Infertility And Me: Stories of Infertility Survivors, IVF, & TTC

Have you suffered from fibroids, endometriosis, or surprise diagnosis? Our guest Brittney Jackson has. Brittney and her husband began their family expansion in the late summer of 2017 when Brittney stopped birth control. Brittney was no stranger to reproductive organ issues before 2017. She states that her menstrual cycles were painful for much of her life and she suffers from fibroids and recurre...

Would you continue trying to conceive after 10 years with no luck? Our guest Vijaya Javali did! (success story) Vijaya suffered through 10 years of unexplained infertility before getting a BFP. She and her husband began trying to conceive a year and a half after marriage. In the fall of 2006, she went for a fertility consult with her ob/GYN. Over the next few months, she would complete numerous te...

Are you over the age of 35 or 40 and trying to conceive? Shelley Tokish, a mixed-race (African American/ Caucasian), is a 42-year-old female with a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. She has been TTC for 3 years, which included 3 fibroid surgeries and 2 rounds of IVF. She got pregnant with twins after transferring 2 untested embryos from her second round of IVF. Unfortunately, Shelley lost one...

Are you feeling less than excited about the New Year and your continued road of infertility? 2021 has been a year of many ups downs. Living with infertility during a pandemic, aka COVID-19, is not only stressful, but down-right bullshit! Monique shares helpful, compassionate, and simple reminders that you can implement today and take with you into 2022. Happy New Year friend, this show and communi...

Have you suffered from recurrent miscarriages? In this episode, Dr. Natasha shares her story of loss and unexplained infertility. She was diagnosed with unexplained infertility, possibly, due to Ashermans syndrome. Dr. Natasha has had five losses, two of which were tubal ectopic pregnancy and one cervical ectopic pregnancy. After two rounds of IVF and many canceled transfers, she and her husband w...

Have you noticed a change in the way you view yourself since your fertility struggles began? After being diagnosed with infertility, we second guess who we are. Things we were once passionate about don't seem to bring joy any longer. In this episode, Monique shares tools and tactics she used to help rebuild low self-worth, after being diagnosed with infertility.  **Please be advised that Moniq...

In this episode, Monique shares what's been going on in her personal life and if she'll seek IVF treatment for another chance at motherhood. She also gives practical tips and thoughts on how to navigate the Holidays and family, emotionally. Lastly, Monique shares a few answers from others in the community and how they're coping with infertility. Answers were received from questions she...

How many times have you felt alone during your path to parenthood or family expansion? Too many to count right?!? Anonymous guest Gianna is a 30-something entertainer abroad and has been trying to conceive for five years. After two unsuccessful cycles of IUI's(intrauterine insemination), Gianna states that she began to feel an overwhelming sense of grief. The grief of not finding love in a par...

Have you grown tired of people telling you: "you should be grateful," "It will happen when you least expect," and "think positive thoughts?" If so, this episode is for you. Emily Ginn joins us again on the pod to discuss the subliminal toxic positivity we absorb through social media and everyday culture. We also delve deeply into how toxic positivity doesn't allow one t...

We are joined today by career woman, wife, and infertility advocate Krystle Chavez . Krystle was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and hydrosalspinx while engaged to her now-husband. A year after surgery to correct hydrosalpinx, Krystle began having severe pain and the fluid had returned with a vengeance. June of 2020, Krystle's right fallopian tube was removed completely. She...

Imagine you are single, hold a high-profile position for an elected official, and have been TTC for four years. Today's anonymous guest is Denise. Denise has had her fair share of ups and downs over the last four years when she decided she would try to conceive on her own. She has survived multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, blocked fallopian tubes, and the partial removal of fibro...

Are you taking a forced or deliberate pause from trying to conceive through IVF treatment, IUI's, or trying to conceive naturally? Today's guests are Jasmine, Blanca, and Audrey: a group of friends who are the creators of the Infertilidad Latina Podcast. Today the ladies share their infertility diagnosis', struggles with finding community before becoming friends, why two of them are on...

Bethany Jewell, a fertility yoga instructor was diagnosed with secondary infertility. Bethany became pregnant with her son very easily and quickly after marrying her husband. She shares in this episode what the last six years have been like trying to conceive a second child, and letting go of common labels such as "infertile." We also discuss the intense anxieties we feel while in the wait...

Are you someone who has A-type personality traits or considers themself an over-achiever? If so, today's episode with Jessi Shuraleff will surely resonate with you. Jessi shares her struggle to motherhood after being diagnosed with unexplained infertility and how difficult it was to shed her perfectionist tendencies, and navigate working in corporate America. Jessi says her biggest lessons wer...

It's thirty days after you've taken your vows, and you're being rushed into the emergency room by your new spouse. The pain in your abdomen is intolerable. This is no fiction story, it is the beginning of Ashley Hardy's long road to motherhood. Doctors told Ashley and her husband, that she was suffering from hydrosalpinx in both Fallopian tubes, and she would not be able to have ch...

Meaghan Shaffer describes walking away from further IVF treatment as feeling utterly exhausted and wanting to completely withdraw. She shares her struggle with thoughts of "just one more time," as many of us do. Meaghan says she felt like she owed her husband a different life; a world without the constant obsession of TTC. She feels for her situation specifically, that they are on pause fr...

Imagine being consistently sick for months before you were to tie the knot and get married. So much physical pain that it became unbearable. Today's guest, Tiffany Lewis was told by a doctor in the emergency room that she would need immediate surgery to remove scarring due to endometriosis. Tiffany awakened from emergency surgery to find that a salpingectomy had been performed (removal of both...

How would it make you feel if you were handed a brochure about miscarriage and the nurse or doctor walked away? Our anonymous Friend of this week is Aaliyah. She shares the suffering of recurrent miscarriages and the lack of empathy she received from more than one doctor. She and her husband both had children from previous relationships with no issues, so their four losses and secondary infertilit...

Cassandra Conley never imagined she would be diagnosed with fibroids while engaged to her ex-husband in her late twenties. Cassandra's fibroids were so large, her fallopian tubes were suppressed, and her ovaries took time to locate during sonograms. She had a laparoscopic myomectomy to remove her fibroids while also preserving fertility. A myomectomy is often performed to leave the uterus inta...

Today we are joined by our anonymous friend who goes by Nina. Nina and her significant other have been trying to conceive for two years with no success. Nina was diagnosed in the early part of 2020 with unexplained infertility during the current COVID-19 pandemic. She shares her struggle to find community on social media with it being very white in most support groups or pages. She is a Professor...

Sondra shares her story of tubal infertility, growing up with painful periods, and finally getting her big fat positive. Sondra is the best-selling author of Girlfriend's Guide to Infertility. Sondra first shared publicly about her diagnosis with infertility in the international best selling book Women Who Illuminate. Sondra has a passion for networking and connecting with like-minded people....

Veronica is an ambitious woman who never foresaw struggling to conceive naturally. Reconnecting after some years, Veronica and her husband dated and married. Self-proclaimed pro-science, Veronica was gung-ho about IVF treatment. Creating the perfect environment to carry new life was all she focused on. She was devastated, to say the least, when she experienced miscarriage after multiple egg retrie...

Today's Anonymous Infertility Warrior goes by Sarah. She was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, endometriosis, genetic defect causing blood clotting issues, and risk for miscarriage. Sarah states that the purpose of her trying to conceive Instagram account is to let veterans and their partners know about what fertility services/benefits the VA offers and other programs and grants that...

"I always knew I wanted to be a mom, no matter what that looked like." Imagine undergoing surgery at the age of 11 years old and having one of your ovaries removed (Oophorectomy). 14 years later, you're back under the knife to have an ovarian tumor removed from the remaining ovary. Today's guest Mia Clermont went through all of this and more before getting her Big Fat Positive in,...

Today's episode features our very first #AnonymousInfertilityWarriors episode. I am delighted to bring you a new series of the show that features guests who wish to share publicly but have their identity hidden for personal or work reasons. In this episode, our anonymous friend, who goes by Barb, shares her secondary and unexplained infertility story. In this episode, we discuss: Barb's mi...