I have dreamed of being a mama for many years. My husband and I have been married for over than nine years, and the topic of babies was always center in our lives. We never actively tried to conceive, and even though we didn’t try to prevent it, we never could conceive a child. Here’s our story: from PCOS, male infertility, failed IVF to a healthy baby!
I always knew something was not “working right”. I always had irregular periods due to PCOS (random periods only three to four times a year combined with abnormal bleeding). After consulting with several doctors, I eventually stopped pursuing treatments years ago when I was in my early twenties, mainly because I was told PCOS couldn’t be cured and only could be treated by taking birth control pills.
By the time I turned 31, I no longer had any justifiable reason to postpone the PCOS treatment or the pregnancy. Shortly after visiting our family doctor, we discovered we were also facing male factor infertility. After months of testing and despite the fact that he had two children from his first marriage, we found out my husband fell into a the infertility category. We then were referred to Olive Fertility Clinic and we were told with my husband’s situation, IVF was the only option.
While I was trying to understand and explore other options, I decided to reach out for a second opinion. I had heard acupuncture helps many couples conceive. After some research, I called Acubalance and spoke with Dr. Ryan Funk. It was a very short conversation, but I felt Ryan knew what we needed (we needed to be pregnant). Hoping that both of us could start our treatments, I tried to explain to my husband what I learned from Ryan, but my husband was skeptical about the benefits of acupuncture and TCM (and even IVF). Emotional pressure was too high, and I was too disappointed or perhaps depressed to even start my acupuncture treatments. We eventually started our IVF without acupuncture, despite the fact that something inside me was screaming, “why are you not getting help from TCM and what if this fails”.
Our IVF cycle didn’t go as planned and terminated right after egg retrieval. In addition to being extremely heartbroken, I was in excruciating physical pain due to severe OHSS. I turned to Ryan for help, and he was very kind to find a spot and ask me to see him immediately. I was too frustrated to try anything to improve my physical and emotional health, but Ryan was there to help me focus on some beneficial dietary and life style changes and most importantly to help me focus on the future. Within less than two weeks, I was fully recovered from OHSS.
I continued my treatments with Ryan, and put my heart and soul into following his valuable advice and instructions. It was intense and emotional, but I felt better and better week after week. I got my period naturally and without taking any medication, lost just over twenty pounds within less than three months and for the first time in years I began to feel right about my body.
Only three month after our first IVF cycle, I was ready to try the second cycle. I was scared of another failure, but every single time Ryan reminded me there was hope; he helped me to go on strongly despite my fear. From day one he was always available by e-mail, and very supportive every step of the way.
With Ryan’s support, we doubled the number of mature sized follicles (from 8 to 16) and doubled the number of fertilized follicles (from 6 to 12), and also increased the number of blastocysts developed. After all, we were able to finally proceed with embryo transfer, and about two weeks later, and just two days after my birthday, my miracle came and I was informed I was pregnant. I continued my weekly treatments with Ryan throughout my pregnancy, and had a very healthy and fabulous pregnancy and nine month later welcomed our baby boy.
Dear Dr. Ryan,
This has been an emotional life changing experience for us. Thanks for your support, for listening to me when I needed the most, and for giving us hope and encouragement, and most importantly thanks for taking the time to educate me during this journey. My sessions were absolutely relaxing and I looked forward to them each and every week. Scientific medical procedure, IVF, alone could not help us; it was your knowledge, commitment and passion that made it happen. I will forever be grateful and thankful for your compassionate, non-judgmental support and for your true concerns. You are a tremendous asset to Acubalance team. Your patience and attention to details was very comforting and I felt understood and very safe in your care. You were absolutely right; when I first hugged my baby and looked into his eyes, it no longer mattered what we experienced during this journey, all I was thinking was we were blessed with this precious baby and we couldn’t have had this moment without your help and for that we are forever in debt and you will be always be remembered in our family history.