My husband and I have been trying to become pregnant for the last 2 years and can find no specific reason why we have not been successful. I have seen three of the most incompetent MDs and I'm now seeing a naturopath. The first doctor said, "Come back when you're 3 months pregnant." The second doctor x-rayed my fallopian tubes and caused unbelievable and unbearable pain (without any warning) to find out that my tubes are not blocked. The third traditional medical person was a nurse practitioner who specializes in infertility. She said that my ovaries look good on ultrasound, but after basal temperature tracking, I'm not getting a spike of temperature during cycle like I should. Also, she determined that my husband's sperm motility is not what it could be. She put me on Clomid and performed five intra-uterine inseminations in two months, all of which were unsuccessful. After she tried to deftly manipulate our emotions about the whole process, I discovered that she was asking us to commit insurance fraud. And, the Clomid drove me crazy, so much so that I wanted to take the nearest freeway exit to the insane asylum. The ONLY stress I have felt through the entire experience has been through our dealings with bad doctors. SO! We found a good naturopath, and she has been treating me with Vitamin C (1000 mg 3x/day), had a wellness panel done at a good lab, natural progesterone, PABA, flower essences (blackberry, Indian paintbrush, pomegranate, turkey bush, and she oak), and liver treatments that range from roasted dandelion root tea, grated carrots with olive oil and lemon juice, beets, and organic artichokes. She has also recommended rolfing.
Since I didn't see any information on your site for infertility, do you have any recommended resources or ideas for someone in my position?
Hope this wasn't too long of a story line!
In Reply to: Infertility posted by Annette on May 15, 1998 at 19:04:54:
Dear Annette,
Your story is perfect for introducing this subject to the bb.
Both you and your husband need to read one book (which was written about you both). It is "Every Woman's Book" by Paavo Airola, ND. His life's work is there. His estate has authorized a reprinting of this wonderful classic and that printing is on the shelves. He showed, long before what you are now hearing in the media, that preparation for a healthy baby starts 2 years prior to conception and BOTH parents must prepare their health for the best outcome. His information also solves nearly all infertillity problems since infertility is only the body/mind's way of telling us that things are not optimum for producing a healthy child.
Once you have this under your belts, if you still have questions, write again. I hope every infertile couple reads these posts.
Thanks for introducing this.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Infertility posted by Walt Stoll on May 17, 1998 at 11:53:49:
Thanks, we'll get the book. I had a revelation recently that I think is related to your comment that the body/mind not being ready. My husband developed a severely herniated disk and was in pretty bad pain for several weeks and great pain for three days, and then back to pretty bad pain. We saw many different chiropractors, a chiropractic neurologist, and one highly regard neurosurgeon (by far the best MD-type I have ever worked with, a truly skilled, communicative and caring person). All of the health people we talked to told us that Bill needed surgery, so we did it.
The whole experience, from injury to treatment to recovery was spread out over 3+ months (and counting!). I was under immense stress worrying about the situation. I had always believed that back surgery was something to be avoided like anything, and my husband and I had always been equal partners in household stuff. And, I work at a high-profile, demanding job. All of a sudden, I was caring for someone who (during those three most difficult days) could not stand up, walk to the toilet, etc., so I brought his toothbrush and EVERYTHING else to him. As luck would have it, I was on Clomid during this time, and I was extremely emotional about the entire situation. All I could see was that my formerly very active husband could not get up off the floor, and I could not help him. (What a terrible drug!)
All of a sudden one day I asked myself, "What is the universe trying to tell me through this?" The answer came back loud and clear: Are you selfless enough to be a mother? I believe that until the universe is convinced of this, we will not be successful. I'm learning that choices I make every day to be loving towards other people (even when I don't care for their actions) and let other people merge into my traffic lane when they need to are simple ways that I'm preparing to be a mother. I have believed for a long time now that I am in training, physically, emotionally and mentally.
Years ago, a very wise man who was teaching a seminar talked about personal responsibility. He asked people if they were upset about the violent crime in their area, and of course they said yes. Then he talked about the millions of dollars that go into traffic enforcement. Illegally parked cars, speeding, stuff like that. He said that if each person in the room was extremely diligent for a month and did not do anything illegal in traffic, a lot of money would be available to pursue the really bad criminals. Ever since then, I've known that EVERYTHING I do has an impact and I can change the world in a small way every day, all day. :)
In Reply to: Re: Infertility posted by Annette on May 17, 1998 at 15:52:47:
Dear Annette,
Thank you for your wonderful note. I look forward to the time when you can tell all of us here on the bb of the miracle of a new baby in your house!
Hang onto that wonderful doc. When you need any other kind of doc (than this specialty) you might ask him for a recommendation. Most of us who care about the patient KNOW who the good ones are (They tend to be few & far between.).
Namaste` Walt
My girlfriend is 48. She has never had a period in her life. She has been on hormone therapy (Estrase - 1 mg. and Provera - 5 mg.).
Because of various problems she's been having (mood swings, bloating, irritability, etc.) she wants to stop taking the medication. Are there any risks in doing so?
Thanks!
In Reply to: Any problems stopping hormone replacement therapy? posted by Paul on May 29, 1998 at 18:52:18:
Der Paul,
She has never had a mensrual period in her life?
This would be a very unusual situation & could only be addressed by knowing why this was.
Walt