‘The ultimate roller coaster ride’ is what I like to call it. Currently, I am 19 weeks pregnant with our little miracle. It took my husband and I four years to get here.
In 2020, we decided that we wanted to start a family, something most couples can do with success. We were quite naive. I started taking ovulation tests to time and confirm my ovulation. I followed my husband on his work trips so we wouldn’t miss my fertile window.
A couple months later it happened and in June of 2020, we found out that we were pregnant. We told our family and some close friends. We were so excited, we thought to ourselves, “Wow, that wasn’t too bad.”
Googling ‘is spotting during pregnancy normal?’
Fast forward to July 2020. I started to spot and went down a Google rabbit hole, reading that this could all be fine or it could turn out to be bad news. I remember walking into the ultrasound room alone and so scared. The technician asked how far along I was, and I said 8 weeks. She confirmed I was measuring 6 weeks and that there was no fetus. The doctor called me later that day to tell me that I was having a miscarriage. In medical terminology, they call it a “blighted ovum”.
My husband and I were both heartbroken.
After miscarrying, we decided that we didn’t want to waste any time. We believed that because we got pregnant once, it would happen again.
Meeting with a fertility specialist
Months went by and no success. In March of 2021, my doctor referred us to a fertility clinic for evaluation. They completed a bunch of tests on my husband and I and ruled out that something was wrong with both of us. We were diagnosed with “unexplained infertility” which is when there seems to be nothing wrong with the fertility of the man or the woman that would explain being unable to conceive.
Our fertility doctor suggested that we try three rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI), and if that was unsuccessful, we should jump to in vitro fertilization (IVF). I was eager to start our family, so I told myself that if the first two IUIs didn’t work, we would jump to IVF. We were young, I had a great follicle count, and my husband’s sperm was ideal.
Our first round of IVF
After the IUI didn’t work, we decided to move forward with IVF in August 2021. We were hopeful at the start of IVF. It was supposed to be as simple as extracting my eggs, injecting them with sperm, and creating embryos. We spent thousands of dollars out-of-pocket only for a failed round. We created 2 embryos that were low quality, and did not implant. We didn’t know where to go from there.
Working with a naturopath, plus our second round of IVF
I started working with a naturopath and acupuncturist who specializes in conceiving. I changed my diet and started taking supplements to maximize my chances of getting pregnant. We decided that we would try a second round of IVF, but this time we would have a stronger dose of medications. We thought this would be the round!
In April of 2022, we paid for another round of IVF. We got fewer eggs, the same number of embryos, and the same implantation results. My embryos did not stick. I thought to myself, “What is wrong with my body, is this ever going to happen for us?”
Meeting with a second fertility specialist
I don’t give up easily. I still had a plan. We needed answers, and my first fertility doctor wasn’t very helpful. We contacted another fertility specialist, and gave her all our medical and family health history. She listened to us and gave us a concrete plan. She agreed that we needed to do more digging. She was suspicious that I had “Silent Endometriosis;” a whole-body disease that reduces implantation success, affects egg quality–the list goes on. After completing a couple of tests, she suggested that I get laparoscopic surgery to rule out any endometriosis.
My husband and I are Canadian, and in Ontario there is a 3-year waiting list to see a surgeon who specializes in surgery for women with endometriosis. I had no plans to wait three years, so we found a surgeon in New Jersey who works with Canadian patients. We had a consultation with him in March of 2023, and told him our situation and our plans to undergo IVF again. He told us to contact him once our third IVF round was complete.
Completing our third round of IVF
In Ontario, the government will pay for one round of IVF. During our first and second rounds of IVF, we’d been on the waiting list. But we still wanted to take advantage of the government-financed round. We didn’t want to lose our spot.
We wanted this third round to work so badly, that we flew to Las Vegas to complete two rounds of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment to optimize our chances of getting the best eggs [1]. In April of 2023, we completed our third round of IVF. We got the best results yet, three beautiful embryos ready to be transferred.
Undergoing endometriosis excision surgery
That June, we drove to New Jersey for endometriosis excision surgery. The surgeon took one look at my ultrasound imaging and said “You most likely have endometriosis.” I remember coming out of surgery super dazed and my husband saying, “They found so much endometriosis.” I finally found the reason for my infertility. I was diagnosed with stage 3 endometriosis.
It takes a couple of months to recover from surgery, so my husband and I decided to take things slowly before we jumped into transferring an embryo from the third round of IVF. During this time, I contacted a couple of fertility doctors to talk about the best embryo transfer protocol. We decided that if we didn’t get pregnant naturally, we would transfer an embryo in December 2023.
A missed period
In October, I felt crampy and was ready to get my period. I was one day late, which can be normal for me. I decided to take a pregnancy test so I could rule it out, and focus on my upcoming embryo transfer.
I took the test and left it on my bathroom counter. I set up a timer for three minutes and waited. The timer went off, and without even thinking I almost threw the test in the garbage.
Success!
Just in time, I took a quick look. Two lines!
I reread the instructions on the test to confirm that two lines indeed meant “pregnant.”
4 years, 3 rounds of IVF, stage 3 endometriosis, and a miracle pregnancy. I am halfway there. We are praying for the healthy arrival of our baby in June 2024.
Photo courtesy of author
References:
[1] Safarova S, Cevher Akdulum MF, Guler I, Bozkurt N, Erdem A, Karabacak RO. Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Treatment Increase In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Success in the Infertile Population? Cureus. 2023 Oct 17;15(10):e47239. doi: 10.7759/cureus.47239. PMID: 38021895; PMCID: PMC10654450.Additional Reading:
Diagnosing and treating endo in the teen years
Considering endometriosis surgery? Here’s how to find a good surgeon
Conceiving naturally after IVF may be more common than most people realize
