Friday, September 7, 2012

Going to Perinatologist (High Risk OB) for testing

Last week, my rheumatologist ran some repeat bloodwork for me that I was concerned about. It's the Anticardiolipin panel that checks for three different types of anticardiolipins in the blood. There's Igg, Igm, and Iga. If the Igg level is high, it can indicate a condition called APS (Anticardio Phospholipid Syndrome). This syndrome causes the blood to clot more than it should and can lead to blood clots, strokes, and pregnancy loss at any point in the pregnancy. Scary stuff! I have a friend that went through losing 2 babies before they figured out that she needed to be on blood thinners throughout her entire pregnancy to prevent losing the baby. A year ago when my autoimmune disorder showed up, the anticardiolipin panel was run along with all my other bloodwork. The Igg level was at 21 which indicates a "low to medium positive" according to the lab. Needles to say, this freaked me out! I'm one of those patients that the doctors hate to see coming because I research stuff until I know it in my sleep because I worry so much, docs don't always like it lol. I get so sick of hearing "Get off the internet"! But I blame it on being the daughter of an RN who does the same lol. I don't claim to know as much as any doctor by any means but they tend to withhold information from patients to avoid stirring up fear and worry when it may not be necessary. And I totally get that. But I just have to know what is going on with my body! So when I got copies of all my bloodwork and went through them in depth, the Anticardiolipin Igg level really stuck out to me and I researched it until I was blue in the face. My rheumatologist ignored it. How in the world can you not address something like that? Well, I asked him and he said until I had a blood clot event, stroke, or lost more than one baby, they could not definitively diagnose APS. Ummm, no, not the answer I was hoping for! I refuse to sit back and wait on one of those events to happen, especially losing a baby! So I brought it to the attention of my obgyn who at the time said we would worry about it when and if I finally got pregnant. Well here we are and I had them repeat that blood panel and sure enough, the Igg was high again. It wasn't 21, it was 19 which puts it just under low positive to indeterminate. Usually if it's high once, they repeat it after 6 weeks to make sure it wasn't just high that day or a fluke. Well it's been high both times they checked it so to stay on the safe side, my OB is sending me to a Perinatologist for further testing. YES! Somebody is listening to me and not sweeping it under the rug until something big happens. Not that I want to see a perinatologist or be classified as high risk but if I do have APS, I want them to figure it out before it's too late. Seeing as how I have an autoimmune disorder, research shows that APS is more commonly a secondary condition to autoimmune disorders, lupus in particular. They don't think I have lupus so that's a mark in my favor but nonetheless, we're gonna take all precautionary measures to make sure the worst doesn't occur. Thank God for my OB, he's always been very receptive to what I'm worried about and is very good about making sure I know everything I need to know to put my fears to rest or deal with whatever issue is at hand to make sure the baby is ok. He is awesome!

So say a little prayer for me if you would! Things are going great right now but I still worry like crazy since my body is so screwed up it seems!

2 comments:

  1. Wow this sounds like me with my thyroid. My level came back slightly elevated (still in normal range for a non-pregnant person). The doctor wasn't going to do anything, but I did research and called them back and demanded they put me on meds. I also saw an endocrinologist. We have to be our own advocates! I am glad that you are going to see the Perinatologist so be safe. I believe that it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to preventing pregnancy losses. Praying for you that this is nothing or at least if it is something that they can treat you ASAP!!

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  2. Thank you so much! I'll be praying for you as well! We definitely have to speak up and be our own advocates especially when dealing with tricky medical conditions. Good for you on getting meds for your thyroid and seeing and endo! Thyroid is so very important during pregnancy, I've had mine checked a few times to be on the safe side since my sis has always had hypothyroid but so far it's been fine. I also considered seeing an endo but for some reason the few we have in town here require a referral and neither of my docs think it's necessary but I have a great rheumatologist so I feel pretty good about the care I'm getting. God bless and praying you and your little one continue to do great! :-)

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