09 The Quest For a Diagnosis
Description
This article is from the Miscarriage FAQ, by Laura Brooks brook006@mc.duke.edu with numerous contributions by others.
09 The Quest For a Diagnosis
Through all the testing I never had a diagnosis. The doctors never found
anything wrong with either my husband or me. "Unexplained Infertility",
that's what they call us. We're healthy, active people, "the perfect
couple" except we can't do what 90% of the rest of the couples can do. I am
not the kind of person to settle for "unexplained", so I set out on my own
personal quest to, at least, explain why I couldn't get pregnant or stay
that way once I achieved a pregnancy. I searched the internet for articles
and read everything I could on infertility. I commiserated with my
"sisterhood of infertility" on the medical support bulletin board of
Prodigy. One of the women on the bulletin board had a similar history to us
and sent me some research studies. I couldn't believe what I was reading.
Dr. Alan Beer of the Chicago Medical School in North Chicago Illinois had
been studying the immune system as it relates to reproduction for about 20
years. I read about women (just like me) in many parts of the studies. I
gathered up the information and took it to my doctor. He told me this was
rare and he didn't think I had these problems. I decided to refer myself to
Dr. Beer.
After a review of my chart, he told us we were indeed candidates for
problems in this area and ordered blood tests to be done. Not only did we
have these problems but Dr. Beer told us they were about as "bad as he
knows they can get!" My new diagnosis was : Habitual Aborter. Dr. Beer had
discovered we have three major problem areas: Blocking Factor Problem,
Antiphospholipid Antibodies, and Natural Killer Cells.
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