I was just on a website for a local naturopathic physician who specializes in women's health and reproduction. She is well known in our area for her success with challenging conception situations. I love to refer to this particular naturopath because she is so skilled and compassionate.
I'm pasting some excerpts from her testimonials page.
"It was hard to hear from the MD's that I would not have a baby unless it was in-vitro…"
"I was told I was facing early menopause and may need an egg donor to conceive a child. When faced with paying more than $14,000 out of pocket per IVF attempt, which offered a 20% success rate and no guarantees, enough was enough."
"My reproductive endocrinologist told me I had little or no chance of conceiving a child. He told me if I wanted to try to conceive with my eggs, we should do IVF immediately, even though we had less than 10% chance of success."
These are all women who became pregnant when they decided to not listen to that advice and seek help elsewhere.
I hear these stories too. Sometimes I have a very hard time with the reproductive industry, despite the miracles they've created, because they often seem to prey on the desperation that can develop when a baby isn't easily created. They can make you feel like the problem is that something is wrong with YOU.
In many cases, the real problem to the doctor is that you're not giving him/her your money quickly enough!
What other service would you be willing to spend so much money for with so little guarantee of success?
I am so excited about what inCYST is learning and the success stories we've been able to be a part of. But what I'm still trying to understand is the psychology of the infertile woman. I offer classes for $15 apiece. That's about the cost of a copayment. That's a smoking deal compared to an in vitro procedure. Sometimes I even do them free of charge. But women I invite, often politely tell me, thanks but no thanks, I've made an appointment with my fertility doctor. I'll try that first.
One woman recently shared that even though she paid for the class and didn't show, she decided to go through in vitro. She ended up having to quit her job, because she could not manage the stress of the treatment along with her work responsibilities. She's pregnant, now, which is the good news. But she's financially challenged, to the point where she's asking me for free help. I'm not sure if that is success or not? And at that point, whose responsibility it should be that a $15 resource has become too expensive?
If you have two choices for earning money, one being interest in a bank account and the other being money won playing blackjack in Las Vegas…and you politely tell the banker thanks but no thanks, I'll bring you my Vegas winnings and I'll earn interest on that…and you lose your shirt in Vegas…do you think the bank is going to give you money to put in a savings account? Probably not. You have to make good decisions in advance.
It seems to me that the most important time a nutritional tuneup should be considered is precisely WHEN you've decided to invest in IVF. If it were me, I'd want to be absolutely sure that the environment I am giving my physician to work with when being paid to help me, is the healthiest, most balanced, most receptive to successful conception and pregnancy. What better preparation for success could you offer your reproductive system than nutritional health?
I know there is a huge difference between what you'll get in an inCYST consultation vs. what a physician provides. We're definitely going to ask you to make some changes. We're here to support, to encourage, and to point you to ways to make the new changes livable. Unlike a physician's visit, where most of the hard work is done by the doctor, we will ask YOU to do some things. We don't believe anything is wrong with you. We believe that life on planet Earth has its stresses, but if you learn how to manage them, hormones cooperate. Very simple.
We're not an"either-or" kind of choice, at all. We are not the only answer out there, and we are not ever going to eliminate the reproductive endocrinology industry. In fact, I think there are a lot of opportunities, when working together, for us to help increase some of those dismal percentages I quoted so the doctors have higher success rates as well!
Just a note, a friend just e-mailed me to tell me that this very topic was featured on the Today Show today. I Googled the website for the Fertile Soul, the program featured in their segment. Even their fees are high--as much as $12,500 for a couple to attend. I want to reassure anyone coming to this blog looking for help, I want to help people, and I do need to pay my bills, too, but our program is not about depleting anyone financially. Our one day couples spa program is only $350.
It just seems to me like when you have a choice between paying several hundred dollars and several thousand dollars, and you're seeing indications that the least expensive option may actually work, that you'd start low and work up the pay scale, if and only if needed.
I'd love it if this post inspires you to think differently. Sometimes medicine works and sometimes it creates miracles. But sometimes medicine has its limits. Why not try an inCYST provider or class or retreat and see if it gets you going in the right direction?