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jillian
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So this is a sensitive topic but I wanted to know what the Church's stance on infertility testing and treatment is? We are embarking on the journey of infertility testing and just curious on what the Church's stance on it is.
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JodieLyn
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Generally, it's to not seperate the procreative and unitive aspects.
The Pope Paul VI Institute is a great resource that follows the teachings of the Church. Even if you can't go to them they may do phone consults and work with/through your local docs.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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jillian
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| Posted: Jan 13 2011 at 5:15pm | IP Logged
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Thank you. I will check out the link.
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Maggie
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I 200% second going to the Pope Paul VI Institute.
We just had two surgeries with them and FINALLY have my hormones balanced. 
My husband and I cannot say enough about their professionalism, expertise, and solid solid science.
Their care, sympathy and "bedside manner" are unmatched by any medical professionals I have ever worked with
Dr. Hilger's research is cutting edge, and he was just published in a medical journal (again) this past April.
We were torn between going to a local doctor (who is very successful) and Dr. Hilgers (about 2,000 miles away). We asked very specific questions about how our local doctor would perform the necessary surgeries. I took very good notes. We then called the PPVI and asked to have a consult with Dr. Hilgers.
During our consult, I described the various procedures that our doctor was going to use. I ONLY described the procedures and not the doctor.
Dr. Hilgers responded with this, "This doctor is an IVF doctor, isn't he?"
My dh and I hesitated. "Yes, he is."
While the procedure that we needed was licit (not IVF), it was derived from an IVF procedure.
Basically, Dr. Hilgers told us that most mainstream doctors see infertility through "the glasses of IVF". They cannot separate the two.
Dr. Hilgers then dismantled the entire procedure that the doctor wanted to do and broke it down piece by piece for us...and it became so abundantly clear that our local doctor was not the doctor for us. Not only was the procedure heavily influenced by IVF, the science behind it is not sound at all! (This is a common procedure to remove endometriosis).
Your care at the PPVI will be unmatched.
In addition, it was a comfort for us to be in a practice where we didn't have to constantly consult moral theologians, the internet, etc to find out if this procedure and that procedure are licit.
Also, when push comes to shove, I didn't know if the doctor would make a split second decision in surgery that could greatly affect our morals...or not.
With Dr. Hilgers and the centers associated with him throughout the country (NY, Penn, St. Louis, Twin Cities?, and Omaha, NE), you can completely relax and not go in with your "fists up." The struggle with infertility is exhausting and emotionally draining as it is. That was a worry we just did not want to contend with.
There are several centers across the country that may be closer to you. The waits at the PPVI can be long...we almost went to Manhattan where they just opened the Gianna Center.
When I called back in May 2010, they were ready to schedule me for a phone consult in 1 week...and said they could get me in for surgery within 3 weeks if necessary...but the longest wait was only 6 weeks! We were very close to going there to have surgery with Dr. Beitner...but in the end decided to go to Omaha to see Dr. Hilgers...but the doctors in Manhattan and elsewhere have been trained by Hilgers and know how he specifically does the surgery (no other doctors in the country can do the surgery the way he does it, unless trained by him).
It is worth saying that Dr. Hilgers success rates far exceed mainstream infertility doctors...and the costs are MUCH less...and licit. :)
For us, it came down to this: If we went with the local doctor (who many good families go to and do a licit treatments) and it didn't work, we would have always wondered what would have happened if we had gone to Omaha. Right now, we have the peace of mind that, even if we never conceived again, that we did EVERYTHING we could and were in the best hands possible.
Please PM me if you would like more info.
Can you tell I have a lot to say about this? 
Big big hugs to you. The struggle with infertility (in my case secondary-infertility) is a unique and heart-wrenching cross.  My heart goes out to you.
__________________
Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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jillian
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Thank you. I am having my HSG done on Wednesday to determine if something got messed up after our DD was born (I had a C-section not by choice). We are in Western Washington.
I will PM you Maggie :)
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JaysFamily
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Jillian, we're in the same boat. I finally found a NaPro(PPVII) doctor about 4 or 5 hours away from us. We simply cannot afford to go see Hilgers. I really do not trust any of our local infertility doctors to know the details of what is and is not licit according to our faith. There is a licit way of testing husbands, and PPVII respects that. All their treatments are targeted toward groundbreaking procedures to make the body work the way it's supposed to work naturally, instead of taking the process of conception outside of the body and bringing third parties into the picture. The work to solve the actual problem, whether conception is the goal or not, rather than putting a band-aide over the symptoms. Their statistics are better than conventional fertility treatments, meaning they really do result in a lot of solved problems and miracle babies. I really cannot wait until I can make that phone call to the doctor that is within driving distance!
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Jaysfamily
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mother to DS(5)
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jillian
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No one is on this side of Washington. Everyone listed is in Eastern Washington. My husband is military too so trying to go somewhere that far away or even to Hilgers isn't feasible.
I am such an incredibly emotional wreck about all of this. Sorry. I had to let that out.
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cheesehead mom
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Jillian--Do not be discouraged. Many people do consults over the phone with their NaPro doc. My husband reviews charts sent via e-mail and even sometimes works with local physicians to help patients get the treatment. The Omaha office is a good place to start and they can help find some solutions for you.
Laura
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jillian
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Thank you Laura
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JennGM
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Jilian, this is definitely a heavy cross. There are so many layers to this. I had both primary and secondary infertility and it was a very tough time. I think you are getting great advice here, and I'll add this intention to my prayers.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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jillian
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Thank you Jennifer.
I appreciate all the guidance from you wise ladies and the kind words.
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dinasiano
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Jillian,
I will be praying for you. You may want to check out One More Soul. It is a website dealing with these issues and has lots of resources. They also have a listing of all NFP only/prolife doctors.
Dina
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JaysFamily
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Infertility really stinks.  Secondary IF comes with the added burden of children being deprived of siblings. It's a state of perpetual waiting, and it's hard to come to peace with it because there is also the chance of a miracle baby, so often there is no opportunity for closure. Catholic-friendly treatments are rarely easily available.
Some doctors will work with you long distance. I know several women that are under the treatment of a FertilityCare doctor, but they're using their local labs for ultrasounds, blood draws, etc. I only plan on seeing the NaPro doctor the next state over if I need surgery. If I can be treated through testing, medications, etc., then we'll do that long distance. It won't hurt to call the offices just to see what their policies are for long distance patients, or military patients. At least then you'll know if seeking NaPro care is a path you can walk, or not.
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Jaysfamily
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guitarnan
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Jillian, BTDT (we are military, too). I will be praying for you as you and your husband discern next steps.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Maggie
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| Posted: Jan 13 2011 at 8:12pm | IP Logged
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jillian wrote:
No one is on this side of Washington. Everyone listed is in Eastern Washington. My husband is military too so trying to go somewhere that far away or even to Hilgers isn't feasible.
I am such an incredibly emotional wreck about all of this. Sorry. I had to let that out. |
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Generally, with military, you can petition to go elsewhere. I only know this because one of my dear friends just did this so that she could go see a NAPRO doctor. She had to write to the CEO of the hospital on base to have him give her insurance clearance...
Sounds like a lot...but now she is covered for the NAPRO doctor.
Just a thought.
__________________
Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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Maggie
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Oh, and I will add that I have worked with the PPVI for over 4 years now. Everything was done over the phone, scanned in charting, etc...so incredibly convenient as opposed to even going to the local doctor for appts.
I only went out for the specific purpose of surgery.
FWIW...you can have them do a complete hormone profile on you (you just send them the blood that you get drawn locally), and if it is merely hormonal supplementation that you need (so often this is the case), then you can do that all long distance.
No driving or flying required. 
And like I said, speaking with the nurses is free.
Also, the have a moral theologian on staff. If you do decide to stay local, you can run procedures, etc with her so that you know you are making decisions within the Magisterium. It is sooooo confusing.
Big big big hugs. I will pray to OLOG for you!!
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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jillian
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| Posted: Jan 13 2011 at 8:43pm | IP Logged
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Maggie wrote:
jillian wrote:
No one is on this side of Washington. Everyone listed is in Eastern Washington. My husband is military too so trying to go somewhere that far away or even to Hilgers isn't feasible.
I am such an incredibly emotional wreck about all of this. Sorry. I had to let that out. |
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Generally, with military, you can petition to go elsewhere. I only know this because one of my dear friends just did this so that she could go see a NAPRO doctor. She had to write to the CEO of the hospital on base to have him give her insurance clearance...
Sounds like a lot...but now she is covered for the NAPRO doctor.
Just a thought. |
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That is really good to know. Thank you.
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MaryM
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jillian wrote:
| No one is on this side of Washington. Everyone listed is in Eastern Washington. My husband is military too so trying to go somewhere that far away or even to Hilgers isn't feasible. |
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If you are Western WA have you checked Oregon? I'm assuming Portland is closer - a little anyway which might be an option.
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jillian
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| Posted: Jan 14 2011 at 10:43am | IP Logged
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I will check Portland, totally forgot about it lol. It's 3-4 hours from us but that is infinitely closer than 1 1/2 days
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JodieLyn
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I didn't think WA was big enough for 1.5 days of driving I think you can get from Seattle to Spokane is something around 5 hrs.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Stance on Infertility
