MY STORY

Like most of us, I spent the majority of my life actively trying to not get pregnant, so fertility was never really something I ever thought about. Doctors have always believed I have endometriosis, but I never got fully diagnosed because it’s an invasive procedure and you can’t “cure” it. I went on birth control when I was 20, and it helped the absolutely debilitating period pains.

 

My mother went into menopause at 32. Which is insane. Only 1% of women enter menopause before the age of 40, with the average around 51. Because of this, most women don’t think about fertility being a problem until they are much older. She kept hounding me to get my hormone levels checked, but I kept putting it off thinking no one my age was worrying about this and I could not be inconvenienced! 

 

In the summer of 2019, I finally got my hormones tested and I was shocked. I distinctly remember, I was on a girls trip and I went outside to take the call and fell to the ground in tears. The doctor told me my AMH level was 0.1 ng/ml which is basically 0. I thought I was too late - that she was telling me I was infertile. I was diagnosed with Low Ovarian Reserve, on track for premature menopause much like my mother. I was frantic - was I too late? Does this mean I can’t ever have children? That’s when I started my gruesome two year journey with all things related to infertility and cryopreservation.   

 

It’s a tale as old as time - I wish I had listened to my mother.