What's your story, Heather?

"You have less than a 5% chance of getting pregnant..."

Yep, that is exactly what my endocrinologist said to us. It was a gut punching reality that obviously was difficult to hear. I will provide more context around that diagnosis in a minute, for now I wanted to say welcome! I'm thrilled you stopped by.

I will be honest, I find it difficult to write a bio, but I feel like some of the most important things you should know about me are ~ I know exactly how many of you feel. Because I went through it too. As a young woman I always had fairly steady, and what most doctors would say, normal menstrual cycles. It wasn't until I was in my mid-thirties, things started to really get ugly. Every month I had horribly heavy and painful periods. I would often get migraines, clotting, even vomiting on some occasions. I had to call in sick from work, and I frequently had to lay on the floor. In the dark. Doubled over in pain.

A little after my 37th birthday, I decided I'd had enough. I went to an endocrinologist and was diagnosed with fibroids. I had multiples that showed up on the scan and it was time to get them out. Bleeding through pads and clothes, would become a thing of the past. I had a myomectomy and recovered within about 3 weeks.

Fast forward a year later, while my periods were lighter and more manageable, they were out of whack and never at 28-30 days in cycle. I didn't want to take birth control, but I decided to for about 10 months. Around the 11th month I had my normal visit with the gyno, and she asked how things were going and inquired about children. I hadn't given it much thought, as I hadn't planned on having kids anytime soon. I remember so vividly, I asked her, "If I stop taking this, how soon after would I need to use some other sort of birth control or worry about pregnancy?" She told me, "Don't worry, you have a less than 5% chance with the way your levels are right now." (She was referring to my AMH Levels)

AND...so the infertility journey begins...

I stopped taking the pill in January of that year. I got pregnant in February...but I didn't know that I was until I miscarried at 10 weeks. I was a bit sad but at the same time, I wasn't because I didn't know. But it was then I decided to go back to the endocrinologist and dig deeper. While doing routine testing, I got pregnant again in August and right before my wedding I miscarried again in October.

I was more upset at that point, and we began having conversations about if this was something we wanted to explore. Genetic testing, more blood work, defects, and of course my husband went through all his testing. Who knew that sperm had to be shaped a certain way, be mobile at a certain speed, and have a strong tail? As I write this I'm laughing because I truly felt like we were in a biology class in high school.

The doctors concluded that my eggs were just old. I learned after age 35 the quality of a women's eggs severely declines. After 40, they fall off a cliff. I was 42. We all are born with a certain number of eggs, and there are of course those that are not perfect quality, but as we age the good ones become the minority. And our body has this amazing way of knowing that an egg is not viable. This is why nearly 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriages. This was my issue. But we had one more thing to try before we moved to a round of IVF.

Since my husband did not have any issues, we moved forward with an IUI procedure. I was taking Clomid, and we weren't really seeing great results with an egg increase. We had to just hope that the few we were getting were good. Just before I had the procedure, we could see 7 eggs. We went for it. I got pregnant. I was elated. I thought this was it. I was going to be a mom in a few short months. Then we hit the 10-week mark again. We went in for our ultrasound and saw no movement and my hormone levels were not going up. I don't know which one of us was more disappointed, my husband or me. It was a devastating point of the process.

This was in May and after much discussion we decided to continue treatment and see if we could retrieve more eggs. One of the doctors said to us, "You don't have a problem getting pregnant, your problem is staying pregnant. We just need ONE good egg." That was our mission. It had been mine for the last year. I had become consumed with research on egg quality. That was when I discovered, https://www.itstartswiththeegg.com/book#/. The author truly fascinated me with her story. I was so shocked to learn about hormone disruptors. I am truly convinced that these led to my development of fibroids. But that is a story for another day. I will write another blog about this.

I had been following her advice and I cleaned out my house of all toxins and I really was disciplined with the foods and diet she had suggested. One other aspect I haven't mentioned yet was that of acupuncture. This was hands down so instrumental in my journey. I began seeing one about a year into the troubles I was facing. She told me how the energy and blood flow to the area can definitely impact the success of trying to conceive. I immediately noticed a difference in my cycles. I also noticed I was sleeping so much better. I had back issues on and off most of my adult life and those were also gone. I definitely recommend to my clients to research and find an acupuncturist that has training in IVF. Learn more about this here. https://www.cnyfertility.com/acupuncture-for-fertility/

We have arrived at October now and I am getting anxious as we head into the holiday. This is after 4 total losses, one round of IUI and now prepping for IVF. I went in to retrieve 5 eggs. We got 5. Our plan was to freeze them and then test for chromosomal abnormalities. We opted for a test called Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS). It was determined we needed to find an egg that had all chromosomes. Part of this process to test, is that the eggs need to multiply and divide for 5 days (blastocyst phase). 3 made it. We proceeded to PGS and 1 was perfect. This was our egg, and this is the one we froze.

Stress and craziness always seem to come with the holiday. We decided to wait and enjoy it, then we would move forward with the IVF in the new year. It was February 15th, 2019. This was the day. I was so excited and nervous. But ready. The procedure is over quickly and now...we must wait. 10 DAYS!!! Then take a pregnancy test. I was feeling optimistic, however I remembered what the doctor had said about our chances not being great in the first cycle. Boy did we prove him wrong! I was pregnant. And I will never forget what he said to us in his office that day. "I don't know if you all are faithful people, but this was nothing short of miracle. I know science, but then there is GOD. Congratulations!!"

We Still Had to Wrap Our Heads Around It

As I'm writing this, I'm remembering the heartache, the emotional ups and downs, the hard physical pain my body went through, and I cried many tears. Tears of joy and tears of triumph. In the back of my mind, I knew this one would stick, but because I lost each one before at that 10th week mark, I was scared. But fast forward to October 19, 2019, ~ our daughter was born. I had a healthy pregnancy and no complications at all. I finally had my baby at age 44.

Something inside me, for a long time kept whispering I needed to share my story. Even while I was going through it, I felt compelled to share it and encourage others. It was not until this last year the whispers got louder. I knew this was the space that I was supposed to be in. I have always gravitated toward healthy living and nutrition. But once I went through this myself, and I was successful, I knew I could help others so the same. It simply is about education and support. I know most woman feel lost, unsupported, and feel like they are not being heard. I want to be the person they feel can supporting them, guiding them, and even the shoulder to cry on.

If you feel my story has compelled you to share this, please do. If you yourself are dealing with reproductive issues, or are going through IVF, but don't know where to go next ~ reach out. Let's chat. I want to hear you story. I invite you book a FREE consultation with me. Let's see if my services can help you in your journey. You are not alone. If there is one thing I learned on my journey, it's that YOU are your own advocate, there are doctors and specialists, but it's YOUR body. And there is so much YOU can do to get you closer to conceiving and delivery. Let me help you make that a reality.

BOOK NOW.