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Audrey's Story
"I got infected with CMV just before conception..."
I had blood tested in dark field, but the doctor didn't know what's wrong with me then. I knew that was CMV later on, at the end of the first trimester. My doctor said "there's nothing we can do at this stage", and I had detailed ultrasounds every month. We did heart USG in the 8th month of pregnancy too.
During whole pregnancy I used well balanced diet (counted in Excel by dietetic), someone told me about green grapefruits that they enhance immunity- so drank them every day and used Omega 3 (DHA) fatty Acids from concentrated fish oil. Had my blood and urine tested every month. Also for serologic conflict we had...
My daughter was fighting CMV after birth for half a year and she did it only breastfed (without any other support, also no gancyclovir). She was born totally red with some rush but doctor's said that it's allergy (which isn't true when the baby is CMV-rush is typical). At the age of three months she had the highest level of virus checked in urine and blood at the ward but doctor's kept us waiting until 6 months when baby develops her own immunity system.
She had only quite strong reflux, diarrhea, and some muscle tension but we did rehab 1.5 year and it's fine now. She started to walk at the age of 1.5 year.
The only problems now are with diet (gluten free, milkfree, some fruit free) problems come from slower development of intestines. It sometimes comes out as atopy on skin. I used loads of Probiotics with her (of course not from yogurt). It helped us a lot.
Now she is 3 and absolutely fine. No one can tell that there was something wrong. From the statistics I got here, 1/3 of kids, if they develop after very early infection, they are fine. I know three kids that had gancyclovir treatment and are at school now and they are perfectly fine, even their hearing stayed intact.
Be strong and think positive.
- Shared by her mother, Sybilla