Andre and Constance did multiple failed IVF cycles before learning Andre had a balanced translocation that doctors never tested for upfront. The speaker argues patients need to push for genetic testing before starting treatment, not after years of expensive failures.
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I am here today. Hey, the infertility community and things that you need to watch out for. If you missed my interview with, um, Andre and Constance Lewis, they were put through the wringer in the infertility world and they actually lost the opportunity to use their own eggs and were, um, then their next best choice was donor eggs. Because of— so I'm going to say something that might sound like I'm being a little bit of a smart you know what, but doctors practice medicine. Reproductive doctors, infertility medicine, they are not there to fix you. Okay? They're not there to heal you. They're not there to figure out, figure out why you are having a hard time getting pregnant. They're not trying to get to the bottom of your dysfunction and why you have infertility. They are there to practice reproductive medicine, do procedures on you, and do— So in talking to Constance and Andrey last night, we were talking about the fact that they did, they did the same procedure 3 times in a row. So they did, um, the procedure into it. Get all the— she got 6 eggs the first time, 4 eggs the second, and 2 the third. Okay. Change between those protocols. So she, the, the time that she had 6 eggs, miscarried. 4 eggs, she miscarried. Nothing. They changed no protocol between 6 eggs and 4 egg procedure. Nothing changed. So, you know, I've been in it long enough. What's the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing again and expecting a different result. Why doesn't this apply to reproductive medicine? Okay, this is the way that I'm trying to shake up the N.U.O.P. to see that doctors are not always altruistic. They're to practice as an RN until you give up, run out of money, get pregnant, or quit. That's it. Those are your choices. Instead of just letting somebody else drive the bus, Constance and Andre talked about the missed opportunities they had to interject medical care and say, no, stop. We're going to do that. We need to get additional testing. What are our— what's gonna happen? Are there any other tests before we use these last 2 eggs? What other tests? This is what their doctor said to them. This is what their doctor said to them after they used the last 2 eggs that they had, period. Well, maybe we should do this simple blood test. And see if you have abornal— abnormities. Two things about that that are wrong. Your blood should be boiling. I know she's devastated. One, she never got a call from the clinic saying that her last two— in her mind, they were children— her last two opportunities to have children did not make it. To day 5, no fall. And then when they did make contact with the reproductive endocrinologist, that was his— his— now after 3 miscarriages, 3 procedures, by the way, for those of you that are out there that are participating in reproductive medicine, you know They're not going to give you a refund for a failed procedure. They're not going to give you a refund if the testing comes back and something was wrong that they could have tested for ahead of time and potentially come. So you have to advocate for yourself. You have to ask questions. You have to put the brakes on if necessary. You have to make up in your own mind how it's going to go down. Because they are doing what they do. They did that simple genetic test. Andre had already done a sperm analysis, come back fine. Okay, this genetic test revealed that they had balanced translocation disorder. He had balanced translocation disorder. That meant that if they had known that if they had tested, if they had given— been given the opportunity, the choice in the first go-round, and found that when she had 6 eggs retrieved, they potentially could have had their own biological children. Now, if that doesn't give you pause, if you're going through reproductive medicine and that doesn't give you pause, then I'm I'm not anti-medicine in any way, shape, or form. I had a lot of surgeries and interventions done to me, to my family, but I also had to do my own fighting and do my own battling. So if you're listening to this, if you hear my voice, get in my group. Let's talk about these things. Let's make sure that when you go to the reproductive doctor, that, or the fertility doctor, that you are getting all the things tested upfront. You guys, even if you're, even if you're taking money out of your own pocket or putting it in your, your financing, it's insurance that your procedures are going to go okay. It's insurance for a $1,000 test, or even if it was a $3,000 test for a $10,000 or $15,000 procedure, It's insurance money. Okay, so that's what I have to say about that. Sorry, I got on a little bit of a rant, but Aspergerly Empowered is my support group. The link is in the comments. I have a few case study— it's July 1st launch at a significant discount due to a contribution from a client, so I'm offering a few case study spots. Um, until they're gone at 90% off. So if you're interested in that, check out that link. I will catch you on Friday with a special video from me and my hubby for Father's Day. All right, health and blessings to you guys. Bye-bye.
