Infertility And Me: Stories of Infertility Survivors, IVF, & TTC

"A part of me felt like I needed to suffer through this. If I wasn't suffering, I wasn't going to get the result that I wanted." After ten long months of trying to conceive naturally, Millie and her husband Rowan decided it was time to see a reproductive endocrinologist about their fertility.

It was determined after four different consultations, that they had male factor infertility. Millie, so graciously and authentically, gives a detailed account of the emotional strain infertility had on their marriage. Couples therapy was a pivotal part of their journey to healing together.

Millie recently had her first IVF treatment cycle that resulted in 34 follicles due to OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome), 24 fertilized embryos, 9 embryos to six day blastocysts, and 7 embryos returned as normal after PGS testing ( pre-implantation genetic screening). Those numbers are not to make you feel some type of way about yours Friend, Millie wanted to shine light on how serious, and real OHSS can be.

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"You do all of the work, but you're standing on the sideline and you don't even get the chance to play." A quote from today's guest Jasmine Katatikarn, in relation to her first IVF treatment cycle, and unsuccessful embryo development after egg retrieval.

Jasmine is a computer animation artist living in New York City, who suffered nearly six years of TTC. She was given the crippling news that she would have less than a 1% chance of conceiving a biological child. Being a creative by profession, Jasmine realized during her journey that she somehow needed to use her creative genius to cope and heal from the effects of infertility.

Jasmine has created a coaching service to help others use their own creative problem solving skills to reveal the mental and emotional blockages troubling them most.

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After five years of marriage, it was discovered that TJ's husband was the factor in their inability to conceive. Frustrated at the lack of support and resources available for those struggling with male infertility, TJ used her journal as an outlet to deal with the pain.

After several years of coping with their infertility through her journal, she finally mustered the courage to share her story with the world through her book, Semen Secrets: Truths and Confessions of a Wife's Journey Through Male Infertility. TJ's journey to parenthood was not easy, but in 2019, she and her husband were blessed to finally realize their dreams of becoming parents to a beautiful baby girl. 

TJ is a Georgia native with a mission to raise awareness about Male Factor Infertility. She currently works as a public health educator, focused on improving the training and competence of the federal public health workforce. TJ holds a bachelors in English, a masters in Communications, a Doctorate in Health Education, and is currently completing a masters in Clinical Social Work.

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Fertility Rally creators Ali Prato and Blair Nelson—discuss the importance of community, inclusiveness, diversity whether its race or LGBTQ+, and why they went into business together.

We have a little girl chat and Ali shares with us some funny times with her IVF miracle four year old boy. Blair also gives us an update on her current fertility cycle and the purpose of an ERA (endometrial receptivity test) and why it is done before an embryo transfer. 

We want you to know that no matter where you are in your journey, whether you're in the midst or on the other side; that there IS community for and waiting on you to enter.

Tap here to learn more about Ali & Blair's Community membership

"Infertility robs you of the optimism that things will improve." If you haven't listened to "It's Okay To Be Angry," go back to episode 5, and have a listen to Amanda's first episode with us.

Amanda so graciously agreed to come back on the show and give us an update of her fertility story over the last seven months. We also speak about the pressure we put upon ourselves during the journey and how infertility makes us pessimistic; when all we would really like to be is optimistic. Last time, Amanda was preparing for surgery to possibly have both of her fallopian tubes repaired or removed. Amanda has bilateral tubal blockage with hydrosalpinx. Hydrosalpinx refers to a fallopian tube that's blocked with a watery fluid.To break down the term, “hydro” means water and “salpinx” means fallopian tube. (reproductivefacts.org)

Since then, Amanda had her surgery and to her surprise it was discovered that one of her tubes was able to be repaired and her chances of conception through IUI (intrauterine insemination) increased to 28%. Amanda and her husband have had three unsuccessful IUI's and are now awaiting to enter their first IVF cycle in late summer. 

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Have you been slacking lately in the healthy lifestyle department? We hear it time and time again, eat well, exercise, and get 7-8 hours of sleep. Optimizing your whole self while TTC is so important to prepare for natural pregnancy, IUI, or IVF.

Dr. Mary from Brown & Brown Chiropractic, shares actionable steps and tools that we can use right now to take back control and regain our emotional, mental, and physical states. Dr. Mary Sawdon is a naturopathic doctor with a special interest in fertility. She is an associate at Brown & Brown Family Chiropractic in Newcastle, Ontario, Canada and Chief CEO of Fertility Fundamentals— a fertility coaching service. She is also the Host of Fertility Stories podcast.

As a naturopath and fertility coach, she helps mums-to-be get calm, confident and in control of their fertility. She is passionate about helping women thrive on their fertility journey; leading them from isolation and overwhelm towards a life of renewed purpose and support. She understands the struggle because she has also gone through her own fertility journey and is now a mum of a baby boy through IVF.

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"It's okay, if you want to stop, stop. If you want to put your health first, that's okay."-Katy Seppi, the creator of "Chasing Creation" childless not by choice community, joins us. Katy and her partner endured four years of infertility before deciding to live childfree.

After many years of life-altering pain, Katy finally received a diagnosis of stage four endometriosis and underwent surgery to have it removed; more than once. During her endometriosis treatment, Katy's specialist also discovered fibroid tumors which led to a hysterectomy. Deciding to live childfree at any point in your life, permanently or temporarily is no easy decision.

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Imagine being over the age of 35 and finding yourself tangled in the webs of miscarriage, and infertility. Natalie takes us on her journey through an unexpected miscarriage and four years of infertility before giving birth to her youngest daughter.

After one unsuccessful cycle of IVF treatment, Natalie began to seek naturopathic methods to increase her fertility. From acupuncture to yoni steams, Natalie tried it all while also relying heavily on her Christian based beliefs. Finally after four years of infertility, Natalie became pregnant with her miracle baby over the age of 40.

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Have you experienced pregnancy loss, stillbirth, or abortion? If so, episode 34 is for you. We are joined by coach Kimberlee Klein to discuss the ways you can heal spiritually from said losses. Healing from grief has no linear path, which is why Kimberlee reminds us of the importance to acknowledge and celebrate the life of the baby/babies.

Whether your loss was years ago or recently, total healing is the ultimate goal. You have done a great job coping with your loss and grief friend, but now it's time to go a bit deeper.

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Have you ever felt silenced by the pain of Infertility and or loss? Our Nigerian friend Olajumoke Iba, tells us about her journey through five medicated clomid cycles, one missed-miscarriage, three IVF treatment cycles, and the difficult decision to be childless not by choice.

Infertility often deceives us into believing that our story and journey isn't needed or that no one wants to hear it. Today and everyday through the strong and authentic stories of warriors on this podcast and social media, we are reminded that we are not alone and that there is power in speaking-up!

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