Erin: I am thankful you shared this with me. I think it is really important to get to the topic of secondary infertility. I agree and know many people feeling grief- stricken over secondary infertility. I wonder if you would ever consider writing about your experience for a post here, or talking about it with me. Our stories are powerful if we tell them together. Please join us on twitter and Facebook when you ate able. Conceivable Dreams Facebook group is very supportive. We are on twitter too as @ohip4ivf

At 26 I thought I had it all, a great husband, beautiful daughter and wonderful step-son. So when my husband and I decided that it was time to expand our family, we couldn’t wait to be pregnant again. I remember daydreaming about what our new child would look like and how he/she would fit into the loving family that we had already created. Then, after a couple months of trying we conceived, but I miscarried shortly after.

After months of trying to conceive again, I went to see my OB who put me through 3 months of testing . He sent us wonderful fertility specialist. We were expecting to hear some positive news, unfortunately what we got was just the opposite. I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure.

We were told not to be too discouraged and were sent to have testing done to see if my tubes were blocked, I remember praying that they were so that we would qualify for IVF funding, once again the news was terrible. My tubes were open, we did not qualify for IVF funding.

We tried IUI using fertility meds including painful injections for 6 months to stimulate my ovaries and hopefully conceive, with no luck. Still we did not qualify for IVF funding.

2 years later, I ended up in the hospital with the most pain that I had experienced ever in my life and had to have emergency surgery to remove a cyst from my left ovary, the cyst was so big that it had killed my ovary and the tube on the same side. Still we did not qualify for IVF funding.

Now, I have to look my 6 year old daughter in the eye and tell her that mommy’s belly is sick when she asks why she can’t be a big sister. I have to look myself in the mirror every day and smile and be thankful for what we have. I have to remind myself that going into debt and spending $10,000 plus on 1 IVF cycle that statistically isn’t successful until after the 1st or 2nd cycle would not be fair to the family that I have now, and going through IVF and bringing multiple children into this world would be a financial burden that we cannot afford.

We as a family have done all that we can to have our dream of another child come true, and our last hope is to have IVF funding covered by OHIP.

Thank you for giving those of us trying to deal with infertility a voice!

My husband and I have been dealing with secondary infertility issues for the past 5 years. We have an almost 7 year old daughter and when we tried to add to our family, I was diagnosed with pre-mature ovarian failure. There is no cure for this and Dr.’s don’t even know why this happens. At 26 years old this news was horrible for me. Because we live in Ontario, and my tubes are not blocked we were unable to receive funding for IVF so, we tried IUI without success for 6 cycles and went through injections along with it. 3 years after we stopped the fertility treatments I had emergency surgery to remove an ovarian cyst that was so big it killed one of my ovaries and the tube on the same side. Still we do not qualify for IVF funding.

Dealing with secondary infertility has been not only hard on my husband and myself but also on our daughter who talks almost daily about being a big sister. The hardest part is knowing that we cannot afford to give her that. Sure we could pay $10,000 plus to do 1 cycle of IVF and probably not be successful, but even if we were successful the financial burden we would put on our family would be unfair.

My husband and I have been dealing with secondary infertility issues for the past 5 years. We have an almost 7 year old daughter and when we tried to add to our family, I was diagnosed with pre-mature ovarian failure. There is no cure for this and Dr.’s don’t even know why this happens. At 26 years old this news was horrible for me. Because we live in Ontario, and my tubes are not blocked we were unable to receive funding for IVF so, we tried IUI without success for 6 cycles and went through injections along with it. 3 years after we stopped the fertility treatments I had emergency surgery to remove an ovarian cyst that was so big it killed one of my ovaries and the tube on the same side. Still we do not qualify for IVF funding.

Dealing with secondary infertility has been not only hard on my husband and myself but also on our daughter who talks almost daily about being a big sister. The hardest part is knowing that we cannot afford to give her that. Sure we could pay $10,000 plus to do 1 cycle of IVF and probably not be successful, but even if we were successful the financial burden we would put on our family would be unfair.