October 07 2020
Infertility Diagnoses to Natural Conceptions
We spent over 30 combined years in our practices as natural fertility doctors…
In that time we've seen literally thousands of women coming to the doors of our office asking for help with infertility struggles. Time and time again, we’ve been able to help women begin their families using our tried-and-true methods to support fertility.
But for all those women we've seen over the years, and all of their stories that we've heard, we haven't spent a lot of time talking about ourselves.
Until today.
Most people don’t know this…
But the reason we became involved in natural fertility in the first place is because both of us have struggled in our personal lives with infertility.
We were both told in our early 20s that we would likely never be able to have children.
And then we were both like, “Um, no,” and did it anyway.
We knew there had to be a way for us to conceive naturally. And as it turned out, there was.
Here are our stories…
Dr. Kara
The body can heal itself. That’s the lesson in my story.
When I was about 20, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I had to get two surgeries to remove the massive cyst, and I eventually had to get one of my ovaries removed.
Doctors told me I would probably be infertile.
By the time I started trying to get pregnant, I was in my medical residency with two degrees- one in acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine the other in Naturopathic medicine.
I changed my diet. I started seeing a truly incredible acupuncturist. I changed my lifestyle so that everything I did was focused on becoming pregnant.
But I still struggled. I had five miscarriages. It was awful.
I was in this deep, dark space. And I was too embarrassed and heartbroken to share about my experiences with other people, because all around me, my friends were having successful pregnancies.
And I really do believe that if I had known then what I know now about natural fertility support, I would have been able to naturally conceive my first child.
Now, I know how depleted my body was from the endometriosis, years of hormone imbalance, and exposure to environmental toxins. But at the time, I turned to the only potential solution I could.
I went to an IVF clinic.
As a naturopath, I felt almost wrong going in. But I knew I would do whatever it took to get pregnant.
And... it worked!
Fast-forward and my beautiful son is now 13. After the hormonal changes that happened during my first pregnancy, and after years of studying naturopathic fertility support, my body was able to heal itself and I became pregnant with my daughter completely naturally.
Without the support of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, herbs, and dietary changes, the IVF might not have worked for me. Which is why I believe so strongly that the natural fertility work we do can be life-changing, even for women on the IVF path. Because that was me.
Why not do everything you can to support your body during the process, and turn it into the best soil possible for life to grow?
Most doctors would never look at my case of severe endometriosis and think I could naturally conceive.
The worst part was the miscarriages. The false hope. Trying everything under the sun and having no results. And the awful physical pain from the endometriosis.
But that experience…
Learning firsthand how chaotic IVF can be, the constant medication changes and doctor appointments, the painful progesterone shots, not to mention all the stress…
Put me on the path I’m on today.
Now, I use my experience to help other women struggling with fertility.
Dr. Hillary
I was the girl who never got her period.
I was a ballet dancer and athlete. In my teens I was put on the pill to regulate my periods, and for years I did have a period, but my body didn’t agree with the hormones.
When I was 22, a doctor told me I had PCOS and would likely be infertile.
And I was like… wait, what?!
I realized that I’d been covering up a problem by taking the pill instead of trying to get to the bottom of why I didn’t have a period in the first place. And I felt like no one was helping me figure this out.
It was this frustrating feeling that I couldn’t do a very basic thing the body is supposed to do.
I felt like I was doing something wrong because I didn’t have a regular period. I was constantly thinking about being told that I was probably infertile, and it was a hopeless and terrifying feeling. I had an overwhelming sense that I didn’t understand what my body was telling me.
At the time, I was pre-med and the stress was all-consuming. It was impacting my entire body, including my reproductive system.
And it seemed like nothing I was doing was working.
So I turned to a naturopathic doctor for help.
I started regulating my cycle. I got aggressive about tracking my periods and working on my high testosterone and low progesterone. I was basically obsessive.
I stopped eating so much soy. I started taking herbs to regulate. I balanced out the hormonal imbalances that were caused by the PCOS.
That’s when I switched my focus from psychiatry to become a naturopathic doctor instead. I knew I wanted to spend my life helping other women naturally conceive the same way I had.
When I wanted to get pregnant, my cycles were three months long. So trying to figure out when I was ovulating was difficult.
But I had already known I would want to get pregnant one day, so I had started doing all this work a year in advance.
And when it was time to get pregnant, my body was ready.
I got pregnant, naturally!
Our stories are different, but we both know what it’s like to struggle with infertility.
We know how painful it is. But we also know that it is possible to come back from an unexplained infertility diagnosis.
We did it, and so have thousands of our patients over the years.
Because the truth is, there are aspects of infertility that a lot of people don’t think about. Things you might not even realize can impact your body and your reproductive system.
And it might be helpful for you, the same way it was helpful for us, to explore natural solutions.
To learn more about the hidden causes of infertility, check out our free resource: 3 Hidden Causes of Infertility.