Endometriosis and IVF: A Personal Journey

Catie Vandamme faced a challenging diagnosis of endometriosis in her late teens, a condition that complicates pregnancy for many women.

At 29, after getting married, she consulted with her doctor, who had conducted hormone tests before she and her husband began trying for a baby.

The doctor informed her that her hormone levels, which indicate egg production, were low. “It felt like a dreadful tactic,” she recalls. “The doctor led me to believe this was a significant issue, and I started feeling the pressure to begin IVF years earlier than I expected.”

Vandamme describes sitting in that office as a “gut punch.”

“What shocked me most was the immediate push to create an embryo. I had just taken a blood test, and suddenly I was being rushed into scheduling an appointment to start the IVF process,” she adds.

Despite the doctor’s urgency, Vandamme became increasingly uneasy about the ethics of freezing embryos. She wondered if there might be alternative treatments to boost her hormone production and opted to seek additional opinions.

“We visited a third doctor, and that was perhaps the most unsettling experience,” she shares. “He reinforced the notion that I should have started IVF long ago and questioned if I even wanted to become a mother, sharing his own travel experiences instead.”

“It felt like I was sitting across from someone who had witnessed countless struggles—an environment focused on profit rather than personal care,” she reflects.

Yet, amidst her fears, Vandamme finally found a doctor specializing in NaProTechnology, who helped her conceive just a month later.

“With my provider, we tracked my cycle using the Clayton method,” she tells. “He noticed that I wasn’t ovulating properly, and my hormone levels weren’t balanced.”

“All he did was prescribe a $4 progesterone medication. He recommended a paleo diet and some other treatments to aid ovulation while we monitored my progress,” she explains.

“In about two months, I found out I was pregnant.”