April’s journey to fertility: Week four

April is a CNY Fertility Center patient and has been on her journey to fertility for approximately two years. April will share candid stories and a unique perspective on the fertility challenges many women and couples face.

Week four:  Our fertility treatment “break”

We take a break from different aspects of our lives because something is not working. After our multiple IUI attempts and a discussion about moving onto IVF, I knew that our approach to becoming parents was simply not working. As a result, we decided to take a break from western fertility treatments. I spoke with my acupuncturist about naturally increasing my fertility, and she recommended that I take a series of vitamins and put me on two different types of herbal formulas – one for my follicular phase and one for my  luteal phase. She also recommended I increase my acupuncture treatments from two times a cycle to three times a cycle. During the first month of taking herbal remedies, I ovulated in the middle of my cycle. This was HUGE for me. I had always seemed to ovulate much earlier in my cycle. I was so excited to see progress!

As Heather continued to treat me, we came up with two more additions to my fertility plan: weekly yoga and regular fertility massages. I have to admit I am consistent with my acupuncture and herbs but am not as consistent with yoga classes or massage treatments. Part of the reason for my inconsistency is lack of time and the other is lack of money since fertility treatment can become expensive. Fortunately, CNY offers a package (buy three treatments and the next one is free) that has made paying for treatments more affordable. After pre-paying for a six week session of yoga I decided to pay per class; then if I have to miss a class, I don’t feel as though I have wasted any money.  After tweaking my financial approach, paying for my appointments/classes has become more manageable. Not to mention, I often compare what I pay per month at CNY to what I will be paying for daycare as a working mom and I consistently realize that we just need to carefully budget and deliberately spend money. (Hopefully you realize the connection to last week’s discussion on deliberate choices and thinking.)

Now, I am sure many of you ladies are wondering what my husband has done during the western fertility treatment break. And I am also sure many of you feel the same way I do – the men sure do not have to do much in terms of the whole fertility plan, do they? However, my husband has recently become more involved in the emotional aspect of this challenge. We are currently reading through Kristen Magnacca’s book Love and Infertility and are employing some of her suggested exercises into our daily routines. We are also going to write out a full fertility game plan tonight to ensure we are both involved in upcoming decisions and that we are deliberately making choices. (I will be sure to let you know how this goes in next week’s article )

As you can see, our break has been more about examining our choices and taking the path most comfortable for us. Throughout the last eight months we have explored topics that we did not even discuss before such as how to pay for IVF. I also underwent laparoscopic surgery several weeks ago because we decided to consult with a new fertility specialist who recommended this procedure. Aside from my commitment to acupuncture, the surgery was the next best decision we made in this journey and I will discuss my feelings and approach to surgery next week. Until then my intention for each of you is simple: examine your current path and see if you need to veer off course anywhere. Be sure the path you are on is the path for you.

Miracles and blessings,
April all Year

Below are links to April’s past articles in case you missed any of them:

Week three: Deliberate choices

Week two: This moment

Week one: My story