We were SOOO ready to start the transfer cycle right after the retrieval, but with this concern about my hypersensitivity to progesterone, we had to put that on hold. No February... maybe March then?? In order to determine if it was actually Autoimmune Progesterone Dermatitis, I was referred by my fertility doctor to see an allergist in Indianapolis that has worked with this rare reaction before.
I took the first appointment she had available, 1 week out, on Day 584. Once I booked a room at Hotel Bre (my friend's house) for the night before, I made my way up to Indy one more time to see if this really was the thing holding us back from getting pregnant. My fertility doctor said that if my body was being hypersensitive to the progesterone it was releasing, that it could have been preventing us from getting pregnant this whole time. ARE WE ACTUALLY GOING TO GET SOME ANSWERS?!?!
After blowing into a tube to test my lung capacity - phew, which made me super light headed - I made my way to the room with the hopes that this doctor can help me out. I met with the nurse first and gave her the brief history so she could take down some notes for the doctor. Once we were finished, the Dr. came in. Repeated my history... wasn't that what the notes were for?
"Well, let's set up an appointment for you to come back and we can do some skin testing. We will have to order the progesterone in order to do a skin test on you."
"WHAT? I just drove 2.5 hours up here for a consult to then turn around and have to come back for more testing... nah. Can you order that tonight and I can come back tomorrow? Something! Not trying to leave here without answers."
"Let me look around to see if we have any and I will get back to you."
Thankfully they were able to find a bottle that was not expired to do some skin testing. What they do is prick your skin with histamine to make sure your skin can react, then with a control, and then with the progesterone in a low concentration. After 20 minutes, they came back to see that my skin didn't react to the progesterone poke. Up next, another poke with a higher concentration of progesterone. 20 more minutes pass... still no reaction. One more time... another poke with an even higher concentration of progesterone and 20 more minutes later... still nothing.
Unlike food allergies, hormonal reactions may take longer to show and the skin test is not a 100% conclusive result that I am not allergic. With the pictures I took of my face and the timing of when it occurs, she was still concerned that was it. We discussed what could be ways to desensitize myself to the progesterone I release but she wanted to consult the specialist that has been doing research and studies on this new allergy first. He is located in Cincinnati but he was the best in the country when it came to this.
She then wanted to follow up with my fertility doctor first to see what the next steps should be and would call me back later that week. After a few days of back and forth calls, on Day 593, I got the call that they agreed the next best step for me was to get some blood work done to test and see if I possess the antibody for progesterone. If it came back positive, that means I am fighting the progesterone I release. But I have to get that bloodwork done in Cincinnati. You're telling me that I now have to drive to Cincinnati to get my blood drawn? Is there any way I can do it at my local hospital and they can overnight the bloodwork with the request to him in Cincinnati?? Come on.... YES, they agreed - finally, I didn't have to drive 3 hours somewhere to get a test done.
Now... more waiting. We were inching closer to March and the time to get the results back were about two weeks. It was currently Feb. 20 and we found out that the tech that runs the lab was out of the office for a conference and then out of the country on vacation until March 10. I couldn't send the blood and then have it just sit there, so I had to wait. We did get some answers though - the results of the blood test would determine the intensity of the desensitization process and we would be doing this in conjunction with our embryo transfer! I thought we were going to have to do the desensitization first, then the transfer cycle the month after. That was pretty exciting news.
In the meantime, we headed to Nashville with our friends to celebrate my husband and his best man turning 30 this year! It was a great time with some wonderful people. But in the back of my head, this was the weekend my next period was supposed to start, and she was no where to be seen/felt. Could this be? Could the retrieval have reset everything and pumped up my hormones to work?! Was I pregnant?! I decided to take a test before we left just incase since we were planning on having a few drinks. Negative.
Figured she would show up throughout the weekend. Nope. My typical cycle is around 26 days and by the time we got home from Nashville, I was on day 30. I have not been over 28 days since... well, ever. Took a few more pregnancy tests negative. Went back to check on one of them and there was a line! No way... went out to the store and got some digital tests to confirm. Nope.... looks like it was just an evaporated line. Of course, it never fails, as soon as you spend all the money on tests, she shows up the next day on Day 606. Looks like being on all of the meds from the retrieval cycle threw my body for a loop.
Day 612 rolled around and I was finally able to get my bloodwork done. They sent me the directions, I went to the local hospital and they were SO helpful with getting this done and shipped out. We needed to get these results back a week before my next cycle starts so we could get the protocol in place and order any meds necessary for it. We were pressed for time and it would be cutting it close. If they didn't get back in time, then we would have to wait another month. Guess what?! Now we wait again.
Kept myself pretty busy that month to help pass time time:
Days 601-604: Nashville with Friends
Days 607-610: Alabama for work
Days 614-620: LA to see Tony Robbins with the Hubs
Days 621-622: DC for work
Days 630-632: Parents in town driving back from Florida.
During that time, on Day 623, my allergist messaged me that she received the results. I had the antibody; my blood test came back positive. I mean I knew I was a sensitive person, but dang, to my own hormones?! Both her and the specialist agreed that to do the desensitization, I would have to do it in the Cincinnati office under the specialist's supervision. She was now looking to get in touch with my fertility doctor to decide the next steps. Butttttt my fertility doctor was out of town and she wouldn't be able to speak to her until the following Friday. I swear, who lets these people take vacations!? haha - kidding :)
Now, I can't leave you with all of the answers so, just as I got to do a lot of waiting... now it's your turn to wait until the next post to hear what happens next! 😀
Until next time... JR
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