My husband and I have been ttc for about 4 years now beginning around mid- 2006. I was 24, he was 25. (I don't know all the ttc acronyms, so bear with me while I use just plain old English) We're young, and were led to believe it would happen if we would be patient and just keep on trying. We discovered my husband's poor sperm count and quality after two years, in the summer of 2008. The urologist said his count was around 7 million and motility and morphology weren't even mentioned. And on top of that he was diagnosed with varicoceles in both testicles. The theory is that this stagnant blood can overheat the testicles. After a few months taking Fertility Blend, he did another analysis at the Reproductive Resource Center of Kansas City revealing 13 million sperm M/ml (normal is greater than 20 million), 7 % Total progressive motility (normal >50%), and 1% normal forms (normal >14%)(Kruger strict morphology). So it improved, but was still pretty bad. I think our chances of conceiving was about 1-3% each cycle, and that's assuming I'm not a factor. At the Reproductive Resource Center where my husband had his analysis, they told us that we would not be good candidates for IUI (artificial insemination), but that our only choice was IVF (In vitro fertilization). IVF costs tens of thousands of dollars, and even more with each failed attempt. We simply didn't have the money so we did not pursue that route. Knowing what I know now, I'm so glad we didn't attempt IVF or a varicocele repair.
At this point I was charting my cycles based on the results of my LH tests. According to the results, I ovulated between day 15 -18 of my cycle and had a very predictable luteal phase of 14 days every month. I never missed a period. My periods were always 7-8 days, heavy to light brown bleeding.I did have a history of painful periods to the point where if I didn't take preventative Ibuprofen every four hours, I could end up thrashing around in so much pain I'd say that childbirth had to feel like this. And even the preventative measure didn't always ensure a thrash-free period and only made the pain bearable. Also, I would have pre-period spotting from time to time, and had a constant profuse vaginal discharge due to an inflamed cervix all throughout my cycle. I had many infections and STD's ruled out, and even some allergens. Still just a chronically inflamed cervix. This was obviously not normal and I found out later that, spotting and brown-bleeding was also not normal. At the Reproductive Resource Center, they did do an ultrasound on me and found a small complex cyst on my right ovary, and two more on my left. I chose not to continue with the Center since I would have to redo all the tests and laparoscopy right before IVF, and that was just too far from our reach financially, and me and my cysts walked out never to return.
In the early spring of '09, I came down with a seemingly persistent urinary tract infection. The symptoms were very mild, like it was the very beginning stages, but never progressed to that awful burning sensation, it was just a dull feeling that something wasn't quite right. Around this time, my luteal phase (the phase of the cycle after ovulation and before your period starts) had shortened by a day or two and the pre-period spotting could last for three days.
After a couple months, five rounds of antibiotics, and still feeling that mild burning sensation down there, I decided to visit a naturopath. I grew to distrust the conventional way of dealing with my health issue. I never visited a naturopath before and don't even recall what exactly led me to that idea, but am so glad I made that decision. My life has changed forever.
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