Infertility

[onthisrock]

Thanks for sharing your story! I, too, have a devotion to St. Philomena, as we have been TTC for 2 years now. I had a laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, HSG in October with a surgeon trained by Dr. Hilgers. He diagnosed and removed Stage III endometriosis from my ovaries. Unfortunately, while removing the bad tissue, some good tissue also had to be removed. As a result, I went into pre-menopause after the surgery with annovulatory and LONG cycles. Now, I am on Menopur injections. I went in for an ultrasound on Monday and I have three follicles growing and was told that it looks promising. I go in again tomorrow morning for another. We are currently residing on the opposite coast from our home in California because my husband has a one-year appointment. If we are not pregnant by the end of the academic year, we will look into adoption when we return to California. However, I am now 41 (will be 42 in June) and my DH is 50, (we met and married late in life), so I’m not sure that our chances are good for adoption.

Thanks for taking our intentions to the Shrine of St Philomena. She is a lovely and powerful saint. She is praying for God’s will to be done in your life. My husband and I were married on her feast day, January 10, so I feel a special connection. And, I was able to attend a special event at the new national shrine in Phoenix, AZ last month and was able to venerate her relics and I was given some oil from the lamp at her shrine in Italy. I say her chaplet regularly and wear the red and white cord.

I have that book that you mentioned, also. The stories are very inspiring. I feel very blessed to be in the care of a fine NaProTechnology physician. St. Gianna is another saint for infertility, as she was a physician and mother herself. God bless!

Like I mentioned…my dr is here in southern CA…a surgical naprotechnologist…problem, I don’t think her one year fellowship is enough experience. she treats me pretty rotten. I asked what she thought of petitioning Dr. Hilgers and she said “well, you can, but I already did everything” Well, I did petition him, and he emphatically disagrees with his protege’. I look forward to meeting Dr. Hilgers. the depression from not conceiving and not knowing what kind of care am I really getting is too much.I lost 9 pounds this week without even trying…so sad. I will be in good hands in a few months…you too have nothing to lose. I met my husband at 34 got married a year later, been trying ever since. turning 38 next month is taring me up inside. I don’t even want to bother with makeup anymore the tears are just forever flowing. I promise to pray for you at St. Philomena’s shrine. I’m so glad to talk to someone…even if I don’t even know their name

 

[sacredcello]

Like I mentioned…my dr is here in southern CA…a surgical naprotechnologist…problem, I don’t think her one year fellowship is enough experience. she treats me pretty rotten. I asked what she thought of petitioning Dr. Hilgers and she said “well, you can, but I already did everything” Well, I did petition him, and he emphatically disagrees with his protege’. I look forward to meeting Dr. Hilgers. the depression from not conceiving and not knowing what kind of care am I really getting is too much.I lost 9 pounds this week without even trying…so sad. I will be in good hands in a few months…you too have nothing to lose. I met my husband at 34 got married a year later, been trying ever since. turning 38 next month is taring me up inside. I don’t even want to bother with makeup anymore the tears are just forever flowing. I promise to pray for you at St. Philomena’s shrine. I’m so glad to talk to someone…even if I don’t even know their name

I’m so sorry about the depression you are going through due to TTC. I can share your feelings, though we’ve only been TTC for 2 years. The emotions are very difficult.

I am glad you are receiving help from Dr. Hilgers, and I’m sorry that your current NaPro doctor does not have a good bedside manner. I hope you will find some answers very soon. Maybe it is good that you lost the 9 pounds, even if it was, unfortunately, due to depression. In Marilyn Shannon’s book, Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition, she recommends losing 5% of one’s body weight, as this can improve fertility, especially with PCOS.

There are so many things to do to improve one’s fertility. We are going to an acupuncturist and taking Chinese herbs. I’ve also recently started painting my skin with Lugol’s Iodine in addition to all the other vitamins that I take. Maybe it will help.

I am happy with my NaPro doctor. I really feel blessed by him. He also did a one-year surgical fellowship with Dr. Hilgers. He is very positive and treats me with kindness. I feel bad that I sort of snapped at him during my last visit because he was giving me a lesson in LH and FSH and I said, “I teach NFP, so I already know this.” The poor guy…I practically bit his head off!

That is exciting that you are going to the shrine of St. Philomena. I pray that you have a good pilgrimage. My name is Claudia and my husband’s name is Peter, if you don’t mind praying for us there, it would be appreciated. I will also pray for you.

 

[onthisrock]

I’m so sorry about the depression you are going through due to TTC. I can share your feelings, though we’ve only been TTC for 2 years. The emotions are very difficult.

I am glad you are receiving help from Dr. Hilgers, and I’m sorry that your current NaPro doctor does not have a good bedside manner. I hope you will find some answers very soon. Maybe it is good that you lost the 9 pounds, even if it was, unfortunately, due to depression. In Marilyn Shannon’s book, Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition, she recommends losing 5% of one’s body weight, as this can improve fertility, especially with PCOS.

There are so many things to do to improve one’s fertility. We are going to an acupuncturist and taking Chinese herbs. I’ve also recently started painting my skin with Lugol’s Iodine in addition to all the other vitamins that I take. Maybe it will help.

I am happy with my NaPro doctor. I really feel blessed by him. He also did a one-year surgical fellowship with Dr. Hilgers. He is very positive and treats me with kindness. I feel bad that I sort of snapped at him during my last visit because he was giving me a lesson in LH and FSH and I said, “I teach NFP, so I already know this.” The poor guy…I practically bit his head off!

That is exciting that you are going to the shrine of St. Philomena. I pray that you have a good pilgrimage. My name is Claudia and my husband’s name is Peter, if you don’t mind praying for us there, it would be appreciated. I will also pray for you.

Great, Now I have names to pray for. I wish I met my hubby so much longer ago, youth definitely helps fertility. I heard what you said about losing 5% of my weight. They said 10% would be best but 5% still increases it. I have a bit to lose due to my thyroid and the PCOS. I’m working at it mostly with exercise since it increases metabolism. I just have to force myself to eat every couple hours to stay out of starvation mode…mostly yogurts and things I can nuke easily. My name is Kathleen and my husband is Frank We’ve been tryijng for two years as of December. I try to put it in prospective since when she did the surgery and went on vacation with NO backup doctor, she though I was hysterical with the “pressure” (according to her) I went to the ER and they found a seroma, which was infected. When she finally came home after about two weeks I was necrotic inside with an infected hematoma. She had wanted me to go to my local ER, demand to have them page the on call gyn surgeon to do an incision and drainage…yea OK doctors LOVE patients coming in off the street telling them what surgeries to perform and when. she finally said…Well it will bust out of your incision before it will explode in your body so “you should be OK” Hope she enjoyed her vacation. My GP was appalled at her actions and immediately ordered home wound care. My incision and drainage happened when she came back. she had ordered an US to I guess shut me up and I was called to come in right away for emergency surgery. My incision was an open wound to heal from the inside out 7-inches long X 3.5 inches deep. the wound care nurse…praise be to God knew about wounds as the doctor did NOT. She suggested a wound vac which decreased my healing time by about 5-6 months, and I only needed it changed 3 times per week, allowing me to take a shower on those days. My doctor would have my poor husband take pictures so she could evaluate it since she had no clue what to do once the wound vac was disconected…i did, I had to change the canister of blood every day or so. HORRIBLE experience. thank God for my RN Gloria who was not only a wound care nurse but from central America and an esthtician…she had a product to heal tape wounds as I am super fair. I still use it on infected areas and on my face at night…I look like I’m about 25, not going on 38. My doctor didn’t even know what silvadene cream was…if you know ANYTHING about wounds or burns…you KNOW silvadene. In the end when just some pieces needed to reconnect, Gloria washed it and put the cream on it. Best part was her husband was my other nurse. What life savers LITERALLY. Sorry to go on, but after all of this and her commentary, I won’t miss her a bit. I had my chart and after taking our her negative statements and just leaving clinical procedures and labs, I had reduced the chart in half! I pray she doesn’t ruin another woman.This period of time we couldn’t TTC…not for over 5 months. He had an issue for a few months, so I deduct that, and then we were using KY instead of Pre-Seed for lubrication which is volatile for sperm. all in all probably only tried about 8-10 months. We’ll have recovery time again soon, but hopefully no botch jobs. I don’t have time in my favor. I only have two more blood tests for my hormone and thyroid panels to be complete and shipped to Omaha, so were moving along. Just send the charting from when I did the blood work and I’m done. I can show him my current doctor’s records when I get there. take care and God bless!!

 

[sacredcello]

Great, Now I have names to pray for. I wish I met my hubby so much longer ago, youth definitely helps fertility. I heard what you said about losing 5% of my weight. They said 10% would be best but 5% still increases it. I have a bit to lose due to my thyroid and the PCOS. I’m working at it mostly with exercise since it increases metabolism. I just have to force myself to eat every couple hours to stay out of starvation mode…mostly yogurts and things I can nuke easily. My name is Kathleen and my husband is Frank We’ve been tryijng for two years as of December. I try to put it in prospective since when she did the surgery and went on vacation with NO backup doctor, she though I was hysterical with the “pressure” (according to her) I went to the ER and they found a seroma, which was infected. When she finally came home after about two weeks I was necrotic inside with an infected hematoma. She had wanted me to go to my local ER, demand to have them page the on call gyn surgeon to do an incision and drainage…yea OK doctors LOVE patients coming in off the street telling them what surgeries to perform and when. she finally said…Well it will bust out of your incision before it will explode in your body so “you should be OK” Hope she enjoyed her vacation. My GP was appalled at her actions and immediately ordered home wound care. My incision and drainage happened when she came back. she had ordered an US to I guess shut me up and I was called to come in right away for emergency surgery. My incision was an open wound to heal from the inside out 7-inches long X 3.5 inches deep. the wound care nurse…praise be to God knew about wounds as the doctor did NOT. She suggested a wound vac which decreased my healing time by about 5-6 months, and I only needed it changed 3 times per week, allowing me to take a shower on those days. My doctor would have my poor husband take pictures so she could evaluate it since she had no clue what to do once the wound vac was disconected…i did, I had to change the canister of blood every day or so. HORRIBLE experience. thank God for my RN Gloria who was not only a wound care nurse but from central America and an esthtician…she had a product to heal tape wounds as I am super fair. I still use it on infected areas and on my face at night…I look like I’m about 25, not going on 38. My doctor didn’t even know what silvadene cream was…if you know ANYTHING about wounds or burns…you KNOW silvadene. In the end when just some pieces needed to reconnect, Gloria washed it and put the cream on it. Best part was her husband was my other nurse. What life savers LITERALLY. Sorry to go on, but after all of this and her commentary, I won’t miss her a bit. I had my chart and after taking our her negative statements and just leaving clinical procedures and labs, I had reduced the chart in half! I pray she doesn’t ruin another woman.This period of time we couldn’t TTC…not for over 5 months. He had an issue for a few months, so I deduct that, and then we were using KY instead of Pre-Seed for lubrication which is volatile for sperm. all in all probably only tried about 8-10 months. We’ll have recovery time again soon, but hopefully no botch jobs. I don’t have time in my favor. I only have two more blood tests for my hormone and thyroid panels to be complete and shipped to Omaha, so were moving along. Just send the charting from when I did the blood work and I’m done. I can show him my current doctor’s records when I get there. take care and God bless!!

Dear Kathleen,

I am so sorry to hear about your suffering and ordeal following surgery. :hug1: Thank God for your nurse. I pray that your next procedure with Dr. Hilgers will be smooth and easy.

I had a much better experience with my lap. I felt my doctor and his team were the only ones who cared. After four hours in the OR, I awoke several hours later in recovery. One of the hospital nurses asked if I was nauseous, and I replied, “Yes,” and the other nurse rolled her eyes at having to put anti-nausea meds in my IV. The first nurse had to tell her that it had been nearly 7 hours ago that I received the last dose. Anyway, I don’t have anything to complain about because the recovery went well except for having to sit up one night on the couch, because the gas pain in the shoulders was too great to lean back on. My doctor prescribed a round of anti-biotics before I left the hospital, so I did not get any infections. I hope yours with Dr. Hilgers is just as easy or even easier!

Yes, I know about Pre-seed. We only discovered it after a whole year of TTC.

I, too, wish that I had met my husband earlier, but then, God has His plan which is greater than ours.

I have to go drink some yucky Chinese herbs now.

Have a great trip to Italy next month!

 

[TraderTif]

I wanted to introduce myself here. (I may have posted here before, I can’t remember now, it’s a LONG thread!!)

I’ve had PCOS since age 12, right off the bat. 2 normal cycles at age 12, and I didn’t cycle again till I was 17. By the time I was 25, I’d been to every doctor under the sun, and they just chucked birth control pills at me (which I refused to take). I finally went out to Omaha. (No, I didn’t see Dr. Hilgers, but I saw Dr. Keefe, and she seems pretty good too!) She did a laparoscopy/hysteroscopy and D&C. Took out a teeny tiny spot of endometriosis. And said, yeah, you’ve got PCOS. Put me on metformin and monthly progesterone shots, hoping that I might start cycling on my own at some point.

Which didn’t happen.

Last year, having almost hit age 30, and knowing that I was likely to get engaged at the end of the year…and, having finally gotten on a good health insurance plan …I went back to Omaha for an ovarian wedge resection.

I started cycling immediately. What a miracle!!! :extrahappy:

Of course, it’s not terribly “normal” looking, I don’t think…and we’re still running hormone tests and so on, to see how things look…but it’s gotta be better than not cycling at all, right??

But, now is the point where this is all becoming “real”, y’know? I wasn’t married before, so I thought about this more in terms of health, and not “fertility”. So…it’s scary to think about it that way…

The wedding is in June. My fiancé - who I met right here on the CAF!!! - lives in KY, and I’m moving next week. The stress of a cross-country move, (my first time living away from home), and a wedding…is not doing anything to help.

And I know that weight loss is needed. All the doctors emphasized that, after the surgery…and I haven’t lost a pound!! (I actually gained a little bit!! Which I’m slowly losing.)

I’m scared about the future. I suppose it’s good that my fiancé and I both know what we’re getting into. (It must be very hard to discover infertility only AFTER you’re married!!) But still…

I have another appointment on Friday - my last one with my local NaPro doctor, I’ve got to find a new doctor in KY - and I’m nervous that he’s gonna chew me out for not losing any weight…

 

[sacredcello]

I wanted to introduce myself here. (I may have posted here before, I can’t remember now, it’s a LONG thread!!)

Hi TraderTif! I think we met on the Pregnant or Not thread awhile back.

I’m so happy for you that you are getting married this June! And, that you have regular cycles now after your surgery. That’s awesome!

Good luck with your move and with wedding plans. Stress can affect your cycle, of course. I had an annovulatory cycle during the month of my wedding, which I think was due to the stress of work combined with wedding plans. But, things went back to normal afterward.

Prayers for you for a beautiful wedding and marriage. And, that your new NaPro doctor will help you to begin your family.

 

[onthisrock]

**NOTICE: **Before posting on this thread, please disable any pregnancy tickers in your signature out of respect for those dealing with infertility.

The purpose of this thread is for people who are infertile to express their feelings and share their experiences/solicit advice from those who are also infertile. The former thread on this topic was lost, so please feel free to resume any conversations which were formerly in progress.

Mane Nobiscum Domine,
Ferdinand Mary

I am infertile, and have been on here, but as I do not know what a pregnancy ticker is, I don’t want to get kicked off…maybe someone could say what or who is a pregnancy “ticker”? Am I being insensitive to people I relate with? would really hate that

 

[onthisrock]

My husband and I were never able to have children, although we tried for many years. Eighteen years ago we adopted a daughter, and seventeen years ago we adopted a son. We are truly blessed and thank God every day for our children. We truly believe that the reason we were unable to have children is because we were supposed to have our son and daughter. If we had our own biological children, we would have never adopted the children we were supposed to have.

Do not wait until the money is there - if you do that the time will never come. You will have to pay off education, or a car, or get ahead on the mortgage - something will always come up. If God’s plan is for you to adopt, He will provide the financial means. Don’t try to work it out yourself.

It is true, because of the cost of the adoptions we will never be rich in money, but we are millionaires in love and that is what counts.

I know you mean well, but I’m sure, like myself, adoption is not an option at all for many people here. We have very personal reasons that we can’t…the adoption process doesn’t just give a baby to “nice” people or people who just so happen to have the money…there is so much more. a mistake from years ago can preclude you…your family background, an illness the agency doesn’t “like” will do the same. Adoption may sound like a success story but I know as for me and other woman who are in my situation…actually many (very sad) it is just as bad as coming on here and saying…“I’m pregnant”! without having a desperate infertility story preceding it giving hope. I went to an infertility therapist once and her whole slant was that she was infertile…I sit and think we’re going to talk about the pain and she goes into “maybe God wants you to adopt” Well, if He does, he hasn’t told the local adoption agencies…useless, and very painful session…waste of $90.00. Please don’t take offense. I’m glad that was an option for you, but I’m guessing it is NOT for many more.

 

[onthisrock]

Dear Kathleen,

I am so sorry to hear about your suffering and ordeal following surgery. :hug1: Thank God for your nurse. I pray that your next procedure with Dr. Hilgers will be smooth and easy.

I had a much better experience with my lap. I felt my doctor and his team were the only ones who cared. After four hours in the OR, I awoke several hours later in recovery. One of the hospital nurses asked if I was nauseous, and I replied, “Yes,” and the other nurse rolled her eyes at having to put anti-nausea meds in my IV. The first nurse had to tell her that it had been nearly 7 hours ago that I received the last dose. Anyway, I don’t have anything to complain about because the recovery went well except for having to sit up one night on the couch, because the gas pain in the shoulders was too great to lean back on. My doctor prescribed a round of anti-biotics before I left the hospital, so I did not get any infections. I hope yours with Dr. Hilgers is just as easy or even easier!

Yes, I know about Pre-seed. We only discovered it after a whole year of TTC.

I, too, wish that I had met my husband earlier, but then, God has His plan which is greater than ours.

I have to go drink some yucky Chinese herbs now.

Have a great trip to Italy next month!

Well, I had both a laperoscopy and a laperotomy at the same time…she did a bilateral wedge resection and we thought after about 6 months when my periods actually started being regular (for me) that things were looking up. But the doctor I saw was “too busy” to treat me with medical Napro, and I ended up with a gerontologist who dabbled in in…what a mess! The doctor decided to see me again (guess she figures I was blessed to see her) anyway, she is just so inexperienced. I am so thankful for those nurses…true angels. I saw you wrote about the antibiotics after the surgery that prevented you from getting an infection…problem is, the antibiotics I was given were resistant to the nosocomial infection (an infection you only obtain from being in a hospital) and the antibiotic was feeding the infection due to this. I’ve had it coming and going from every angle. We aren’t going back to my doctor now, except to pick up my records for Dr. Hilgers and get my hormone results that were shipped to PPVI hormone lab. I really feel at ease Thanks for the lift up! God Bless!!

 

[onthisrock]

I wanted to introduce myself here. (I may have posted here before, I can’t remember now, it’s a LONG thread!!)

I’ve had PCOS since age 12, right off the bat. 2 normal cycles at age 12, and I didn’t cycle again till I was 17. By the time I was 25, I’d been to every doctor under the sun, and they just chucked birth control pills at me (which I refused to take). I finally went out to Omaha. (No, I didn’t see Dr. Hilgers, but I saw Dr. Keefe, and she seems pretty good too!) She did a laparoscopy/hysteroscopy and D&C. Took out a teeny tiny spot of endometriosis. And said, yeah, you’ve got PCOS. Put me on metformin and monthly progesterone shots, hoping that I might start cycling on my own at some point.

Which didn’t happen.

Last year, having almost hit age 30, and knowing that I was likely to get engaged at the end of the year…and, having finally gotten on a good health insurance plan …I went back to Omaha for an ovarian wedge resection.

I started cycling immediately. What a miracle!!! :extrahappy:

Of course, it’s not terribly “normal” looking, I don’t think…and we’re still running hormone tests and so on, to see how things look…but it’s gotta be better than not cycling at all, right??

But, now is the point where this is all becoming “real”, y’know? I wasn’t married before, so I thought about this more in terms of health, and not “fertility”. So…it’s scary to think about it that way…

The wedding is in June. My fiancé - who I met right here on the CAF!!! - lives in KY, and I’m moving next week. The stress of a cross-country move, (my first time living away from home), and a wedding…is not doing anything to help.

And I know that weight loss is needed. All the doctors emphasized that, after the surgery…and I haven’t lost a pound!! (I actually gained a little bit!! Which I’m slowly losing.)

I’m scared about the future. I suppose it’s good that my fiancé and I both know what we’re getting into. (It must be very hard to discover infertility only AFTER you’re married!!) But still…

I have another appointment on Friday - my last one with my local NaPro doctor, I’ve got to find a new doctor in KY - and I’m nervous that he’s gonna chew me out for not losing any weight…

I hope your move is as easy as possible…I have a friend who used Dr. Keefe. she became pregnant 6 months later, and she was a mess from a previous doctor. Dr. Keefe was able to fix that…I know she’s good, but after all I’ve gone through with the wedge resection the infected wound, the attitude issues of my doctor now (was trained by Dr hilgers) I’ve written on many posts my experiences…I just think…I’m a couple weeks away from 38…I need the best possible circumstance…between going to St. Philomena’s shrine in Italy on my birthday and seeing Dr. hilgers, I feel if it doesn’t happen, I’ll just move on easier…go back to being a “career woman” I have so much weight to lose too. I have to lose a good 50 pounds to be “normal weight” I’ve already lost 5 of that…wish it came off as easy as it goes on. You know the PCOS causes insulin resistance which makes your stomach big? It also puts you in a high estrogen state which is no good…especially since pregnancy is a low estrogen state…I take the progesterone pills too. Of course I have thyroid issues too, so things working against my success, but it’s coming…just slower. The best thing is that Dr. Hilgers and the PPVI institute are both, along with Creighton University Medical Ctr are all “in-network”? as of January Th this year for my insurance…the difference between my maximum cost of out of pocket health care this year fom 12,500, to $5000.00…major good news. I’m praying I don’t need another Laperotomy, but my charting 18 months after my wedge resection are looking very much like they did before the surgery. I hope your family is able to make it to your wedding…I moved where I am “temporarily” and ended up meeting my husband who has to work in LA for his job. No-one came to my wedding. My side of the church had about 25 people on it and the other side packed…OH well, I was there for the sacrement…NOT to look good. (actually one person came…the priest who taught my RICA and is my spiritual director X13 years! Most important guest!..my sponsor who already lived here was my matron of honor so I guess my spiritual family came. My sister said she would come…told my husband as a secret, and backed out…only problem was he told the secret. If you start getting home sick…just keep in mind it’s not a party, it’s a sacrement…between the two of you, God and your witnesses…it’s what kept me a float. It’s good you are still young and that you know. like we did, of a problem before marriage. I have 8 years on you but infertility is stressful at any age. I’ll really be praying for your smooth transition, and a baby

 

[onthisrock]

Agreed, I’m not trying to be a skeptic, but we’ve been using NFP for our entire marriage, and my cycles all look pretty dang normal, but my pregnancies tell a different story – it almost sounds (from the info I could find online) like glorified Creighton model, but with very little detail what comes next

Hi, I just wanted to comment about Dr. Hilgers and Naprotechnology. I’m trying to look at it by a viewpoint I think you may have, which is…who is this doctor requesting money…do this that and the other and we’ll get back to you…assuming this is your thought…here’s the truth. I started using the Creighton Model of NFP…why? I knew it was the only one connected with Naprotechnology…the type of NFP you will want to do if you are using it ti achieve a pregnancy, as my husband and i are doing. I was taught by a RN who is certified through the PPVI Institute.We learned it 6 months prior to our wedding date. Dr. Hilgers created Napro which is short for Natural Procreative Technology. It can take a woman several months to get full mastery so they have you learn the Creighton Model…you chart and then if you are having infertility issues, and you would like his help…you send $100.00 check…he reads and evaluates your charting. He can see by how much, what quantity etc of CM you have and, along with the color of the end part of your period, as well as the lengths of your pre, and post Peak phases. It doesn’t stop there what he can tell about your insides including hormone deficiencies by just looking at a good three complete cycles. I did this process. I sent my charting, along with the check for his evaluation and interpretation of my chart along with medical suggestions. They say it’s 6-8 weeks to here back, but I mailed my things out on the 5th of January and had his medical suggestions written up, and accepting me as a patient by the 25th. Since I want to have him specifically as my doctor, as well as hundreds of women as far as Europe…I have to wait a few months…they sent me “Women Healed” to pass the time and to have hope in other women with my story of infertility that were all healed by the doctors in Omaha. They have two or three other doctors there. I was seeing a protégé’ of his, but experience goes such a long way further. I promise it’s NOT a scam. I know woman personally who have gone to Omaha and were healed and got pregnant, giving birth to healthy babies. I don’t mind waiting since I need to lose some weight (helps fertility too) I love using the Creighton Model. It is very much encouraged that your husband is involved in the charting. My husband will monitor my moods and behaviors, if I start losing it, he grabs my chart and says…"see, you’re getting your period within the next week, you are having really bad PMS. He knows why I’m a temporary basket case and is not angry at my behavior since he is charting beside me, and knows now I need emotional support. He knows more about CM than most Ob/Gyn’s! Many people I know who are abstaining from a pregnancy use sympto-thermal, but with Naprotechnology…the Creighton Model becomes part of your vocabulary and any nurse, doctor or lab person knows what you’re speaking about at the Pope Paul the VI Institute. If you end up fortunate, and have your hands full…you can go and use it to abstain. I have a friend who is abstaining who does Creighton, but backs it up with sympto-thermal. I feel I’m in the best hands possible. Hope this helped. God Bless

 

[onthisrock]

I feel so selfish right now. At this moment, my nephew and his wife are at the hospital delivering their child. I should be extatic for them. Unfortunately all I can think about is our empty second bedroom upstairs

You see, my wife and I became pregnant at the same time as my nephew and his wife. Our darling Isaac would be born any day now. Instead he had to leave us nearly 8 months ago.

I just don’t know if I can bear all the attention they will be getting. I should be so happy for them, and not fighting back tears of grief.

I am praying for a safe delivery.

I really feel for you. My friend had her 7th baby, and was sending picture messages all day. I texted her and said, “I’m glad everyone is healthy and happy. Please don’t take offense, but please don’t send me anymore baby updates…I’m struggling deeply with my infertility issues today, and when I feel better, I would love to meet him” she completely understood and took it very well. You’re not selfish…you’re grieving

 

[onthisrock]

Can someone put naprotechnology into a nutshell for me? I’ve read about it, but it’s all very vague descriptions with very few “this is what it is all about” kind of info…I’m curious, thanks!

Naprotechnology is Natural Procreative Technology. It was created By Dr. Hilgers in Omaha Nevada. He’s been working on it for almost 30 years. He started by creating the “Creighton Model” of NFP You go to a practitioner…usually a nurse or someone who was just really interested in teaching. they go to Omaha and get certified in teaching the Creighton Model. You observe your cervical mucus (CM) EVERY time you go to the bathroom, and other designated times. Basically you use flat toilet paper and wipe from front to back. you are taught SOFT…Sensation, Observation,Finger Test. You first “sense” if you are lubricative…then you “observe”…is it shiny, damp, wet etc. then you try to pull some off the paper with your fingers. you then chart using specific guidelines and different colored stickers what you experienced. if you pulled up mucus from the paper, you note the color, and how far it stretched. you chart the most fertile observation at the end of the day. It sounds way over complicated, but trust me, after a couple months you will have the vocabulary just rolling off your lips like you knew it all of your life. I still see my instructor every 6 months for updates…making sure I’m remembering everything, doing it right, plus she calculates my mucus quality…they use numbers that the nurses and doctors at PPVI Institute understand…they can tell by how much or little if you are having hormone deficiencies etc. Mine lead us to believe I had PCOS and I do…also a thyroid disorder, which I do…so just a few minutes a day and you know what is going on with when you’re fertile, or why you are not. Very wonderful because the husband is very involved. checking for behavior changes and asking about if I am at a mucus build up time. It is also cheap. maybe $60.00 a year for the instructor the chart the stickers and the interpretation. I would definitely look into the Creighton Model since it was created by Dr. Hilgers who has healed so many woman, and is the only NFP to go with the Napro. I sent my chart and the money for him to evaluate and give suggestions about my situation. I did all of the blood tests and am now just waiting for my appointment to fly out there for 7-10 days to get all the other tests done at the PPVI Institute and Creighton University Medical Ctr. Hoping for a baby this year…but if not, I’ll know I went to the best doctor I could have gone to. I would call the PPVI Institute if interested so they can tell you where to find a practitioner. I know couple to couple league teaches sympto-thermal, and maybe if you want to abstain one day you can incorporate the two, but you need someone certified in the Creighton Model. also…when you go and get the book…read it every couple months…I pick up something new every time…and I’ve been charting for 2.5 years+ God Bless!!

 

[onthisrock]

Agreed, I’m not trying to be a skeptic, but we’ve been using NFP for our entire marriage, and my cycles all look pretty dang normal, but my pregnancies tell a different story – it almost sounds (from the info I could find online) like glorified creighton model, but with very little detail what comes next

One side bonus…Dr. Hilgers met Pope John Paul II because of his work in healing woman. It is the ONLY Catholic approved fertility treatment. There apparently is a picture of the meeting in his office…so, JP II isn’t a skeptic if that helps?

 

[MrsATurner]

I haven’t been able to find the answer anywhere but how much does Naprotechnology cost? What insurances do they accept? What am I supposed to do of the nearest doctor to me is about 3 hours away?

 

[sacredcello]

I haven’t been able to find the answer anywhere but how much does Naprotechnology cost? What insurances do they accept? What am I supposed to do of the nearest doctor to me is about 3 hours away?

Here is the website where you can locate a NaProTechnology doctor and also an instructor in Creighton Model: fertilitycare.org/

My first NaPro doctor in California was over an hour away and the co-pay for my visits with her was $10. and my insurance paid the rest.

My current NaPro doctor is a 45 minute drive and all of my visits with him have been paid for by my insurance. My surgical procedures were covered and there was some out of pocket, but it was very reasonable considering the length of the surgery. He is a regular Ob/Gyn, so visits are treated as such, at least by my insurance. I also know that he does phone consultations with some of his patients, presumably for those who live 3 hours away or more.

Fortunately, there are more and more doctors who are being trained in this method, as they are very much needed. It seems like every time I check the website, there are more.

 

[TraderTif]

I haven’t been able to find the answer anywhere but how much does Naprotechnology cost? What insurances do they accept? What am I supposed to do of the nearest doctor to me is about 3 hours away?

It depends on the individual doctors. My local NaPro doctor is covered by my BCBS insurance, but the doctors at the Pope Paul VI Institute didn’t deal directly with blue cross, and I only got partial reimbursement.



It also depends on what services you get. I pay a $10 co-pay for a visit with the doctor. But, you don’t even want to know what I spent traveling to Omaha and getting the wedge resection surgery. (Well, actually, my insurance paid surprisingly well on that - I was blessed!!)

If the nearest doctor is 3 hours away? Well…I just got back from a visit today with my local doctor, who is almost 4 hours away.

The care is good enough, that I totally think it’s worth it. If you can manage it. Some doctors will do phone consultations with long-distance patients. And you can pay Omaha and have Dr. Hilgers read your chart, I believe. But…yeah, you usually do have to travel a ways to visit a NaPro doctor in person.

 

[onthisrock]

I haven’t been able to find the answer anywhere but how much does Naprotechnology cost? What insurances do they accept? What am I supposed to do of the nearest doctor to me is about 3 hours away?

Naprotechnology is several different things so this is the breakdown. The Creighton Model teacher and charting supplies are based on your family income. we pay $60.00 a year for two visits to our instructor. she tests us to make sure we are doing it correctly. she also takes your charts every 6 months or so and calculates your mucus production. you can ovulate all you want but with no quality mucus, you will bo nowhere. So that’s that. Naprotechnology has two different avenues…surgical and medical. You will be a lot more likely to find a medical naprotechnologist as only doctors who have done a fellowship under Dr. Hilgers will become surgical naprotechnologists…actually going in a fixing the medical conditions such as PCOS and endometriosis etc… Depending on your insurance…and I know at Dr. Hilgers, and the PPVI institute just started being in network for a few more insurances (including my own). since you will be having underlying medical disorders treated…it is covered unlike IVF which is doing nothing to cure you as a woman, but putting a bandaid on whatever is making you not conceive. Go to the website that was given www.fertilitycare.org you will find medical and surgical napro doctors. The surgical like I said are few and far between though, and will never have the experience of the doctors in Omaha…not just Dr. Hilgers. I just state his name since he is the creator of napro AND has trained everyone who knows it and is actually certified in it. You can work with someone over the phone as all of the pictures to help in the education are in the book you receive when you first start charting.Between that book and your calls…also sending copies of your chart to your instructor for her to look at will be of great help…you can both have the same thing in front of you while the lesson is going on. I am fortunate to live in an area where Napro, and the Creighton model is easier to access. I know I went on, but I did want to address those concerns of a teacher who may be of a distance…VERY do-able

 

[anilorak13ska]

Pardon my ignorance… but is this thread a part of a group on infertility? I thought I joined Elizabeth’s Hope yesterday, but it’s still telling me I cannot view any messages in that group. On the top, it gives me an option to “retrieve my membership request” but on the bottom, it says that only members can view the content. Is there a time period I have to wait for before being approved? I’m very confused. This single thread can’t possibly be the only outlet for fellow IFers to commiserate and support each other! There are so many different dx and options we are pursuing, different stages we may be in… please advise!

DH and I are facing severe male factor IF. NaPro is not an option for us, since we do not have sperm to work with (confirmed by TESE biopsy) We tried to adopt domestically, internationally, and via foster care for nearly 4 years. We were foster parents for 10 months to a little girl who in the end was suddenly returned to her mom, who no longer has her now. We inquired on 30-50 waiting older kids whose social workers never thought we were a good match. Four birth mothers changed their minds before having their babies. We withdrew from our international adoption in December, just before sending in our dossier. We had lost the funding we had, and couldn’t proceed with the $30K we’d still need to pay the agency fees and travel expenses.

While I know this topic is controversial, I hope I can find enough open mindedness on here to recognize the discernment that has gone into DH’s and my conviction to pursue embryo adoption. It is our understanding that the Catholic church does not have an official stance against or for it, as confirmed by several priests. Therefore, we are trying to give already frozen embryos a chance at life when their genetic parents cannot or will not. We adopted 4 embryos from a couple unable to undergo another pregnancy after their twins. It’s an open arrangement. We had a chemical pregnancy (very early miscarriage, at 5 weeks) with the first two. We are hoping to go back for our other two soon.

We are currently not eligible to adopt due to a horrible slander situation that has resulted in a negative record with CPS. We have appealed it and are awaiting results to see if the finding will be reversed. We have discussed adopting an older child if we become eligible again and if our little Pixie Stix (embryos) don’t stick.

We are in the beginning stages of starting a support group ministry at our church for infertile childless couples. It’s only been a week or so since we spoke with our priest and the outreach director that he referred us to. They are supposed to talk and get back to us about advertising in the bulletin.

So that’s where we are on the journey, but I’d really like to be able to participate in a proper IF group where there is possibility for multiple threads. Anyone can help me out with that?

 

[forhim_123]

You can check out the Yahoo group health.groups.yahoo.com/group/catholic-fertility/

The women on there have lots of good information!