Napro in the News

Not much to report today, so I decided to do a google news search for napro. I found three articles.


Dr. Edward Fleming, a napro trained dr joined the Dillsburg Family Health Center in PA.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/polish-govt.-will-pay-for-test-tube-babies-despite-pressure-from-catholic-b/
Poland is 90% Catholic. A group of 100 Polish scientists were dismayed by the IVF plan after issuing a document urging the government to pursue NaProTechnology as an ethically acceptable and highly successful method of treating infertility. The government is now going to pay for IVF. This comes despite strong opposition from the country’s Catholic bishops who have threatened to excommunicate politicians who publicly support IVF.

 http://www.ndsmcobserver.com/viewpoint/something-better-than-contraception-1.2947509#.UJ-d-aCk-Sp
 Lindsey Marugg is a senior majoring in music and pre-med at Our Lady’s University. She can be reached at lmarugg@nd.edu

In her article she had two ruptured cysts and went to the ER. She went on birth control and had issues with others at school. She said that  the most common medicine prescribed for endometriosis is birth control, and the most common treatment for infertility caused by endo is ART. She concluded "Now here’s something that should strike a nerve with Catholic women. Are the only options birth control when you don’t want kids and in-vitro when you do?"  

She worked on a study in Omaha and said, "I can tell you that the science behind NaProTechnology is real.  Beyond that, I am a success story myself. I have polycystic ovarian disease, am on medication to treat the underlying problem and am now 8 natural cycles in a row, pain free. NaProTechnology has been successfully treating endometriosis without birth control for years."
 
At the end she raised a great point, "Why does no one at Our Lady’s University know about NaPro? If we claim to be a preeminent Catholic research institution, why isn’t NaPro on our radar? Why don’t we ever talk about how the World Health Organization labels hormonal birth control a class 1 carcinogen? The conversation always seems to fall back on: “The Catholic Church is against women.” False. The Catholic Church has been right all along.  Catholic teaching has led to a better way.  One that I confidently stand behind not based on the Catholic teaching alone, but on the proof offered in scientific statistics and in my own life. There is something better than contraception. But we need to open our hearts and minds to it.

I wrote her a letter bc I felt a connection to her frustration about lack of awareness of Napro. 

What a Great Day!

Yesterday I had a great day!

I woke up and had a pos OPK. I love seeing those two blue lines bc they might just be the only ones I ever see. It is also a reassurance that part of my system is working. This happened on CD15 which is great. That is back to my usual. Last month it was much later due to stress. I took my trigger.

Later on that day my dr's office called and made an apt for next week. I was happy to hear back and have something written down. It was Friday, dress down day, and a pay day, so that just made it even better.

My work situation continues to improve. My boss gave me a compliment on something I did. I had to work on something with the teachers that I had an issue with in Sept. I did a great job collaborating and then I came up with a great idea and everyone loved it. I was so happy to hear that. I enjoy working there and I want to be able to move forward.

After school I was just cleaning my room when my cell phone rings and it was my napro Dr. =)   I told him that I just made an apt to talk with him next week. =)  He is so great. I love the compassion and positive energy in his voice. We spoke about doing the lap surgery. He said that there is a possibility that if he takes away too much tissue I could go into early menopause. Yikes. At this point I am not willing to risk that. Then we talked about how all my napro stats are great. I mentioned the polyps and how I was worried that they may have come back in the past 3 years. He agreed to do the hysteroscopy and also check my tubes. I am so thrilled. I told him that I need to know that my uterus is in top shape before I get into any more medications. The dr that did the last one 3 years ago was not napro so I am excited to have my napro surgeon get a good look and give me his expert opinion.

We also spoke about using nsaids to calm down inflammation. I have heard many people talk about using them. I have always avoided them due to my lufs, since nsaids can make it worse. My Dr said that there is some research that a specific nsaid can help with implantation. He suggested that I only use it post peak after the threat of lufs is over. I also have thick blood, so this will thin it also. I did a google search and found an article on  piroxicam and implantation rates    The implantation rate was 12.3 vs. 7.7% (p-value = 0.04) and the clinical pregnancy rate was 25.5 vs. 10% (p-value = 0.015) in the piroxicam vs. control groups, respectively.  

Even though the article is talking about IVF, we can use this information for non ivf too. It mentioned  prostaglandins which is something people like me with endo have issues with. It said that they can increase uterine contractions and decrease receptivity of embryo and nsaids block prostaglandins. I am going to try this after my procedure.

New ideas?

Today is CD10, so AF already came and went. No surprise there. My DH was sweet this month. I usually do not tell him when I get a bfn, I will just wait for af, I guess I still cling on to that last chance miracle. This time I told him the day I took the test. He came home that night and brought me a rose. It was a sweet gesture. We usually do not even talk about it. This time it was nice to bring it out into the open. We talked about the future. I am getting to the point of hitting another dead end. I have been here before. Last year I was at a dead end with my LUFS and then I found something to treat it and also my immune issues.

My latest plan was to address the blood clotting disorders with lovenox. I did that for three months in a row. I am not sure if it is doing anything. I see the hematologist in March. I am taking this month off from the us monitoring apts, and lovenox This way I can let my body relax from the welts and bruises from the shots and the blood thinners since they have a risk of osteoporosis. I am still going to take the trigger so I do not get a cyst. I will most likely take the progesterone. I need to take a break while I go over my options.

I would like to have another napro surgery. I wrote my Dr. a letter and I am waiting for his call to discuss it with him. I had my endo removed 2 years ago. I had uterine polyps removed 3 years ago. My right ovary is now covered in endo and does not work. I am worried that since it took me two years to discover my immune issue that my polyps came back. I do not even know if my tube is still open. We all know that surgery  can be a game changer for many. My friend had been TTC for 5 years. Then she had surgery and bam 3 months later got pg.

I have also been searching the web for anything else I have missed. I found some information on Ferritin levels. It seems that if your level is too low that can cause infertility and if your level is too high that can also cause infertility. So you cannot just take supplements if you do not know what your level is. I am going to ask to get that tested. My CBC came back normal last week. Your hemoglobin measures your short term iron levels and the ferritin measures your long term storage. Has anyone ever had this checked out? I am the point of checking anything that has even the slightest chance.

I found these articles
http://www.endfatigue.com/health_articles_f-n/Infertility-effective_natural_treatment.html
http://www.irondisorders.org/Websites/idi/files/Content/854256/HHC%20FACT2010.pdf

Then I saw something about thyroid  that sounded just like me. My tests came back normal but yet I have the symptoms below. I know that many women get their thyroid treated and it works. I am not sure if I want to mess around with my thyroid.

• "If you have a tendency to constipation, cold intolerance, dry skin and thin hair, and/or temperatures which run under 98.2 during the day, there is a good chance your thyroid may be slightly underactive despite normal blood tests. In the absence of underlying heart disease, a trial of a low dose of thyroid hormone (e.g. Armour Thyroid 1/2 grain a day) may help you get pregnant and has a low risk of causing problems." 

 My plan for now is to research new ideas and wait to talk with my Dr. I am hoping to have surgery next month, see the hematologist in March and then have a new plan in April.

NaPro Surgeon Signs with Richmond Hospital

Today I got an email from a reader who is also trying to help support  napro. She mentioned that a new napro trained surgeon will be opening up her practice in Richmond Virginia in August of 2012. I am so excited to share this news. We need to keep passing on good news like this, so that everyone can see that napro is growing. Here is some info about the new dr with a link to the full article.

http://www.nfpworksblog.com/2011/12/14/napro-surgeon-signs-with-richmond-hospital/

Christine Louise Cimo Hemphill, M.D. is an obstetrician/gynecologist who is completing her fellowship training in Medical & Surgical NaProTECHNOLOGY with Dr. Thomas Hilgers, co-creator of the Creighton Model FertilityCare System.

In August, 2012, she starts at a new practice at St. Francis Medical Center, a hospital within the Bon Secours Hospital System in the Richmond, Virginia area. Her focus will be mainly infertility patients, but will continue to practice general obstetrics and gynecology.

It will be great to have another surgeon on the east coast.  If you are FCP in the Richmond area, be sure to mark your calendar.

Christy's Success Story

I met Christy on the Yahoo catholic IF forum. We had a connection since we both had Lufs. She recently got her BFP so I asked her to write her story to encourage others to try napro. Thank you Christy for sharing.

______________________________________________________________________________

I got my first period in 8th grade and from that time on, I had 1 or 2 periods a year.  When I did get a period, I would bleed for 3 weeks, it was awful!  I was terrified in high school because I never knew when to expect my period and when it started it was almost immediately a very heavy flow.  Even scarier was that no doctor could give me an explanation for what was happening and why my body wasn't functioning as it should.  I started seeing the gyn when I was 16, I cried because I was very modest and couldn't bear being examined by a male doctor, but my mom was really concerned about me and didn't know what else to do.  This doctor had delivered all of my siblings and he was apparently a "good Catholic doctor." When I was 18 he shamed and scared me into starting the BCP.  He told me I would get cancer otherwise and he told me while my mom was out of the room, "Is your mom gonna give me grief about the BCP because you are Catholic?"

I was on the pill for 2 years and it caused me to gain weight and become depressed and have panic attacks.  So I took myself off of it.  After graduating from college with a degree in biology/chemistry/philosophy minor, I wanted to pursue bioethics.  I still wasn't having regular cycles and getting responses like "you might have a brain tumor or why do you want to have regular periods, are you trying to get pregnant?" from the docs I saw.  Eventually I became so jaded I just stop seeing doctors altogether.  Until I met Dr Hilgers.  A good friend of mine was working for him as a research assistant and told me he was hosting a bioethics conference at the Pope Paul VI Institute.  So I went and I love every minute of it.  Dr Hilgers kept saying how much research needed to be done and I told him I would love to conduct research for him.  After he got a grant he asked me to work for him, so I moved from Cleveland to Omaha and got started.  I loved my work, it was fascinating!  At the same time, I got trained as a FertilityCare Practitioner and also worked for Dr Hilgers teaching his patients how to chart the Creighton Model.  I also started seeing a Practitioner and began charting and made an appointment with Dr Hilgers.  He took one look at my chart and said he was 95% sure I had polycystic ovaries.  He did some blood test and an ultrasound to confirm.  Finally at 25 years old I had a diagnosis!!  He started me on progesterone therapy and I have had regular cycles ever since.  He also told me that I might have difficulty conceiving when I got married, so I was somewhat prepared for the infertility journey I would face.

My husband and I discussed adoption as an option before we got married to make sure we were on the same page.  Having accurate information actually made me feel more empowered and it also made me feel that infertility would be something my husband and I dealt with together, I wasn't going to be alone in it.

A year after we were married, we flew back to Omaha (I had moved back home) and I had an ovarian wedge resection.  I recovered very easily from the surgery but Dr Hilgers said that he was concerned about adhesions since my ovaries were pretty "fried" from the many years of untreated severe PCOD.  I also had minor endometriosis.  He also discovered I was hypothyroid and started me on T3.  2 cycles after that we conceived, but it was a chemical pregnancy.  A few cycles after that I started clomid and letrezol and we conceived again, only to lose the baby at 8weeks.  I was devastated!  18 months later, we had a repeat Lap and Dr Hilgers lasered some adhesions and minor endometriosis and made sure both tubes were unblocked.  We stared back on clomid and letrezol and Dr Hilgers monitored my hormones to see if any medication changes increased them enough for us to start trying to achieve again, with less risk for miscarriage.  But nothing raised my hormone levels, they were rock bottom for years.  During this time I was on many medications and also getting periovulatory blood draws and post peak blood draws (about 6-8 blood tests a month) and having to ship the blood samples to Dr Hilgers overnight with dry ice.  (He was monitoring the quality of ovulation with the blood tests).  One time I went to Dicks sporting good store to purchase a small Styrofoam cooler to use to ship the blood sample and the clerk accused me of being a drug dealer!  He was a former policeman and apparently people who buy these coolers to ship things with dry ice use them to cure marijuana.  I didn't tell him I'm not a drug dealer, I need this to ship my blood because I thought he would freak out even more!  After a few years of low hormones on ovulation induction meds, I asked Dr Hilgers if he would do an ultrasound series and he did and discovered I had LUFs.  So I tried about 6 months of ultrasounds and HCG trigger dose and no pregnancy.  He also treated a uterine infection with 6 months of antibiotics.

In the meantime we discussed adoption with Dr Hilgers and he said he was in full support.  We started the process in 2007 (5 years TTC) and adopted our oldest daughter Gianna as a new born in May of 2008.  What a miracle (TTC! 

Then I had a third and forth surgery.  Dr Hilgers didn't have his current adhesion prevention protocol in place when I had my wedge resection, so he was still concerned about adhesions.  So I had a third Lap and he lasered extensive adhesions and covered my ovaries in gortex to allow the surface to heal without causing scaring or adhesions, then a week or so later he did another Lap to remove the gortex.  The ovaries looked good!  About 6 months after that, he discussed cortisol treatment for adrenal fatigue.  I was one of his first patients to start this protocol. I suffered from constant severe fatigue and was diagonosed by Dr Hilgers with severe adrenal fatigue.  I felt like a new woman on cortisol!  I find it truly amazing how tirelessly Dr Hilgers searches for a cure for infertility.  At this point, I had been a patient of his for nearly 10 years (ttc 7years) and he never gave up on me, he was always looking to improve my health and make me feel better, besides helping us to conceive.  After 9 months on the cortisol and starting synthroid, we found out we were expecting our second daughter Catherine, who was born a happy and healthy progesterone fed baby in May of 2010.  After 7 years of infertility!  God is so good!

When Catherine was 6 months old we thought about actively trying to achieve again.  I knew I had LUFs and Dr Hilgers was looking at a new protocol for that from a doc in Japan.  He asked me if I wanted to try it and I said sure!  So in June of 2011 we started our 1st cycle of Neupogin and HCG trigger and I ovulated!!  But no pregnancy.  We continued for a few months and no ovulation, just ovarian cysts.  I took a month off and we stared up again.  I told myself, I will try this until December and then I am just going to focus on enjoying my 2 girls, my 2 gifts from God.  And on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception we found out we are expecting!  Wow! I still can't believe it!  So far my progesterone levels are good, so that is a good sign of a healthy pregnancy.  I can't wait to see my local ob/gyn and say we are expecting again, she thinks Dr Hilgers is a bit of a quack and I love proving her wrong!

Hope my story is helpful.  Thanks for posting it.
Christy

Gianna Center Seeks to Expand Beyond New York

A friend of mine just sent me this link to a new article about napro and the Gianna Center. I try to search Google for articles but they are sometimes hard to find. If you see a new one, please contact me. I always make a post about it and then I add a link to my section on articles.
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/gianna-centers-pro-life-medicine-seeks-to-expand-beyond-new-york/

This is a great article bc it goes through the histroy of the Gianna Center and how they had to adjust when St. Vincent's closed. Now they are part of St. Peter's and have opened up two locations. They are working on opening more.

Here are some quotes from the article.

"Now the Gianna Center is back in its original office in Manhattan, run by Nolte, and has opened a second office at St. Peter’s Hospital, run by Dr. Kyle Beiter, an obstetrician-gynecologist who delivers babies and performs surgery, while specializing in NaPro technology as well. Under the auspices of St. Peter’s Hospital, the Gianna Center accepts health-insurance plans again and there are plans afoot to open additional offices across the country."

“The work of the Gianna Center is totally consistent with our Catholic principles and our special emphasis on women and children,” Rak said, pointing out that St. Peter’s Hospital is sponsored by the Diocese of Metuchen, N.J. “Their approach to medicine fully complements what we are doing at St. Peter’s, and we are looking to expand these services beyond the confines of New Jersey. Patients come from very long distances for their services because they cannot find this kind of care where they live.”

Although most people think of NFP as only a Catholic Church-approved method to delay conception, the Gianna Center is serving many women from across the country who seek help with infertility problems through NaPro technology.

Maureen  and her husband were married nearly five years without a child when they found that physicians in their area did not know how to treat infertility in a morally acceptable way. The Catholic couple rejected in vitro fertilization, which is prohibited by the Church because it separates conception from the conjugal act by joining egg and sperm in a petri dish. The couple found a NaPro family physician in New Jersey, who eventually referred them to Dr. Beiter at the Gianna Center, where surgery was performed to treat endometriosis.

Two months after the surgery, Maureen became pregnant. She said that she and her husband are expecting a child in April, and hope to have a large family. “You have to trust God,” said Wilkins, who is 30 years old, “because you never know what will happen.”

My New Favorite Nurse

Today I went in for my CD3 baseline follicle scan. You never know what crazy stuff you will find in there. I got a new nurse. I have been going to my clinic for many years now and all the nurses know me by name. The Dr who owns this clinic closed another one that he owns so he brought those nurses here. We introduced ourselved and made small talk. You have to get to know someone before they probe you right? She was very nice her name was C. She said she has been doing this for 30 years. Good, I thought, she has experience.

Then I had to give her my right ovary's history. It has some crazy things that are always there, some of the nurses have had trouble with it. She takes a look and knows what I am talking about. Yeah. I had a large 45 mm cyst from August and it was still there, but it now has an irregular shape and seems to be shrinking. She said that sometimes when they are large they take a while to go away. It was ok bc it was on my right and that one does not really work anyway.

Then she goes to the left. It was a clean slate. YEAH. That means no new cyst!!! Hoorah this is a big deal for me. Then she wins me over and becomes my favorite. She took her time to really check me out. A lot of the nurses do not bother and they just rush. She started to look at my antral follicle count. None of the nurses had ever bothered to count them before. She counts then and tells me the number. I asked her what is normal. She says that it varies so I got worried. I asked her what she thought about mine and she said it was "nice" NICE NICE NICE OH YEAH. I was so excited to hear someone say that my ovary looked nice. I got so excited that I feel hopeful again.

We talked about LUFS and she knew what it was. WOW Nobody knows what that is outside of Napro.  I used to request S but now I am going to request C. She seemed to understand me and did not judge me.

I am so excited to have a new favorite nurse......=)

Since I got the BFN I have been thinking about what went wrong. I know that sometimes it takes a normal person a few months, but I am not normal so I worry. I have the lufs under control, the NK under control. I started the blood thinners so now I am wondering if I am taking enough. I go to the Dr for a CBC next week. I am going to try to get a test done to check if I am getting enough. If that is fine, then the last piece must be my uterus. I tested low for uterine embryo protection cells so I may have to find another treatment to address that. I thought the neupogen would cover it but I am not sure. My only other thought is that 3 years ago I had uterine polyps removed and maybe they came back.

Two Years of Creighton Model Charting Completed

Today I started my 5th chart. At first I was really bummed to start a new chart bc that means AF is here. I started to think about how I have been charting for two years and how far I have come.

When I first started TTC back before napro I did a BBT chart. That is when I first diagnosed myself with a short luteal phase. I was so proud to show my obgyn but then he told me it was a waste of time and would only cause me stress. Then I went for two years with no charts at all. The RE did not belive in any type of charting either. The RE told me my cycles were normal bc they were 28 days long.

When I first started napro in November of 2009 I was happy to be able to record some data again. They not only encouraged it but they needed this information to make a personal diagnosis.  Right from the start my charts gave my napro dr some valuable information. (Up to this point I had been labeled unexplained and the RE had told me that nothing was wrong with me.) The first issue discovered was my TEBB. I was shocked because I had it my whole life and thought it was normal. I never ever had any gyn dr ask me what my af was like. They always said I was normal bc I had 28 day cycle.

Then right away another issue popped up. I had really long CM cycles. The funny thing is that before charting I never knew that CM even existed. I remember when I went off BCP that I saw something weird. Now I laugh at myself because it was a large amount of CM. I had never had it before bc I was on BCP for so many years. Then even went I went off them I was not looking for it so I did not know that it was normal. Charting taught me some really important facts about the human body that I did not know.

Charting also helped me to realize that I would never ever need to go back on BCP. At this point  being that I am still IF, and have some blood clotting issues I would never go back on them anyway. But, if the need ever came up, I now have the skills to be able to plan naturally. I wish I was taught this stuff way back when. They taught me about BCP in public school. Around the same time period in religious ed they told me not to use it, but they never told us what we could do. Even at our wedding prep, there was only a pamphlet. When you are 25 and think you know it all why would you bother?? I really wish that class was a mandatory part of pre-cana. 

So back to my charts. Well my peak day was also late around day 21 which goes with the 28 day cycles that appear to be normal but in reality I had a short luteal phase. I had surgery and my peak day started to move closer to cd 15. I still struggled with long cm cycle but at least I was able to get off of the yellow stamps.

So after two years of charting: my peak day is now around 14-16, my cm cycle is now in the normal range. I still need to take progesterone supplements or I will have a short luteal phase. At least AF is predictable which makes life easier when dealing with events, trip, dr apts etc. When I stop the supplements af arrives on the 4th day after. I like to time it so when I need to go in on day 3 for my us it does not land on the  weekend when the dr is closed.

I am so glad that I learned how to chart. I have a record of my cycle for the past two years. I can see the progress that I have made. My charts look more normal. There are patterns that help me to plan my life. I learned a lot about my body and found a healthy natural way to regulate my cycles.

I had my annual review session with my FCP. She is so wonderful. We talk on the phone bc even though she is the closet to me, she still lives hours away. She gave me a good grade on my charts. She encouraged me to become a FCP. Honestly I would love to, but it is a big commitment which is one of the reasons the program is so great. I wish they had a FCP juniors I would love to get trained on the first session. I would go around and make the rounds at pre-cana or some sort of meeting. I would explain the program and give an intro to a group. Then I would provide them with info on the FCP to work with. I am a teacher and I would love to teach the basics and get other women excited about the program. We don't have anyone in our area and it would be great to generate interest. Maybe then someone else would want to become a full term FCP.

I encourage anyone who has not been through the program to learn how to chart. Let me know if you need information on who to contact to get started.

Redbook’s No-Shame Campaign

Redbook magazine partnered with Resolve The National Infertility  Association to create the no shame campaign called "the truth about trying". The goal is to bring infertility out in the open and provide women with support. There is going to be an article about infertility in the November issue of Redbook.

There is also an online component with videos and links. I watched some of the videos and it made me cry. Here is the link to the videos I think that this could really help some women who feel isolated and alone. I was a little disappointed with the support information. I am hoping that they will add more as this grows. They had some links to women's blogs.

I then checked out the link to  infertility treatments and I was not happy.  The only treatments listed were clomid, iui, IVF, and egg freezing. So I am going to launch my own campaign here today and I hope you will join me.Here is a link to the a page about treatments.

I would like to send Redbook magazine a message from those of us who choose not to do IVF. I would like them to know that it is not the only option. If they really want to explore the "truth about trying" then I am hoping that they will include us.

I am going to send them an email explaining that there are more treatments available. I am going to ask them to do an article in their magazine about napro and other methods such as immune issues. Can you please help me? Would you also send them a request? If you want, you can also include your blog for their blog page. I found the contact information for the editor. Maybe they will ignore us, but maybe if enough of us send a message, they will do a follow up article next month. If you send something in, please let me know. You can leave a comment or send me an email.
THANK YOU!
-Simone

Redbook
Editorial Offices
300 West 57th St.
22nd Floor
New York, NY 10019

redbook@hearst.com

Hematologist and Napro Dr visit.

Okay so I am taking a break from my vacation story. Last night I wrote a post about the next day and then blogger malfunctioned and I lost it. I thought I could get the whole vacation story done first, but I have had some TTC updates that I want to share. I will continue with the vacation story another day. Writing about that trip makes me so happy. It reminds me that life does not have to revolve around us apt and taking meds.

Last week I saw a hematologist for the first time. I made the appointment last month. I was nervous that she would think the blood clotting issues and if link was bogus. She was great. She knew all about lovenox and said it was safe to use. She has many pregnant patients on it. She wants to monitor my CBC monthly to make sure my platelets do not go too low. She also said to take extra calcium bc lovenox can cause osteoporosis. She has a lab in her office. She took my blood. Then I walked down the hall and she already had the results. I was amazed. My levels were great so she cleared me to start. I was so excited that she was nice and on board. She said she would be happy to be part of my team.

Yesterday I traveled to see my napro dr. His office is 3 hours away. I speak to him often on the phone, but I had not seen him in person for a year.  I also needed to get the some tests done with a uterine biopsy. He said I could do it locally.  I do not trust a non napro dr as much as I trust him so  I thought it might be a good idea to visit. He recently moved into a new office space. It was very nice. Everyone who works in his office was very nice.The first thing I got done, was an us. At my local clinic, they said they saw something on my ovary. I wanted a second opinion from someone who I can trust. So I had TCIE scan me. It was great to finally meet her. I was a little shy bc I read her blog and meeting her was like meeting a celebrity. She was very thorough and kind. It turns out that they were correct. I do have some endo regrowth on my ovary. It has been 1.5 years since my surgery and I knew that it would come back someday. I am just very thankful that God gave me two ovaries bc my left one is still clean. I am also thankful that my fibroids did not grow back. She said my uterus was moving and then the dr said that was great bc it meant it was not stuck to anything with adhesions. Yeah!

Then came the biopsy. I was worried about how much this was going to hurt. My dr is so gentle that he takes his time and tries to make sure he is not hurting you if possible. I have been to many drs and some of them will just get rough bc they rush. It was not too bad. Crampy but not sharp pain. This got sent out to check for all sorts of things.

At this point I got the green light to start the lovenox next month. I feel like I am getting ready to go into battle. I had the summer off from US apts and any real expectation of TTC. Now next month I am getting back into the game. It was nice not having any expectations. Now I am scared to try again.

Starting next cycle on CD6, I will take a shot of lovenox daily and then add a shot of neupogen around peak. UGH but I can do this. I am going to try this for 3-6 months if I can stand it. If this does not work, I have nothing left. But that is what I said last Nov. Last Nov, I had nothing left to try and my LUFS was really bad. Now almost a year later, I found out about my high NK cells and my blood clotting.

New Article: Gianna Center

I like to search Google news for infertility topics to see what is new. I was surprised today when I saw a photo of Dr. Beiter and his nurse Jamey in an article about the Gianna Center in NJ.
Here is the link, Pass it on.
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The Gianna Center for Women’s Health is named after Italian pediatrician St. Gianna Beretta Molla, who sacrificed her life for her unborn child in 1962, and embodies the saint’s devotion to Catholic morals. The FertilityCare certified center offers women natural ways to overcome infertility, a condition that affects about 7.3 million women of childbearing age.

Affiliated with St. Peter’s University Hospital and located on Easton Avenue in New Brunswick, the center officially opened its doors to patients in November 2010 and is steadily increasing in popularity.
The original Gianna center, located in Manhattan, opened in 2009 with funding by the former St. Vincent’s Hospital and is now privately owned.
St. Peter’s University Hospital lacked sufficient fertility care resources in 2010 and reached out to Beiter and Anne Meilnik, M.D. who is the director of the New York office.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the therapies used by other practitioners are destructive to early human life,” center director, obstetrician, and gynecologist Kyle Beiter, M.D., said. “We aim to respect human life at all ages, from the embryo to the old adult. This is not always easy or convenient to do but we believe that it is the right thing to do.”

Aside from general ob/gyn consultations and treatment, the center promotes NaProTECHNOLOGY and the Creighton Model FertilityCare System, two natural fertility treatment methods based on patient education and pattern observation. The hospital is the first in the state to offer these methods, Beiter said.
Beiter studied NaProTECHNOLOGY under a selective fellowship at Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha with Thomas Hilgers, M.D., the chief researcher of NaPro.

The Gianna Center is part of a network of 200 to 300 centers across the country that provide NaProTECHNOLOGY, most of which are run by family practitioners who refer to gynecologists like Beiter for procedures on a weekly, if not daily basis.Referrals are received from a wide range of areas, including but not limited to Massachusetts, Connecticut, the Tri-State area, and Florida.

“There are many women who don’t want contraception or birth control forced on them, and don’t want abortion as an option,” Beiter said in a press release. “For those reasons, we have found, many of them hadn’t gone to a gynecologist in years.”
Patients can choose to use the care-based procedures as alternatives to control-based methods such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) for treating infertility, or to avoid pregnancy by identifying detailed patterns in her menstrual cycle.

In avoiding pregnancy, the system is 96 percent effective; Birth control pills have a 92 percent effectiveness rate, according to Beiter.  “With fertility, our goal is to help conception through active intercourse between husband and wife, the most natural way,” Beiter said. “[Patients] respond in favor to it though we don’t force it on anyone.”

The center provides patients with additional testing to determine whether IVF can be avoided and if the couple can proceed with a natural pregnancy after treatment at the center. Because the center does not use IVF, an important goal is removing all disease.
Dr. Hilgers made significant developments in adhesion to reduce scar tissue build up, which is a common problem after surgery, according to Beiter.

“Our philosophy is that you can equal results by putting out far less cash out of your pocket,” Phillip Hartman, Director of Public Relations for St. Peter’s University Hospital said of the treatment, which is much less expensive for patients than IVF.
The center appeals to Catholic patients who hold ethical concerns as well as those who seek a more natural treatment.