Tag Archive for female infertility

Finding Hope After 13 Failed Fertility Treatments

-Terri’s Story

In 2001, my husband and I decided we wanted to have a child. But after a year, we were still unable to conceive. I was 35 and did not want to waste any time, so we spoke with mydoctor right away. We completed a series of tests and all of the results came back normal.

My husband and I continued trying to conceive, but we still had no success. Our diagnosis of “unexplained infertility” was extremely frustrating because at least when you know a cause, you can find an answer, or you have something to battle against. I, on the other hand, didn’t even know where to begin.

I looked into natural infertility treatments and tried everything I could find. I saw an acupuncturist, tried different fertility diets, and tried massage to help relax my body. I strived to remain calm, but the more I thought about my inability to conceive, the more I stressed.

After some time passed, my husband and I decided to see more infertility specialists and started intrauterine inseminations (IUI). The insemination process was difficult because it depersonalized the act of making a baby — the wonderful part of making love with your husband. It soon became an effort, a job, a chore, and that was very sad. We did thirteen inseminations, but none of them worked.

I continued reading fertility books and read a great one entitled, Taking Charge of your Fertility. The book helped me learn more about my body and my treatments. I decided to find a new doctor. He examined our history and felt that IVF would be our best choice. However, that wasn’t an option for us because our insurance did not cover it. About that time, I read about Clear Passage Physical Therapy online. When I read about their treatment, it just clicked with me. I felt that it made sense and it could work for me. I attended treatment in 2005.

My treatment went extremely well and my therapist helped me to think positively about becoming pregnant. I think a huge part of the success of any treatment or becoming pregnant is believing that it will work. My treatment ended in early September and my period started September 10th. I was concerned that this meant thetherapy didn’t work. I knew I was getting older and my “time was running out.” My husband and I decided to return to the doctor and discuss IVF. We decided to go through with the cycle and my doctor said he would start me on medications after my next period.

The entire month, I kept thinking,“Please just start your period so we can get going with IVF.” I kept waiting and when my period was late, I decided to take a pregnancy test; that’s when I learned that I was pregnant. I didn’t have to do IVF. Clear Passage worked!

Our beautiful baby was born in 2006. After her birth, my husband and I didn’t think about contraceptives. We decided that if something happened, then something happened.

In 2008, at age 40, I became pregnant naturally again. We recently learned we will be having another girl.

I am grateful for the treatment I received at Clear Passage and that I am able to share my story with other women.

Natural Fertility eBook

My Infertility Story: 42 and Denied IVF

Chloe’s Story

I met my husband at a sailing club in downtown Manhattan in July of 2000. I was 39 years old. We got engaged when I was 42 and since we both wanted to have a child, we didn’t waste any time.

I had taken an HSG dye test at an earlier age and the test had indicated that both of my fallopian tubes were totally blocked. At that time, the doctor thought that it might be due to just mucus so I was eager to find out if the HSG would be successful this time around.

Despite the technician’s attempt to force the dye through my tubes, they both remained completely occluded. My fertility specialist felt that surgery to unblock the tubes would be fruitless.

I did not get too discouraged, thinking that I could always do IVF.  But I was wrong. My hormone levels were too high to be accepted into the program.

Eventually I stumbled across Clear Passage Physical Therapy.  At the time, they had no published data about their success with hormonal dysfunction, but they had shown success with opening blocked fallopian tubes. I showed their literature to my fertility specialist, who shook her head and said, “I don’t think this will work, but if you are going to try it, do it soon so we can move onto other options.”

The following month, I spent a week at Clear Passage. Everything about the place seemed comforting. The therapists were highly trained in several physical therapy modalities. They were medically competent and emotionally intelligent. I felt as if they had a personal vested interest in helping me get pregnant.

I left Clear Passage and flew immediately to San Francisco to meet with a doctor who specialized in Chinese medicine. I worked with her for a week in different modalities and began taking her prescribed herbs and supplements to help with my hormone levels.

When I returned to my doctor the next month, I learned that my hormone levels had skyrocketed. I discussed the supplements and herbs I was taking and my doctor was shocked at the amounts of Chinese supplements and herbs I was prescribed. He advised me to immediately stop taking them and sure enough, the next month my hormonal levels dropped to a normal level. I knew that my hormone levels had peaked and then dropped because of the Chinese supplements, but I wondered if Clear Passage helped bring my levels to a normal level.I know they helped improve my hormones… because after just a few days of their therapy, my period has returned!

It didn’t matter what did it – if my hormonal levels were in range, all I needed was an open tube to become pregnant! I asked my doctor to take a look with a sonogram. I saw him shake his head. “You see that black spot on the screen? That is your left ovary stuck against your uterus. Your tubes are probably so damaged that the only hope for you is a donor egg.” After my appointment I walked through Central Park to home — and cried all the way.

That week I missed my period. Five days after my visit with the fertility specialist I took a pregnancy test. I was pregnant! That black spot on the screen was my baby.

It was then I knew that Clear Passage must have opened at least one of my tubes. Nine months later, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Natalie.

I was so happy with my time at Clear Passage that I recently returned for a bit more treatment. I hoped they could help me relieve pain I experienced after the C-section with my daughter. Due to stress in my life, I had also stopped menstruating eight (or so) months earlier.

While I suspected that Clear Passage helped my hormones before I conceived Natalie, I did not have hard evidence to say they helped that aspect. That changed with this visit. I know they helped improve my hormones this time because after just a few days of their therapy, my period has returned! In fact, my overall function is noticeably better.

Blocked Tubes eBook

5 Helpful Tips: Choosing Infertility Treatment

  1. Research. Gathering information about infertility treatment can prove to be an overwhelming task. However, knowing all the options before choosing a treatment that is right for you is often worth a few hours of research on the internet.
  2. Discuss. Couples should take the time to discuss what infertility treatment is right for them. It is also important to discuss how it will effect your relationship, budget, and physical health.
  3. Plan. Planning ahead can often remove the stress of beginning infertility treatment. Find out how much time you will need to set aside to receive treatment. If you plan on altering your diet to increase fertility naturally, plan healthy meals ahead of time. This will allow you to still enjoy one another during your time together instead of being stressed by all these changes.
  4. Budget. Infertility Treatment often involves significant cost. Check to see if your insurance covers fertility treatments. If you choose a natural fertility treatment, such as physical therapy, check to see if this is covered as well.
  5. Communicate. There are many feelings that often arise during this process. Listen to one another’s fears, hopes, concerns and feelings. Be sensitive and caring toward one another. If problems arise, you will have each other to depend on.

Do you have any other helpful tips for those going through the journey of fertility treatment? We’d love to hear your comments.

Blocked Tubes eBook

How to Choose a Fertility Treatment

Many choices in life require little thought. Dinner or a movie? Chinese or Italian? White or wheat?

However, there are some choices in life that require careful thought and research.Choosing a fertility treatment is often one of these choices.

Understanding the causes of infertility, researching the treatment options, and choosing a path that appears to be right for your family building goals can prove to be a difficult journey. Couples are often overwhelmed when met with all the options for fertility treatment.

The two major choices are between the medical approach and the natural approach. Within these categories there are several treatment options.

  • Fertility Treatment OptionsThe Medical Approach
    • In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
    • Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
    • Fertility drugs
    • Surgery
    • Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT)
    • Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT)
    • Donor eggs and embryos

Here are a few tips for couples to keep in mind when choosing:

  1. Go online.
    There are thousands of resources on the web in regards to fertility treatment. Browse forums, blogs, and health websites to gain a well-rounded understanding of all the treatment options that are available.
  2. Talk to those who have experienced it first hand.
    Speaking to a veteran of infertility can help you gain  helpful insights as to what treatment may be like for you. Again, blogs and forums are a great place to find support and advice from those who share your journey.
  3. Keep your well-being in mind.
    Some treatments can be very stressful physically, emotionally and financially. Choose a fertility treatment that makes sense for your health, lifestyle and financial situation. This could save you a world of stress and frustration down the road.

Opening Blocked Fallopian Tubes – Surgical vs. Natural


Blocked Tubes and Infertility
As the place where natural conception occurs, the fallopian tubes are truly the place where life begins. Due to their location and size, fallopian tubes can become blocked from pelvic scars or adhesions. Together, these “mechanical causes” account for about 40% of all female infertility. Tubes can block near the uterus (proximal), by the ovary (distal) or in the middle of the tube (mid-tubal). In some cases, the tube swell with a fluid in a condition called hydrosalpinx.  While a single blocked tube impairs fertility, blockage of both tubes causes total infertility.

Surgical Tools

Surgery
Until recently, the only options for women with blocked tubes were to undergo surgery to open one or both tubes, or to remove the blocked tubes, and proceed directly to in vitro fertilization (IVF). This is often the recommended course that infertility specialists offer to women with hydrosalpinx.

 

Natural Treatment – The Wurn Technique
The Wurn TechniqueSeveral medical journals have now examined a manual physical therapy (Wurn Technique®) for its ability to open and return function to totally blocked fallopian tubes, including hydrosalpinx. The “hands-on” treatment opened tubes in most of the study participants, without surgery or drugs. Most of the successes had natural pregnancies and births after therapy. Several reported subsequent pregnancies/births, so the positive results lasted for years for these women. In other published studies, the therapy significantly decreased pelvic and intercourse pain, and improved sexual function. The therapy can be used as a stand-alone infertility treatment or in conjunction with regular medical care.

Surgical Treatment vs. Natural Treatment
In comparing the treatment options for opening blocked fallopian tubes, we find the following results:

Pros and cons of the Wurn Technique, a hands-on physical therapy:

  • Pros of the Wurn Technique
    • Requires no drugs
    • Requires no surgery
    • Published studies and citations show good results
    • Lower risks and costs than surgery
    • Results can last for years – allows for several natural pregnancies
    • Success opening blockages throughout the tube (proximal, mid-tubal, distal)
  • Cons of the Wurn Technique
    • Few US clinic locations (Florida, California, Washington DC)
    • Limited published data

Pros and cons of surgery to open blocked fallopian tubes:

  • Pros of Surgery
    • Many studies are published documenting its success
    • Has good success in opening blockages that are near the uterus
  • Cons of Surgery
    • Higher risks and costs than the Wurn Technique
    • Risk of damaging other tissues or organs during surgery
    • Poor results opening tubes blocked beyond the uterus (mid-tubal or distal)
    • Repair of blockage near the uterus gives a limited time to conceive
    • Removal of the tube is permanent
    • Possible side effects from anesthesia

Interested in learning more about opening blocked fallopian tubes with the Wurn Technique? Download our free eBook on treating blocked fallopian tubes naturally.

Blocked Tubes eBook