EPISODE 12: Tamara
This week I’m sitting down with Tamara, one of my Fight Club girls and honestly one of the kindest people I know. She’s the one in our group checking in on everyone else, even on the days she’s barely holding it together herself. She’s also a type A, get-it-done girl, just like me. We even went to the same first fertility clinic with the same doctor, so when she tells her story, I get it.
Tamara spent years being told her symptoms were nothing. She was put back on birth control, told she “just had a cyst,” and told surgery wouldn’t help. Even after a blood test came back 98% likely for endometriosis, her first clinic refused to refer her. Three IUIs, seven egg retrievals, a canceled cycle, “complex abnormal” embryo results, months of suppression and two major surgeries later, she finally has answers. Her surgeons found one of the most serious cases of endo they’d seen: her bladder was twisted and stuck to her uterus. Now she has two normal embryos and is heading into transfer territory.
This one is raw, real, and full of the kind of hope you only earn the hard way. Grab your tissues, girl. We both needed them.
In this episode, we talk about:
The endo symptom so many of us miss (hello, endo bladder and constantly needing to pee) and why Tamara’s went undiagnosed for years
Being dismissed and gaslit by doctors, and why you should never accept “it’s not a big deal”
Why IVF doesn’t “bypass” endometriosis, and why an endo-specific protocol matters
Leaving a clinic that wasn’t listening, and what changed with a doctor who looks at the whole picture
Embryo math, “complex abnormal” results, and why the way news is delivered matters so much
High-dose vs. low-dose protocols and what Tamara learned about her egg quality
Microbiome testing, priming, PRP and NAD, and everything she tried to give herself the best shot
Excision surgery, uterine reconstruction, and finally hearing “your uterus looks great”
Surviving Lupron suppression (it is not for the weak)
How infertility tested and strengthened her marriage, and why her husband Frank is her biggest cheerleader
What not to say to a friend going through infertility
If you’re in the thick of it: Trust your gut. If your symptoms aren’t being taken seriously, you’re allowed to push for answers, ask for a second opinion, and find a team that actually fights with you.
If this episode spoke to you, please like, subscribe and share it with someone who needs to hear it. That’s how we reach more women who need this community.
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Helpful Timestamps:
00:00 Meet Tamara
06:34 Endo Symptoms and Being Dismissed
12:58 Endomir Test Fallout
17:13 IUI Attempts and Lessons
22:20 First IVF Retrieval Shock
29:42 Supportive Partner Frank
34:13 Leaving the First Clinic
38:16 New Endo Specialist Plan
47:03 Complex Abnormal Embryos Hope
58:58 PGT Normal Breakthrough
01:11:02 June Surgery Breakthrough
01:16:53 Transfer Prep and Endo Advocacy Lessons
