Newbie seeks MTHFR info help

[panamahat]

Firstly, let me apologise for not being able to find the right place to look, on this site, for the information I seek, and thus probably being the umpteenth person to ask the same old questions over and over again.

This history is as brief as I can make it!!!:
I have recently been diagnosed with MTHFR mutation (heterozygous, ALA677VAL). Is this the same as C677T? I can't quite work it out.

I have been trying to have a baby since Oct 03. I didn't get pregnant for the first 18 months and then started charting. Ovulation cd23. Oh, ok, maybe sex at the wrong time. Tried at the right time - pregnant first month (Jan 05)

Ectopic. Emergency surgery to remove foetus. Had 2 more positive betas that year (September, November) both chemical. Pregnant again in March 06, chemical. Then tried IVF in August 06 and used PGS to see if there was something wrong with the embryos. There was. All 8 had some kind of genetic abnormality. Tried again Jan 07, one embryo 'normal' (only tested 8 chromosomes, not the full 23, so who really knows for sure?) and one maybe ok. Put both back. Positive beta, but began bleeding right away.

Gave up. Stopped temping and charting. Relaxed. Went on holiday March 08. (just to prove all those idiots with assvice completely WRONG). Guess what? Got pregnant. And guess what? ectopic again.

So, I don't know what to think. Is it just bad genetic material? How could MTHFR cause ectopics, anyway? Or have I had a run of bad luck, PLUS maybe the MTHFR interfered with any embryos that MAY have been genetically normal?

I had extensive bloodwork taken after my first 3 losses. All of it was normal, except my IgA was slightly elevated (still is). I thought the bloodwork included MTHFR but when I changed doctors, she couldn't find the results for it, so we had them redone. Bingo.

But here's the kicker: my homocysteine levels are normal, my folate levels are normal and my B12 and B6 levels are normal. So even if I DO have the mutation, some medical ideas say that unless you have abnormal levels of those things, the mutation isn't affecting you.

As an aside, I get cold induced urticaryia. I haven't been tested for Wilson's syndrome as Australia has never heard of it (!). And I also haven't had my NK cells checked because there is nowhere to do it in Western Australia. I plan to go to Sydney sometime this year and see Dr Sacks at Sydney IVF who specialises in this.

Now from all this information, what do you make of it? Is the MTHFR causing all or even just some of my problems, or not at all? What else should I be looking at? Does my DH need to be tested for MTHFR - does it make a difference if both of us have it?

If you have got this far reading this then thank you. And if you still have the energy to respond to the questions, then I heart you!

Oh yes, and I add that I am 38 and don't feel I have too much more time to fool around getting it wrong....

[panamahat]

ETA: RI says it is a common finding which does mot require any specific treatment. So it looks like it is back to the drawing board...

[BREEZY]

Panamahat,
I Also Was Just Diagnosed With Mthfr (c Mutation) And I Was Instructed To Take 1 Baby Aspirin A Day To Help With The Clotting Issue As Well As Implantation. I Also Take Extra Folate And B Vitamins After Doing Research On This Forum Many Others Were Instructed To Do So. It Is A Very Controversial Issue....mthfr Is. Some Re's Dont Think It Is An Issue While Others Do...i For One Believe It Is As I Have Had 3m/c In 6 Years Of Ttc And No Babies. I Have No Other Diagnosis Other Than The Mthfr. I Hope I Was Of Some Help To You! Good Luck

[panamahat]

Thanks Breezy! Good luck to you too!