For Trying Out Loud: The Infertility Years

Welcome to our warts and all account of IVF Round 3.  We've been through 2 fresh rounds of IVF and 5 transfers in total.  Will it be third time lucky?! In this episode we take you through our third fresh IVF round from start to finish with a few dramas along the way! And don't forget, visit www.screenandshield.co.uk/trying  and enter code TRYING10 at checkout for 10% off all face masks.  

This week we chat about the endless cycle of hope and disappointment whilst battling infertility.  We also mention the 'P' word and discuss its role when trying to conceive.    Romana talks to Emma from www.yourivfabroad.co.uk  all about travelling abroad for IVF and also about what led her and her husband Adam to start their company.  Emma also discusses egg and sperm donation and embryo adoption...

This week we bring you fabulous Melanie Brown ( www.melaniebrownnutrition.com )  Mel has specialised in nutrition for fertility, IVF and pregnancy for 20 years. Having experienced miscarriage, secondary infertility and premature menopause she has a great empathy with her clients.  She has a special interest in male fertility; her MSc research thesis was on the effects of male obesity on IVF outcom...

Welcome back to Season 2!  Thanks for listening and continuing to support the podcast.  We've really missed you and we can't wait to bring you lots of great content over the next few months.  The podcast will be coming to you once a fortnight from now on but the format won't be changing and we'll continue to bring you real life stories and lots of useful advice and information.    This week we tal...

We wanted to bring out this Update episode to let you know what's been happening with us over the last few months.  Despite the title it's not all been doom and gloom and we have managed to still find the happy moments in amongst the hard times.   This episode contains very honest chat about pregnancy and about loss so please only listen if you think that's something you can deal with right now.  ...

In the final episode of this season we reveal the results of our fifth and last NHS transfer.  We also reflect on this first season of the podcast and share some resources which have really helped us over the last few years.  We also talk about our recent counselling session and also about the future of the podcast.  Thank you to each and every one of you who have listened to the podcast.  It real...

This week Romana talks about her fear of pregnancy tests as we gear up to find out the results of our recent IVF transfer. Romana also chats to Michael Frank.  Michael is the author of The Mighty Franks , which was named one of the best books of 2017 by The Telegraph and The New Statesman and won the 2018 JQ Wingate Prize in England.  His new novel, What is Missing  is (among other things) a love...

This week we talk about winning the lottery (we haven't won!), our last NHS frozen embryo transfer and feelings of anxiety and overwhelm. We also chat to Chris aka @ittakes_three on Instagram.  Chris shares his story and chats about documenting his TTC experience through social media lifestyle changes dealing with an unexplained infertility diagnosis NHS treatment vs Private  immune medication PGD...

This week we talk about coping strategies as our fifth IVF transfer approaches.  We also share the story of our engagement which happened on a mountain top in Slovakia!   Romana chats to Irish Singer/Songwriter Sinéad McNally www.sineadmcnally.wordpress.com  a fellow IVF Warrior who has recently released her new song 'My Silent Night'.  You will hear the full song in this episode and also hear all...

This week Romana is delighted to be chatting to Andrew Loosely.  Andrew shares so much wisdom in our chat and regardless of the title we think that this episode will also be useful to listeners under the age of 40.   Andrew Loosely is a Chinese Medicine Fertility Specialist and is known as one of the most sought after Natural Fertility Experts and Consultants in the Fertility community.   He is fa...

This week Ewan talks about the difficulties in discussing fertility issues with family and Romana talks to Elaine about all things IVF and trying to conceive.  Elaine is not only a beautiful person but also a wonderful actress and it was great to chat to her.  We cover a whole range of topics including endometriosis, coping with pregnancy announcements, IVF injections and hormones, miscarriage, br...

This week Romana shares her thoughts on the Fertility Show in London.  Hear what she thought of the various clinics she chatted to and also what she learnt from the Seminars she attended.  We also hear from other people who attended the show to get their opinion on what they enjoyed and took away from the UK's largest show for people trying to conceive.

We love our Fertility Chats episodes as we really enjoy hearing other peoples TTC and infertility stories.  This week Ewan chats to Mike aka @fortyyearolddad on Instagram.  Mike shares his fertility journey from beginning to end and goes into lots of detail about IVF, going abroad for treatment and using donor eggs.   TRIGGER WARNING : Mike also talks about pregnancy and birth so please, if you do...

We had a lovely time in York last week and share some tales from our time there.  Including our scarefest adventures at Hallowscream!  We also chat to Zoe aka @drunkleopard on Instagram.  Zoe is a real warrior and we loved chatting to her and hearing all about her quest to be a mumma.  There was so much that Zoe talked about that is relatable to anybody on a TTC journey whether single or in a rela...

This week, as well as our usual ramblings, Romana chats to Sarah Clark ( www.fabfertile.com ) Sarah is a certified life coach with accreditation from the International Coaches Federation and a health coach with training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  She is the author of 'Fabulously Fertile – Supercharge your Fertility Naturally' and 'Fabulously Fertile Cookbook'.  We dig into Func...

It's always a struggle after a failed IVF transfer but we are starting to feel more optimistic and having a plan moving forward always helps.  This week we share some good news and also discuss what happened at our recent WTF appointment. Romana chats to Alice Crisci.  Alice is a cancer survivor, entrepreneur and activist.  She founded MedAnswers www.medanswers.com  to speed up consumer access to...

It's been a tough and emotional couple of weeks since our frozen embryo transfer and this week we share Romana's audio diary along with the result.  Have all of our hopes and dreams finally come true or are we back at square one?  This episode could be triggering for anyone listening who may be struggling as there are some emotional moments during the audio diary.  Feel free to skip to the end of...

Embaby on board!  We finally got to transfer our little frozen embryo so we are now in the delightful two week wait!  We will update you on the results of our fourth embryo transfer on next weeks episode.   This week Romana chats to Andrea Clarke ( www.rootmedicine.co.uk ) about Fertility and Womb Massage; what the treatment involves and the wonderful benefits of this beautiful massage.  Angela ha...

This week we talk Spiders, feeling left behind whilst going through infertility and we also discuss our upcoming frozen embryo transfer.   Romana also chats to Geraldine McCullagh ( www.me-time-therapy.co.uk )  Geraldine is a Complimentary Therapist who loves creating her own natural skincare.  As well as sharing some really simple Body Butter and natural Perfume recipes, Geraldine also discusses...

This week Romana puts Ewan's fertility knowledge to the test with a TTC Acronym Quiz.  Romana is also put to the test with a (brief) football quiz! Ewan also chats to Charlie.  They have a really open and honest discussion about dealing with male factor infertility, who to confide in, lifestyle changes, social media and coping strategies.   Thanks as always for listening and if you have enjoyed th...

We're delighted to bring you our first transatlantic chat with the fantastic Heidi Brockmyre.   Heidi is a Licensed Practitioner of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. She has a decade of experience helping women grow their families. She's supported hundreds of women in her clinic in San Diego, and thousands of women around the world.  In this episode Heidi shares lots of brilliant fertility tips.  ...

This week we chat about mistaken identity (of the condom variety!). And we chat back up plans and the pros and cons of planning for a negative outcome. And we also share the second part of Romana's chat with Helen and Linzi.  If you haven't listened to last weeks episode we highly recommend you do so before listening to this one.  This week Helen and Linzi talk very honestly about their miscarriag...

This week Romana chats to Helen and Linzi about the journey they have been on to grow their family.  This chat is split into two episodes and in this one Helen and Linzi talk very honestly about their IVF experience, their search for a sperm donor and artificial insemination at home.   (We weren't recording in our usual place this week so apologies if our chat sounds slightly echoey) If you are en...

We're going a bit mystic for todays episode!  Trying to conceive can be all consuming and tiring and sometimes connecting back with nature and the universe can be really empowering and can give us some perspective at a time when it's much needed.   This week Romana chats to Alison Smith ( www.alisontheastrologer.com )  Alison is an astrologer and planetary wanderer.  Alison never lost her belief t...

Welcome to episode 10!  Thanks for listening.    Today we talk about raising funds for IVF, coping with pregnancy announcements and 21 Miles by Jessica Hepburn. Ewan speaks to @infertilitybloke from Instagram about his ttc (trying to conceive) 'journey' and raising awareness for men going through infertility.  It's a really interesting and honest chat about what led Mike to set up his Instagram ac...