My husband and I were married for about 3 years when we decided to start a family. I stopped my birth control and was expecting to become pregnant in the coming months. Ten months went by and I knew we had a problem. I wasn’t pregnant. We used every tool, gadget, and position out there to try to increase our odds, but there were no results. We finally went to the doctor who recommended we try clomid along with IUI. We did that for 4 months and still no results. The doctor gave us a list of IVF clinics to call.
After lots of late night conversations, we decided to go through the IVF process. We met with our new doctor and went through the IVF process. We had 17 healthy embryos! We had 2 transferred and waited for the longest 2 weeks ever! I went in for my blood test in the morning and received a heartbreaking phone call that the results were negative. We cried together and wondered what went wrong. We met with our doctor again and he suggested doing a frozen embryo transfer (FET). I gave myself about 6 months to recover. We tried again and I was pregnant. When we went in for a weekly checkup at week 7, the doctor couldn’t find a heartbeat. I had lost our little miracle. Again, we went home devastated. We still had frozen embryos so we decided to do another FET and again, negative results. For some reason I was able to get pregnant but my body wasn’t cooperating.
It was at this point that we decided to take a break from everything. We were spent emotionally, physically, and financially. It was at this point that we decided that our approach needed to be different if we were going to go through the IVF process again. We read research that supported the use of acupuncture in conjunction with IVF. I located local acupuncturists and called Dr. Hall. I vividly remember our first conversation because she wanted to know more about us and our lifestyle rather than the problem. This immediately put me at ease because she was getting to the root of the problem. I scheduled and appointment and Dr. Hall wanted to meet both of us. She spent over an hour with us discussing our lifestyle, diet, and stress level. After our consultation, she developed a plan for us, which involved an entirely different way of eating and thinking. We followed her exact instructions as if it were a prescription. We then came to the point where we felt we were emotionally and physically ready to go through another round of IVF.
We informed our IVF doctor about our acupuncturist and he was very supportive. We gave Dr. Hall the key dates of the IVF cycle and she scheduled the both of us for acupuncture during the most critical times of the cycle. We went in the day before the egg retrieval to receive treatment from Dr. Hall. She made sure we were prepared and relaxed for the egg retrieval. I then went in the day before the embryo transfer. Dr. Hall treated my body and mind in order to prepare my body to support our little embryos. She continued to treat me during the dreaded 2 week wait. She was willing to see me at any time, any day. If I felt stressed or worried I would simply call and she quickly made time for me.
It was finally the day to find out if all of our efforts paid off. I went in for a blood test and all of us anxiously waited for a phone call to find out if I was pregnant. We received the best news! I was pregnant! I was cautiously excited. We had been here before. The big difference was that this time Dr. Hall joined us on our journey and joined our “team”. Dr. Hall continued to treat me week after week and after 8 weeks of pregnancy I was still pregnant! Once I cleared my first trimester I breathed a sigh of relief. We did it!
I continued to see Dr. Hall throughout my pregnancy and on August 19, 2010 I gave birth to my healthy and happy baby boy.
We continue to see Dr. Hall to this day. If there is something that our primary care physician is unable to resolve, we quickly make an appointment with Dr. Hall and she will get to the root of the issue and resolve it. She has balanced our lives. Her skills are priceless!
Sara V., Lakewood
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