Fertility treatments are not for everyone but there are some things I think it is important to know if you decide to go on this journey. It is important to find a doctor and clinic you feel comfortable at. The doctor and clinic you choose should feel confident in its ability to help you. If things are not working out with a particular doctor or clinic you should not hesitate to switch. The treatments are all about your family and you should never feel guilty that you don't want a certain doctor. I am very grateful to the doctors and nurses that helped me through the fertility treatments. I was much happier when I had people who were understanding and tolerate of the mood swings and worries that go along with trying to get pregnant.
It is important to learn the terminology that will be used throughout your treatment so that you can have a clear understanding of each step. It is also crucial to learn how to read the test results and understand what you see on the ultrasounds. As time went on I learned more and got better at identifying key points on an ultrasound so that the treatments got easier for me. Learn how to understand the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reports. Looking at these reports helped me to find a different clinic for my second opinion. These reports also showed me that the second clinic I visited had higher success rates with people that have conditions like PCOS than the first clinic despite the first clinic's higher overall ranking.
Finally, I feel it is important for anyone undergoing fertility treatments to find a way to cope. It can be hard seeing others around you get pregnant. You might feel bad that you don't want to go to your friend's baby shower but this is part of it. It can be hard to cope with the feelings particularly when for many people it seems to be a taboo topic. I found that speaking to a counselor and having a couple close family members to confide in helped me get through. I found it easier when I was just able to admit there was a problem instead of just trying to brush people off with generic answers. When someone asked me when Jon and I were ever going to have children I straight up told them we had fertility problems and were undergoing treatment. I felt a lot better when I could do this as opposed to giving a fake answer like we just aren't ready yet. One in eight couples will battle with infertility. This means that there are more people out there who will understand what you are going through than you may think. By being open and honest I received a lot of support rather than the pity I thought I was going to get. In turn I am as open and honest to others that ask me about my situation as I can be in order to support those still fighting the good fight. Although, in order to be completely transparent sometimes people did make rude comments to me and still do but the confidence gained through all the support helps me to brush it off.
For those of you here just to read about my journey through fertility treatments the story ends here. Thank you for reading and I really hope that in some way this will help you.
A story of infertility, treatment, pregnancy complications, and the future.
My story is not a typical one but it is not entirely unique either. It has taken me many years to share my story because as you will find it contains stories of pain and hardship with a silver lining to the cloud. Many of my friends and family have encouraged me to tell this story so that it may help others who relate to all or part of it. Part of my hesitation comes from wanting my story to give families that can relate hope but fear that some may gain false hope based on my story because as I said it is not typical. I know how it feels to scour the internet for any and all information that might give me the answer I was looking for. It is my intent that this story will be read from the beginning to the end.
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