Lilypie Maternity tickers

Lilypie Maternity tickers
Showing posts with label Infertility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Infertility. Show all posts

Friday, May 13, 2011

Creighton NaPro, Why am I just now hearing about this?!

My mother-in-law is becoming notorious for stumbling upon things which lead to amazing discoveries. First she found an ad in the local paper looking for subjects for a trial for infertility. This lead to Scott and I applying and then being accepted to the study in which we are currently participating.
Then last week she sent me an email she found in her SPAM box. It was about Catholic Infertility Treatment, which I thought was an oxymoron. I mean, most all ART is frowned upon by the Catholic Church and I have my own reservations and limits when it comes to treatments.
Well, I read the email from D and was incredibly interested. Did you know that there is a Catholic Infertility Treatment Center in Omaha Nebraska? It's called the Pope Paul VI Institute of Human Reproduction. And there are doctors all over the U.S. (although none in Michigan). There are Creighton Model Practitioners in the area and I've signed up for an introductory session in June. Based on what I have read so far the Creighton Model is an Natural Family Planning method that is also used to treat women's reproductive health and pinpoint fertility issues which allows the doctors to actually treat the issue. With traditional ART the doctors typically stimulate ovulation in the hopes of creating multiple eggs each cycle therefore increasing the chances that one of them will fertilize. Creighton doctors are trained in NaPro technology and look at a biomarkers during a woman's cycle, typically fertile and non-fertile fluid, in conjunction with monitoring hormones throughout her cycle in order to identify and treat various issues. The Creighton Model can treat various reproductive issues including infertility, postpartum depression, luteal phase (progesterone) defects, and other issues. Creighton Model doctors are also exceptionally trained in treating endometriosis, which as it turns out is something I will need.
My ultrasounds at our current RE have been showing a steady "cyst" in my left ovary each month. Each month it is the same size, which is not typical. Cysts usually shrink over a month or two. At our first ultrasound Dr. S said that he thought it could be endometriosis on my left ovary and that he would keep an eye on it. After it showed up again on Monday's ultrasound, I called and scheduled an appointment for a consultation. I had the appointment this afternoon and Dr. S is pretty certain it is indeed the dreaded endo. It has remained less than 20mm in size, but is in every single ultrasound we have done over the past three months. Endometriosis can be the fertility kiss-of-death if not treated. He wants me to schedule a laparocsopic surgery to remove the endo on my ovary and look for any other endo that may be present. He wants to wait until we have completed the study before he performs the surgery. However, if we do not get pregnant while in the study I am pretty sure we will move on to a Creighton/NaPro doctor for further treatments.
This is a rather devastating diagnosis, but I have faith that D sent me the email for a reason. We are just taking this one day at a time.