23andme Results and Possible Cause of My Miscarriages

When you get the 23andme Results it is your raw genetic info. You have to put it into a program to interpret it. I used http://geneticgenie.org/ it is free but run on donations. I hate the way the 23andme website is set up. It took me quite a while to figure out how to get my genetic info and their help page is almost useless. 

Once I figured it out I put it into genetic genie and waited for my results. When I saw them I just stared in shock at my computer screen for a few minutes. It shows green for homozygous genes with no defects, yellow for genes with a heterozygous defect, and red for homozygous genes were both are defective, meaning you received a copy from each of your parents. It gives a brief explanation of what homozygous and heterozygous mean. All of the genes analyzed relate to the methylation cycle.

Most of my defects relate to vitamin B12 and I have homozygous MTHFR genes. Then I started doing research and there are tons of websites that talk about it. It was pretty overwhelming at first. I found out that being deficient in B12 can cause infertility and miscarriage and MTHFR does as well. It also causes high homo-cysteine, which explains why I had spotting while taking Metformin. Metformin also causes increased homo-cysteine so it was not a good thing to be taking with the defects I have. 

This is a website that gives a good explanation of each gene, the methylation cycle, and includes some recommendations for supplementation.  There are so many diseases and symptoms that having these defects cause that it is mind boggling. For years I have suffered from chronic fatigue symptoms and now I finally know why.

Useful Tool for Uncovering Reason Behind Repeat Miscarriages and Infertility

I was searching you tube for videos about repeat pregnancy loss and came across a woman who's username is WaitingforBabyTeeter. She talks about using a DNA test from the company 23andme as a way to uncover possible reasons for repeat losses. The is the first video and this is when she talks about her results.  It had never occurred to me to use the 23andme test in that way.

I had a 23andMe DNA test done to see if there is something that was missed that could be causing my repeat miscarriages. I had blood work and an HSG but we did not undergo DNA testing yet. I also could not get my previous doctor to test MTHFR. I debated on getting the MTHFR test from directlabs.com, which I have used in the past. That test is $219 and the 23andme test was about $110. I went with the 23andme since it would be able to reveal not only issues with MTHFR genes but other genes as well, and I am so glad I did.

 I ordered the test on February 18th and I got the results one month after I ordered it. I was somewhat nervous because I had read people complaining that it took a very long time to get their results. I also wasn't sure what the results would be like because of all the controversy and the FDA s ruling. 

I am still processing the results and hope to have time to do another post about what I found out soon. I will say that I highly recommend it for anyone who has unexplained repeat miscarriages or unexplained infertility. I wish I would have known about this years ago and gotten it done then.

AF arrived today and weight loss update

AF decided to show up today so that is the end of the 34th cycle. Now we are on to cycle 35. I am not sure how actively we will be trying this cycle. I think we may just not try and not prevent and try to focus on losing weight. I will still use OPKs just in case my cycle is delayed again. This cycle ended up being 5 days longer than normal.

I have lost almost 8 lbs so far which is great but I still need to lose almost 18 more. I finally got a new pair of tennis shoes so I am excited to try them out when my back finally heals. I really needed a new pair, I could not jog at all in my other ones without having really bad knee pain as soon as I started and even walking was starting to cause knee pain.

Tested Yesterday ... BFN

I went ahead and took a pregnancy test yesterday morning. I should have been about 10 or 11 DPO. The test was negative but I saw what I thought was a hint of a line. I am guessing that must be an indent, I have never seen one before in person. I tried to get a picture of it and it wouldn't even show up on my camera.

So now I am just waiting for AF to arrive. Should be here on the 15th or 16. I had some sharp cramping pains this morning but who knows what that is about. 

I hurt my back about a week ago so I haven't been working out. It is driving me crazy not being able to. My back was starting to feel much better so we decided to go for a walk. Even though I walked very slowly and only for about 40 minutes my back is hurting even more today.

Postive OPK.... finally

I was out of town for 2 days and did not take my OPKs with me. I got back on the first and decided to take one. It was finally positive on Cycle Day 23, April 1st. I took another OPK on April 2nd because I always have positives for 2 days, that one was negative so I believe if I had tested on March 31st it would have been positive. 

I normally ovulate on the 2nd or 3rd day after the first positive OPK. The only time we BD around ovulation was on March 29th so that would be 3 or 4 days before. We were not going to try this cycle and try to focus on losing weight and getting healthier, so there is really only a small chance that I got pregnant this cycle.

AF should be due on April 15th or 16th, which means exercise and losing weight delayed my cycle by 4 or 5 days.