I Call This My Journey Of Infertility.

Today I would like to share my story with all the women who have gone thru or are experiencing what I have been through in my life.  I call this my journey of infertility.  It all began 5 years ago when I was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 34.  It started with a small ache in my pelvic region and some back pain, which progressively got worse.  My husband and I had been trying to get pregnant for almost a year and were never aware that something was wrong.   I underwent multiple surgeries to have the cysts removed and also had one damaged fallopian tube removed.  We already had one daughter without any difficulty at the age of 30, so I always assumed the second one would follow without difficulty.  I never in a million years thought that I wouldn’t be able to have more children.  After these surgeries, my specialists recommended trying IVF.  They all thought that since I had good egg quality and enough eggs IVF would be a success on my first attempt.  I did 3 rounds of IVF at women’s hospital.  Our embryos were of such good quality that they told me I had a strong chance of having twins if we proceeded with the two embryos and therefore decided to only transfer one.  Unfortunately, the first attempt failed.  On my second & third rounds of IVF they transferred two embryos and once again they both failed.  All three rounds failed even though my embryos were next to perfect.  The doctors were quite shocked and didn’t know what the problem was since my ovaries were good, my egg quality was good and the embryos were next to perfect.

I was devastated.  Going thru these hormone injections was hard enough but after each failed attempt with IVF my hopes of having another child were diminishing.  Emotionally I was very upset and angry at times. However, we weren’t ready to give up.  Overall I was a healthy person who exercised regularly and ate well.  I was always busy with work but never felt like I was over-stressed.  Next, we decided to try IVF again but at another clinic Genesis.  Once again a double embryo transfer failed.  As time went on the number of eggs that were being retrieved started to diminish.  Over the next 3 years, I wasn’t willing to give up so I started trying acupuncture before and after my IVF and regularly for 6 weeks prior to my next round of IVF

We then moved on to a third clinic, PCRM in Burnaby to try IVF again.  Each doctor would change our treatment protocol slightly but at the end of the day with each round of IVF we always had good embryos to transfer.  At PCRM they started transferring three embryos at a time and after three failed rounds of IVF at PCRM we were told to try donor eggs.  All the doctors were shocked that after 7 rounds of IVF I still wasn’t pregnant even though we were producing great embryos.  At this point, they all called it “Unexplained Infertility”.  I was devastated and an emotional wreck.  I cried a lot and my heart ached for a child.  Most of my rounds of IVF were done during December close to the holidays and each year the memories of not being able to conceive took a toll on me emotionally.  At this point, I was 38 years old and felt I was starting to get too old to have another child.  Emotionally I couldn’t handle another round of IVF. I was about to give up on the thought of ever having a child again when I met a friend who had undergone multiple failed rounds of IVF and then finally succeeded.  She asked me if I had been to Acubalance and I told her I had never heard of it.  She told me before giving up to give it a try.  At this point, we had spent close to $100,000 on IVF and I figured I had nothing to lose.  I called Acubalance and went for a consult with Dr. Ryan Funk.

 I was skeptical at this point as I didn’t think there was anything else anyone could offer me after all this modern medicine had failed me.  I went in with an open mind, as I knew I had nothing to lose.  At this point, I was suffering from stronger pain from my endometriosis.  The seven rounds of IVF and hormone injections also took a toll on my body.  After meeting Dr. Funk we decided to try treatment consisting of weekly acupuncture and traditional Chinese herbs for a period of 3 months and then try one last round of IVF.  He also changed my diet eliminating the dairy and I continued to exercise about 3 times per week.  He also ordered some tests for me to check my egg quantity, which came back optimistic for my age.  His treatment was cleansing my body and increasing blood flow to my uterus.  After the first 4 weeks of treatment, my pelvic pain started to decrease and I started to feel better.  After 8 weeks of treatment, I told Dr. Funk that emotionally I wasn’t ready for IVF.  I wasn’t ready to go through that pain again of a failed attempt so we decided to just continue with the weekly treatment.  Although the herbs tasted disgusting I could tell they were working.  I had next to no pain; lots of energy and I just felt different.

My husband and I constantly monitored ovulation and would try each month to conceive.  Then one day, 12 weeks into treatment, I realized that my menstrual cycle was late.  I thought no big deal but after being late for 3 days I tried a home pregnancy test and it was positive.  I thought it was a mistake so I went to the doctor to do a urine pregnancy test again and she confirmed I was pregnant approximately 2 weeks.  I cried tears, as I couldn’t believe it and the walk in doctor thought that I was upset because I was pregnant at the age of 38 accidentally.  When I told her no I was overjoyed as I had been trying to conceive for almost 5 years and had undergone 7 failed attempts of IVF she quickly ordered a battery of tests to ensure everything was fine.  The doctors at PCRM called me back to their office to offer me an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy and I took them up on their offer.  They confirmed the pregnancy was a viable pregnancy and the joy I was experiencing was an understatement.

I returned to Acubalance for my regular weekly appointment and told Dr. Funk the good news.  I had never been happier in my life.  I continued acupuncture treatment at Acubalance for the next 9 months and at the age of 39 I delivered a healthy 8-pound baby girl.  To all the women out there who are ready to give up on their hope of having a child, I’m telling you to give Acubalance a chance.  I only wish that I had known about Acublance years ago as I honestly believe all the pain I have gone thru in the years may have despaired me.  Without Dr. Ryan Funk my daughter would not be here today and the pain of all my failed IVF’s and not being able to have a child would have followed me through my life.  Today I can honestly say my life is finally complete and none of this would have ever been possible without Acubalance and without Dr. Ryan Funk. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.