5 Things I want every Fertility Patient to Know

There are 5 things that I want you know before starting fertility treatments:

1. You have a choice: When you go to a fertility expert they will tell you what treatment they think will work best for you based on your situation. Your fertility doctor has a bias toward IVF – don’t forget that for one minute. IVF is what gives patients their highest chance of pregnancy so of course, we will recommend IVF to many of our patients. Find out why your doctor is recommending your particular treatment plan. When it comes to offering treatment plans to my patients, I always discuss all options and let my patients make the decision about what will work best for them. Ask about treatment costs, number of office visits, pregnancy rates and twin rates. Choose what’s best for you – it may not be what the doctor wants you to do but that should not make you feel bad. For example, I offer insemination to my patients and let them know why they should or shouldn’t do it – It’s up to you if this is something you want to do.
2. You are not a number: Do you feel like you are being defined by a hormone value or your age?  Does everyone keep referring to you by your FSH level? You are not defined by your age or your FSH level. There are many patients who break rules in medicine. I’ll give you an example, in medical school we are thought that chances for pregnancy in women over 40 are very low. You are not every woman over 40. So start thinking of yourself as fertile and don’t think negatively and see what your doctor tells you she will do to give you your highest chance of pregnancy without using the words “donor egg.”
3. Vitamins work. Do whatever you can to increase your chances of pregnancy with the smallest amount of help from your doctor. The best thing you can do for yourself aside from taking care of your general health is take high dose antioxidants. You can turn to Total Fertility and a Male Fertility Supplement. You can buy them through your doctor’s office or from www.coastscience.com
4. Don’t let the stress of  fertility challenges come between you and your partner. Focus on yourselves.  Take a break when you need to.  Talk about what you’re feeling and what you are going through.
5. Take breaks – there is no such thing as an infertility emergency. If you aren’t getting pregnant easily – don’t feel like you are required to go through back to back treatments. I often hear from couples that they were under the impression that they have to go through a treatment 3-4 times before it works. This isn’t true. Each treatment cycle is an independent event.  Your chances of a treatment working have only to do with what is happening during the cycle – not what happened in previous cycles. There is no such thing as an infertility emergency.