Hi APAS mommies! How have you been?
It has been a while since I was able to update my APAS diaries segment! This year has been a roller-coaster ride. We started the year with the husband having to undergo an open heart surgery last January; then I got pregnant (yes, it was unexpected) in May>>. We suffered the loss of my father-in-law in July and I had to be on bedrest in August because of hyperemesis gravidarum>>. Santi’s yaya left us in September (the horror!) but I was so grateful that my Tita came over to help us. So yeah, the past months have been craaazzzyyy!!!
Slowly, things were looking up when the -ber months entered so I thought we could all use a little bit of positivity, don’t you think so? 😉
For some reason, the blog seemed to gain a little more traction at the latter part of this year. I have received several encouraging words from APAS mommies who were telling me to continue writing because this little space has given them hope. I was filled with so much inspiration that in this little way, I am making a difference in the lives of those mommies who are as lost as I was when I learned about APAS and all other RID categories. And so, here I am, rallying behind you <3
This APAS fighter that I would like to introduce to you today was born to a super pretty mom, who I envy because she vlogs so well – check out her Youtube channel here>>. We haven’t met each other personally but we are updated with our little boys’ happenings through Facebook. Learn about the journey of APAS Mommy Ailene.
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Name: Ailene Camino
RID (repro-immuno disorder) Categories: Cat 1, 2, 5
OB: Dra. Cristina Murakami
Immuno: Dra. Caroline Gloria
Age (optional or estimate, e.g. early thirties, late twenties) : 28y/o
How many pregnancies? 2
How many miscarriages? 1
Live births?1
1. How did you know that you have RID?
When I was at the hospital having a miscarriage, I remembered what my (previous) OB said. She said, “Don’t worry, you can try again next time because this is just the first MC. We will have a problem if it happens again next time.”
I didn’t ask anything since I was still overwhelmed with what was happening. Hindi pa nagsink in lahat agad. I looked for another OB because I felt like my previous OB who handled me was not as eager as I was to find the reason why I miscarried.
Then I went to Dra. Murakami who is also my sister’s OB. I shared what happened then she mentioned APAS. It was the first time I heard about it.
May ganun pala?
Dra. Murakami briefly explained what is it and she told me to do my own research about it. Don ko nalaman yung mga lab tests and treatments na gagawin pati mga presyo nila. Haha! She ordered some lab tests ( APAS PANEL and LAT) and said that if my LAT is below 50%, she will refer me to an immunologist for treatment.
She told me, “I would normally have these lab tests done after 2nd miscarriage, but with you, let’s not wait for the 2nd time.”
For that, I was grateful. <3
When the results came out, I got 1%. (That’s way way way below 50%) I went back to Dra. Murakami and she referred me to an immunologist.
2. What did you feel when you first found out you had RID?
I was in denial and scared at first. When I did my research, I realized that I should be physically, financially, emotionally prepared. Lahat na!
3. What preconception treatments did you have?
Aspirin, metformin (for PCOS), folic acid, 2 LIT sessions, femara
4. What is the greatest challenge of having RID?
The greatest challenge of having RID is not the pain we get from our daily heparin injection but the anxiety I felt, thinking that a miscarriage might happen again or that something could go wrong. I was like this from the time I learned that I was pregnant until I gave birth. I was a paranoid preggy! (And now, a paranoid Mommy! I know I’m not the only one! Haha!)
5. How long after the treatments did you get pregnant?
4 months (a year after my miscarriage)
6. What were your medications during pregnancy?
2 LIT sessions, 3 intralipid infusions, Aspirin, innohep, heparin, folic acid, natalwiz, obimin plus, moriamin, calciumade
7. Any advice to those who are diagnosed with RID and are still trying.
My advice is if you’re battling with RID, you have to trust your doctors. I followed everything what my doctors said because I don’t want to regret something that I did not do. Also, it could be financially, physically and emotionally draining but believe me it’s all worth it! And in times that you want to give up, just pray! God will not give you anything that you can’t handle.
8. Please share your RID timeline
Nov 2014- MC at 8 weeks (blighted ovum)
Dec 2014- diagnosed with APAS, performed other tests and tests revealed that I am cat 1,2&5
May 2015 – 1st LIT session
June 2015- 2nd LIT session
*My immunologist advised me to take tissue cross-match test after 2 sessions but result was still negative. We were given a go signal to conceive despite the negative result. Immuno advised that we’ll continue the treatment once I got pregnant
Nov 2015 – I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. We immediately consulted with ob and immunologist. I started my Innohep shots right away. After a week, i had my ultrasound and found out that baby has a strong heartbeat.????
Dec 2015- after it was confirmed that baby has a heartbeat, we immediately had our 3rd LIT session and 1st intralipid infusion after a week. 4th LIT session after two weeks.
Jan2016- 2nd intralipid infusion
April 2016- 3rd and last intralipid infusion
June 2016- gave birth at 36weeks via scheduled CS, who’s now 16 months old 🙂
9. What is your greatest realization?
God will not give us anything that we can’t handle!
10. What/Who helped you through this difficult time?
My husband, my family and friends. Praying also helped me get through this 🙂
So there you go, my loves. I hope that gave you a little sunshine in this gloomy day.
On another note, let me leave you with this little unsolicited nugget. Please indulge me.
If you see the trend of these stories (APAS Baby Bella here>> and APAS Baby Kiel here>>), you will notice that faith and prayers have played a significant role in the journey of these mommies.
I, myself, was on this road; my faith was stretched to its limits until there was nothing humanly capable that we could do to have the baby that we wanted. We did all the treatments, had follicle monitoring and all the she-bang but we couldn’t conceive for a year. In the end, when we finally surrendered, that was when Santi was given to us.
I trust my doctors. I believe that they are God-sent. But what was more important was that my doctors trusted God and always told me that we should always accompany our treatments with prayers. I am not religious but I am a believer. I believe because I have seen God’s miracles in our lives.
So, I leave you with this – may God’s blessings pour into your lives as well.
Luke 8:43-44
“And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years,
and could not be healed by anyone,
came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak,
and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.”
