Jewelle's Story: Endometriosis and Infertility
My fertility journey started a year and a half before we even started officially trying to conceive. I was on a mission to fix my painful and heavy periods when I found out my first fertility/period problem. I had low progesterone. I was working with a naturopath at the time and remember her comment that it was so low we shouldn't start trying as I was destined for miscarriages. That didn’t really phase me as we were not planning on trying for another year. I thought that I could fix this problem in the year and then be perfect to have a baby!
Endometriosis and Infertility
Being the researcher I am, I began to devour books about fertility and women’s health while using progesterone cream and taking supplements my naturopath had prescribed. But it didn’t seem to be working. I was still in a lot of pain. So, I bought another well-known fertility program that helped me change my diet even more, balance my hormones and I worked with their health coaches. I got Mayan abdominal massage and acupuncture. But none of it worked to get my periods less heavy and painful or my hormones balanced.
In September of 2019, I decided it was time to go to the doctor and start medication.
After a few months on oral progesterone, my periods began to feel better. I was so hopeful and even made appointments with a few midwives at birth centers nearby in anticipation of starting to officially try. On one of my visits, a midwife told me my current doctor had not prescribed the progesterone to me in the correct way. She suggested I work with St. Gianna Center, a nonprofit that teaches women how to chart via the Creighton Model and helps them conceive by getting at the root of the infertility issues with NaPro Technology. I began working with the doctors and nurses at St. Gianna Center and it was such an empowering experience to learn how to chart and see the signs that my body was telling me. But the signs were not good. They immediately put me on more progesterone, a thyroid medication and a handful of new supplements.
I was not deterred because my husband and I were about to take a trip of a lifetime. We were spending four months as digital nomads backpacking around Southeast Asia and India. We thought this was going to be our last trip with just the two of us. We had it planned perfectly as our doctor had finally given us the ok to start trying. We would start trying the last two months of the trip while we were in Bali. I couldn’t wait. It was going to be so romantic!
But it didn't happen those two months. The third month into officially trying to conceive I knew something was majorly wrong. At that point I was on every single supplement for fertility and taking an ovulation enhancing drug. My hormones were balanced, and my periods were much better. But I just had that deep knowing that something else was off.
This is when it began to get hard.
The medications were leaving me fatigued. I was breaking down into tears daily and feeling hopeless. I was devastated as I didn’t know why it was taking so long. I thought I should have gotten pregnant by now especially when I had been working so hard for the past two years on balancing my hormones, eating cleanly and exercising. I just couldn't wrap my head around it as friends were sharing pregnancy announcements right and left on Instagram. My confidence and self-esteem were spent.
I knew I needed help, so I began working with a life coach who helped me get my emotions under control. I learned how to process my grief, doubt and fears. I rewrote my victimhood story into one of empowerment and became stronger and more emotionally resilient than ever. I finally was able to make it through a negative test and subsequent period without falling into depression.
At my next appointment my doctors shared their belief that I had endometriosis.
We scheduled an endometriosis excision surgery for August of 2020, and I am currently recovering as I write this. I was terrified going into surgery, but knew I wanted to know what was wrong and fix it more than any fear. They found that I did have endometriosis, many cysts and that both of my tubes were blocked. They were able to unblock one tube thankfully.
I never thought infertility would happen to me. I really didn’t even know it was a thing before these past seven months, but it has taught me how to really process hard emotions and that I can handle anything, even when it is hard and messy.
Medical Disclaimer:
The information provided in this blog is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your healthcare provider or qualified medical professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this blog.