Reblogged: LIT for LAT (About Lymphocyte Immunotherapy)

Note: Last October 4, 2013, I lost my second baby. While I am happy that I have a little angel in heaven, the pain does not really go away. I was talking to a friend the other day about the loss that we feel for a loved one and we agreed that it still does not become easier despite the years. 

To celebrate the two months that I have carried my little one, I would like to re-post about APAS and my current condition to hopefully shed some light to those who are suffering from the same disorder. I am lifting these articles from my other blog and decided to centralize all my journey here. There has been an alarmingly increasing number of people who are suffering from repro-immuno disorder. It is a grueling and challenging journey and I hope that you could send a little prayer along our way. 

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First and foremost, thank you for all my friends who cared to ask about all those creepy injections I posted. Nothing serious, I am just undergoing immunotherapy for some pregnancy workup.

Anyway... the succeeding sharing will be for those who are in the same boat as I am in my effort to also raise awareness. I have noticed there has been a lot of people who are having difficulties getting pregnant. This, however, is only about people who have repro-immuno cases. 

So after all the tests that I had, I was required to undergo paternal lymphocyte immunotherapy or LIT to boost the activation of my LAT (linker for Activated T-cells) which is important for the pregnancy as well as generate a positive tissue cross-match with the husband.

In my previous test, we found out that I was too compatible with the husband. What does this exactly mean?

"One half of the fetus's HLA type is contributed by mother and the other half by father. When a woman becomes pregnant, her body's immune system usually recognizes the father's HLA as different from her own, and the white blood cells in her uterus produce protective, blocking antibodies. These antibodies coat the baby's cells and protect the fetus from mother's killer cells. If father's HLA is too similar to mother's, her cells may not recognize differences that are vital to the production of blocking antibodies." - RiaLab

So there you go, I wasn't producing the proper antibodies or whatever cells resulting for my body not "tolerating" the baby's growth. If you really think about it, this is actually very depressing. It  means that my body is the culprit for not carrying the pregnancy to term. *sob*

It was a blessing that my husband and our families are very supportive. After finishing all the tests, we had to do what we could. There were a lot of contradicting publications on this procedure. However, we based our judgment on the many successful stories in the APAS forum (yes, there is a forum) of those who have undergone all these treatments and have successfully given birth.

What are some of the published success stories? Click here.

Anyway, we went to Asian Institute of Immunology (AII) in Medical Plaza Makati at 7 AM in the morning where they extracted 14 vials of blood from the husband. I applaud him for being so cool about all the extractions; I knew it wasn't easy.

After that we had to wait for 2PM and meet Dra. Gloria in her clinic in Asian Hospital. AII would have processed the blood already and separated the WBC. From the 14 vials, only around a teaspoon will be left and this will then be injected to me, intradermally.

I was grateful to my meditation exercises because my breathing regimen really helped during the painful injection process. It was the longest 30 minutes of my life. To describe bluntly, it was like blade piercing through the skin. But hey, all for the little one, right?

After the procedure, I was required to cover it for 48 hours without exposure to light or water. 

This is how it looked like after taking of the bandage. This is followed by extreme itchiness which can be alleviated by cold compress.

Last Saturday, I was on my second LIT. This time around, it was on my right arm and it was more difficult since I am right-handed. The scars of the first one are still there. 

So there you go. I hope that you can send a little prayer with babydust along our way. To those suffering from repro-immuno cases, let us not lose hope and be a source of support towards each other. 

xx,
Corporate Junkie