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

Today we are joined by our anonymous friend who goes by Nina. Nina and her significant other have been trying to conceive for two years with no success. Nina was diagnosed in the early part of 2020 with unexplained infertility during the current COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her struggle to find community on social media with it being very white in most support groups or pages. She is a Professor of Latinx Studies who examines histories of racial and reproductive justice. Her current work focuses on the history of sterilization abuse. Nina has found her struggles with infertility very conflicting at times, and she is developing ways to increase reproductive education.

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Sondra shares her story of tubal infertility, growing up with painful periods, and finally getting her big fat positive. Sondra is the best-selling author of Girlfriend's Guide to Infertility. Sondra first shared publicly about her diagnosis with infertility in the international best selling book Women Who Illuminate. Sondra has a passion for networking and connecting with like-minded people. She believes that women should feel empowered to educate themselves about health and wellness; as they are the decision-makers of their household. When you know better, you do better. Sondra aspires to build a community of women that support each other both personally and professionally. She has started a Facebook group, Fearless Femmes Facing Fertility, where women can share their struggles, ask questions, and enjoy each other's company while navigating their road to motherhood.

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Veronica is an ambitious woman who never foresaw struggling to conceive naturally. Reconnecting after some years, Veronica and her husband dated and married. Self-proclaimed pro-science, Veronica was gung-ho about IVF treatment. Creating the perfect environment to carry new life was all she focused on. She was devastated, to say the least, when she experienced miscarriage after multiple egg retrievals. During an emergency D & C, it was discovered that Veronica had a mild case of Asherman's Syndrome.

Asherman's syndrome, which is also referred to as intrauterine adhesions or intrauterine synechiae, occurs when scar tissue (adhesions) forms inside the uterus and/or the cervix. Asherman syndrome occurs primarily after a dilation and curettage performed for elective termination of pregnancy, a missed or incomplete miscarriage, or to treat a retained placenta after delivery. It may occur with or without hemorrhage after delivery or elective termination of pregnancy. Less often, it results after a dilation and curettage for a non-obstetrical procedure for excessive bleeding, sampling for endometrial cancer, or removal of endometrial polyps. It can also occur after surgery to remove uterine fibroids.

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Aaiza speaks with us today about being a Muslim-American woman with infertility. Aaiza and her husband have been trying to conceive for three years and have undergone seven IVF treatment cycles so far. Aaiza describes her struggle with low embryo quality before having laparoscopic surgery to remove stage-two endometriosis. We also speak about the false sense of security that IVF treatment makes us feel because of the emotional and financial investment.

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/infertility-and-me/donations

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today's Anonymous Infertility Warrior goes by Sarah. She was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, endometriosis, genetic defect causing blood clotting issues, and risk for miscarriage. Sarah states that the purpose of her trying to conceive Instagram account is to let veterans and their partners know about what fertility services/benefits the VA offers and other programs and grants that are out there. She is passionate about bringing awareness to current issues and alternative ways for LGBTIA+ veterans to create their families.

Sarah says the main reason she keeps her Instagram account anonymous is because of her immediate family being non-supportive of ART(assisted reproductive treatment). However, she still feels the need to reach out to the veterans dealing with infertility and know they have options and are not alone. Sarah also suffers from PTSD due to military service. Sarah spent 8 years in the air force, medically retired due to a traumatic ankle injury and PTSD; deployed to Iraq for OIF, got out of the military in 2010. She met her husband in 2012, married in 2016, took three years to have their firstborn.

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"I always knew I wanted to be a mom, no matter what that looked like." Imagine undergoing surgery at the age of 11 years old and having one of your ovaries removed (Oophorectomy). 14 years later, you're back under the knife to have an ovarian tumor removed from the remaining ovary. Today's guest Mia Clermont went through all of this and more before getting her Big Fat Positive in, summer of 2020.

Mia and her husband met in 2014/2015. After marrying, they began trying to conceive and did so with no luck for approximately eight months. Followed by two unsuccessful Clomid and IUI (intrauterine insemination) cycles. Once she consulted with her reproductive endocrinologist, she was diagnosed with infertility and hydrosalpinx. (Hydrosalpinx is a distension or dilatation of the fallopian tube in the presence of a distal tubal occlusion, and the most common cause is pelvic inflammatory disease.

Hydrosalpinx was primarily due to the previous surgeries, which resulted in both of Mia's fallopian tubes being removed (salpingectomy). Mia began stims in Feb 2020 and had surgery in March, one week after her retrieval. Her transfer was in June and was successful.

Submit your story to Monique via email at [email protected] for a chance to record and help end the stigma surrounding infertility. Connect on Instagram & SUBSCRIBE on YouTube

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today's episode features our very first #AnonymousInfertilityWarriors episode. I am delighted to bring you a new series of the show that features guests who wish to share publicly but have their identity hidden for personal or work reasons. In this episode, our anonymous friend, who goes by Barb, shares her secondary and unexplained infertility story.

In this episode, we discuss:

Barb's miscarriages Getting pregnant with her firstborn Finding support online

11:00-Navigating IVF treatment and parenting 13:00-Being an A-type woman navigating infertility

17:00-Marriage

21:46-"If you were standing face-to-face with infertility, what would you say?" 

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"My body made a decision for me and without me. I did not consider having kids until someone told me that I can't.'-Stacey Brown

Imagine being told over the phone by your doctor that you have an underdeveloped vagina; no empathy, no compassion, no explanation. Stacey Brown, a 25-year-old college graduate diagnosed with MRKH in 2019 while preparing for her Master's degree finals.

What life was like for Stacey in the weeks leading to receiving her diagnosis. The moment she was home in a safe-space, post-diagnosis, and able to process fully. How loved ones handled her diagnosis. Being angry with God. Stacey's feelings about intimacy and dating.

MRKH or Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser Syndrome is a congenital disorder of the female reproductive system. Girls with MRKH have normal ovaries and fallopian tubes, an absent or incomplete vagina, no cervix, and an underdeveloped uterus (uterine remnant) or no uterus at all. Women with MRKH may produce eggs, but cannot get pregnant. IVF treatment is needed to retrieve eggs as well as a surrogate. An absence of menses is usually the first sign and painful sex. Affects 1 in 4 women-5,000 general population.

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today Marilyn B. Gomez is back as a co-host and helps celebrate the end of season 1 on the podcast by Shootin The Sh*t with us.

This is an unstructured episode full of laughs, candidness, and a few TMI moments. Thank you, friends, for being here in this space over the last year! Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and I'll be back on January 12th, 2021, with season 2. In this episode, we discuss:

A year in podcasting, building community and making new friends through social media. COVID and the new normal Owning your authenticity and making no apologies for it. 29:25-Recognizing when you're feeling resentful within your marriage. Being honest with your spouse about your emotional state. Getting professional help from a counselor. 35:19-Creating more meaningful intimate moments with your spouse.

Links to things talked about:

Get Social with Marilyn Check, out Marilyn's shop for Infertility Warriors.

Give your feedback about IAM Podcast here for the yearly review!

Follow Infertility And Me on Instagram Regina Townsend The Broken Brown Egg

If you like Infertility And Me Podcast, subscribe now(it's free), and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like Infertility And Me Podcast, screenshot today's episode and tag Monique on Instagram.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Are you preparing for IVF treatment, in treatment, IUI, medicated cycle, or in the midst of trying to conceive naturally? If you said yes, then today's episode is for you. Caitlin Townsend, a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, discusses simple and effective ways to create healthier eating habits.

In This Episode: 

Caitlin shares herbs and foods to help increase conception naturally or in combination with reductive fertility treatment, such as milk thistle, fennel, and zinc. Herbs and foods men can incorporate to increase fertility The role gut health plays in fertility and excess hormones Why warm water in the morning to start your day is essential. Making an effort to get on the same page as your spouse about healthy living.

*Follow on Instagram

Enjoying the show? Please leave a rating & review—just one sentence helps tremendously!You can watch this episode and others, here On YouTube

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy