KDA Nursing

This week has been really hard. Grief and guilt have kicked my butt. Tuesday, we said goodbye to this wonderful man. Over the years, he has been my step dad, my best friend, and the chief gardener. For those who know me well, know I kill flowers, and he used to try to save them. He will always hold a special place in my heart.

Grief comes with so many emotions, and for me, guilt was the one that stuck out the most. We hadn't spoken much in the months before he passed. I was busy with work, other family commitments, and starting a new business. This made me feel incredibly guilty, I wished so much I had taken the time to speak to him more. I thought to myself he died thinking I didn't care. However, this is just the story I am telling myself. It wasn't a fact.

I know that there was a reason guilt was showing up, so I tuned into the emotion. Guilt was here to help me. I thanked Grief for showing up. It was there to remind me that he was very proud of everything I did and what I had achieved. When I would tell him about my achievements, he would say, "Well done, koo," he'd pat me on the back, and it was always genuine. Feelings of love and acceptance flooded in. Focusing on those feelings has made this week that little bit easier to manage.

Fertility Immunology Continued.

There are many treatments available for raised NK cells or other problems with the immune system.

One is Intralipid. It is a fat emulsion that is routinely used for patients needing intravenous feeding. For example, people on ICU who are not able to eat normally. It is soya, eggs, and peanut based, so those with allergies to these foods would be unable to have an intralipid infusion. It's given at regular intervals before conception and after. It is theorised that intralipids deactivate the natural killer cells, allowing an embryo to implant and grow.

Other options include steroids. These are used to lower the body's immune response.

Another medication that can be used is an immunosuppression medication called hydroxychoroquine.

If you have been suffering from recurrent miscarriages these are just some of the options you have.

Immulogical treatments for infertility are categorised as red by the HFEA. This means that these treatments have no evidence from randomised controlled trial that they will help to get you pregnant. It is vital that you speak to your fertility doctor to discuss other options.

Come back next week for more information on fertility immunology.

Reproductive immunology is a field of study involving the woman's immune system and how it reacts to a pregnancy.

Let's start by looking at the purpose of the immune system. It's an extremely complex system that is responsible for keeping us healthy. It's all about whether a cell is recognised by the body. If it's not, the body jumps into action to destroy the invading pathogens.

So, what does this have to do with pregnancy? It is theorised that the body rejects a pregnancy due to the woman's immune cells.

One of the cells involved is called natural killer cells or NK cells. They are white blood cells that are produced in the bone marrow or spleen and then circulated in the blood. The purpose of these cells is to recognise and destroy tumours, viruses, and bacteria.

Nk cells in the uterus appear to have similar properties to that of those in the blood. However, the purpose of these cells is unclear. Some scientists have suggested these cells recognise the embryo as a foreign body and may attack the embryo, resulting in a pregnancy loss. Other scientists believe the opposite is true, and NK cells play a role in supporting a pregnancy. The evidence around these cells is incomplete and further research needs to be done.

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Over the next few weeks I will be taking a deeper look at reproductive immunology.

I love all things IVF and fertility. The advancements in technology continue to amaze me. Reproductive immunology is a complex and interesting area in which more and more couples are exploring in their fertility journey.

If you have had multiple failed cycles or multiple pregnancy losses, you may be considering trying some of the treatments that reproductive immunology has to offer. This is something you should discuss with your fertility doctor.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting several posts about what reproductive immunology is and what treatments are available. If there is anything you want me to cover specifically then please don't hesitate to send me a message.

This is an important message to everyone this Christmas. It can be a difficult time of year for most. However, those going through infertility will find it particularly difficult.

Questions such as "When will you have a baby?" My seem innocent, but it can cause a lot of pain and upset.

Here are my top 3 tips for supporting someone with infertility.

1. Don't start a sentence with 'at least'. This will make the other person feel ungrateful, adding pain on pain. Instead, just listen. By holding space for someone on a difficult fertility journey shows them that you care.

2. Don't tell them to relax. Infertility can be caused by numerous health conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis, or s***m problems. No amount or relaxation will solve this. Instead, ask if there is anything you can do?

3. Don't offer advice. I can guarantee you that they have tried everything, they've been to doctors and had numerous tests. Instead, be empathic. Support them in finding their own answers, even of it means sitting in a waiting room. Just having you there shows you care.

Please be mindful of what you say to someone going through a difficult fertility journey.

Do you feel overwhelmed by your fertility journey? Are you ready to get off the downward spiral of dispare.

I am now offering emotional empowerment coaching using the freedom fertility formula.

If you would like to book your free clarity call, please don't hesitate to drop me a message or email on [email protected].

You shouldn't have to do this alone. It's difficult enough. Here is a safe place to talk about whats going on for you.

Yes indeed not everyone can understand what you are going through, but some people want to!

We are too among those people, those who want to hear your story and support you through the process.

The fertility journey can be difficult, lonely and frustrating, but it can be full of love and support at the same time!

So join us on our FB Group "Your fertility journey by MEDIPASS" in order to make your journey a little safer, friendlier and easier 💙

Today is world Kindness Day. What a wonderful idea to have a day dedicated to acts of kindness.

Being kind to someone has many benefits. It can brighten someone's day and it helps with your own mental health.

It can be contagious, so let's start the chain of kindness with me. Today I pledge to donate some old clothes to the food bank.

What kind things would you like to do today?

It doesnt have to cost anything. You could hold the door for a stranger, sit and talk to someone who might be lonely or send a appreciate message to a loved one. Please share what you have done below.

Sadly, grief is all too common when your on a fertility journey. It shows up for all kinds of reasons. Failed transfers, pregnancy loss, failed treatment or still birth. Its unbearably devastating. What your feeling is normal and you have every right to feel this way.

We are told that grief shows up in stages, these stages are usually depicted in a beautiful straight line and all the stages in a particular order.

Sadly this is unrealistic. How grief shows up for you will be different to how it shows up for someone else. The same feelings will show up but not necessarily in the same order. You may go from sadness to anger and then back to sadness.

It important to note here that there is no wrong way of dealing with grief, you just have to do what is right for you. Notice the feeling that are showing up. How are the feeling wanting to guide you. What's the next best step.

For help and support with your fertility journey. Please direct message me or send an email to [email protected] to book in for a free chat about how I can help you on yout fertility journey.

Let's talk coping strategies.

What do you do to avoid all those emotions that you have been told are bad/negative? Spoiler alert ⚠️.... there are no bad emotions.

Do you self sabotage?

It's something that I have done in the past. I would have a bad day and then eat too much chocolate. This then made me feel so much worse. I was trying to avoid feeling angry/sad/frustration. I would self sabotage and then later I would feel shame/anger/guilt. I was just adding pain on top of pain!

So what can we do about it?

We can develop better coping strategies.

My favourite is having a dance. I'm awful at dancing but putting on some music and dancing really lifts my mood. It helps to keep me active too, so it's a win win.

Is it time to draw a line in the sand and start making small changes to improve your life?

Before making any changes, you need to get clear on what you want, what feelings you want to feel and what is non negotiable.

Once you get clear on what it is you want, its easy to start making small changes. The key here is to make small realistic changes.

One of the area's I want to work on for myself was leisure. I found that I was running around trying to do everything for everyone and I wasn't spending nearly enough time doing things that bring me joy.

My first success step was to do more cross stitch. I made a plan to spend an hour doing some of my cross stitch. I decided to do this in the eveing after all the chores were done. After doing this, I felt happy and very proud. I enjoy being creative.

The next week I planned to have 2 sessions of cross stitch. The more steps I took, the better my mental health got. That small change made such a difference.

As you can see it's coming on quite nicely.

I saw this picture and I thought it demonstrated perfectly the importance of taking small steps towards change.

When we get clear on how we want our life to be and the feelings you want to feel, we can start to make small changes to reach our goals. By choosing smaller success steps, they don't appear as daunting or as difficult. You get to the same place but it is much simpler.

Send me a message or email and we can have a chat about what it is that you need.

[email protected]