Endometriosis - missing Beta-3 Integrin

[Anonymous]

I'm spinning off the other endo post below- just wanted to make sure that this didn't get lost in the shuffle or I would have replied to that directly. I AM SO MAD that my doctor never told me about this or never performed the test for it! Would you mind giving names of doctors who are receptive to performing this kind of testing? I want this test. After a failed IVF cycle, I am starting to seriously think about the Napro Technology (Catholic route with no IVF where they test you for everything under the planet) just because I feel like I haven't been tested sufficiently.

[Anonymous]

FYI, here's some research you might find helpful:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11949954?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=5&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed

[Anonymous]

Yeah, my doctor never mentioned it to me either. I only found out about the Beta-3 Integrin issue when I started doing my own Internet research after multiple failures. I stumbled across some information and decided to order a testing kit from the link below. Took the kit to my doctor and, basically demanded that they do the test for me. They reluctantly agreed and, as it turned out, I failed (no Beta-3). Unfortunately, they refused to give me the treatment after I tested negative. For that, I had to go to a clinic out of town. Your mileage may vary.

The best clinics (e.g. CCRM) test/treat endo patients for Beta-3 routinely. Nonetheless, it seems to be a controversial issue in the fertility community, which is why most doctors either don't do the test or don't even know about it. Apparently, some women's status will vary from month to month (i.e. they unpredictably test positive one month and negative the next) which is the reason many doctors don't believe in the test. Other women (usually the ones with endometriosis) are more likely to be negative every month. It's pretty much impossible to get pregnant in a month when the Beta-3 isn't there. Unfortunately, the test can only be done at the end of your cycle so it's impossible to do a transfer in the same month when you've tested and know the integrin is present. The treatment is 3 months of Lupron Depot, which puts you into a temporary, medically-induced menopause but pretty much guarantees a you few months of positive Beta-3 status when you come off. I won't lie to you--the Lupron Depot sucks, but it got me pregnant. I had my first ever positive beta in the IVF cycle we did one month after the Lupron. Unfortunately, if I ever want to have more children, I'll probably have to do the Lupron all over again.

FYI, the testing kit is free but the test itself requires an endometrial biopsy. My insurance covered the biopsy but not the cost of the lab analysis, which was $400 or $500 (I can't remember). I'd recommend talking to you current doctor about it. Tell them you know it's controversial but you want to do the test anyway. It's your money and your body, so I honestly don't see why they should care. You never know, they might agree.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

http://www.etegritytest.com/

[Anonymous]

Wow. Thank you so much, that was so helpful. I just wish someone had told me this earlier.. this is just unbelievable that I didn't know about this! My endo dr. actually wanted to give me Lupron after excision surgery and I refused to take it.. now I wish I had I am going to order the test right now. Thanks again.