I have them! Lots of them! Next week I have an appointment with two doctors. Both with different approaches to medicine and health and both probably not given the time of day by conventional health practitioners. I am really excited about the amount of testing they will do, as it will be so extensive that if anything is not right, I'm confident it will be diagnosed. This is what we need. When it comes to my health and fertility I don't want to play guessing games anymore. What I needz is information!
The first doctor is Dr. Shohet who practices functional medicine and kinesiology. My mum recommended him - apparently he has an amazing success rate with IF - and since my mum (who is a nutritional therapist) suspects I have a copper toxicity problem this would be the doctor to identify it and treat it. Copper toxicity is really interesting, when I read the profile of a copper toxic person I felt like I ticked all the boxes. The main problem with copper toxicity is that too much copper stops you absorbing zinc, which as I'm sure most are aware, plays a central role in fertility well-being. So it doesn't matter how much zinc is in my diet, I won't be absorbing it, which of course would have all sorts of repercussions. So it will be interesting to see what Dr. Shohet has to say about all that, plus anything else he might find in me or Mr. T.
The following day we are off to see Dr. Gorgy at the Fertility & Gynecology Academy. Dr. Gorgy follows the Dr. Beer approach to immunologic infertility (see the book in the previous post). A friend of mine had an appointment with him this Summer so I am fully aware of what to expect. An hour of going over our case history (I have already started gathering all of our paperwork and test results together), followed by an internal exam and extensive blood work. Dr. Gorgy tests for EVERYTHING. My friend had 15 vials of blood taken and so did her husband. I phoned my insurance company and thank GOD, they are paying for the consultation and all the tests. The consultation is 'only' 120 pounds (US$ 184) but the tests will come to around 2000 pounds (US $ 3071). Ouch. Pretty much all the blood gets sent off to Chicago and some others go to Greece, apparently these two labs are the only ones that do this kind of testing. I have to say my insurance company have really been paying out since we started TTC (and so have we when they wouldn't cover it). Though they have made it clear they won't pay for any treatment that may be required once the test results come through. Ugh. So I guess we'll cross that bridge when/if we come to it.
My idea is to get as much information from both doctors as possible, with their different perspectives, when the test results come in we'll know what we're dealing with and then reflect on how to move forward. A little nervous about finding something serious that prevents us moving forward as if it's something that requires an expensive and/or invasive treatment I know I will refuse. But I'm NOT gonna think about the what ifs now - just gonna focus on the appointments themselves and getting as much out of them as I can.
Plus my skillful planner side has come leaping out and I have peppered our flying IF investigations visit to the UK with appointments for other exciting things! Like our bed. Our first bed that is really and truly ours! Since we are in the process of building our first home (more on this soon), I have been doing lots of research (particularly after I lost the baby) into toxic chemicals especially ones found in the home. Apparently most beds and mattresses (let alone sheets, towels and furniture fabrics) off gas dangerous chemicals such as formaldehyde, which is a known carcinogen and mutagenic (i.e causes birth defects). Along with a whole host of other dangerous chemicals (or VOCs, volatile organic compounds). Now not wanting to go majorly overboard here, I selected a few items in our new home that because of the frequency of contact and prolonged use should be as non-toxic as possible. These include our bed, mattress, sheets, towels, wall-paint and carpet. I have managed to find companies that produce organic and/or non-toxic furnishings and paint for the home. It is really amazing what is out there and what people are coming up with. So I am going to try out the bed and mattress we have picked out from this very cool company called Abaca (check them out!), also I get to look through all the organic fabrics to choose one for our headboard which will be made at Harlands Organic Furnishings, then I get to test the carpet for our bedroom from Alternative Flooring (I have chosen this pure wool one in Seashell, so soft!). Also I will pick up all our tester pots of paint from this amazing company called Ecos - their paints are the only ones in the EU that are entirely non-toxic and formaldehyde free. They even have paints that actually purify the air by absorbing the toxic chemicals in your home, how amazing is that! And a paint that absorbs electro magnetic radiation too! No-way dude.... but yes. I have learned so much about the alternatives and the dirty truth of what is in our standard paints and furnishings it's a little scary.
So all in all it will definitely be an information-filled trip - I'll probably be suffering from information overload by the end of it. But really. Really, really. In the end all I want from it is to hear that every thing's okay and that I will have a baby. But I suppose only a fortune-teller can tell me that. And I don't have an appointment with one of those.
