http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/apr/11/nhs-cuts-first-areas
OK guys, this is a couple of weeks old but I found this article and this is a serious scandal. This article is a list of areas that were previously covered by the NHS but under the new government, risk huge financial cuts. I really don't want this blog to become a political soap box but this is ridiculous.
From a selfish point of view, yes the cuts include IVF, but maternity services, cataract removal and mental healthcare all being treated as some kind of elective and unimportant luxury.....come on! I am sure that we are all very glad that our mothers decided to 'elect' to give birth to us and that we arrived safely! As somebody who witnessed her own mum almost die in childbirth, these cuts would return the UK to a kind of Victorian almost Darwinian environment where only the fittest survive! Over the next few days I will find links to government petitions in order to stop these savage cuts that will put millions of lives at risk.
Tuesday 26 April 2011
Happy Infertility Awareness Week April 24th-30th 2011
http://www.dailystrength.org/features/infertility-awareness-week-2011
I love this gesture. It makes me think, there is Mother's Day and Father's Day, but we get a whole week!!
xx
I love this gesture. It makes me think, there is Mother's Day and Father's Day, but we get a whole week!!
xx
Monday 25 April 2011
Teenager fakes pregnancy in social experiment
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/washington-teen-gaby-rodriguez-fakes-pregnancy-social-experiment/story?id=13434764
Hi all,
Hope you have all had a peaceful and chocolatey Easter! I am still waiting for my first appointment but hey ho. I am a little frustrated still but, having worked for the NHS, I know that these things take time as so many people use the service. Moreover, the two neighbouring PCTs Surrey and Sutton and St Helier have stopped all referrals!!!!!!
Anyhow, I am using this time to seriously think about the medical, emotional and ethical issues surrounding the treatment that we are hoping to undertake. I stumbled across this amazing article from the USA, where a teenager faked a pregnancy for six months in order to gauge social reaction. It was shocking to find that she lost so many friends because of it. Even her siblings didn't know about the plot. She only told her boyfriend, head teacher and parents. It really got me thinking that pregnancy and raising a family is extremely political. It seems to me that a woman can't win. If she has children too young i.e. under 21yrs old, then she is branded irresponsible and a benefits sponger. If she has children between 21-35yrs old, it is only acceptable if she is married and even then many criticise her for not having a real job and she is 'just' a mum!!!!! If she is over 35yrs old then she is too old and is risking her child's health and is selfish. Finally, woe betide the woman who doesn't have children at all, regardless of the reason. She is branded a selfish career woman who is cold and heartless.....nice! Sorry for these notes, but I am feeling tired and hormonal..lol. I have to ask the question 'why do I want a child?' Is it to fit in with everybody else, after all, I have been badly affected by the fact that one my SIL has recently had a baby and my other SIL is pregnant? Is because I want to defy the doctor's diagnosis? Is it because I want a child to love and rear and be a mum with all the ups and downs included? I deeply love the kids I teach but I guess it so different to having one of your own. I have to be honest and reply 'yes' to all of these questions. It doesn't make me a bad person, just honest, and I ask, how many people who just had kids naturally even asked that question?
xx
Hi all,
Hope you have all had a peaceful and chocolatey Easter! I am still waiting for my first appointment but hey ho. I am a little frustrated still but, having worked for the NHS, I know that these things take time as so many people use the service. Moreover, the two neighbouring PCTs Surrey and Sutton and St Helier have stopped all referrals!!!!!!
Anyhow, I am using this time to seriously think about the medical, emotional and ethical issues surrounding the treatment that we are hoping to undertake. I stumbled across this amazing article from the USA, where a teenager faked a pregnancy for six months in order to gauge social reaction. It was shocking to find that she lost so many friends because of it. Even her siblings didn't know about the plot. She only told her boyfriend, head teacher and parents. It really got me thinking that pregnancy and raising a family is extremely political. It seems to me that a woman can't win. If she has children too young i.e. under 21yrs old, then she is branded irresponsible and a benefits sponger. If she has children between 21-35yrs old, it is only acceptable if she is married and even then many criticise her for not having a real job and she is 'just' a mum!!!!! If she is over 35yrs old then she is too old and is risking her child's health and is selfish. Finally, woe betide the woman who doesn't have children at all, regardless of the reason. She is branded a selfish career woman who is cold and heartless.....nice! Sorry for these notes, but I am feeling tired and hormonal..lol. I have to ask the question 'why do I want a child?' Is it to fit in with everybody else, after all, I have been badly affected by the fact that one my SIL has recently had a baby and my other SIL is pregnant? Is because I want to defy the doctor's diagnosis? Is it because I want a child to love and rear and be a mum with all the ups and downs included? I deeply love the kids I teach but I guess it so different to having one of your own. I have to be honest and reply 'yes' to all of these questions. It doesn't make me a bad person, just honest, and I ask, how many people who just had kids naturally even asked that question?
xx
Wednesday 20 April 2011
Three way IVF
Morning all. Over the last few days I have been reading several articles in the press regarding a new technique where a child could be created from matter from two mothers and one father. The hope is that many genetic disorders could effectively be wiped out.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13124077
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1378486/3-parent-IVF-babies-HFEA-gives-research-ahead-despite-life-meddling-fears.html
Even though this process seems to be at a very early stage, it has ignited a furious ethical debate. Firstly, that old chestnut of the rights and wrongs of scientists meddling with people who some may say should be having children if it can't happen naturally and that the disabled have a right to life as they are. My arguement would be that such a treatment would protect those individuals from many horrendous conditions that affect their lives daily in many ways and would it not help the potential parents too. I'm sure my parents would say that they had an extra tough time with me as it was, without the extra mild learning difficulties. I can't imagine what it must be like having to support a child with a really serious issue. I feel that those who are against such treatment are those who either don't want children or who have been blessed with multiple children in perfect health so either way the issue doesn't affect them. It is these people, generally, in my experience who are most unsupportive of even the most basic IF problems and even go as far as to say that IF sufferers are selfish to want children and to have treatment. I say that I am no more selfish wanting a child than they are, it just so happens they didn't have to think about a problem. Did they not try and try again to have their children, but it just happened to have worked. This is hopefully what I am about to do. Are they not the selfish ones who find themselves unaffected and don't give a toss about those who are affected by various physical/mental issues including the IF patients. After all, am I not selfless enough to put myself under god knows what in order to provide a loving home for a child?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13124077
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1378486/3-parent-IVF-babies-HFEA-gives-research-ahead-despite-life-meddling-fears.html
Even though this process seems to be at a very early stage, it has ignited a furious ethical debate. Firstly, that old chestnut of the rights and wrongs of scientists meddling with people who some may say should be having children if it can't happen naturally and that the disabled have a right to life as they are. My arguement would be that such a treatment would protect those individuals from many horrendous conditions that affect their lives daily in many ways and would it not help the potential parents too. I'm sure my parents would say that they had an extra tough time with me as it was, without the extra mild learning difficulties. I can't imagine what it must be like having to support a child with a really serious issue. I feel that those who are against such treatment are those who either don't want children or who have been blessed with multiple children in perfect health so either way the issue doesn't affect them. It is these people, generally, in my experience who are most unsupportive of even the most basic IF problems and even go as far as to say that IF sufferers are selfish to want children and to have treatment. I say that I am no more selfish wanting a child than they are, it just so happens they didn't have to think about a problem. Did they not try and try again to have their children, but it just happened to have worked. This is hopefully what I am about to do. Are they not the selfish ones who find themselves unaffected and don't give a toss about those who are affected by various physical/mental issues including the IF patients. After all, am I not selfless enough to put myself under god knows what in order to provide a loving home for a child?
Monday 18 April 2011
Daily Mail Article- TS patient has baby
Wow! I have just seen this article in the Daily Mail about a lady in France who has TS and her twin gave her an ovary. The good news is that she has had a baby!!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1378000/Mother-gives-birth-baby-girl-given-ovary-twin-world-first.html
Obviously this is fantastic news for all concerned, but it got me thinking about how far would I go to have a baby? I really can't see myself submitting my already delicate body to such a barrage of extreme medical procedures. This leads me to wonder how I would react to IVF. How would I react to the drugs? They could really affect my body and mind in ways I hadn't expected. I guess I'm worried about it because I know so little about the type of procedure I may be having. More importantly than that, how could the drugs affect any baby that I may have? These are all questions that I will be asking the consultant when I get my first appointment date. On that front I am still waiting big time. I am on letterbox duty every day...lol xx
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1378000/Mother-gives-birth-baby-girl-given-ovary-twin-world-first.html
Obviously this is fantastic news for all concerned, but it got me thinking about how far would I go to have a baby? I really can't see myself submitting my already delicate body to such a barrage of extreme medical procedures. This leads me to wonder how I would react to IVF. How would I react to the drugs? They could really affect my body and mind in ways I hadn't expected. I guess I'm worried about it because I know so little about the type of procedure I may be having. More importantly than that, how could the drugs affect any baby that I may have? These are all questions that I will be asking the consultant when I get my first appointment date. On that front I am still waiting big time. I am on letterbox duty every day...lol xx
The TS checkup-Wednesday 23rd March 2011
This is rather a retrospective post as the described events happened three and a half weeks ago. I had to go to Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton for my annual TS checkup and I also had my ECG as I have a heart murmur. I was really nervous as I was going to ask my consultant about receiving help conceiving. There were many thoughts running through my mind that day. I felt doubtful. Even though I really know that I want to have children one day, I just feel that as DEIVF is practically our only option, it seems a good idea to try now or risk losing out as many clinics don't treat after the patient is 34yrs old.. It would have been nice to wait a few years, but we know we now don't have that luxury. We have both decided to take it as it comes as we really don't want this to take over our lives. We really feel that we just want to give it a go so we don't ask 'What if?', later on. We are really trying to achieve as much as we can in our lives right now because our career paths are so unstable (I am an actress and my husband 'D' is a musician). I actually don't believe I just wrote that but I think it is important to show that this journey is not simple and those feelings are valid. I guess it is because I have so many questions.
Anyhow, back to the appointment. My consultant there has always been fantastic and I have always had the full gamete of tests e.g. ECG, weight tests, BMD etc to ensure my full well being. I entered the room with a sense of intrepidation. I sat down and he reeled off the good news that I was as fit as a fiddle and all was well...hoooooraaaaay!!!! I swallowed and plucked up the courage, and I asked 'My husband and I are interested in investigating our IVF options'. He smiled and looked through my notes. My heart seemed ok. Check. My tablets were giving me a monthly withdrawal bleed. Check (TMI). The chances are I would need a uterine scan but he said he would speak to the GYN/OBS consultant for us. As I left the building with my routine checkup appointment for next year I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. I had done it. I had asked for help. Maybe that's what the nerves were. I had previously never spoken about this issue which I find so deeply humiliating. It felt great. Let the waiting game start!!
Anyhow, back to the appointment. My consultant there has always been fantastic and I have always had the full gamete of tests e.g. ECG, weight tests, BMD etc to ensure my full well being. I entered the room with a sense of intrepidation. I sat down and he reeled off the good news that I was as fit as a fiddle and all was well...hoooooraaaaay!!!! I swallowed and plucked up the courage, and I asked 'My husband and I are interested in investigating our IVF options'. He smiled and looked through my notes. My heart seemed ok. Check. My tablets were giving me a monthly withdrawal bleed. Check (TMI). The chances are I would need a uterine scan but he said he would speak to the GYN/OBS consultant for us. As I left the building with my routine checkup appointment for next year I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. I had done it. I had asked for help. Maybe that's what the nerves were. I had previously never spoken about this issue which I find so deeply humiliating. It felt great. Let the waiting game start!!
Sunday 17 April 2011
Welcome
Hello and welcome to my new blog. I am a bit of a technocripple but I can't believe that I have created this little diary.
Here goes, the story so far. When I was about ten years old, I began to notice that all the other girls were beginning to look very different to me. They were developing lady lumps and curves whilst I was as scrawny as a chicken. Naturally, this meant that the others were going through puberty and I was not. I try and rationalise this next statement as my body screaming that something was very wrong, but I kept dreaming that I was sitting on a sofa and I was telling a young man that I couldn't have children so the ball was in his court, if he love me, I would stay. Between the ages of 12-15yrs old, I went to my GP on several occasions to say that things weren't happening. However, I was 16yrs old when I saw a female locum and within minutes she realised that I hadn't grown in four years. I was instantly referred to the hospital for blood tests that confirmed that I had Turner's Syndrome, a chromosome disorder that means the sufferer is infertile and is effectively menopausal. I will never forget being told the news and crying hysterically in the consultant's room. I went out for pizza with my mum but we couldn't eat, now that was a first.
This issue has affected my life in many ways. I am tiny, only 144cm (4ft 8in), with awful co-ordination and slight numeric and spacial awareness issues. However, I got through school, university and drama school well. I am now a teacher and actress in London. I am very happily married to a lovely man and until rather recently the infertility issue never really figured as we have been working, socialising and generally being young. Now we are in our thirties and infertility is now rearing its head. I thought I had no options as adoption could be difficult as many agencies won't accept people who have issues with major organs (I have a heart murmur). IVF with egg donation is an option but it is high risk for people in my situation, firstly because the rigours of a pregnancy could play havoc with my heart and also my kidneys (which also have problems). I also have ethical and emotional issues. Can I cope emotionally with the fact that any child that I carry won't be genetically mine? I will never look into my child's face and see my eyes or nose etc, but I will see my husband which will be a wonderful feeling. How would I tell my child about how they came to be? This question may perhaps be answered by this blog and subsequent guide. I want this blog to be a legacy, whatever the outcome.
We are now in the present day and at my last annual TS endocrinology appointment I made a formal request with the fertility specialist. On Wednesday 23rd March 2011 our journey from barren to baby started.
Here goes, the story so far. When I was about ten years old, I began to notice that all the other girls were beginning to look very different to me. They were developing lady lumps and curves whilst I was as scrawny as a chicken. Naturally, this meant that the others were going through puberty and I was not. I try and rationalise this next statement as my body screaming that something was very wrong, but I kept dreaming that I was sitting on a sofa and I was telling a young man that I couldn't have children so the ball was in his court, if he love me, I would stay. Between the ages of 12-15yrs old, I went to my GP on several occasions to say that things weren't happening. However, I was 16yrs old when I saw a female locum and within minutes she realised that I hadn't grown in four years. I was instantly referred to the hospital for blood tests that confirmed that I had Turner's Syndrome, a chromosome disorder that means the sufferer is infertile and is effectively menopausal. I will never forget being told the news and crying hysterically in the consultant's room. I went out for pizza with my mum but we couldn't eat, now that was a first.
This issue has affected my life in many ways. I am tiny, only 144cm (4ft 8in), with awful co-ordination and slight numeric and spacial awareness issues. However, I got through school, university and drama school well. I am now a teacher and actress in London. I am very happily married to a lovely man and until rather recently the infertility issue never really figured as we have been working, socialising and generally being young. Now we are in our thirties and infertility is now rearing its head. I thought I had no options as adoption could be difficult as many agencies won't accept people who have issues with major organs (I have a heart murmur). IVF with egg donation is an option but it is high risk for people in my situation, firstly because the rigours of a pregnancy could play havoc with my heart and also my kidneys (which also have problems). I also have ethical and emotional issues. Can I cope emotionally with the fact that any child that I carry won't be genetically mine? I will never look into my child's face and see my eyes or nose etc, but I will see my husband which will be a wonderful feeling. How would I tell my child about how they came to be? This question may perhaps be answered by this blog and subsequent guide. I want this blog to be a legacy, whatever the outcome.
We are now in the present day and at my last annual TS endocrinology appointment I made a formal request with the fertility specialist. On Wednesday 23rd March 2011 our journey from barren to baby started.
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