Infertility and Beyond

In episode 11 we talk to the amazing Daneika Lewis. Daneika started her journey in January of 2017, and has now been trying to conceive for close to five years now. 

She was diagnosed with endo at an early age which has resulted in many laparoscopic surgeries over the years, and since TTC she has had clots in her jugular vein, superior vena cava, subclevian and liver and from there she was diagnosed with a number of concerning health conditions which meant she had to be on blood thinning medication. She also underwent ovulation induction medication for 12 months which came with extreme side effects and unfortunately was unsuccessful, this then led her to the IVF path.

Sadly, since Daneika has started IVF she has had a cancelled cycle as well as having Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome twice, with one of the times landing her in hospital for 12 days.

Daneika’s courage throughout her many set backs and her determination to keep on going has been so inspiring! Thank you for sharing your story Daneika.

Links:

Daneika’s Instagram page

https://www.instagram.com/daneikajade/

Please reach out to Daneika directly if you have any questions about her specific conditions.

And 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 10 we bring you a story from our dear friend Sharni.

Sharni has not struggled with infertility, but she sure has had more than her fair share of struggles. Her little girl was born with Polymicrogyria, Arthrogryposis, and she had an Omphalocele present at the 12-week scan. The Arthrogryposis was picked up after 20 weeks, but the Polymicrogyria was not diagnosed until an MRI after birth. Further to this, she was also born with 2 holes in her heart. A few years later Sharni then suffered from 2 recurring miscarriages.

Today Sharni shares the reality of being told that her little girl would be born with a disability, and how no one was able to tell her exactly what that would look like! She also shares what an emotional roller coaster it was being told scan after scan that her baby would not survive, however she has defied all odds! Little Harlow is a little fighter and is now three years old and progressing further then her doctors ever expected!

Here at I&B we think it’s important to not only talk about the struggles of when trying to fall pregnant but even once women are pregnant, the scary and uncertain challenges that come with motherhood such as abnormalities around scans, confronting appointments and the ongoing responsibilities that we can face for the rest of our lives.

No one should ever feel alone at such a difficult time so we know that this episode will pull on a lot of your heart strings and be very close to home for some.

And 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!

Welcome back to another episode of the infertility and beyond podcast. Today we are joined by our special guest Sarah Matene.

Sarah is 28 years old and her first child was a little surprise blessing when she was just 18 years young. 2 years later she decided she wanted to give her son a sibling and fell pregnant quite quickly which felt like another blessing. Sadly Sarah’s second pregnancy resulted in a still birth in her third trimester. Sarah takes us through that heart breaking time and how she navigating through grief while also caring for a toddler.

Unfortunately Sarah is now experiencing secondary infertility and she opens up about how hard that has been to process after falling pregnant so quickly with her first 2 pregnancies.

We thank you for sharing your story Sarah, I know you will help so many others!

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 8 we talk with the amazing Olivia. Oliva has suffered from PCOS and endometriosis since she was a teenager, which has led her to needing 6 laparoscopic surgeries all before the age of 28. She conceived her first baby naturally which was much to her surprise, she then went on to experience secondary infertility and go down the path of IVF.

Olivia’s journey includes in the ups and downs of IVF, loss, failed implantation, feeling unsupported from her clinic and then having to go into artificial menopause to try and help her embryos have the best chance of implantation.

Olivia’s journey has been a long 5 years but she is not giving up yet, she has shown us that when you put your mind to anything (even putting yourself into a form of menopause) anything is possible!

You are nothing short of an inspiration Olivia, thank you for sharing your story!

And 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!

Its not easy going through infertility, but its also really difficult knowing how to navigate your friend/family members feelings and emotions in such uncertain times. We hope this episode can give you an insight to how they might be feeling, what words/ comments could be triggering and how you can better support them going forward! If you're listening to this episode for a friend shout out to you for being amazing!

Don't forget to let us know what you thought of this episode!

In Episode 6 we talk with the gorgeous Georgie Stevenson.  Georgie is 27 years young and lives a fast paced and fulfilled life running a natural supplement business with her brother, as well as building her own self-development rise and conquer podcast and community.

She is currently 30 weeks pregnant with her rainbow baby girl, and while her life may look perfect on the surface, Georgie’s journey has been far from easy.

Georgie talks about what it was like to be told your infertile, have a surprise pregnancy, experience a loss, have explant surgery for her breast implant illness to then go on to do IUI and fall pregnant with their rainbow baby girl.

Her mindset and her persistence to be healthy and happy is phenomenal!

EPISODE LINKS:

Georgie’s Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/georgiestevenson/

Rise & Conquer Podcast - community page

https://www.instagram.com/riseandconquer.podcast/

12 weeks of their rainbow baby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7aTzC1kAq8

Dr Andrew Cary (performed Georgie’s IUI)

https://www.drcary.com.au

And 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!

Episode 5:

In today’s episode we talk with the beautiful Krystal Elton. Krystal is 41 and started her journey a little later on in life and she now has an 18-month-old little girl coco. She has her baby in her arms now however at one point she didn’t know if that would ever be possible.

Krystal was diagnosed with endometriosis at 17, has had numerous laparoscopy surgeries, found out she had an extremely low egg count which subsequently led to her and her partner going down the donor egg route.

Krystal’s story is truly inspiring and shows us that if you keep persevering and don’t give up hope that the reward at the end makes it all worth it.

If you have any questions about Krystal’s story, she is happy for our listeners to contact her directly. You can shoot her a DM via Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/krystalrubys/

SHOW LINKS:

Dr Kee Ong (Krystal’s fertility specialist)

https://www.goldcoastfertilityspecialist.com.au

Monash IVF – Egg donor program

https://monashivf.com/services/fertility-treatment-options/donor-eggs/

City Fertility – The World Egg Bank

https://www.cityfertility.com.au/fertility-services/donor-programs/the-world-egg-bank/

Egg Donor Australia

https://www.eggdonorsaustralia.com.au

And 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!

Today we discuss Sacha’s infertility journey we’re she opens up about experiencing PCOS, IVF and loss.

TRIGGER WARNING: Sacha does talk about going through a miscarriage in this episode.

LINKS:

Acupuncture - A Modern Acupuncture Clinic on the Gold Coast | Vyne Health

Gold Coast based fertility specialist - Dr Tina Fleming - Grace Private

Natropath - Tia Miers Naturopathy

Bulk billing IVF clinic - Bulk Billing IVF Clinic in Gold Coast | The Fertility Centre

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!

Today we discuss Amy’s raw and emotional journey thus far. Amy goes into detail about her unexplained infertility struggles, IVF experience, plus some set backs along the way. She also shares with us where she is currently at on her journey. 

LINKS:

Acupuncture - Awaken Acupuncture Bulimba | Kate Zouev

Infertility Specialist Brisbane - Dr Scott Salisbury

Gynaecologist - Dr Glenda McLaren

Bulk Billing IVF Clinic - First Step Fertility 

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!