Lymph Drainage Theraphy (LDT)

It took 5 months before my husband and I were accommodated by our other doctor (partner of our homeopathic doctor) for our lymph drainage theraphy because her schedules are full since she also administers cranio sacral theraphy (CST).

Before undergoing LDT, we were required to drink a lot to ensure that we were hydrated (water and fresh juices only), schedule to take a leave or make sure that you stay at home after the theraphy, and eat a light before the theraphy.

We were recommended to undergo this theraphy to detoxify our body, stimulation of our immune sytem (due to our reproductive immunology problems), fertility and regeneration of tissues especially for me since I have undergone surgeries. This goes hand in hand with our homeopathic treatment.

The initial theraphy will be done in 4 sessions and were scheduled Tuesday and Thursday for 2 weeks (an ahour each for me and my husband). The rationale behind the intervals is to determine what kind of reaction/effect/changes in your body after each session.

What is lymph drainage theraphy?

"The proper functioning of the lymphatic system is critical to our body's ability to operate at peak performance. This system drains fluids, detoxifies and regenerates tissues, filters out toxins and foreign substances and helps us maintain a healthy immune system. If lymph circulation stagnates however, toxins accumulate and compromise cellular functioning, which opens the way to physical ailments." (Source: http://www.upledger.com/therapies/ldt.htm).

It involves a very light touch, lighter than a regular massage from the head to to toe and front and back of the body.

For my first session, the doctor tried to determine which part was blocked in my system. She said that my liver, kidneys, thyroid, and left ovaries were blocked. My thyroid blockage was a result of my two operations. Liver and kidneys were blocked due to the toxins/chemicals in my body, meaning these were the toxins coming from the unhealthy lifestyle (drinking/eating) for the past 30+ years.

One thing that really surprised me was the blockage at my left ovaries. When I was a kid, my immunization/vaccinations shots were in my left upper thigh that was very near to one of the major lymph node/vessel located in the inner left thigh. All the metals from those vaccinations were stored thus creating the blockage in that area as well as my ovary.

During the session, the doctor noticed that I also had a curvature in my spine (slight scoliosis) that was causing my back pains previously. She said she'll do a cranio sacral theraphy (CST) to correct the scoliosis.

By the way aside from physical release, LDT also touches on the emotional/mental release of the person. This means that if you are also suffering from emotional depression/sadness/problems LDT is interrelated with this. So, all kinds of release will be expected after the sessions.

Seeking A Second Opinion Through Homeopathy

Hubby and I decided to seek a second opinion regarding our condition. A friend referred her doctor who is into homeopathy.

"Homeopathy is the system of medicine which works on the principle of 'like cures like' (Similia Similibus curanter). The theory behind the working of homeopathy is that the body of every human being contains a vital force within the body which regulates the functioning of the body. Due to reasons such as heredity, environmental conditions, stress etc, this vital force weaken causing disease. So, disease is nothing but a complex of certain symptoms observed in the human body. The homeopathic physician make a study of not only the symptoms the patient is complaining of, but of the entire patient himself. This leads to a picture of the patient." (Source: http://bringhealth.com/index.html)

This doctor is also an ob/gyn but she's praticing homeopathy. What made it really interesting for me was her principle of trying to find out what was causing the immunological problems rather than just trying to cure. She explained that everything is all natural, no synthetic medicines but it would take a longer period of time compared to conventional medicine. She explained that there is an imbalance in our system thus causing the immunological problem. The whole objective is to make hubby and me healthy and find out what's causing the imbalances to ensure that we will be able to conceive, carry the baby full term and give birth to a healthy baby.

After a 2 hour consultation with her, hubby and I went home and tried to discuss which route to go. Whether we should go conventional or homeopathy. I immediately recommended that we go homeopathy. Hubby was a bit hesitant because it was not convetional medicine. I said that there will be no harm in doing it because at the end of the day the main objective is to make us healthy.

The main factor that we discussed was our level of commitment. It will not just be me who will be treated but both of us. Another factor was that it would be a longer process because the treatment is based on our level of health. If we will not be able to commit to homeopathy then it will defeat the whole purpose of the treatment.

After a very thorough discussion, we both agreed that we will go the more natural way which is homeopathy.

Reproductive Immunology Test Results

Unfortunately for us, we tested positive for Category 1, 3 and 5. What rotten luck for us....

Again the, immunologist tried to explain the treatment to us but it was so complicated. He recommended lymphocyte immunotheraphy (LIT), heparin, aspirin, prednisone, and IVIG as treatment for the 3 categories that we tested positive.

I didn't understand everything and it was quite difficult to ask him to explain in lay mans term what the treatment involved. So I resorted to researching again on my own.

I tried looking for similar cases in the Philippines but I really didn't know anyone. If indeed there were some, most of them were on positive for Category 1.

This was so frustrating for me, it seems that our problems were neverending in our desire to have a child. Why us? There are a lot of people in my country who couldn't even take care of their children but here we are exhausting all means just to have a child.

In my quest to understand the treatment, I found out that some of the recommended treatments were not even allowed on certain countries. Some had side effects and some treatments were not even successful. What bothered me the most was the thought of having all these medicines pumped into my body, my immune system will be tampered with and yet the success rate was at only 25% without even considering the side effects.

I was in so much pain, I was so confused whether to undergo all these treatments despite my concerns and hesitations. What if the treatment will just mess up with my body? What if complications will occur and it will just prevent us from having a baby.

We went back to the Ob/Gyn after consulting the immunologist and he was recommending that we undergo the treatment and then go through iui or ivf.

On top of this, we also found out that my husbands sperm had low motility levels.

Talk about obstacles in conceiving a baby. How lucky can we get? I am just thankful that my husband is very supportive.

Hubby and I decided to weigh our options before deciding what to do next.

Connection of Thyroid in Reproductive Immunologic Problems

After numerous search and gathering feedbacks (learning from our previous mistake), we decided to consult a top notch ob/gyn. During our first consultation, I explained to him in detail my medical condition. After learning about my thyroid condition (thyroidectomy), he immediately referred us to an immunologist.

He wanted to eliminate or determine whether I was suffering from immunological problem due to my thyroid problems. It is a major factor in suspecting a patient of having reproductive immunological problems despite the fact that I did not really exhibit/experience the usual indications.

Indications of reproductive immunologic problems (as explained by my doctor): repeated miscarriage (3-4 times), IUI and IVF failures, unexplained infertility, and unable to conceive again despite having a child already.

I've only had one miscarriage, have not tried IUI or IVF, no child and I think I'm only positive with the unexplained fertility.

So my husband and I consulted an immunologist and he explained to us what Reproductive Immunology is all about. It was a very complicated matter and I really did not understand what it was all about.

So, what I did was to research in the internet and spent time in really understanding it. Here's a summary of all the collected data I gathered from the internet . It consists of 5 Categories (1) Absence of Pre Formed Blocking Antibody (2) Anti Phospholipid Antibody (3) ANA (4) Anti Sperm and (5) NK Cells greater than 12%.

Caregory 1 - Lack of Blocking Antibody to Pregnancy

Summary:

"In normal pregnancy the male part of the embryo will cause the woman to develop antibodies that form a protective ‘ring’ (a blocking antibody) around the embryo. In couples that are a close genetic match there is a lack of the blocking antibody to pregnancy, the embryo or fetus is rejected and the pregnancy fails". (Source: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/immunologysupport/files/immune treatments, what are they?/Reproductive Immunology at CARE Patient Guide)

Category 2 - Antiphospholipid Antibodies (APA's)

Summary:

"Repeated miscarriages, IVF failures, endometriosis and anything that causes tissue injury can lead to the formation of antibodies to phospholipids. These are called antiphospholipid antibodies. Phospholipids are important molecules in the membranes of all cells, and antibodies to these important molecules can derange cell function, cause inflammation and can even cause blood to clot too quickly". (Source: http://repro-med.net/info/cat2.php)

Category 3 - Positive Anti-nuclear Antibody (ANA)

Summary:

"Category 3 immune problems occur in 22% of women with recurrent pregnancy losses and nearly 50% of women with infertility and IVF failures. Women with this problem make antibodies to DNA, or DNA breakdown products in the embryo or in the pregnancy. The woman's blood clots too fast cutting off support to the baby. These antibodies also cause the embryo to attach too weakly to the uterus". (Source: http://repro-med.net/info/cat3.php)

Category 4 - Anti-sperm antibodies

Summary:

"The antibody to sperm is often associated with antiphospholipid antibodies to the phospholipids serine and ethanolamine. Antibodies to sperm should be suspected

* if women have antibodies to serine and or ethanolamine,
* in women with poor post coital tests (sperm are dead or not moving in the cervical
mucus), and
* in women whose spouses have antisperm antibodies."

(Source: http://repro-med.net/info/cat4.php)

Category 5 - Elevated Natural Killer Cells

Summary:

"Natural Killer Cells are good because they stop the body from developing cancer. Twelve per cent of women with recurrent pregnancy losses (3 or more) and 35% of women with 3 or more IVF failures have elevated NK cells.
NK cells are one of the most primitive lymphocytes in man. They have several useful functions. One of these is to produce a cytotoxic chemical called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). TNF is very effective in eliminating altered cells in our body e.g. cancer cells. Some women have higher than normal levels. The embryo can be misinterpreted as cancer cells and in pregnancy, NK cells increase in number and killing power, causing embryos to become damaged by the TNF." (Source: http://repro-med.net/tests/nkassay.php)

Whew, it was really tough trying to understand everything. After reading so many articles about it, I really prayed and hoped we will not test positive to any of the categories.

So my husband and I went for our blood tests. They took I think about 12 vials of my blood because there were 12 tests that needs to be done. They only took 5 vials from my husband (lucky him :)). I had to stay like 15-20 minutes in the lab because they were having a hard time getting my blood because I had thin veins. They even used the needle for babies just to be able to get the required blood sample from me. It was an exhausting time for me.

On top of that it was really expensive, we spent more than P40,000 pesos for the tests.

Next would be the results and treatment required.