Two days later, I was still coughing and wheezing, so I went to my doctor. It was my first time visiting this specific doctor (husband got new insurance, had to pick a doc, still hadn't met him.), so I had to fill out all the initial introductory and medical history paperwork. Even though I was in there for my cough (which turned out to be allergy-induced-bronchitis), the paper had a small fill-in area with, "Is there anything else you'd like to ask your doctor?" So I thought about it... I wrote,
"How come I haven't gotten pregnant after trying for almost 3 years?"
I know this had nothing to do with my cough. I didn't think he was even going to address it, because it was really so out of left field. But he did. He asked me the necessary questions, so I told him all I could.
My family has a history of strong fertility. We'd been trying, actively, for just about 3 years, watching my fertility and ovulation signs, pacing ourselves, paying attention to the signs, and crying every month when the tests came back negative. We didn't know what we were doing wrong, and we were almost ready to give up.
That same day, he ordered a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG), for the next time I was expected to have my period. The HSG is a mildly invasive procedure in which a solution is injected into your Cervix and through your Fallopian Tubes to illuminate your tubes on an X-Ray, as well as remove any potential blockage that could be there. It also opens up your tubes a little more, sometimes making it easier to get pregnant.
I ended up having my HSG on my birthday in December 2008, less than a month after I visited my doctor. My results came back clear, I had no blockages, and a newly cleaned and widened set of Fallopian Tubes, so there should be no issues on my end.
Well, if it wasn't me, that left my husband.
In March of 2009, he had a sperm observation and count done. First, to make sure he was producing enough, second, to make sure they were active enough.
When we got the results back, we were a little surprised to find he had what was called Asthenozoospermia, or Low Motility. Basically, that just means his swimmers weren't swimming. Our doctor said it can happen from various daily activities, all of which were things he was participating in... jacuzzi, hot showers, hot baths, recovering from smoking cigarettes (a few packs a day), not exercising... really, his swimmers were a reflection of his current state.
Our doctor told us that he needed to stop going to the jacuzzi and to cut the time down on hot showers. He advised my husband to get some exercise, and start eating better. He also referred us to a fertility specialist to help with the Low Motility, and to get him on a supplement to encourage more activity.
In April 2009, we had a phone consultation with the fertility specialist, and they informed us that if it was just low motility, and my husband was making lifestyle changes, there was one supplement that would be the likely candidate to put him on... it was about $200 for a 30 day supply, and we were told that it would take anywhere from 8-12 months for us to see a change, and anywhere from a year to three years for us to get pregnant.
Doing the math, we could potentially be paying over $7,000 for this supplement, so we could get pregnant.
I know there are couples out there struggling with infertility, and others who need to have daily shots, and use In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which can costs an incredible amount of money.
Realistically for us, that was not something we could do. We were 23 years old and that was just a LOT of money.
We said thank you to the specialist, and let him know we would call back to schedule an appointment.
We never did.
We knew that was not something we could do, we knew it was going to be hard, we almost started accepting the fact that we either wouldn't get pregnant, or we would have to try after we won the lottery...
Then I got to thinking... The specialist was recommending a supplement. A vitamin supplement. I hopped on the computer and started Google searching everything I could about Low Motility Supplements. I saw one main active ingredient in all of these supplements.
L-Carnitine.
I know they sold this supplement at health food stores, but I also knew I saw it somewhere else.
In May 2009, I realized it-- Monster Energy Drinks!
My husband likes drinking Monsters, and this could possibly be the easiest way to handle this. I figured why not, it couldn't hurt to try for a little while... so I suggested drinking one Monster a day, just to see. Who knows what will happen, but this was a relatively easy situation, compared to how much the first initial supplement was going to cost us.
July 2, 2009, I took a test.
I was due for my period and I thought I may have been a day or two late, but I couldn't remember when I was supposed to start.
I peed in a shot glass, dipped the test in, then let it sit for a minute.
I stood up, and looked over at the test. It was the one with the lines and it didn't say ON the test whether they had to go this way or that way or whatever... after so many negative tests, I saw a different result.
I called out from the bathroom, "Honey, can you bring me the insert from the test box? Or just tell me what it says... I don't remember how I'm supposed to look at this thing."
While walking back, quickly, with the insert, he said, "What? How do you not know? You've been taking these tests for like 3 years..."
I responded, "I know... it looks different.."
We both knew.
I checked the insert, he checked the test, and I fell over, crying my eyes out.
He thought I was sad and kept reassuring me, "We did it, this is what we wanted, it's okay..!"
I couldn't articulate that those were the happiest tears I've ever cried in my life.
Finally, I said, "no, it's okay, I'm happy, these are happy tears!"
He was crying them, too.
I had the most wonderful pregnancy I ever could have imagined, and March 2, 2010, our handsome little boy was born.
My husband drank one monster a day, and I got pregnant within a month. When we were told it could take anywhere from 12 months to 3 years for us to get pregnant.
I have since had another baby, and am pregnant with our third. No Monsters needed!
We really think Monster Energy Drinks had a huge role on our infertility struggles, and we can't thank them enough!
Disclaimer: Before you decide to try Monster Energy Drinks for infertility issues, please check with your health care provider. We went through quite a few steps before we decided to try it. It worked for us, but it might not work for you.
