117. After seven years of grueling fertility treatments, 30+ IVF cycles, and losing both fallopian tubes, Ana was told her chances of conceiving were effectively over. Refusing to accept defeat, she took full control of her health, overhauled her approach, and broke clinic records by achieving a successful pregnancy at age 43.
On episode 117, when Ana started her journey to motherhood at 36, she expected a straightforward path. Instead, she entered a harrowing seven-year battle marked by ectopic pregnancy, hydrosalpinx, severe adenomyosis, and an AMH level that dropped to 0.1. Navigating misdiagnoses and dozens of protocol failures, she reached a breaking point that ultimately sparked a total transformation in how she approached her fertility.
By diving deep into research, advocating for proper uterine diagnosis, and completely redesigning her daily protocol, Ana overturned the odds and carried a healthy baby boy at 42. In this episode, she candidly breaks down the emotional toll of medical burnout, how to recognize when a clinic isn’t serving you, and the practical methodology she created to help women navigate complex fertility struggles without losing themselves in the process.
About the Guest
Ana Medic is a fertility advocate, author, and creator of the IVF Support and Survival methodology. Drawing from her personal seven-year journey through complex reproductive health challenges, she works alongside medical professionals to provide comprehensive protocol analysis, structural planning, and peer advocacy for women navigating fertility treatments.
Connect with Ana:
- Instagram: @ana_medic_fertility
- Website: Ana Medic Fertility
Key Topics
- Navigating ectopic pregnancy, hydrosalpinx, and tube removal
- Recognizing clinic mismatches and breaking the cycle of medical burnout
- Diagnosing hidden reproductive obstacles like severe adenomyosis
- Taking an active role in protocol design, nutrition, and daily lifestyle routine
- Overcoming low AMH numbers and carrying a healthy pregnancy past age 40
Resources and Links
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Transcript
Jamie: Ana, welcome to the show.
Ana: Thank you, Jamie for having me. You are inspiring and I love your Instagram.
Jamie: Thank you. Today we are sharing Ana’s story at 43. She has a very long journey, which I am excited to hear. Tell us, did you always want kids growing up?
Ana: Since I’m only child, I always wanted to have a big family, but I didn’t express myself in a way that I didn’t tell that every day. First I wanted to finish my university, then start career, all these things what is going in life, enjoy a little bit life.
And then I was like, okay, now since I’m finishing everything what is on my way, I will get a husband that I love, and I will have children.
Jamie: How many did you want?
Ana: I always want to have a two. I think we should all have a brother and sister.
Jamie: What was that conversation like with your husband, having kids?
Ana: My husband was immediately for that, and he al- he’s coming from big family, so for him was normally to have a children. We immediately fall in love, and We just now need kid. That’s it. We have everything, and we know we are on way to be parents. But the universe had another plan for us.
Jamie: Tell us. How did it begin?
Ana: Since I came to Barcelona from Germany and Austria, where country it’s a little bit cold and not so good weather, but very good for developing your career, to learn languages and everything.
So I was like, “Okay, I’m coming to Barcelona.” I was like, “Wow, this is so great. Such a great country. I find myself here.” So it was like, “Great, I’m going to drink a little bit wine have a tapas on the beach, and in one moment we are going to have a kid.” So it’s like, great.
In that time I was like, “Let me see my ovarian reserve,” like to see what is happening there since I know that I’m having a ovulation. I have my period.
So was like, “Let’s just see how much time, a little bit can I enjoy in Barcelona?”
Jamie: Yeah. How old were you when you started trying?
Ana: 36.
Jamie: Okay.
Ana: So I came to Barcelona. We have so much fun, and I was just like, “Let me see to check how hormones.” And believe me, in that time I didn’t know anything about any hormone, and I just wanted to have a doctor that is going to tell me, Enjoy your Barcelona, enjoy your life. Everything is fine. You will make it.
But They called me I need to come back. I went there, and I gave blood and everything, and it’s “Come in.” And I said like, how much time I has here?” “Listen this is not good. It’s like you are almost 50.” Your ovarian reserve is between 48 and 50. That’s it.
And I was like, “What?” And he’s like, ” you need to go to do IVF now. Like now. Yesterday.” I went out from that day, I can say my life started from begin.
Jamie: Oh, my gosh. Do you remember any of your numbers ? What were they?
Ana: No, AMH, they do it. But AMH that was later, destroyed also my life . FSH was already 20, more than 20, I think. And estradiol was about 40. So it’s clearly that I’m 20, 20 FSH. When you are 36, it’s not good. No?
So he checked also follicles, and he saw that I’m ovulating, and he said, “You can start today,” and go to clinic immediately.
So we went on the wedding of my colleague in Lisbon. Horrible time. I cried whole the time in Portugal. You don’t even know what’s happening because you’re 36. I didn’t even say goodbye to my friend and to other friends that were on that wedding. I was there, physically, but mentally I couldn’t.
So we came back to Barcelona. Barcelona is one of the most famous city for IVF. No? They have great clinics and everything. We went to one of the best clinic. He said Not good. You don’t have anything. That’s it. You’re done, but we can try because you’re still young. I went out and I said I don’t like them. I don’t want to go back ever again.
So I said to my husband, “Since we didn’t even try not even one month to get pregnant, let’s start trying.” So he said, “Yeah, we will try.” So next month I didn’t get any period. I was pregnant.
Jamie: In one month?
Ana: Yeah.
Jamie: Wow
Ana: That’s it. I was pregnant, and I start to have spotting. I was thinking that’s normal, but then I went to see my doctor in the company. She is just normal practical doctor, and I said to her, “Listen, I’m pregnant.” And she was happy because she knowed my story.
And she was like “But if you are having spotting, you need to go now to the doctor. Go with a taxi and go in a first clinic and…” I went there. They find that my beta was almost 3,000. They couldn’t see it.
Jamie: Oh, because it’s ectopic.
Ana: It was ectopic, yeah.
Jamie: Oh.
Ana: They send me home and say, “Maybe it’s twins. And come back in 48 hours.”
Jamie: Oh.
Ana: That’s part of like Silicon Valley of Barcelona. I went here in the city centrum in another clinic, and there was a doctor and she said, “You need to go down we give you injections now to clean you because it’s obviously a ectopic,” and she was horrible, and I said wait. They told me maybe it is two babies.” And she said, “Yeah, I can see that you were ovulating on both,” … ovae.
And she called the chief of the staff. He said, “Send her home. Since she ovulated on two maybe really two or three babies. We don’t know because beta is already so high.” They send me 48 hours more, and I came back, and beta was already 100,000.
They say immediately to the OP- Yeah. They cut me. They take out one tube. And they check another tube, and It was great. So everything fine. They say, “You’re going to be pregnant. Don’t worry. In three months if you’re not pregnant, come back.” Say, “Fine.”
Three months, I’m still not pregnant. I’m coming there, and they say, “Another tube is bad. You have hydrosalpinx.”
Jamie: But I’ve never heard of that. What is that?
Ana: The hydrosalpingis, It’s called a toxic water that it is producing tube Oh … that is when they are, when the hormones are Doing what I need to do. Hydrosalping a tube is pushing this, or hydrosalpinx going out- into, in the endometrium and cleans whole endometrium. So it means if you are pregnant, it can be cleaned. That’s it. You cannot be pregnant, actually.
Jamie: Yeah. You don’t want that.
Ana: Yeah it’s cleaning everything. Toxic water, it’s cleaning endometrium is not reacting. It’s non-reactive endometrium. It’s not good situation. So they send me to cut me another tube.
Jamie: You lost both fallopian tubes.
Ana: In a couple of months, yeah. I was 37.
Jamie: Oh my gosh. Now what is going through your mind? Are you like, were never getting pregnant?
Ana: My mind was like yeah, whole time.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: I’m never going to be pregnant. I’m never going to have a baby because I know that ovarian reserve is low, but nobody tells me about quality of my of my eggs, no? What is the big topic. So what is happening is okay, I don’t care. I’m still younger, not young, but younger. And I know that I can have one. One, one egg, one embryo, and I can get, I can be pregnant. Now I don’t have that possibility.
Jamie: Did they recommend that you go to IVF?
Ana: Yes. There is no any other way. They even try maybe for two months to give me some kind of antibiotics to decrease hydrosalpinx in a way that sometimes you are lucky, when you have the volatility of the hormones, the tube is resting with that water. So sometimes you can be lucky and get pregnant with hydrosalpinx.
But in my case they gave me three months antibioticum and to clean to see if it’s reacting. If there is hydrosalpinx all the time there or it’s just going up when there is this volatility of hormones. So it was like we sometimes can see him, sometimes cannot. No. So
We are losing just time. Just go out. Go to the, the doctor, and they need to clean you. So I’m waking up from OP, and I’m starting to cry because now I know I’m in low ovarian reserve. I don’t have possibility to do normally. We were open for donation. I’m going to see what I’m going to do.
So we are starting with clinic where I was there to do also OP because they are very, also very famous, but general clinic famous, but they have a part of IVF. Jamie, I was like 10 in vitro in two years. horrible. No strategy. I know that they think that there is a younger woman in front of them, but still no plan, no strategy. Not even different stimulation. I know that now. But in that moment you need to trust your doctor.
I was so connected with my doctor. As I am a baby, she was for me everything. She was for me everything. She was the person that I I … My husband was not there, my parents were not there. She was the God for me, but then you’re thinking, how … I’m already entering in the 10th of in vitro, and my and it’s every time worse and worse. There is nothing good. I didn’t have any embryos. Sometimes I get, so wonderful seven cells embryo. But in that moment, with 37 years or 38, seven cell embryo will not give you pregnancy.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: Maybe with 25, when one woman is 25. But that embryo, with that stage, you need to produce and to get a good embryo. Yeah. I didn’t. I didn’t get … There, there were like seven cell embryo, perfect. I’m like, “Oh, great. I didn’t …” In that, in that moment, you don’t have any idea what’s going on.
And you are so emotionally. I think I have a Stockholm syndrome. One day she told me … I was 38, entering 39, she’s saying, “I think you need to go to donor” Wait, you
Jamie: had 10 egg retrievals?
Ana: 10 IVFs, not egg re- 10 IVFs- Oh, you had- … 16- …
Jamie: transfers …
Ana: 16 embryos back or whatever, but I don’t know how much transfer I had. I lost count.
Jamie: Oh my gosh.
Ana: And my husband, German, he was like, “Whatever you want.” He’s so good guy. He’s saying, ” just tell me what to do. How can I help you? If you trust her, we go there. If not, we change. Don’t worry. Just whatever you’re feeling, because it’s you the one that is doing everything, not me.” No?
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: And in the middle of everything of that, every month I’m losing ovulation because I know I’m not ovulating. I cannot be pregnant. So what she’s doing, she’s- Doing two months, in two months IVF and then in the middle of month sh- in o- next month she’s doing a natural cycle.
I’m all the time in IVF, actually. Now if I count I did more than 30 IVFs because she stimulates one month, then you have nothing, zero, or you have a transfer, beta is negative. The next month I’m ovulating, she picks up, and like that all the time.
Jamie: Oh my gosh.
Ana: If you want to count. But really stimulating more than 15 in my whole-
Jamie: Geez
Ana: IVF history. And additionally in between the two IVFs, because I was ovulating normally. Everything was working actually. Then I understand that stimulation were bad and that’s it.
Now I will tell you what was the problem. Everything I know I helped woman doing the same thing now, and I can immediately recognize what’s happening. That time you have zero knowledge. This emotional connection destroyed me.
Jamie: Yeah. What were these natural cycles? Because you didn’t have any tubes.
Ana: Yes.
Jamie: What was she doing during these natural cycles?
Ana: She just was giving me Femara or Letrozole or Clomid, and maybe a little bit Menopur or Gonal-F. Just after 10 days when you are in your normal cycle, like on the second day, third day you’ve got your period, and after that they give you maybe a little bit stimulation just to stimulate one or if you are ovulating on two or if you have two follicles, just two of them to grow, or maybe only one.
Jamie: Okay.
Ana: And then they give you, and then give you stop injection, and then you go and they pick up without anesthesia.
Jamie: Whoa. Was that painful? Yeah
Ana: Because they’re going with the big needle, like big injection inside.
Jamie: Yeah. Oh my gosh. And how were you mentally during all of this?
Ana: Now I know that I was having a problem because I was like a hamster on that wheel, all the time you are just … One day you wake up and then say, “Oh, I got my period. Start from zero.” I got my period, started two years without not stopping. I couldn’t get rest. I was not not present in my career, my job. Not present in, at home as a girlfriend, as a daughter.
I was only present in my IVF clinic. That’s all. That was my life.
Jamie: Yeah …
Ana: for three years. Now when you see from the other perspective, idiot, completely idiot. Because I was like that. I’m forcing the thing that I cannot force. I didn’t see the wall. Wall in front of, all the time in front of me. Actually I see, saw the wall, but I was hitting all the time in that wall.
Jamie: Yeah. So where did you go from here? What changed? You said something needed to change.
Ana: Then after so many years, she just tell me, “You need to go to donation. That’s it. You’re done with your eggs. We cannot help you.” And I told her with 38? She said yes.
So I left. I was like I’m leaving my mom. They are separating me from my mom, going out, and I cried my eyes out. Emotionally I was destroyed, and I need to accept the fact that I chose the wrong clinic and wrong doctor.
I’m going to another clinic near here, because I was thinking, okay, I need to continue that. I’m still doing everything bad. The same things that I’m doing with her, but now near, it completely not reality.
Jamie: Yeah, but you didn’t know.
Ana: But still you should have a little bit, stop and thinking, “Let’s analyze.” I’m working in the risk department. I’m analyzing… but no, nothing. Nothing was connected with anything I learned in my life. I was like, okay, this clinic is near of me. I just need a good doctor that creates good embryo. Completely disaster.
Jamie: How long were you at this next one?
Ana: Oh. One year.
Jamie: Oh, good Lord.
Ana: Yeah, I know. I know. It was already a fourth clinic. First the one that I said I don’t want to go. These two, And then I went another clinic and they say to me, “Sorry, we don’t work with 13 IVF, they say, “No.” They didn’t even want to speak with me.
Jamie: Oh my gosh. So then what?
Ana: I have a friend from Austria, she’s also Serbian, tell me why you are doing that to yourself? Go to the best doctor.” And I said, “I’m in Barcelona. It’s very hard not to find a good doctor because from all around the world they want to be here. They want to work in those clinics, and they want to learn here and then go somewhere else, but this is the po- starting position for them. Barcelona is So famous in this. I will give you a number of one of my friend. We know each other for a long time. She’s also Serbian. She’s living in Brussels. She was working in a clinic that created ICSI.
I went to the meeting room, and I called that doctor and start to cry. I never spoke with her. I never heard her- No … her voice, and I started “Is it you?” Yeah, it’s me.” “Oh, yeah, Maya told me that you’re going to call me.” And I was like, “Explain that.” And, “Listen, I cannot help you from here from Brussels. There is a name that I’m going to give you. If I ever had the problem to be pregnant, I would go there. Even though I’m the doctor of IVF, I would go to that guy. And you are lucky that guy changed his job from Brussels, and he’s now highest director there. If he cannot help you,” nobody can help me, destroyed me, and I didn’t went to him.
Jamie: Why? Oh. So what did you do?
Ana: I did another cycle in another clinic.
Jamie: Of course it didn’t work. Now what do you do?
Ana: I find a way to go. Alen check me and say, “Listen, you have adenomyosis.” “Next to your poor damage, wherever, all those things, your uterus is not good.” So we have that problem. So I start to tell to him, “I don’t want to get this stimulation because I already done.” And he accepted. He was not egomaniac to say, “You’re not going to tell me what to do.” He said, “Let’s check everything first But I want to see your AMH.” So AMH comes- … is 0.1.
Jamie: Ugh.
Ana: When I 39.
Jamie: Oh my goodness.
Ana: So three weeks I was like ghost. This AMH destroyed me more than ectopic pregnancy, more than all this. I was a zombie. I didn’t eat. I didn’t nothing.
Jamie: Cause you thought it was over.
Ana: A problem with uterus. I was like, “That’s it. I’m changing my life.” One day I come home. I remember three weeks of it, and read Everything I found. I was ordering all books, everything. It’s like a library here in my home. Everything is about fertility. I called that Greek guy and said to him, “That’s it. I will come, but when I’m ready.”
Jamie: How long did you need?
Ana: One year.
Jamie: So now we’re 40.
Ana: One year I create my own plan. I read everything you can. There is no book I didn’t read. Eating, stimulation, uterus, hormones, immunology supplements, lifestyle change, everything. In the morning I was writing when I was eating, what I was drinking. Uterus massage cleaning, detox, everything. I was soldier. For one year I did that.
I come there and I say to him, “I’m ready.” First pick up, five follicles, five eggs, five embryos.
Jamie: It’s amazing.
Ana: I’m 41, already 41. Five embryos, three on the five days. First time I have blastocysts.
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: I started with 36.
Jamie: Wow!
Ana: First time
Jamie: So tell us- And then- I’m so excited about these transfers
Ana: So then he calls me screaming, and say, ” you destroy the record of the clinic. You got AAA plus embryo. It’s 67% the statistically possibility- Wow … and it froze.” Okay, I said ” i’m not going to put back my embryos. I’m going to do more.” Because if I already had more than 16 transfer and more than, I don’t know, 20 used embryos, three will not help me. I need more.
Jamie: Oh, my gosh.
Ana: My body is now better than seven years ago which is obviously it is, and they are the best clinic… I didn’t know that. They were, they are there in front of my nose.
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: But I didn’t know because this clinic is famous in the Spain, but it’s not famous around Mayo or whatever. So I said, “I’m going to continue like that for for months, and you need to do another stimulation.”
They said, “You’re sick.” And I said, “I know, but I need that.” so what we are doing the same thing. With 42, I got five follicles, five embryos, three blastocysts.
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: Then I have six blastocysts. One is AA plus, another is AA B, another six blastocysts. And he said, ” that’s it. You’re done. I’m the director of the clinic and Your photo is going to be in front of the clinics.” She’s not doing any more stimulation.
So we have frozen six blastocysts and I said, “I need to clean by myself my uterus.” And she said, “You are sick. You cannot clean your adenomyosis.” I went to the doctor. He send me to his friend that is a director of endometriosis department. There is no ultrasounds. the guy comes, he takes two hands, push, down. He said, “This us- uterus is very bad.”
Jamie: He could feel it …
Ana: even fifth clinic. Nobody was saying that you have adenomyosis or whatever. He send me to MRI. The results comes. He said, “First of all, there is overall adenomyosis. Not one, two, three dots. Everywhere is adenomyosis. And not even that, your inflammation is so big that I don’t know is there is there the doctor with his normal m- mind can transfer one embryo. He told me that. I would never transfer embryo in this uterus.
Horrible. It’s inflammated that this change the form of a uterus.
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: I told the doctors that I’m bleeding when I’m having a relationship with my husband. I’m bleeding when I’m having ovulations. I’m having strong periods, and it’s like part of meat is going out.
Jamie: Oh.
Ana: Nobody, nobody told me-
Jamie: It’s really heavy.
Ana: Yeah. I didn’t have any iron. It was bad. So he he gave me down regulation. And this down regulation put me on a artificial menopause so I don’t produce estrogen. And then I was alone that time, and my doctor called and I told him, “I’m alone. I want to do transfer. I cannot stand anymore the eyes of my husband after so much negative test and everything. I want to be alone when beta comes and it’s negative.” I didn’t tell my husband that I’m going to transfer. I forged his signature.
Jamie: You didn’t even tell your husband.
Ana: I forged his signature- Oh … on the document. You, I don’t know you should cut this, but just for your information, I forged. And I went to transfer. I woke up two hours later because I went walking from home. I ate ice cream. I went home I slept two hours, and I woke up, and I know that I was pregnant-
Jamie: Oh my gosh
Ana: I feel it, the pulse there where my Greek doctor transferred.
Jamie: And you were 42 …
Ana: almost 43
Jamie: And what was it like getting your beta?
Ana: So my husband didn’t know anything. On Monday morning, the day when I need to get my period. Every symptom, Jane, every. I’m feeling it’s going to be blood. And the Greek guy is calling me. Nobody know that we had the transfer, yeah. And my girlfriend is there. I was very good friend with her now in that moment. I didn’t want anybody to know. She’s showering. “I want to see how are you,” and it’s like, “No, I’m having every, every feeling that I’m going to get my period like a headache and everything.”
And he said ” I’m not so lucky. I think I would need to fight more because I fight so long. This cannot happen.”
Jamie: Sure.
Ana: And he said maybe you are not lucky, but I am lucky.” I’m like, “bye.” So in the morning, my husband is having a meeting. I went out. I finished my meeting and went down. Buy my pregnancy test to the girl, to the pharmacy that they send me … I think they earned millions of the things that I bought there every stimulation. She was like, “Another one?” I said, “Yeah, another one.”
Jamie: She knows you.
Ana: I went there, and was immediately two lines.
Jamie: Ah.
Ana: Immediately.
Jamie: What was that like?
Ana: I didn’t cry. Yeah. More than seven years. I couldn’t believe. I took the picture and I sent to doctor on WhatsApp.
He somewhere with a with another patient. I called the clinic because they know me there. And they, “Tell him to check his WhatsApp.” And they was like, “Nico, check your WhatsApp.” And he’s “Oh my God, she’s pregnant.” Yeah. He was like, “Oh my God, you’re pregnant. There is two line.” “Oh, I told you.” They were all there. You can hear them, everybody, “Woo-hoo.”
My husband was preparing the coffee, and I said to him, “I’m pregnant.” He was like i’m not going to celebrate. I still cannot believe what you are telling to me. It’s like, “There is two lines.” “Yeah, but don’t tell me anything.” Don’t … And then he went, and he cried by himself.
Jamie: Aw.
Ana: Then they called me and said, “Since we know that you have two lines, come to check beta.”
And it was a high beta. They called me, and I said, “Thank you very much,” and they were all happy there. They say you don’t need to do 48 hours after that because it’s high. You just need to come in a couple of weeks to hear heartbeats.
Since this clinic is so organized, you don’t go anymore to your fertility doctor, you go to the normal doctor. But he wanted to see me. I’m almost 43, and I’m like, “I cannot believe,” and we coming there, and he said … i’m shaking. “Let’s see,” and he’s trying hear the heartbreak, and he was so happy.
We heard heartbreak. I called my parents. He call his family and since then, yeah, that’s it.
Jamie: Beautiful.
Ana: I cannot believe.
Jamie: Yeah. Did you do PGT-A testing on your embryos?
Ana: No. No.
Jamie: Okay.
Ana: But what happened, this what I want to also tell you. My stress was not stopped there. So everything fine. I’m pregnant. And here in Spain, they check you every month. In one moment, there is this expert ultrasound. After 40 minutes, I study a lot of that, I saw that coming back on ultrasound one part of the body. She’s telling to me “There is something wrong,” “This baby is having one kidney healthy, another not.”
Jamie: Oh, no.
Ana: Yeah. And my life yeah, you forgot everything.
Jamie: Yeah
Ana: Everything what is happened before. You forgot all your IVFs. You forgot all your problems because you don’t know what will happen. So they send me to check everything from your blood, like NIPT. I don’t know how it’s called that.
Jamie: Yes, same.
Ana: It came on everything okay, and they say that’s not enough in this case. So he had a normal kidney. Another was more ectopic and more to pelvic, and it had a lot of cyst- cy- cysts.
I stop eating. I stop living. You forget. You do all these things for years. You change your life, and then comes this. They say, “We need to do amniocentesis in this case be- because we don’t know what is with him.” Amniocentesis came, everything was fine. I just lost conscience.
Jamie: Yeah. That’s a big deal.
Ana: It’s just 20, 30 seconds. It’s nothing.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: You should not see the big injection, but everything is fine because so big and it’s going … But i wake up and I went to work. It’s not, it’s nothing, So the problem is waiting. I was already 30 weeks, so if something happened, they need to kill the baby.
Jamie: Oh my gosh.
Ana: So it came everything fine, millions of different syndromes checked. They send me to genetic doctor that is doing genetic, and she was pregnant, and she said, “Listen, if there’s something genetically it will be on the both kidney. So don’t worry.” “Your kid is going to be healthy, is going to have a great life with one kidney. Another kidney will go, is going to take over the role of another.” “It will grow, and that’s it.” And it was like that.
Since Spain is very advanced in medical, they send me in different institutions to check if there is a possibility is another kidney, have a little bit like maybe 1% working. They would then operate and create more, but it’s died. That’s it. It’s still there in him, but with time it will disappeared forever.
Jamie: So did that give you relief hearing that information?
Ana: Of course. I was like,
Jamie: Okay
Ana: … that’s it. In my pregnancy, I gained only eight kilos, because I didn’t eat.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: Between those experts ultrasound and waiting for the results of amniocentesis, it’s almost two months. I was drinking water and eating a little bit soup only two months. That’s it.
He’s healthy, happy baby. Has one kidney that is bigger in compare with the kids in his age because it took over the role of another.
Jamie: Yeah, it’s working harder. Wow. Did you find out he was a boy? What was that like?
Ana: I didn’t want to know, but then this amniocentesis came. They called me when my mom was sitting next to me crying And I was like, “Please, just tell me. Just tell me.” And he’s, “Don’t worry. Your baby’s fine.” I said, “Do you know what is it?” She said, “Yes.” And I said, “Okay, don’t tell me.”
She said, “Okay, I will not tell you. I will put on your app just that you know that you have the papers of amniocentesis. It’s my responsibility to give you those paper, but don’t go inside there.” And I said, “Okay, fine.”
So for four weeks, I didn’t, and then they did the ultrasound. And I was like, “Okay, I will do it.” I went to the app, and I don’t know why I went to document instead of picture, and I open it, and document is blue color, because if it’s a girl, it would be pink. And I was like, “No.”
Jamie: Were you excited that it was a boy?
Ana: Yes. Well-
Jamie: Yeah …
Ana: jamie, after eight years-
Jamie: You’re like, “Who cares?” Yeah.
Ana: And that with kidney and, like two months of pregnancy after so hard time, you cannot enjoy it. I was thinking they’re going to need to kill him because there will be some big … I read everything also about that. What can happen, why kidneys not working, also it is connected with millions, million of syndromes.
Jamie: And he’s fine?
Ana: And he’s completely fine.
Jamie: Wow. A miracle. What was the plan for birth? We’re kinda running out of time a little bit.
Ana: Oh, okay. Sorry, yeah.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: I came there naturally, but he didn’t … he was not going out.
Jamie: So you went into labor naturally?
Ana: Yes.
Jamie: At what, what week was it?
Ana: 40, almost 42.
Jamie: Ooh, you went late.
Ana: He didn’t want to come out.
Jamie: Okay.
Ana: And they gave me a lot of injections so I can open. I was not opening. And then was Caesar, like now. He needs to go out. Because he was losing his heartbeat.
Jamie: Oh, no. So you went in for a C-section?
Ana: Yes.
Jamie: Oh. What was that like? ‘Cause now you’re s- probably stressed again.
Ana: The problem was is that they brought him in alive manually. They- … pushed the, the hand down and massaged his head so he can, he come back. And then she just said on Spanish ahora. It means now.
And there was 15 people around me, and then I start to be stressed. And I say, “Is he- he died? Did he die? I want… He died.” And, “No, stop. He didn’t die.” “He died.” And then they gave me the, I entered there, and I start to shaking-
because you are in a cold operation, I don’t, yeah, room-
With anesthesia, and that’s it. I didn’t hear him screaming because my feet were like da, da doing like that. And I hear on my feet, and I was like saying to my husband, “He died. Did he die?” And he’s like, “No, he’s there. He’s screaming. He’s fine.” That’s it.
Jamie: Oh, but you didn’t get to hear it?
Ana: No, I didn’t get hear.
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: He was looking at me and he told to doctor ” she’s not fine. She cannot hear.” The doctor that gave me anesthesia, she was so young , But I didn’t feel anything. They gave you the spinal, yeah, epidural. She’s so great. But I was like, “How old are you? Can, like, why did you choose me to practice?” I was like, “What did you gave me? I’m laughing because I see him, he’s fine, but I still can- and she’s like, “Don’t worry, you’re fine.”
Jamie: What was it like seeing him for the first time?
Ana: I’m still going in his room to check if it’s a dream or not.
Jamie: Oh.
Ana: So in that time, I’m also not, like- Am am I going now to wake up and say, “Oh, today I’m going to IVF another round”? The whole time was like that in my head. I couldn’t- Wow … I was I still wake up, wakes up in the morning, I’m waking up and I’m like, “Yeah, he’s here,” “You’re not dreaming.”
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: I told to my husband is this real?” “Am I going to wake up now?” He goes no, it’s real.” Just enjoy it,” and “He’s there.” I holding him because I was like this.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: I hold him, and he was like, “He’s there,” and I cannot believe.
Jamie: What was your recovery like?
Ana: I didn’t feel anything. I had so much milk.
Jamie: Oh my god …
Ana: they have the new now when you do a s- C-section-
Jamie: Yeah …
Ana: they have… they put you now something that-
…
Ana: I don’t know how to… med- something like that. You don’t feel anything. They take that, it’s gone. Everything is great. I love Spain. I love this medical condition here. They’re like, I didn’t feel it anything.
I’ve had so much milk. I was giving him almost two years of milk.
Jamie: Amazing …
Ana: yeah.
Jamie: Wow. And mentally, how were you during your recovery?
Ana: Not good. Not good.
Jamie: Wow. Why?
Ana: Not good. I was crying whole the time. I was crying whole the time.
Jamie: Oh, th- because the hormones and stuff.
Ana: Because of the hormones, because they told us that we need to check reflux. Reflux, it means that if the urine is going up to his healthy kidney- because another is not working. So they were focused on that this healthy kidney. So you see your baby so big, and they’re i- going, and they’re putting a sonda, I don’t know how it’s … inside of his small penis.
Jamie: Oh, wow. Poor thing.
Ana: And they’re pushing the, the water inside of contrast water, contrast to see if it’s… is urine going up or not. And I was preparing for that for four months. I cried whole the time. And then I, we enter in the room, and I told the doctor, “Am I a bad mom if I’m going out?”
And she said, “No.” I couldn’t see that.
Jamie: Oh.
Ana: I couldn’t see that. And I went… My mom als- crying with me. We are, like, sitting there crying. He’s with the doctor also young doctor, and also young nurse. We are crying. I had so, so much stress that I got my period, blood there in front of them.
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: It’s just went out, the blood. I was so much stressed that, … And when I clean myself there, and they say, “Mom, come in inside.” And I come in, and I see him happy, completely happy, because they gave him locally anesthesia and everything, so he doesn’t have any pain. They play with him. They gave him a lot of things, so he was so happy there.
And I was like, “Sorry, I got my period,” a little like that. And she said- … “Are you so stressed?” “I got my period. I … Blood.” And she said, “You should go check yourself here in clinic.” I said no, I’m, I just want to go home. After four months of crying, waiting for this medical exam for him I c- I’m going home. I’m going to sleep,” because it’s very stressed.
The results came that it’s everything fine. So we, after five months of having a baby, seven years of fighting, and pregnancy this we went home happy after so much time, and We slept. And I didn’t cry anymore.
Jamie: Wow. Incredible. And so you’re breastfeeding. That went okay then?
Ana: I drink good teas. I eat soups. I eat healthy things. I was like this. I had so much milk.
Jamie: Yeah. You were owed this.
Ana: I hope. I don’t know.
Jamie: Yeah. Is there anything you wanna mention about your birth or pregnancy?
Ana: Just enjoy it. Yeah. Just enjoy it. Just- enjoy it. I didn’t have that time. I was suffering, but it’s, it should be the best time of your life.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: And the birth is th- just on that day, maybe if you are unlucky, two days
Jamie: Yeah
Ana: … but then everything will go away. Yeah. Everything you will forget. You forget all these things. Yeah.
Jamie: You have extra embryos left. What are your plans for those?
Ana: Five.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: I’m going to put them back.
Jamie: Exciting.
Ana: Yeah.
Jamie: Do you have a timeline for that?
Ana: I will now do that.
Jamie: Oh.
Ana: In months or so. Yeah, I’m going to put them because they’re my embryos. I fight for them for a long time.
Jamie: Yeah. Oh, I can’t wait to watch this. It’s fun. What has been your biggest challenge being pregnant in your 40s?
Ana: Like 40 plus doesn’t mean anything. That’s just a number. What is the difference between 40 and 20? Nothing. There is no difference. You just enjoy more your life than when you are 20 because you finish your career, you have more money, you have … You’re smart. You know that the details are in the T, and the good book, and the good Syria, and with your husband, and that’s it.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: It’s much better.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: It’s much better. I think we are blessed To have that, I’m blessed because now I can finish everything I need to finish, and I can enjoy my life with my kid.
Jamie: I love it. I love it. During pregnancy, is there anything you could recommend that helped you?
Ana: Walking a lot. I swam, I sw- but we have a sea here. I was every day, swimming.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: Read the Bridgertons, Fifty Shades of Gray.
Jamie: I love it. If you could only recommend one book for a fertility journey, what book would that be?
Ana: Oh my God, you … That’s a tricky question.
Jamie: I know, ’cause you read them all
Ana: Oh my God. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect that.
Jamie: Will you email it to me and I’ll put it in the show notes?
Ana: I will email it to you.
Jamie: Okay. Perfect.
Ana: Or you can read my book when it’s go out.
Jamie: Oh, when is that gonna go out?
Ana: Ask me in two years.
Jamie: Perfect. And what advice would you give yourself when you were pregnant, if you could go back?
Ana: Advice. Okay. I would put more oil on my skin- … here in the belly.
Jamie: Yeah
Ana: That’s important things. M- and I would eat, … I would eat more chocolate. I was also- … cutting off chocolate in my … But I would eat now more chocolate.
Jamie: That’s good advice.
Ana: It makes me happy. Yeah. It makes me happy.
Jamie: And now we have a lot of listeners who are trying to conceive right now in their 40s. What advice do you have for those women?
Ana: Okay. So depending on where, on what, where are you? Are you on the way to go to IVF? Are you on the way to do naturally preparing you naturally?
I took the best from different books and put it in one program, in a paper. I also created program guide for the women that are in a business, for the women that are in, that are working and not want to stop their career because of their fertility problems. It means that the system that I create, methodology, is not like all other fertility coaches are s- creating, and saying, eat this.”
I create a method that in the morning when you wake up, you already know what you need to do. Not to get anxiety, not to get stressed. If you are, I don’t know, somewhere working and say, “Today I didn’t do anything about my eggs,” or, “I didn’t prepare myself for IVF,” or, “I didn’t … ” That you know that with that paper, that guide that I created, it’s literally, yes, you are doing something.
So in the morning you know what to do precisely. It’s only 50 minutes. During your ta- lunchtime also, At the night. The program is structured like that. On the weekend, you take the paper that I prepare you. You go to shop everything what you need for the next week, and you know precisely time what to prepare for the five days that is coming on your way, so it’s a methodology that i-
it’s unique because you read a lot of books. And then I speak with my clients and they say, “But this is so much work. Fertility is so much work.” Yes, it is, but it’s not actually. Because if you eat very special things and you drink special and prepare your salad and lunch in the way how you should prepare, that’s it. You don’t need anymore. Because the more recipe, you more read, everything, all those fertility coaches, they give you, and you say, “I’m stressed. I’m anxiety. I’m going to … What is that? How much supplements I need to take? What I need to do?” It’s whole the time just like I did. The wheel the is working in your head and it’s like, “Oh, I didn’t take omega-3. I didn’t take this. I didn’t …” No. I prepare the, the IVF support and survival methodology or system that you will just Take this paper and say, “Ah, today this, today that,” check. You’re going to … Two, two ways. You’re going to buy it and to prepare it. That’s it. That’s great. And everything is there.
Jamie: Now, are you working- It’s- … one-on-one with people doing
Ana: this? Yes, I also work one-one, and this is also another point. I’m working with my team. I’m having a team- … woman that already suffer IVF, but there are a team that are expert, and I’m also working with a doctor that is with me because he ask me and say, “Listen, we have so much clients, and We are not paying them so much attention like we want because we are overloaded,” and- actually all clie- all IVF clinics are now overloaded.
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: So we need somebody that already had those experience and know what is saying. So he offered me to be IVF coordinator, so there is one one part of my work now, is that I’m having a clients that I following them over the IVF process in his clinic.
So they are coming from New York. I go with them there. I … Coming from Ber- Berlin, since I speak German, I also sp- so I’m with them there. There’s another part of the program that is we take all your documentation. We analyze everything, your blood, your hormone, your IVF whatever they missed or your embryos, picture of your embryos.
And we give you a big every details. We prepare you that you go to IVF clinic in Dallas, in London, in everything- … but you’re going there prepared, saying my progesterone is not good on day 13.” Like-
Jamie: Yeah
Ana: … analyzing every details, but also we prepare you three months before. So we give you what to eat, to drink, to lifestyle, how to massage yourself, where to go, y- how to do detoxitation of your like everything. What I did, I’m now … This diary is in two different programs.
Jamie: Wow.
Ana: I’m working one-to-one. We are say- Like, we create also emotional support. It’s not oh, we’re the … i’m not doing phys- analysis of your mind. What I’m doing is that you go, “I I only have three follicles.” What? And?
Jamie: Yeah.
Ana: What?
Jamie: Your support, too.
Ana: I’m supporting, yeah. I’m- … in program is three plus one, meaning we prepare you before IVF- … and during your IVF, we are whole time with you. So we are a- actually avoiding you mistakes. So if they give you wrong, stimulation, we can tell you “Speak with your doctor. Don’t start because you will not react very well.” So everything what I did, we are doing that.
Jamie: Oh, wow.
Ana: That- It’s a team, it’s a people that are- Yeah … like literally analyzing every detail. But this is nothing new, Jamie, I need to tell you. Those analyses were done by IVF clinics 40 years ago.
Jamie: Oh, but they don’t now.
Ana: They don’t now.
Jamie: Tell us where people can connect with you if they want your help.
Ana: My Instagram. It’s Ana_Medic_Fertility.
Jamie: Okay.
Ana: And there is anamedicfertility.com. I’m not fertility coach in the way, it’s system behind.
Jamie: Yeah, you’re looking at their records and doing it. That’s wonderful. Ana, thank you so much for this service, and Thank you … so much for sharing your story. It’s beautiful.
Ana: Thank you, Jamie.