It has been quite a few months and I've been doing some thinking.
Here's the thing I've been thinking (and this is really in response to the last two threads too, by chance): The mother doesn't just expose the fetus to pathogens, she passes IgG antibodies on to the baby. For example, with Lyme, the children who are truly sick, from what I gather (and there are exceptions) are the ones whose mothers were bitten WHILE pregnant. Those are the babies that really end up with problems, as a general trend. Of course it can, and has (I think?), been passed to babies when the mother was infected with Lyme a long time before becoming pregnant, but you don't hear of that as much (so it is harder to come to conclusions as to what happened).
Take toxoplasmosis as another example. Pregnant women need to avoid litter boxes (one of the ways you come in contact with the pathogen), unless they test positive already for past exposure to toxo. Those women are told that it's okay for them to change the kitty litter. So again, the problem is exposure during pregnancy.
I have been thinking that it just doesn't make sense that all the pathogens a woman is exposed to throughout her lifetime will doom her for a sick baby, and of course evolution has solved that problem through this phenomenon of this immunity being passed on. I realize that some illnesses ARE passed. Like HIV (which is not always passed, but sometimes). However, in response to Fejal's above comment, I really feel that it isn't as simple as saying to me, "What you have will be passed!" Because I have been like this for QUITE awhile (about 10 years). I would think it would be much worse for the baby if I was exposed during pregnancy, and that is something no one can predict or avoid.
Anyone have thoughts on what I just brought up? Like flaws in that train of thought?
The other thing is that some will say we have immune dysfunction (and yes, I realize this is proven, but I have never personally had the tests done). I know I don't have IgG deficiency. So far I have no knowledge that I have anything that has been documented (pathogen, immune, or otherwise) to negatively impact a child, and I am not willing to not have children out of fear, without concrete knowledge. That fear is not a good enough reason. And neither are the stories of some woman, somewhere, that had a sick child. That isn't concrete proof of anything since healthy women have sick babies too, so a sick woman having a sick baby will happen from time to time, just statistically.
Anyways, those are my thoughts on the issue right now. We will likely continue on with our babymaking plans once I feel I am at my absolute healty-est, which will probably be at about 75% of my old self, if I had to predict the future. Right now I am at about 50%. I am not disregarding anyone's opinion, but I am taking what people say as just that, their opinion, based on what knowledge we have.
I am not meaning to spark controversy by saying this, but since I created this post, I am even less sure of this theory that XMRV is a contributing factor in our symptoms. The jury is still out as far as I'm concerned, and a conclusion either way may never come, on the XMRV issue. It could just be something people end up chasing for awhile, that never pans out for people. Sorry to be so blunt, but I feel that it does have to be said. Everyone exploring XMRV does need to confront the "what if it turns out to be a non-issue?" aspect. If I had a dollar for every abnormality that PWC's have, clinically, vs. the general population......you get the idea. And so far, we still don't know the actual cause, because most of us are not cured. We know everything wrong with us.....but is it the cause?
I got back on this site to let everyone know that L-tyrosine seems to be helping me A LOT right now. But then this ended up getting bumped based on some chatter in the chat room, so that is why I came here to respond with an update on my thoughts. I am not trying to ruffle feathers. Just trying to get real with my thoughts. Thanks for listening.
