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Finding Joy

© Jaime Ervi

Molly was already a member of Wanting Another Child (WAC)when I joined a few months back. She struggled, waited, and prayed for her personal miracle with the rest of us. That is why I found so much joy in her announcement two weeks ago that finally after all of this time she was pregnant. It was amazing to me how much hope flowed over me with her announcement. This announcement reminded me that there was an end of the tunnel. I could see it. If I could just find the strength to continue on with my fight. Molly's story was even more amazing when I found out that after all the treatments she'd dealt with she actually became pregnant on her month off. She was kind enough to write out her story so that I could share it with you.

I never thought secondary infertility would be a problem for us. We conceived our son very easily, just two months after we stopped using birth control. When our son was about 2 1/2, we started trying for baby #2. We were so confident of our success, that my husband purchased OPK's the first month of trying b/c he figured once we pinpointed ovulation, we'd be pg. immediately. Well, that wasn't the case. Six months into trying, we began IF testing b/c I was 37 and I didn't want to wait a full year to start testing. My DH was tested first and his count was excellent. Then I was tested - HSG, endo. biopsy, numerous blood tests, post coital tests, and eventually laparoscopy. Although one post coital test result was bad, the result was attributed to the Clomid I was taking that cycle, and other than that, all our tests were completely normal - so we fell into the unexplained category. We tried Clomid two months, and IUI twice - all to no avail. I was on the brink of taking Gonal-F when I conceived in the 15th month of trying, at age 37 and 9 months. We conceived completely on our own - no medical intervention at all. I did some things, however, which I credit with helping me get pg., and they are as follows:

1. I gave up caffeine 100%

2. I reduced my carbohydrates and increased my protein intake (I'd heard that too many carbs can interfere with insulin production, resulting in IF)

3. I took Robitussin I tablespoon/3Xday for 5 days before, up to 2 days after O.

4. I took Dong Quai; Licorice Root; Ginseng; Gotu Kola; and Wild Yam for the first 10 days of my cycle