Chromosomal Testing results

I had my doctor's appointment today with Dr. N (the regular fertility guy, as opposed to the new one I'm seeing in two weeks.)

The chromosomal tests from the embryo are back, and the winner is...

Kleinfelter's syndrome. This is a rare chromosomal abnormality where there are 47 chromosomes instead of 46 - so, an extra X chromosome (so the embryo was an XXY rather than an XX or XY.) In case anyone is interested and knows a little more about this stuff, this is an extra chromosome, rather than a broken chromosome, which bodes better for our chances in the future.

Fetuses with Kleinfelter's syndrome can go to full term and lead (relatively) normal lives. However, it is a sex chromosome disorder and as such, it would have meant that the baby would not only have had some female characteristics as it went through puberty, but the syndrome almost always causes infertility. It's hard enough to be a kid in the world without being "different," but infertility on top of that - (obviously not an issue until much later in life) is something I would never wish on anyone.

That being said, even though I'm still sad to have miscarried, I'm definitely comforted by the thought that this particular miscarriage occurred because it was supposed to happen. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, but I still believe that the human body in general miscarries babies because they were not formed correctly. (No disrespect to people who have different beliefs.)

The good news is that according to Dr. N, this was a fluke occurrence. Apparently, Kleinfelter's syndrome is not hereditary so he sees no reason for us not to just "try again." He seems to think that we have just been really unlucky in rolling the dice. I'm not completely satisfied with that answer, but as far as he is concerned, we (my husband and I) should not have any chromosomal issues ourselves because if we did, we wouldn't have produced a normal child the first time.

So on we go to the new specialist in a couple of weeks. Now that we have the chromosomal tests back, I'll have much more interesting information to chat about with her. I'm really looking forward to getting a fresh perspective and seeing if the new doctor might see something that my current doctor might be missing.

Oh, and one thing that might be of interest to anyone taking a calcium supplement: I read in that book I was talking about a couple of weeks ago that Vitamins A and D can accumulate in your system and can contribute to miscarriage. Many calcium supplements have Vitamin D added to them, so if you're taking calcium, you should look for one without the added Vitamin D.

Next steps: Dr. G in two weeks, and then Clomid for our next cycle.