Infertility and Beyond

As promised your hosts have gotten together to talk through Amy's birth story of the gorgeous little Aubrey Love. 

Like everything in Amy's TTC journey this birth did not come easy to her, but she absolutely smashed every hurdle that came her way and boy was it all worth it!

She feels unbelievably grateful to have her little miracle in her arms now and hopes she can be a beacon of hope for all the families out there still on this rollercoaster of a journey. 

If you have any questions about Amy's birth please direct message us on instagram and she will get back to when she has some down time. 

Our instagram page is called infertilityandbeyond_ 

Lots of love x

In episode 30 our final episode of Season 2, we answer all your questions amongst some bestie banter. 

This episode is super chilled and laid back and gives you a glimpse into our life as best friends and how we support each other whilst also going into detail on things we have done personally to get through. 

We hope you enjoy this ep & if you have any other questions please shoot us through a DM on instagram and we will be so happy to help. 

Show Comments: 

Useful episodes referenced:

- Episode 28 - Tia Miers (Natropath)

- Episode 25 - Melissa Kupsch (Homeopath)

- Episode 19 - Emma Morris (Nutritionist)

Cleaner alternatives referenced:

- Koala Eco (clean household products) - https://koala.eco

- The Dirt Company (Clean laundry detergent) - https://thedirtcompany.com.au/collections/starter-packs

- Sabbia (Clean skincare) - https://sabbiaco.com/collections/all

- No Pong (Natural deodorant) - https://www.nopong.com.au

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

In episode 29 we talk to Rebecca Smith.

Bec started her trying to conceive journey in January 2021 and has sadly already experienced more heart ache in the last 14 months then some do throughout their whole conceiving journey.

It all started only weeks after removing her contraceptive mirena when she found out she was pregnant and her and her partner were absolutely blown away how quickly it happened. Not expecting it to happen so soon they were still so overjoyed at the news and already started planning her due date and picturing what life will be like with a little bubba. A few weeks later after a hesitant call from her doctor and seeing what every pregnant woman’s fear most, Bec started having her first miscarriage.

They decided to jump straight back into trying and whilst this next try was also successful, they were faced with another miscarriage shortly after seeing the positive pregnancy test. This second time really hit them hard and they decided that they wanted to have a break and change their model of care as they weren’t getting the support they had hoped for.

Fast forward to September, Bec was now under the care of a fertility specialist who was following her cycle closely to ensure that her hormones, ovulation and egg quality were all on track, unfortunately even with the guidance of a specialist and going through ovulation induction assistance they experienced another 3 failed months.

Thankfully after Bec’s fourth month with her specialist they finally had some amazing news and they were finally pregnant, just in time to end the year on a high note. It pains me to say but this resulted in a missed miscarriage at 13 weeks and they were later re-diagnosed with the pregnancy being a partial molar pregnancy. She explains what an absolute whirlwind of emotions this has been and goes into detail of what a partial molar pregnancy is and the potential after affects that can happen.

This is extremely raw for Bec and her partner and she has been so brave throughout this whole episode. She only hopes to spread awareness about her battles and help anyone else on a similar journey.

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

In Episode 28 we talk to Sacha's amazing Natropath, Tia Miers.

Tia is a fully qualified naturopath and a proud member of the Australian Natural Therapists Association. Tia Miers Naturopathy was born out of her love for helping those around her achieve optimum health.  As a practitioner, her focus is on reconnecting her patients with their bodies.  She does this by utilising up-to-date research, lab testing and evidence based naturopathic medicine, including individualised herbal tonics and compounds.

As someone who has been on her own rollercoaster of a health journey and suffered from endometriosis, she knows what it means to connect deeply, to be held with empathy and to find transformative answers. This has led her to be very passionate about woman’s health and the role hormones play in the female anatomy.

Being based on the Gold Coast her physical reach is quite small, so she started developing products that address many of the common ailments she see’s presenting in women that visit her in her clinics, these products are packed with so many key herbs that play a vital role in balancing hormones and the central nervous system. 

For anyone that would like to purchase these blends please see the I&B discount code below that can be applied at the checkout.

SHOW LINKS:

Tia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiamiers/?hl=en

Whole Health Studio: https://www.tiamiers.com.au/shop

Infertility & Beyond 15% discount code (enter at check out) : I&B15

Whole Health Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wholehealthstudio/?hl=en

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

Tel and her husband had a long and tough two and a half years of trying for their little miracle. Tel was told she has PCOS so they went on to do 7 medicated cycles, unfortunately all with no success. After trying that they also did 2 IUI's but again unsuccessful. with IVF being a little out of their budget at the time they did some research into a bulk billing IVF clinic where she did 4 transfers but unfortunately again all 4 failed!

Feeling super defeated Tel did some of her own research and found Dr Matthias in Sydney. He is a Reproductive Immunology specialist and was highly spoken about in the IVF community.Through his findings Tel was told she was ANA positive which means she has an active immune system so basically, it's attacking anything and everything. She also has the MTHFR Gene mutation so her body doesn't absorb folic acid properly and had a T cell imbalance.

She was pleased that they had found something in their investigations so Alongside the Next stim cycle and retrieval she was advised to add Steroid injections, Antibiotics, Clexane and pessaries to better her chances of falling pregnant and having success there after.

Im sure Tel is grateful to have found Dr Matthias, he is one of the very few Reproductive Immunology specialist in Australia, most IVF clinics don’t offer the services he does.After all that Tel and her husband have been through- I can now say with a huge smile on my face that they are now pregnant and expecting the arrival of their little miracle later on this year.

LINKS:

DR MATTHIAS- REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY SPECIALIST - https://www.reproductiveimmunology.com.au/

BULK BILLING IVF CLINIC- Adora Fertility in Taringa with DR Heymann https://www.adorafertility.com.au/

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

In 2016 Chloe was suffering from irregular periods and acne which led to a diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome. She was told to start thinking about pregnancy and having a baby if she wanted a family, however she was only 19 years old and this came as a huge shock. Instead, she tried fixing her issues with contraceptive pills which proved to be absolutely useless, so she decided to stop taking the pill all together.

Fast forward a few years later and still thinking that she would struggle to conceive naturally, Chloe, who was not at all trying to have a baby at this time, found out she was pregnant for the first time through the most heart-breaking way. She was at her best friend’s wedding and she started bleeding uncontrollably and experienced a pain like no other, thinking that it was just a heavy period she quickly realised something was seriously wrong when she ended up in emergency surgery as it was not in fact her period, it was an ectopic pregnancy and her right fallopian tube had completely ruptured.

After Chloe’s miscarriage they realised just how much a baby would mean to them and they dove right back into trying after she recovered from her surgery.

Sadly, an ecptopic pregnancy and ruptured fallopian tube was only the beginning of a long list of bad news delivered to Chloe and her partner. She has now been diagnosed with endometriosis, been told her AMH levels are that of a 40 year old, had 2 miscarriages and gone through ovulation induction medication.

Her mental health has suffered significantly as you can imagine but she is not giving up hope on her dream to become a mother. Thank you for opening up your heart and wounds to our listeners and sharing your story Chloe, you are not alone in this.

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

In Episode 25 we talk with Melissa Kupsch who is a Homeopath.

So what is homeopathy you may ask? Well it’s an energetic system of medicine based off the principles that like cures like. It is almost like liquid acupuncture in the sense that it stimulates the energy of the body. Homeopaths typically do a full case taking, they find out every single thing they can about their patient, their current health status, their medical history, family medical history, they examine their physical, mental and emotional health, knowing that these are all related. They really want to know everything! Then they match what they find to the best remedy profile and when done correctly, a healing response is triggered and the body starts to shift.

For fertility Mel predominantly uses the Liz Lalor fertility protocol. These are remedies that really target hormones, and detoxing from past pharmaceuticals or toxins. She sees clients with PCOS, endometriosis, women with a history of recurrent miscarriage, unexplained infertility and more, and homeopathy is able to assist in so many of these cases.

She doesn’t just see women though, men are equally as important and she has a range of remedies that can help with men’s sperm production as well as inability in the bedroom because let’s be honest… trying to conceive is stressful!

Mel truly does practice what she preaches, and she has three beautiful young boys that she conceived by following her own guidance and remedies. She is a wealth of knowledge, and we are so excited to bring you such an informative and educational episode.

LINKS:

Melissa's Instagram Page - https://www.instagram.com/thathomeopath/

Melissa's Website - https://www.melissakupsch.com

Maia Mother's Collective - https://www.maiamothers.com.au

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

In Episode 24 we chat with one of our listeners Ashleigh Johnson, who has been brave enough to share her story with our community.

Ashleigh and her partner started their journey 5 years ago shortly after their wedding. She had come off the pill and still hadn’t received a bleed which started to become concerning. Unfortunately, after seeing a fertility specialist, she was diagnosed with PCOS and was told to start ovulation induction medication.

The medication was doing it’s job and Ashleigh went through the process of doing 2 IUI’s, however sadly these did not result in a pregnancy.  Wanting to know more Ashleigh underwent surgery for ovarian drilling where they discovered endometriosis.

This was then the start of a number of fresh IVF cycles, failed transfers, a case of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome, a miscarriage but also the conception of her son and beautiful rainbow baby.

Ashleigh is now working on baby number 2, however it’s sadly already been a rocky start and Ashleigh opens up about how she is navigating this the second time round.

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

In Episode 23 we talk with one of our lovely listener's Sally.

After being on their trying to conceive journey for 10 months, Sally suffered through her first miscarriage and just a few short months later, another one after that. Wanting some answers Sally started exploring the route of IVF and underwent a hysteroscopy procedure where her surgeon discovered some unexplained scar tissue on her womb called asherman’s syndrome.

Fast forward another miscarriage, a laparoscopic surgery and the discovery of stage 3 endo Sally was feeling more than defeated. Sadly, her first 3 IVF rounds did not end in a single transfer and they felt like they were not receiving the best model of care from her ever so pricey fertility specialist.

After changing clinics Sally and her partner finally had some successful results and they now have 2 beautiful girls that keep them on their toes. Sally’s key take away from her very long and hard journey has been that just because one doctor thinks a certain way, doesn’t mean that way is the right way.

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!

In episode 22 we talk to the beautiful Abby Mckibben about her long and very trying journey with infertility.

Abby always knew she might have some trouble conceiving as she had suffered from endometriosis from a very young age. Over 8 years Abby went through countless laparoscopic surgeries and had a Myomectomy which is major surgery to remove a fibroid growing in her uterus. The recovery for a surgery like this is similar to a caesarean which put a huge holt on her IVF cycles.

After taking some time and letting her body fully recover, Abby dove back into IVF with a new fertility specialist.

Unfortunately, this round involved higher doses of medication and Abby’s body did not handle this well as it led to a severe case of Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome (OHSS). This got so bad to the point that one of her lungs nearly collapsed from having so much fluid trapped.

Devastatingly, Abby’s specialist did not want her to undergo another IVF cycle due to the severity of how her body handled the last round, this meant that Abby was left with one chance to conceive her rainbow baby.

At this point Abby and her partner felt that their dreams were near impossible, and they were coming to terms with the fact that they may not ever be able have a baby. The universe had other plans for Abby though, as it new she was destined to be a mother and she was finally blessed with her little rainbow baby, a true miracle for their family. Abby was thrown every hurdle possible on her trying to conceive journey but she did not give up, she is the definition of a super woman and now super mum!

If you haven’t already, please jump over to our Instagram page @infertilityandbeyond_ and show us some love!! & If you enjoyed this podcast don’t forget to subscribe and leave us a glowing review!