Siobhan helped me with my chronic cough and infertility problems.
My name is Sinead, I’m 38 and from Cork. My husband & I decided to start a family a few months after we got married, we had both just turned 36. As we were both fit & healthy and I had always had regular cycles I had no reason to think there would really be a problem. After 6 months of trying without a positive pregnancy test I went to my GP who did day 3 & 21 blood tests which showed nothing abnormal. She referred us to a fertility clinic and in the meantime she suggested that I try acupuncture. I went to an acupuncturist in Cork several times while waiting to be seen in the fertility clinic but we still had no luck and I also started charting my cycles with Napro, follicular tracking showed nothing abnormal and thyroid antibodies were also negative.
We attended the fertility clinic in May and my husband had a semen analysis done which showed nothing abnormal from the clinic’s point of view and my AMH was 14 which they deemed a little low but not to be concerned about they also suggested that my husband should give up smoking. I had a HSG test done which was normal so we were diagnosed with “unexplained subfertility”. They suggested that we keep trying for another 3 months and if unsuccessful to start IUI treatment. When I was on a night out with a group in Cork, someone happened to mention during conversation that she had a friend called Siobhán in Wexford who was a qualified midwife now working in Chinese medicine and she was having great success in helping women get pregnant with doctors in Wexford referring patients to her. I absorbed this immediately as I liked that fact that she was a registered midwife and did an Internet search the next morning for her and made an appointment.
I went to see Siobhan on my own initially and had acupuncture, she prescribed herbs for me and suggested that I remove certain things from my diet, to improve clotty periods and to try to resolve a chronic cough that I have had since I was around 16 that doctors have not been able to explain. My periods changed after taking the herbs and the next time I returned to see her with my husband. Siobhan was concerned about the within specification but high MAR test results in my husband’s semen test results and she spoke to him about giving up smoking completely. She gave him raw Chinese herbs and suggested an antioxidant supplement to treat the MAR test result. My husband successfully gave up smoking, took the herbs and then had another semen analysis done which showed the MAR test result lowered considerably.
I took the raw herbs for 9 months but we still had no luck conceiving, Siobhan did believe this was connected to my chronic cough although still slightly there, it improved considerably with the herbs and diet. When I did some research I found out about a genetic condition called Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) that causes infertility and in a mild form would cause just symptoms of a chronic cough, testing for it isn’t available here but is in the UK and IVF is necessary to treat some women with the condition as it can cause abnormal cilia in the fallopian tubes. We tried an IUI cycle at the fertility clinic recommended, the IUI was unfortunately unsuccessful. After this disappointment we decided to try one IVF cycle. I still attended Siobhan until the treatment cycle started and she recommended having some acupuncture with an acupuncturist in Cork during the treatment cycle rather than having to travel to Wexford. We are absolutely delighted to report that the IVF cycle worked first time without any hitches and we are expecting our new arrival in a few months time all going according to plan.
I am still attending Siobhan during my pregnancy and would highly recommend her professional approach to any couple having difficulty conceiving.
Update April’15: Delighted to say our healthy baby girl was born we are delighted and so grateful.
Sinead 38 - Cork