The Hush Family

Over last summer I learned something new about my self, I really wasn't going to share it but now that I'm pregnant it I feel fine about sharing it. So some of my close friends and my family know that I struggle with anxiety. I always knew I had something going on with me, because I didn't think a lot of the things I thought, or my sleeping issues were normal. I just didn't really know what to do about it, so I didn't talk to my parents much about it or even Mac when we were dating. I've just shrugged it off and would deal with it. 

My dad has it horribly bad, and like I said before, my family and I aren't a super open family, and really don't talk about a lot of these things, so I really didn't know much about my dad till over the summer. He was tested by a Doctor in Alpine for a mutation called MTHFR.  Its a really new test, so Doctors who have been in practice for a long time don't really know much about it, however these younger doctors do.  My dad tested positive for it which I know was a huge relief for him too. The Doctor told him that it is genetic, and so its important that the rest of his family get the test done too.  We were all kind of surprised, because we all of us siblings have different symptoms. However, we all ended up going in and getting tested and we all tested positive. 

Its really hard to explain what it is,  but basically theres lots of different forms of the mutation. My older sister and I have whats called compound heterozygous which means I have a bad copy of two different MTHFR genes, however our symptoms are still different. I found that to be really interesting. The doctor also found that I have a severe omega-3 deficiency, which he was a little worried about.  The simplest way to explain what MTHFR is, is that my body can't convert dietary nutrients that we get from food, into the way my body needs to actually receive them and benefit from them. That is the most simple way I can't put it. Its very complex and like I said a new study, so apparently treatment for it has kind of been a trial and error. I expected to go in to this doctor and have him just give me something for anxiety, but my body is having a lot more issues then just having anxiety.  As of now the treatment  are prescription supplements with high doses of vitamins and Mythylfolate. When researching it a little bit more my self, I couldn't believe all the conditions that can be in relation to MTHFR (Frequent miscarriages, depression & anxiety, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, bipolar & schizophrenia, and the list goes on!!)

The biggest shock that I learned from all this, was what my Doctor told me about my pregnancy's. I had Bostyn there with me, so he knew that I had already had one baby. He told me that because my condition wasn't known at the time of my first pregnancy and went untreated, I had a 70% increased chance of having an autistic baby, and a 70% chance of her having a neural tube defect ( defects of the brain and spinal cord) I felt sick to my stomach. It scared me to death. He basically told me its a miracle Bostyn is healthy. I couldn't believe it, I was soooooooo thankful at that moment for my sweet little girl and her perfection. 

Thats why I've been on such a health kick. I'm freaking out about this next baby and have been doing a lot in getting my body as healthy as possible for pregnancy. At my first appointment with my OB (removing my IUD), she asked me about vitamins and if I was taking any. I told her that I wasn't seeing another doctor and that he has prescribed me some Vitamins and Methylfolate. She scrunched her for head a little and asked "Do you have MTHFR?" I was like, OH MY GOSH how could I not talk to her about that?!! I think because I wasn't pregnant yet it just slipped my mind. She asked if they new about it when I was pregnant with Bostyn, and I told her no. She told me that they were going to have me meet with their nutritionist at all my appointments, which I've never done before. 

So when people ask us if we want a boy or girl? Our answer will be "Doesn't matter. Just need a healthy baby." Thats what were thinking about at this point.

Isn't it fun learning new things about your self!!!!!?