“Journey to Jillian”
The Demille-Cynar family and their little miracle, Jillian; Massapequa, NY

My journey with infertility began in the spring of 2005. When my OB/GYN referred me to East Coast Fertility and Dr. David Kreiner, I was devastated. I felt like there was something wrong with me because even though I had PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), I was diagnosed with “unexplained infertility.” I wondered “If they don’t know what’s wrong, how can they treat it?” My biggest fear was that I would never be a mother even though Dr. Kreiner assured me that he would make that happen for me. If I knew then what I know now, I would be less afraid of the unknown and put my total faith in my doctor. I was completely freaked out by the idea of In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and doing injections and going under anesthesia for the egg retrieval procedure.

Because of my fear, my husband and I decided to begin our infertility treatments through a less invasive route. My first few attempts at treatment were unsuccessful IUI’s (Intrauterine inseminations). Finally, I decided that my desire to be a mother was stronger than my fear of the treatment and decided to go to IVF treatment. We began in December of 2005 using a combination of Bravelle, and Menopur. What surprised me was how easy and painless it actually was! The needles being used to inject these medications were so small and thin, I barely felt them going in! I had heard about bruising and bleeding, but experienced none of that from my subcutaneous injections. When I would go into the fertility clinic for my daily sonogram, I was delighted to see my number of eggs go up and up! At the time of the retrieval, I had produced 15 eggs and two were transferred back in. Two weeks later I received a positive pregnancy test and in October of 2006, I gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl we named Jillian. I know that without Dr. Kreiner and the medications I used in the process, I would never know the joy of parenthood and I will be forever grateful to everyone involved.

I know that not everyone’s journey will be the same and actually going through the process is much more stressful than it sounds. There are early mornings at the fertility clinic (sometime every day for a week!) for blood work and sonograms, hormonal fluctuations, and anxiety as the date of the retrieval or pregnancy test approaches. Sometimes the results are positive and sometimes there is disappointment. And even if there is a positive result, the anxiety doesn’t end there. There is the long wait between appointments for reassurance that everything is “OK.” Finally, once the baby arrives, there are sleepless nights while you’ll lay awake staring at your sleeping little miracle, hardly believing this is all possible. My advice to all women who are beginning this journey is to choose your doctor carefully – don’t go through this with someone in whom you are not completely confident. Try to build a support network of friends who have been through a similar experience. More people go through this than I would have ever thought. It helps to talk about the process. Most importantly, LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR! Use your medications EXACTLY as you are told, and don’t skip any doses. Also, relax. It’s in someone else’s hands now.

Next month Jillian will be celebrating her 2nd birthday. I am currently pregnant with her baby brother or sister using the same protocol and this time we produced 27 eggs! I am glad I got over my fear of the IVF process because the results were worth the work. Good luck to all who are now beginning their journey.