Having gotten married at a slightly older age than most LDS
couples (Taylor—28, Me—27), we had no thoughts of waiting long to start our
family. We never took measures to
prevent pregnancy, but after a year and a half of trying without success, we
decided to seek medical assistance. We
first went to my primary care physician. After ruling out any issues with Taylor, we
were prescribed clomid. Very often,
clomid is the first stop in fertility protocols for female-related infertility. I responded mildly well for two cycles and
then did not respond at all during a third cycle. Feeling that my issues would require medical
care outside of her expertise and comfort level, my primary care physician
recommended that we see Dr. Gurtcheff at the Utah Fertility Clinic in Pleasant
Grove, Utah. After several months of
diligently praying and soul searching, we felt that the Utah Fertility Center
was the place we needed to go to in order to grow our family. In September of 2013 we made our first
appointment. Subsequent appointments
followed and I was finally diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
(PCOS).
PCOS is not a fully understood
disease. The medical community isn’t
fully aware of the causes, but the symptoms and effects of the disease are
quite clear. Fundamentally, there is a
hormonal imbalance that causes a wide range of secondary side effects, some
visible and some hidden – acne, weight gain, insulin resistance, depression,
irregular cycles, and anovulation (not ovulating) just to name a few. The hormonal imbalance has severe
ramifications with respect to fertility and the likelihood of becoming
pregnant. While I was very upset with
the diagnosis, I was also relieved to finally have a diagnosis. With a diagnosis and with the expertise of
Dr. Gurtcheff, I felt like we had the tools we needed to overcome infertility
and achieve our lifelong goal of becoming parents.
Each cycle consists of a cocktail
of medications to help normalize different aspects of the menstrual cycle. At this point, other than the medications, we
did not require any other Advanced Reproductive Technologies (ART). Our first cycle resulted in a short-lived
success – a chemical pregnancy, or a very early miscarriage. While we were very sad that the treatments
did not result in a viable pregnancy, I was very excited to see that the drugs
were having their desired effect. We
were both very eager to try another round of fertility treatments.
Our second round of fertility
treatments also saw limited success, but was accompanied by an immense amount
of sadness and disappointment. We
confirmed another pregnancy just before the 2013 Christmas holiday. We went back to the clinic shortly after the
New Year and heard a heartbeat for the first time. Taylor and I were ecstatic. We began doing all the normal things that
couples do when they find out they are expecting. We thought of names. We thought of clever ways to announce it to
our family and friends. We started
looking at cribs, and clothes, and blankets, and all the other fun things that
go along having a baby. It was the
realization of our most ardent desires and sincere dreams. We were scheduled for another ultrasound
shortly after – it would be our last before starting appointments with a
regular gynecologist. As we prepped for
and began the ultrasound, I could tell something was wrong. The nurse kept searching for a heartbeat, but
all we could hear was the low-frequency hum of the medical instruments. The silence confirmed our worst fears – we
were losing our baby. The nurse looked
at me and verbally confirmed what we already knew. She gave her condolences and then left us for
a moment to compose ourselves. With my
head down, I left the room and made a beeline for the exit. It took every bit of strength to make it to
car. Once inside, I completely broke
down. Even to this day, I’m
not sure that I’ve completely recovered. Two weeks later, in late January 2014, I
miscarried our baby at 9 weeks 3 days.
Continuing treatments since then
has been nothing short of a physical and emotional roller coaster ride. We completed an additional 4 cycles with no
success before moving on to another treatment protocol, Intrauterine
Insemination (IUI). Despite all the
medications working perfectly, our first and only IUI cycle was unsuccessful. We have since taken a short break from
infertility treatments and have tried to focus on being healthier physically,
mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Each of these areas has taken a hard toll in our infertility journey.
Infertility also takes a hard toll
financially. At the moment, the prescription
medications for a single cycle of treatment cost a little over $800 – and that’s
after our insurance coverage kicks in!
We know that we can achieve our dream of becoming parents through these
medical technologies, but we have emaciated our savings in trying to do so. I’m hoping that through
these Pics for ‘Scripts events (I’ll
be holding several throughout the year) we will be able to pay for the prescription
medications required for each treatment cycle. Prescription medications
represent the vast majority of the expense associated with each treatment
cycle. One hundred percent of the money
donated to Pics for ‘Scripts will go directly towards
the prescription medications required for my treatment.
I sincerely appreciate the time you
have taken to read our story and journey through infertility. If nothing else, I hope I have offered some
insight into the struggles couples face when dealing with infertility. If you are interested in contributing, please
click here.
