My husband recently traveled to Mexico City for a business trip. At the time I was about 7 weeks pregnant and that pregnancy unfortunately did not work out. I know the official recommedation for TTC after potential exposure to Zika is to wait 6+ months after travel to an infected country but I'm AMA and a history of fertility issues so time is not on my side. My husband argues that it was 40 degrees where he was and that he didn't think it was at all possible that he was affected. My ob/gyn said he could reach out to his health care provider regarding testing, which he did today at an already scheduled doctor's appointment. His doctor's office told him that they don't do testing and couldn't refer him anywhere that can. I was going to try calling a few independent lab facilities to see if I could find a place to do adminster the blood test and I did some company from a google search result that will send a kit to you to bring to a lab and it will charge you $500 (no insurance accepted) to run the testing. I have a post-d&c follow up appointment with my ob/gyn scheduled next week so I thought I might ask where they refer patients to but I'm just wondering if anyone has been tested for Zika. Is it hard to just decide to get tested on an elective basis? What would you do regarding TTC if you were in my shoes?
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I've heard that it is very difficult to get tested on an elective basis.
As for what I'd do if I were in your shoes - I would go ahead and TTC (probably not a popular opinion). DH and I are traveling to Mexico this summer and will TTC after the trip (assuming we don't get any mosquito bites). I asked for my OB/GYN's recommendation regarding trying again at my post-D&C appointment a few weeks ago and she said that while she can't give any recommendation other than waiting 6 months, she understands that it's a lot to ask of patients. I really don't want to put TTC on hold any longer than I already have to and we're just planning to wear bug spray/mosquito bracelets.
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@Shantuck: Also, I'm sorry for your loss
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@Shantuck: given all your circumstances and given that I'm an extremely cautious person, I wouldn't wait
Also, I was under the impression that Mexico City really doesn't have Zika--is that obsolete? And can they test fetuses for Zika through a CVS? ETA I wouldn't trust the $500 internet test unless I had like two physicians telling me it was legit and the only way. -
@LCTBQE: I was thinking both of these things and forgot to mention them! I do believe Mexico City is in the lower risk area due to it being higher elevation (and therefore low mosquito population).
I have heard of a few pregnant women having the fetus (or maybe themselves?) tested for Zika.but not sure what's involved with that.
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@skinnycow: exactly. I know the CDC map with the entire country colored red is terrifying, but I don't think the risk is serious in Mexico City specifically, from what I've heard. I'd wait if I was a 26-year-old newlywed, but not if I was AMA (which I also am
!)
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I went to Mexico City for work last year and researched Zika beforehand, and everything I read said there was little to no risk (due to the elevation as @skinnycow: mentioned - which is higher than Colorado for reference).
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Im sorry for the stress
I'd be really surprised if Mexico City poses a risk, since it's at 8,000 feet above sea level. I see from a quick google search (in Spanish, which is more likely to yield subnational info): "Por su ubicación geográfica, la Ciudad de México está libre de riesgo del mosquito transmisor del virus Zika, señaló la SecretarÃa de Salud capitalina. La dependencia indicó que aunque el insecto es del mismo género que causa el Dengue, la altura sobre el nivel del mar a la que se localiza la capital del paÃs no permite la sobrevivencia del mosquito." and "Por su ubicación geográfica la Ciudad de México está libre de riesgo de presentar casos de Zika autóctonos, aunque se han identificado nueve importados de otras entidades federativas." So basically, the cases identified there come from other states, and the mosquito that transmits it doesn't live at that elevation.
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I did not know that about the elevation. Thank you all. It makes me feel better to remove at least one hurdle to this whole process.
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@Shantuck: So my husband flies in and out of Mexico City for work. We went to Jamaica and conceived 3 weeks later and then went to Miami at 6 weeks pregnant. So every no no with TTC and Zika.
I told my doctor at first prenatal visit and they put in a query to see if I needed to be tested and was told since neither of us had experienced a fever or rash, I did not qualify. My only option was private testing but we did not bother.
All that to say, I did not wait. I had 2 miscarriages and we had been trying for 8 months prior to Jamaica, so waiting another 6 months was a no for us. But we were both ok boing forward.
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@Shantuck: First, like others have said, the mosquito that carries Zika isn't supposed to be able to survive above 6,500 feet, so check the altitude where he was. The one time I was in Mexico City I got a migraine which usually only happens when I'm way up high in the mountains, so you might be safe.
Second, when I found out I was pregnant we had been in Costa Rica three months prior. All the research I found said that there's a very low likelihood of contracting the virus on vacation. According to the CDC there are only 2 known cases of US travellers bringing Zika back from Costa Rica. Not sure about Mexico though. My doctor confirmed that it was a low likelihood of transmission even if we were under 6,500 feet (we were) and was looking into the blood test (it looks for viral antibodies, and would have been analyzed by my state health department) when we lost the pregnancy (for reasons unrelated to Zika), so I can't speak to cost, but everything anyone told me indicated that the risk was small and I shouldn't really worry.
It's all about your tolerance for risk, though. My husband and I consciously made a decision to try to get pregnant in September, 3 months after our vacation, because we felt the risk was low enough--maybe 1 in 1000 if we were generous that he even contracted the virus and less than 50% that if he DID contract the virus it would still be in his semen based on the only study we could find.
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