Today I’m interviewing Kim, Patient Care Advocate for FertilityAuthority and editor for FertileThoughts. Kim has turned her personal experience with infertility into a career helping others with their own journey. Enjoy her interview!
Q. Tell us a little about who you are.
I am a mom of twins conceived in April 2010 via IVF with ICSI, after trying for two years on our own. I was diagnosed with PCOS in September 2009 by my OB-GYN and told we could easily try to conceive with Clomid provided my then-husband’s semen analysis came back normal. My husband had the semen analysis done and we discovered that he had 2% morphology. That basically means 98% of his sperm were misshapen. Being the lovely and wise man that my OB-GYN is, he knew our case was beyond his expertise. He referred me to Dr. Michael Bohrer, at RMA of New Jersey. I began treatment with Clomid and IUI. After 2 failed Clomid/IUI cycles, we moved on to Follistim plus IUI. I responded well to the Follistim, but had one failed cycle and one cancelled cycle. We went to Cancun to take a cycle off and ironically, I ovulated on my own but still didn’t get pregnant. When we came back, I was ready to pursue IVF. I called my nurse and said “This is it. I want to do IVF.” We began our first IVF with ICSI cycle in March 2010. During my journey with infertility, I began researching support options. I signed up for an online community forum for women with infertility and also reached out to RESOLVE to begin a peer led support group in New Jersey. In April 2012, I was selected by RESOLVE and Merck to be a patient spokesperson on the “It’s Just a Conversation” infertility awareness campaign alongside the beautiful and super down-to-earth Dr. Roshini Raj. Not long after, I began working with FertilityAuthority as a Patient Care Advocate, Editor, and Administrator of the forums on FertileThoughts (our sister site). Yes, we are real people with real infertility struggles…come chat with me as KimAtFertilityAuthority on the forums!
Q. What kind of struggles did you experience while TTC and how did you resolve those struggles?
I think the hardest part of infertility, for me, was that my husband wanted to keep our struggles private. Anyone who knows me knows I am not shy about sharing my infertility story! I needed support. I needed to talk it out. I had to keep everything inside around his family and watch family members get pregnant around me. It broke my heart. Luckily, I found support online and in support groups. I proactively sought out resources. I joined the online community and I am still friends with most of those women today. I started my support group and volunteered with RESOLVE helping others and helping myself in return.
Q. What was the lowest point of your journey and how did you handle it?
The absolute lowest point for me was seeing two family members get pregnant while I was staring at stark white pregnancy tests. It was also difficult/surreal for me because I was 25 when I began treatment. I spent a good portion of high school and college preventing birth (LOL!) only to find out I didn’t ovulate on my own. It just seemed like it could never happen to me at my age, but it did. I am just thankful I went through treatment at a young age because ovarian reserve declines significantly with age. Who knows if I would have conceived if I had waited?
Q. What advice would you give to women who are currently in the middle of their infertility journey?
Make sure you feel a good fit with your doctor. It is a professional relationship, not a friendship or dating relationship. Don’t be afraid to “break up” with your doctor if something doesn’t feel right. Getting a second opinion isn’t a commitment, just self-education. Also, make sure you move on to the next treatment after three failed cycles. The Patient Care Advocates at Fertility Authority can help you connect with a trusted fertility doctor near you and can share our personal experiences to help you through the journey!
Q. Were you able to find a “silver lining” in your journey?
Meeting other women who were struggling with infertility and watching them successfully become parents gave me hope.
Q. Anything else you’d like to share with readers?
If any of your readers would like to chat with me, they can email kim@fertilityauthority.com or find me on FertileThoughts.com as KimAtFertilityAuthority.
Many thanks to Kim for being willing to share her story. Please leave a comment below to let her know you appreciate her.
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Thanks for sharing your story Kim!!! Think this is a great idea. If you need another story, let me know! I was apprehensive to fill out the form since we aren’t pursuing any treatments, but I would love to help, if you need!
Yay! I’d love it if you would share your story. The form is just for me to get contact information for people I don’t already know, but since I already have your email I’ll send you my questions there. So excited!