Nurse Suzie’s Fertility Journey:
Part 1:
I always wanted to be a mom. Some people just know. And for me, it was always there since I was a kid. I was 27 (so young) when I launched Binto in 2016, and I wasn’t even engaged, but after years of working in the women’s reproductive health space, I knew that taking care of my fertility was very important. And, this is obviously a massive part of what we focus on at Binto.
Let me back up several years to when I got my period in the 7th grade. I started menstruating at age 13 and immediately started suffering from debilitating cramps – so bad my dad had to drive to a friend’s house one morning and take me home because of the pain I was in from cramps. After a few years of bad cramps and an irregular cycle, my mom brought me into my doctor, and she but me on birth control pills (Yasmine). For years (in high school and college), I suffered from hormonal problems, acne, breakthrough bleeding, and cramps, and then I finally learned everything I know today when I began my career as a fertility nurse and started to learn more about how to regulate your cycle, hormones, and how food and lifestyle make a huge difference. Thus Binto was born, and from 2015 – 2020 I was living almost pain-free and felt great (with some occasional inflammation).
After three years of marriage, my husband and I finally decided to start trying to get pregnant in December of 2019. I did all the things! Tracked my cycle, took my Binto, used LH kits, and cut back on alcohol (not hard because I don’t drink much anyways). After three months of trying with no success, I reached out to Dr. Maureen Kelly, an advisor on Binto’s medical board, to see if I could come in with Pat and get a fertility workup. The results? Not great. We found a polyp on my uterus that needed to be removed, and we confirmed that I likely have endometriosis, given my medical history of painful periods and inflammation. I was a complete wreck. How could I have infertility? I’ve spent my life working to support couples trying to get pregnant, launched a company on a mission to advance reproductive technology, and here I was, unable to get pregnant myself. I felt like a sham.
As the world shut down in March of 2020, so did our plans for fertility treatments. After several months of waiting, I underwent surgery at the end of June 2020 to remove the uterine polyp. In July, we had a failed letrozole with timed intercourse cycle, and then in August, we got pregnant with letrozole and IUI. We were ecstatic. It worked! I felt symptoms, and I thanked my lucky stars that we didn’t have to do IVF. On September 9th, it all fell apart. There was no heartbeat and the pregnancy was not viable.
Infertility is cruel. It robs you of so much time, energy, joy…life. We each go through different experiences. It doesn’t matter how early a loss is or how many rounds of IVF you do; the pain is still there. And it sucks. I hope that sharing these stories helps you find solace in your journey with infertility and pregnancy loss.
Read more in part two of my fertility journey where we talk more about IVF and new treatment options like the ERA, Receptiva test and the Emma and Alice test.