Last night I had a pretty great night. I went over to meet a new friend (we'll call her Kris) who has struggled with infertility. I actually heard through a mutual friend about her struggle (I had met her briefly previously) and I contacted her and asked if she'd be open to talk. It was amazing!
It was the first time that I had a chance to speak with someone who really gets what I am going through. Her story was quite similar to mine in a lot of ways. She was married 9 years ago, trying for the past 6 years. There was nothing major wrong, but she was not ovulating every cycle and has another condition which proved challenging. They went through all the testing (they moved around like us too, which puts a hindrance in things), did acupuncture, TCM, HSG.... on and on. And then they moved to IUI. Their first one didn't work (they theorize that the doctors are still figuring you out on the first round, and that the 2nd or 3rd rounds have more success). Their second one resulted in a healthy pregnancy. She is due in 2 weeks.
I guess their story brought me back some hope. I'm still skeptical of getting my hopes up too much but it was really good to meet a true success story. They said they also know 3 other couples in our area who got pregnant through IUI. And since we don't have any specific issues getting in the way (and the fact that I seem to ovulate regularly, have high enough progesterone, and regular cycles is good), I think we are a good candidate for IUI.
I think the best part of talking to her, was that she truly understood the emotions that go along with infertility. Honestly, I feel like I am crazy sometimes with the vast range of emotions that I feel and experience. It was really good to normalize what I am going through.
I hope that we will be able to become friends. She is super friendly, and I think DH would get along with her husband (he was there for some of our conversation and put in his two cents, which was really cool). I guess the other thing that was encouraging to hear was how helpful it was for them to tell their story. They actually ended up sharing their testimony at a church event, and found that people were so supportive. I would love the opportunity to share our story sometime. I'm hoping to sit down and write it out, because I really don't know what I would say, or how to say it, or what to focus on. I think this issue needs to have more awareness. It seems like churches are especially bad. Somehow, talking about sex, or the product of sex is still a bit taboo. I think it's stupid. Especially with 1 in 6 couples dealing with infertility. There are probably many more people suffering in silence too. Once I figure out what to say, I'll probably post it on here for your consideration. I think that sharing would lead to such a greater sense of freedom for me. As I've mentioned before, I want to be sensitive to my DH, who is a bit more private than me about these things. I think for both of us, though, the support would be worth it.
That's all for now. I've been checking out a documentary that Kris suggested I listen to. You can find it on YouTube and it's called The Disappearing Male, by CBC. It is freaky! I want to get rid of everything in my house and start all over with chemical free everything! It is good for awareness though. I always thought people were crazy who completely got rid of plastic food dishes/toys/etc. but I think I will become one of them. Only wood and PVC-free toys for our baby! Check it out and let me know your thoughts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXdVJPaAauU
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