My husband and I began our journey for a baby over four years ago. After getting married we presumed that pregnancy would soon follow after, but that was not the case. Conceiving soon proved to be difficult and as the months passed I felt deep down that there was something wrong. I suffered from extremely painful periods and my cycle was very irregular at times. My biggest concern was that my blood was very dark brown and often black in colour, almost tar like. I knew that this could not be right, and started on a very long and winding road to fulfill our desire to become parents.
This road entailed NAPRO treatment for almost three years. During this treatment I had a laparoscopy and a hysteroscopy. After these intrusive surgeries I was finally diagnosed with stage three and four endometriosis, which is the most severe type. The consultant informed me that I only had a thirty percent chance of becoming pregnant. That car journey home in September 2013 will stay with me forever. A part of me thought that we should just give up and accept that we would never be parents, whilst another part of me was saying that thirty percent was better than zero percent. It seemed that IVF was our only option.
In the months that followed we had initial consultations with IVF clinics. I was reluctant to go down this route but it felt like there was no other alternative for us. I was talking to a friend one day who was aware of our difficulties conceiving and she suggested that we go and see Siobhan. I immediately made an appointment.
Our first appointment with Siobhan in July 2014 was quite overwhelming. Within minutes of meeting me, Siobhan was able to tell what kind of person I was just by looking at my tongue! My husband, who had been slightly sceptical about alternate approaches, was converted. He could not believe that somebody who didn’t know me at all could describe me down to a tee. There was a lot to take in on that first appointment regarding herbs and diet, but Siobhan was optimistic that I would become pregnant. I had a lot of obstacles to overcome first, mainly that my periods needed to become red.
This car journey home was completely different. This time something clicked and felt right. I really felt like this was the approach for us to take and that we would be fully committed to do whatever Siobhan advised us to do.
Within days I set about changing my diet and Siobhan put me in touch with a nutritionist. I changed my lifestyle, reduced stress in my life and began drinking herbs Siobhan recommended to us. My husband did the same. Every few days we were boiling herbs, and had never felt so good.
Around 5-6 weeks later we were back to Siobhan for a follow up appointment. That morning I had realised that my period was late, but in the past this had been a regular occurrence so I did not think much of it. After chatting to my husband I decided it was best to do a pregnancy test before seeing Siobhan. I could not believe it when it was positive.
In the early stages of my pregnancy I was concerned about miscarriage because of my history, so I went to Siobhan. I also suffered with back and rib pain throughout my pregnancy which Siobhan treated.
October 2015: I am delighted to say that we have a healthy seven-month old baby girl. I really do believe that she would not be part of our lives if it wasn’t for Siobhan. I have nothing but praise and good things to say about my experience with Siobhan. When my husband and I would like to try for a brother or sister for our daughter, there is no doubt that Siobhan will be our first port of call. We cannot thank Siobhan for the bundle of joy that she has brought into our lives.
Lisa, Tipperary