Couple Has a Baby With IVF & PGT After Seven Years of Fertility Treatments
Eric and Tina struggled through seven years of infertility treatments and four failed IUIs before they were referred to Dr. Moffitt of Arizona Reproductive Medicine Specialists (ARMS). Knowing what they do now, Eric and Tina say they would have done IVF with preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) five years earlier.
– Eric & Tina
Transcription
Dr. Moffitt: How did you end up coming to ARMS?
Tina: Dr. Moore, my OBGYN referred us. We had gone through about seven years of different fertility places and treatments. Dr. Moore said that you were great.
Eric: And you were.
Tina: Finally we had a baby.
Dr. Moffitt: What are some memories of going through the treatment? Good, bad and ugly?
Tina: It was very stressful and emotional. It was hard not knowing that it was going to work after all of the time and money that we had put into it.
Eric: It was the hormones and mood swings for me. We were both dealing with it but she was dealing with the majority of it. The financial piece was important.
Tina: We didn’t know if it was going to work or not, because we had gone through it so many times. It was scary.
Eric: Knowing what we know now, we would have done this five years earlier. It was the best time for us.
Tina: We did four different IUI treatments and that didn’t work and we had thought that was going to work for us. If we had known it wouldn’t, we would have done the IVF the first time around, and it worked.
Dr. Moffitt: What were some positive experiences of going through treatment or working with the staff?
Tina: You were. You were awesome. You were right there for any questions that we had. Knowing what to expect at what time, that was great. Shayna was amazing. We had a different experience at another fertility center and they were not personable.
Eric: The wrong name, they got my name wrong one time.
Tina: It felt very family-like when we came in here, it felt like a home here and we were very comfortable. It felt good knowing we could ask any question.
Dr. Moffitt: What would you tell someone who was in the middle of it, struggling through it, what would you tell them to help them make it through?
Eric: A couple that we know has been going through a similar situation and they’ve been doing it a lot. Financially it has been very difficult for them. It has been putting a strain on their relationship, they start blaming each other. From our situation, you don’t know what’s wrong or what is going on and it’s stressful. Sticking together is important. We got what we wanted and we hopefully have another one coming soon. That is what it is all about.
Tina: We feel very blessed and thankful to have him and a lot of people don’t. We didn’t think that we would, so we feel blessed and think about him every day. We stare at him every night.
Dr. Moffitt: What do you think about PGS? Are you glad that you did it?
Eric: Yes, absolutely. It shortened the timeframe and we knew the sex. It was comforting going through the testing. We knew that the percentage of nothing being wrong was a lot less. Knowing that the baby was fine from the results of the test was assuring.
Tina: We had one scare when doing blood tests. They told us that we were abnormal for a spina bifida. We had three days of being very scared until we did the 3D ultrasound. That confirmed that everything was okay.
Eric: Money is an object in everything. We ended up borrowing money to do the test and it was the best thing that we ever did. Knowing that he was going to be healthy and knowing his sex was great. And now we know we’re going to have a little girl to go with her big brother.
Dr. Moffitt: Any other advice to couples?
Tina: Be strong. It’s a tough and emotional road. Be persistent. We went through highs and lows. We gave up for a little bit and then tried again. Sometimes I wish we had kept at it a little longer. Be strong. It’s a hard road but it’s worth it in the end. We got this little guy and it made our life so much better. He makes our life.