Natural ProCreative Technology
Where do we start?
That was a question we had to figure out from the get-go. There are a million different answers and approaches to dealing with infertility. It is important to do your research and understand what kind of doctor and what kind of treatment you will be subjected to and have to undergo in this process.
That was a question we had to figure out from the get-go. There are a million different answers and approaches to dealing with infertility. It is important to do your research and understand what kind of doctor and what kind of treatment you will be subjected to and have to undergo in this process.
Chris and I felt like we were a step ahead on most of these questions when we began to address our fertility struggles. My oldest sister walked a really similar journey, and she had the grueling work of researching and finding doctors she felt comfortable with treating her.
Thanks to all of her hard work and research, Chris and I knew what kind of direction we wanted to walk in pertaining to our fertility.
Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro) is a women's health science that uses the Creighton Model System to help a woman reach their optimal state of reproductive health. Its medical and surgical approaches, developed over decades of research and now emerging in peer-reviewed medical literature achieve real solutions to problems such as infertility, problem periods, pelvic pain, miscarriage, and postpartum depression. More information can be found here. I stole this straight from their website, but do you make a reference page for a blog?! Who knows, but just being honest that I copied and pasted that.
NaPro doctors and professionals seek to discover underlying issues of infertility instead of just treating the symptom. For example, when I discovered I had PCOS in 2012 my non-NaPro OBGYN told me to get back on birth control and it would fix my PCOS symptoms. While that may have helped with my symptoms, it did nothing to help my overall reproductive health or treat any underlying root issues. It did nothing to prepare my body to be able to conceive in the future.
NaPro really encourages women to have a better understanding of their reproductive health, something I was never encouraged by a doctor to learn. I was told to just get on birth control to help solve everything.
Once I began meeting with my NaPro doctor, he immediately encouraged me to begin charting with the Creighton Model System which uses bio markers to track my cycles. The Creighton Model System can also identify issues in my cycle by any abnormalities in my charting. The Creighton Model is not the Basil Body Temperature Method. They are different, but some women chart Creighton AND track their BBT. Whatever makes you most confident.
*Shout out to Kim for being the best FCP that taught me how to chart. Charting is so important and without her help, I would've made a big mess of it all and been so confused.*
Charting helped my doctor identify that I was annovulatory, which means I did not ovulate. After endless amounts of bloodwork, glucose test, and an ovarian ultrasound, it helped my doctor understand my PCOS better. It can vary in symptoms from person to person. Many women with PCOS are insulin resistant, however, I am not.
At this point I began to take Letrozole, which in my very basic understanding, is a medicine that can help with ovulation because it's an estrogen suppressor. It can help you ovulate if you are unable, and it can also help increase the size and maturity of your eggs if they're immature and underdeveloped. I'm not a doctor, so I am not going to sound like one as I talk about all these medicines and procedures. I will do the best I can to explain them! Always talk to your doctor about treatment options and medicines! Don't just read what I say and go and try it.
After several months on Letrozole and increasing my dosage several times, we began to think my body may not be able to ovulate in its current state at that time. Our next option we began to look into was the Ovarian Wedge Resection surgery.
The OWR is a surgery that restructures the ovaries to a normal size to help make them operational. Because of my PCOS, all the cysts made my ovaries wayyyyy too large. My doctor was able to go into my ovaries, cut out a wedge in each one, and sew them back together making them the normal, correct size. I have pictures of my ovaries from my surgery which are pretty cool, but I won't post them :)
I'm not sure I can explain the science behind the procedure, however once I had this surgery, I began to ovulate on my own and have cycles on my own. This was huge! This was a big step in the right direction. Now for the rest of my life I won't have to take medicine to induce my body to have a period. My body can do this on its own now. This greatly reduces my risk for all types of cancers (ovarian, cervical, uterine) and many other health issues. Chris and I have decided whether we ever conceive a child or not, this surgery was the best decision we made. It has helped my overall health so much.
After my surgery we have been able to focus on using bio-identical hormones (instead of synthetic) to help supplement in areas where my charting showed I have hormone imbalances. I was producing very little progesterone which has a HUGE impact on one's ability to get pregnant.
Also during this time, my NaPro doctor tested my thyroid to make sure it was working properly, and it wasn't. I began taking thyroid medication to help increase its functionality.
There are only TWO NaPro doctors in the state of Tennessee and one practices one mile from my house. What a blessing from the Lord.
I want to stop here and say that whoever is reading this, you have the freedom to pursue whatever type of reproductive help you desire. I don't think there is a right or wrong. There are ethical questions you have to ask yourself in all avenues of fertility treatment. I encourage you to always feel comfortable and never stray into an area you are unsure about, because it's YOUR body, not your doctor's. Feel comfortable.
NaPro is the route that Chris and I felt comfortable with for many reasons, but don't hear me say this is the ONLY way. I'm not that narrow. Of course I think it's a great treatment option, but don't hear any judgement in this post if you're pursuing your family in a different way.
We wanted to pursue the most natural way possible to have a child. We wanted to not only grow our family, but we desired to increase my health overall. We feel confident that NaPro technology and our doctor has done just that. We are so pleased with how we've been treated, cared for, and considered in this whole process.
Dr. Paul Gray here in Jackson, TN is one of the greatest people I have had the pleasure of knowing. He has worked endlessly with Chris and I as we yearned to become parents. He is wise and took our desires to have a family naturally to the utmost by the way he treated my PCOS. I could say so many things about how thankful we are for his medical care. His nurses and staff are top notch. They have my number on speed dial we talk so much. I am weeping with thankfulness as I type this, because of how they have made this grueling journey more bearable.
* Edit after I originally typed this post* When we found out we were pregnant, Dr. Gray called me on a Saturday from his cell phone in WALMART he was so elated for us. He is truly incredible.
We were able to conceive on a healthy dose of Letrozole, daily thyroid medication, and progesterone supplements for ten days after ovulation. I currently still take my progesterone every day to help keep my levels elevated to the proper zone to help prevent miscarriage. I am still doing lab work regularly to monitor hormone levels and continue to monitor my thyroid.
Here are some links to further explain NaPro Technology. If you have questions or are curious about finding a NaPro doctor near you, just let me know!
http://www.fertilitycare.org/what-is-naprotechnology
http://www.fertilitycare.org/what-is-crms
http://iusenfp.com/what-is-napro-anyway/
NaPro doctors and professionals seek to discover underlying issues of infertility instead of just treating the symptom. For example, when I discovered I had PCOS in 2012 my non-NaPro OBGYN told me to get back on birth control and it would fix my PCOS symptoms. While that may have helped with my symptoms, it did nothing to help my overall reproductive health or treat any underlying root issues. It did nothing to prepare my body to be able to conceive in the future.
NaPro really encourages women to have a better understanding of their reproductive health, something I was never encouraged by a doctor to learn. I was told to just get on birth control to help solve everything.
Once I began meeting with my NaPro doctor, he immediately encouraged me to begin charting with the Creighton Model System which uses bio markers to track my cycles. The Creighton Model System can also identify issues in my cycle by any abnormalities in my charting. The Creighton Model is not the Basil Body Temperature Method. They are different, but some women chart Creighton AND track their BBT. Whatever makes you most confident.
*Shout out to Kim for being the best FCP that taught me how to chart. Charting is so important and without her help, I would've made a big mess of it all and been so confused.*
Charting helped my doctor identify that I was annovulatory, which means I did not ovulate. After endless amounts of bloodwork, glucose test, and an ovarian ultrasound, it helped my doctor understand my PCOS better. It can vary in symptoms from person to person. Many women with PCOS are insulin resistant, however, I am not.
At this point I began to take Letrozole, which in my very basic understanding, is a medicine that can help with ovulation because it's an estrogen suppressor. It can help you ovulate if you are unable, and it can also help increase the size and maturity of your eggs if they're immature and underdeveloped. I'm not a doctor, so I am not going to sound like one as I talk about all these medicines and procedures. I will do the best I can to explain them! Always talk to your doctor about treatment options and medicines! Don't just read what I say and go and try it.
After several months on Letrozole and increasing my dosage several times, we began to think my body may not be able to ovulate in its current state at that time. Our next option we began to look into was the Ovarian Wedge Resection surgery.
The OWR is a surgery that restructures the ovaries to a normal size to help make them operational. Because of my PCOS, all the cysts made my ovaries wayyyyy too large. My doctor was able to go into my ovaries, cut out a wedge in each one, and sew them back together making them the normal, correct size. I have pictures of my ovaries from my surgery which are pretty cool, but I won't post them :)
I'm not sure I can explain the science behind the procedure, however once I had this surgery, I began to ovulate on my own and have cycles on my own. This was huge! This was a big step in the right direction. Now for the rest of my life I won't have to take medicine to induce my body to have a period. My body can do this on its own now. This greatly reduces my risk for all types of cancers (ovarian, cervical, uterine) and many other health issues. Chris and I have decided whether we ever conceive a child or not, this surgery was the best decision we made. It has helped my overall health so much.
After my surgery we have been able to focus on using bio-identical hormones (instead of synthetic) to help supplement in areas where my charting showed I have hormone imbalances. I was producing very little progesterone which has a HUGE impact on one's ability to get pregnant.
Also during this time, my NaPro doctor tested my thyroid to make sure it was working properly, and it wasn't. I began taking thyroid medication to help increase its functionality.
There are only TWO NaPro doctors in the state of Tennessee and one practices one mile from my house. What a blessing from the Lord.
I want to stop here and say that whoever is reading this, you have the freedom to pursue whatever type of reproductive help you desire. I don't think there is a right or wrong. There are ethical questions you have to ask yourself in all avenues of fertility treatment. I encourage you to always feel comfortable and never stray into an area you are unsure about, because it's YOUR body, not your doctor's. Feel comfortable.
NaPro is the route that Chris and I felt comfortable with for many reasons, but don't hear me say this is the ONLY way. I'm not that narrow. Of course I think it's a great treatment option, but don't hear any judgement in this post if you're pursuing your family in a different way.
We wanted to pursue the most natural way possible to have a child. We wanted to not only grow our family, but we desired to increase my health overall. We feel confident that NaPro technology and our doctor has done just that. We are so pleased with how we've been treated, cared for, and considered in this whole process.
Dr. Paul Gray here in Jackson, TN is one of the greatest people I have had the pleasure of knowing. He has worked endlessly with Chris and I as we yearned to become parents. He is wise and took our desires to have a family naturally to the utmost by the way he treated my PCOS. I could say so many things about how thankful we are for his medical care. His nurses and staff are top notch. They have my number on speed dial we talk so much. I am weeping with thankfulness as I type this, because of how they have made this grueling journey more bearable.
* Edit after I originally typed this post* When we found out we were pregnant, Dr. Gray called me on a Saturday from his cell phone in WALMART he was so elated for us. He is truly incredible.
We were able to conceive on a healthy dose of Letrozole, daily thyroid medication, and progesterone supplements for ten days after ovulation. I currently still take my progesterone every day to help keep my levels elevated to the proper zone to help prevent miscarriage. I am still doing lab work regularly to monitor hormone levels and continue to monitor my thyroid.
Here are some links to further explain NaPro Technology. If you have questions or are curious about finding a NaPro doctor near you, just let me know!
http://www.fertilitycare.org/what-is-naprotechnology
http://www.fertilitycare.org/what-is-crms
http://iusenfp.com/what-is-napro-anyway/
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