Fertility experts agree that, on average, 30% of the cases of infertility they see can be attributed solely to the female, 30% solely to the male, 30% a combination of both partners, and in 10% of cases the cause is unknown.
As much as I hate the phrase “who is to blame” I appreciate that stats show that it’s a pretty dang even playing field out there.
I mentioned yesterday that I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I was doing wrong and what was wrong with me. I was taking supplements, eased up on my exercise, gained a little body fat, brought up my calories, relaxed more, obsessed over OPK’s (ovulation predictor kits), went crazy on Clomid for the summer, has some basic testing done, I felt like I did it all.
We never really wondered if the issue was Justin, we just assumed it wasn’t because he has a child from his previous marriage. Well, at the end of my Clomid Crazy summer, we were in St. Louis visiting some friends, and after a long conversation with a loved one about everything we had tried, she simply asked if Justin had been tested yet. It actually kind of blew my mind that we hadn’t considered that yet, but he had a kid, so it seemed like such a stretch. Anyways, I was fed up and as soon as we got home, I asked my doc to order a semen analysis for Justin. I just wanted to get to the bottom of things.
Fast forward a few weeks, we were relieved that we finally had some answers, but we were still pretty shocked and scared when we got the results back. We realized at that point we had a much bigger journey ahead of us than we could have ever expected.
I’ve always been an extremely impatient person. Especially when it comes to things that aren’t in my control, which as I get older I realize that there’s actually very little in my control and I’ve been kidding myself for the past 31 years. haha
My patience has never been tested more than it has been through this process of our fertility journey. I felt like as soon as we had some answers it was just a stepping stone to another appointment 3 weeks away that led to us waiting for a phone call in another 2 weeks that would schedule us for a procedure that was 8 weeks away. I had to have a heart-to-heart with myself and convince PCCC (post crazy Clomid Cassidy) that if I’ve waited this long to have babies, I could wait another few weeks… or months.
Hang tight, more of our story to come in the upcoming posts.
If you know someone in a similar situation, spread the love and share the word with this post and help others feel the support they need during a difficult time.
I pray that the stories that are shared through Be Unstoppable Radio this week bring someone who needs it, the hope they need to keep pushing through in their own journey to start or grow their own family.
Love, Cass
