Kaitlin and Brad

Infertility; the word alone makes me cringe.

We had been trying for 2+ years before any medical professional would even take us seriously because of our age (24 years old at the time). We were told over and over again “you’re young, just give it time”. We both knew something was not right though.

2+ years of opk’s, timed intercourse, vitamins/supplements that promote reproductive health, diets, and the list goes on… nothing seemed to work. My cycles were very regular and I always got a positive ovulation test around CD14-15. Everything seemed to be working fine but still, we never saw those two magical lines on the pregnancy tests.

We begged our family doctor after 18 months of TTC to send me for blood work, semen analysis, anything, just to get some answers. We were told “you’re young, I’m sure it’s nothing”. Finally, after 2+ years, he referred us to a local OBGYN to investigate things further for us.

We met with the doctor, discussed our history and finally felt like we mattered for once. He took the time to answer questions, investigate our infertility and set up a plan for us. I had bloodwork done, all which came back normal and confirmed ovulation and appropriate hormone levels (he was even shocked at this point as to why we were struggling so much). My husband performed his semen analysis, which came back with flying colours…. great right? But still no answers as to why we couldn’t do the most natural thing our bodies are meant to do… we just wanted to start our family.

I was sent for an HSG (if you’ve never heard of this, it’s basically a simple procedure where they insert a saline solution through your reproductive organs to “flush” out your tubes all while watching it on an x-ray machine. If the saline passes with no problems, it means your tubes are cleared. If the saline does not pass appropriately, there could be a blockage). My HSG was one of the fastest procedures he has said he’s ever seen. Perfect, but again, leaves us with no answers.

We were then diagnosed with “unexplained infertility”.

This was hard for us. We were glad there was no major issues, but it left us with no real answers either. Why couldn’t we get pregnant if everything was working properly? What did we do to deserve this? What if my husband wants a family so badly, that he resents me for not being able to give that to him, and he leaves me? The “what ifs” drove us CRAZY. As newlyweds, this was certainly not how we pictured our first years of marriage to be like.

Our OBGYN decided to start us on clomid/serophene for 6 months and said if that doesn’t work, he’d refer us to the local fertility clinic where we would need to do IVF. We were heart broken. There’s no way we could afford IVF and it seemed like a dead end to us.

We reluctantly filled the prescription for clomid/serophene and decided to give it one last try. Our first cycle of clomid/serophene resulted in a BFP (big fat positive). We were SO thrilled. After all this time, 5 little pills was all it took?! The first trimester was so scary for us. Having gone through 2 1/2 years of infertility, you are always on edge, always slightly pessimistic, and anxious beyond belief. The “what ifs” just kept coming. We are now 37.5 weeks pregnant and couldn’t be more excited to welcome this little miracle baby into our lives.

I pray for each and every one of you who reads this. You are NOT alone. You are worthy and incredibly tough for doing what you’re doing. Infertility is not for the weak and it is not something I wish on anyone.