Rebecca & Phillip

Rebecca & Phillip's Story:

I always had a feeling that my fertility journey would be a difficult one.

It started around the time I was 13 years old when all of my friends started getting their periods and I did not.

In fact, I didn’t get my first one until I was 16 years old. Then I didn’t get another one for several months.

I was told that it was normal, considering I was what was called a “late bloomer,” and that I would eventually regulate. I never regulated, and I would continue to be brushed off for about 10 years

I fell pregnant with twins completely naturally in July 2017 after almost 2 years of being off birth control.

Unfortunately, that pregnancy ended in a miscarriage which devastated us. It was at that moment that I decided to find a doctor who would take my concerns seriously and help me come up with a solution.

February 2018 is when I was told that, on paper, I have the classic PCOS symptoms. Blood work and an ultrasound confirmed this. I was prescribed Clomid, which miraculously worked on the first round, and I conceived our Rainbow Baby Boy, who was born in December 2018 after three years of trying.

When our son turned a year, we decided to try for one more. I was prescribed Clomid again, but it didn’t work.

I tried it again for two more cycles, and it was the same outcome. Nothing. I was extremely discouraged because I didn’t understand how it worked perfectly the first time but not now.

I didn’t realize how lucky we were to have our son off 1 round of medication until that moment. I decided that I didn’t want to wait around. I didn’t want to be just prescribed Clomid and sent away without digging deeper.

I was in a few PCOS support groups on Facebook, and I noticed that CNY Fertility was coming up a lot within the group. I knew that they were a New York-based fertility clinic, but to my surprise, I found out that they had recently opened up a location in Atlanta about 45 minutes from me.

Talk about meant to be!

I had my phone consultation with Martha in May 2020. I knew I was in great hands when she put me on the best supplement plan and wanted to run all of the tests on my husband and me to give us the best possible chance at conceiving.

We got everything done by July 2018, and we were in the clear. I was set to start my first monitored cycle of Letrozole with a trigger shot until Covid picked up again, and I was forced to do an unmonitored cycle that month and the next month one as well. Neither of which worked.

We decided once monitored cycles were back on in October 2020 to give IUI a try.

That, unfortunately, didn’t work either, which took a huge emotional toll on me. I decided that I would do one last round of treatment before we took a break for a while.

I got on the phone with Kim and told her that I wanted to try something that gave me at least 1 more good-sized follicle before I triggered.

Because of my PCOS, I wasn’t a candidate for injectables so she recommended I up my letrozole to the max dose, skip the IUI this time as my husband’s analysis was good, and trigger when at least 1 follicle was 19mm as opposed to 17mm from the previous month.

I can’t thank Kim enough because in November 2020, after 1 year of constant fertility treatments and 6 months after finding CNY, we got the amazing news that that method worked, and I was pregnant with our daughter, who was born in August 2021!

Photo Credit: JMFarron Photography

Favorite Team Member at CNY:

Martha and Kim who listened to my wants and concerns and came up with the best treatment plans for me.

Katie and Lilian, the ultrasound techs who accommodated my crazy schedule, let me bring my son to some appointments and were so kind and informative throughout each appointment.

Helpful resources Rebecca & Phillip found:

Facebook groups for PCOS and TTC helped keep my sanity in place. Also venting to my family and being open about what we were going through helped a ton.

Unique Moments:

We did not have that classic pee on a stick and “oh my gosh, it’s positive” moment. I took a pregnancy test at about 10 days after ovulation and 12 days after my trigger shot. I saw the faintest of lines and was convinced it was leftover HCG from the trigger shot. My husband being the optimist that he is told me I’m pregnant and that it shouldn’t be the trigger shot at that point. Surely enough, I took another test the next day and it was way darker meaning HCG was rising which a trigger shot wouldn’t do that. I was still in disbelief until the blood test the next day told me I was indeed pregnant!

Hope, Inspiration and Advice:

Do not give up! My fertility journey was by far the hardest thing I had every gone though, but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing if I could. I’m a stronger person than I was before and I’ve grown more empathetic towards every person going through similar. Take it one day at a time. Vent about it to those who you are most comfortable with. If you choose to keep it private, let it out in a journal. You are not alone!