Told I would probably not conceive but conceived after 3 weeks of trying!

by Naomi S.
(Vancouver, BC, Canada)

In the summer of 2009, my husband and I decided it was time to try for a family. We'd talked about it before and just felt we were ready, but I warned him there may be issues with my fertility as I had had brutally painful periods since I was 15 and I would also be an older mother at 37.

With that in mind, I went for a full roster of tests to assess my reproductive health and was diagnosed with endometriosis. I've been given this diagnosis twice before but in both cases it was overturned by other doctors for various reasons, so never treated.

This time the tests were far more exhaustive. I was told that not only did I have endometriosis, for which the prognosis is progressively worse with time, but due to the length of time I had suffered with it (22 years at that point) there would undoubtedly be a significant degree of damage to my reproductive organs.

This meant, said the doctor, that my chances of actually conceiving were slim, and that if I did, there was a very good chance that I would never carry to the end of the first trimester.

He also warned me that I was high risk for ectopic pregnancy. Now back in 1997, I was diagnosed with a large (7cm+) cyst on my ovary, and as the options outlined by my then gynaecologist seemed either too invasive (surgery) or too disruptive (hormone therapy), I opted to try some alternative therapies, with the caveat (issued by the doc and my concerned parents) that I would come back a month after my diagnosis to evaluate the progress of the cyst and that if it hadn't shrunk or had grown, I would go with a conventional treatment.

I agreed and set about changing my diet and lifestyle, embracing herbal and vitamin supplements, reiki, reflexology, aromatherapy, meditation and visualization. When I went back for that second appointment exactly 4 weeks later there was no trace of the cyst.

All of this taught me the efficacy of taking a well-researched and multi-layered approach in dealing with issues of hormonal imbalance, and the necessity of sticking with it long enough to work.

I applied the same principles for 6 months after getting my endometriosis diagnosis in order to prepare my body for pregnancy and conception, and we got pregnant 3 weeks after deciding to try (I was working abroad and away from my DH until then).

I had a text book pregnancy (I stuck to those same principles throughout my pregnancy) and we now have a smart, funny, beautiful 3 year old son. We're trying for #2 now and are dealing with the reality of time (at age 41, it's harder to conceive naturally anyway) but I have now started applying the same principles again the last week after discovering this site and have already noticed differences.

I do believe we can do it though, knowing what I know now. Keep your fingers crossed for us!