to  Clomid.    He mentioned you should not dismiss one for the other automatically, but give both a try since they tend to have different effects on women and you do not know until you try them both.  Femara would be 25 mgs on CD 3 before breakfast. 
  4. He recommended a trigger shot of 10, 000 IU of HCG on day 3 of mucus buildup. He believes I am ovulating normally, but has had very good results with this resulting in a better ovulation.  
  5. Unlike the doctor in NY he thinks I have an infection due to all the procedures from my miscarriage  and this is the reason we have not conceived again.  He recommended a combination of medicines starting on CD 12.   Before this I am to start Diflucan for 10 days  to get rid of the candida that is normally in the body and then on day 12 start  with both Biaxin and Flagyl for 3 full weeks. He recommended a very strong probiotic called Pre bio 7 which is not available as far as I know in the USA.   

At the end of the conversation I asked him point blank if he thought we still had a chance. 
And he surprised me by being extremely positive, far more than I ever expected being my age.  

He said he would tell me if not point blank, but actually he was very,  very positive that it was possible.  He said   your cycles seem very  normal, your hormones look great and resemble those of a much younger person  and exactly like the doctor from the Gianna center he said he believed it was actually fixing some  the small things that would get us a new pregnancy. He thought infection was the main problem.  He asked me to try for at least 12 good cycles and even 18 and then and only until then give up.  I am not sure I could keep up so long, but I know that at least I will give it a good 6 months.   

He said he saw no signs of pre menopause and actually thought I would have a late menopause just like my mom in the early fifties so he considers I could at least try until 43..  


That night I felt the same peace that I felt with the call with the Gianna center.  Now 3 of the top Napro doctors have looked at my case and all agree that there are still small things to fix, but that once fixing them I could again be a mother.
 It might not be the case as I am 41 and I have struggled for 5 years now with IF and had only one pregnancy in all this time, but I feel I have truly done all possible and its now up to God.

And the cherry on the cake,  Today I am in San Francisco and my sister  who lives in the Yucatan penniensula is also here with her family  on her way to Hawaii and her hotel is 2 blocks from mine.

 How in the world did we end up meeting here I do not know, but I am ecstatic as I will get to see my niece and nephew today and tomorrow.

11 comments:

  1. That is So, So positive and uplifting!!! :-). It motivates me to remove the "diet culprits" and modify what I eat.
    I'm so glad you got to meet 2 amazing ladies, all the amazing doctors ... And get to see your sister!

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  2. What a great visit. Glad to hear that you were able to get some great advice on your case. It sounds very promising.
    That is so amazing that you met Dr. B. I have been reading about him bc of the naltrexone use. I wrote him a letter asking questions and he wrote me back.
    As far as the immune stuff, I would pass on Dr. Beers book is your body baby friendly to your napro drs. That book has helped me so much. I recently found out that my dh and I had 7 HLA matches. This is not something that napro tests or treats. I am looking into naltrexone bc it looks like a possibility.

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  3. That is amazing! Sounds like it was a trip of bountiful blessings! I'm so jealous you got to meet baby Rachel!!

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  4. Wow! So much information.. I am so glad that you got to meet two lovely bloggers. And Polkadot is my fabulous FCP !!!

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  5. It was so fun to meet you and be able to put a face with your blog. I so wish I would have been able to chat with you and B. more. You are just as bubbly and outgoing in person as you are on your blog. I hope your meeting went well as you continue to work tirelessly to bring Napro to Mexico. You are amazing.

    So, so glad you both got to meet with Dr. B and get some answers as well. I'm anxious to hear what he had to say to B. I find his recommendations so interesting. You know, after my 2 miscarriages I followed such a diet for 3 months prior to conceiving a 3rd time and was also on LDN (4.5 mg) for a month before as well. I'm thinking that was the "magic formula" for me and it makes sense given what I heard about inflammation and endo from the conference talks. It seems like both the LDN and elimination diet cut down the inflammation in the body- helping to conceive and stay pregnant.

    I am so hopeful for you! Can't wait to see what happens as you apply some of Dr. B's recommendations.

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  6. Sounds like a great trip, and I'm happy that you have renewed hope. I just read the book Wheat Belly by William Davis about how modern wheat is damaging in big and small ways to many people. The author did mention that wheat has a negative effect on fertility. I decided to cut down on my wheat and grain consumption to lose weight. So with my monthly period, I did NOT get my monthly pimple. For me, no wheat equals no monthly pimple. I like having clear skin. And this is my little contribution about the wheat-hormone-pimple connection.

    How did you bloggers recognize each other?

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  7. This sounds so great!!!

    I will send you some of my thoughts for Dr B when I get a chance. That is wonderful he is so open to hearing from those in the trenches!!

    God bless you!

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  8. Sounds like such an amazing trip! How exciting that those doctors gave you new advice and a renewed hope! They sound so wonderful and open!
    So fun to meet bloggers in real life..I'd love to someday :) I've never really thought too much about my diet having an effect on fertility but I am thinking I should find out more. Hmm....

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  9. Ah, I remember being so awestruck that Dr B actually took the time to talk to me about my case, at a meeting no less, too!! He was the one who put me in touch with another long-distance NaPro Dr who finally got me on track with the nutritional/gut health issues. I credit Dr B with a lot!
    So funny you have now spent time with my Dr and boss twice and I still have yet to meet you! Haha!
    Those are some really great suggestions, I may take it a step further and cut out all sugar and artificial sweeteners, if you can. It's not as tough as it sounds and once you eliminate for a few weeks, sugar actually tastes gross. Orrrrr you could join the Paleo gals ;). I would mention this diet to Dr B when you email him. Seriously, I am amazed at the changes it has made in my health.

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  10. I am glad the doctor was so positive with you! Thank you for your post. You included a lot of great information.

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  11. What a great plan!!! I am very curious about #5... I've been taking my abx on cd 1-10 for months (I am very prone to infection - indicates by TEBB) and then I take my probiotics. Your plan suggests taking them from cd 12 - presumably in time for ovulation and then (possibly) implantation. Very interesting! I will be speaking to my NaPro doc about this next week! So exciting! Would love to hear back from you beforehand... MJ (silverbeetle27@hotmail.com)

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