Pregnancy Journeys

“My husband and I tried for several months to get pregnant without any results. This frustrating journey led us to Craig where within 30-days of his fertility treatments we had good news to share! Our beautiful 8-month old daughter is healthy, joyful, and a wonderful blessing! We plan to return to him before trying for our second baby. Throughout this process Craig demonstrated his knowledge, talents, caring bedside manner, and his commitment to our pregnancy success. Thank you Craig!”

“My husband and I started trying for our first child nearly 10 years ago, shortly before we turned 28. We were both healthy, active twenty-somethings with no real medical history and we never dreamed that it would be a difficult for us to have a baby. After almost a year of trying on our own using ovulation predictor kits and making “healthier” lifestyle changes, yet ending up with negative pregnancy tests, we talked to my OB/GYN who started us on Clomid and seemed extremely hopeful that we would be successful right away. But we didn’t have success for our first three months on Clomid, and our doctor was eager to start more aggressive treatment. I took the advice of some friends and started seeing an acupuncturist instead. I saw an acupuncturist weekly, at 7am before work, and made even more significant diet changes, even though we already had a very clean eating style and always made it a point to eat healthily. I began taking Chinese herbs, got fertility massages, and my husband and I both took multiple new vitamins and supplements. I was charting my cycle and after a few cycles with this acupuncturist, I saw significant improvements. However, after we were still unsuccessful for another eight months with him, we went back to my OB/ GYN. This time, with acupuncture, Clomid, HCG shots, and progesterone supplements, we became pregnant two months later.

We had a very easy and healthy pregnancy and delivery, and when our baby boy was six months old, we began trying again for baby #2, hoping that our days of unexplained infertility were long behind us. This time the struggle turned into an incredibly difficult path, which started off with seeing a fertility specialist. Our treatment plans went from oral fertility drugs quickly to injectable drugs, and soon we were incorporating IUI’s (intra-uterine insemination) to our treatment plans as well. After twenty months of treatment, and still no explanation of what might be the problem, we began to gear up for our first round of IVF. Our doctor was left confused and unable to explain why we weren’t getting pregnant, but came to the conclusion that since we had such difficulty getting pregnant, we should not only consider IVF but also consider using donor eggs. Leaving that consultation left me devastated, panicked, and hopeless. It took us about two months to absorb this information and to work on making a decision of how to go forward. We also began going to adoption seminars.

Our heads were spinning with the options that lay before us, but I couldn’t bring myself to give up on the dream of having another child of our own, especially since no one could tell us what was “wrong” with us. During the nearly two year period leading up to IVF, I did not rely entirely on the medical community for a solution. My husband and I again made very strict diet changes, we both took an even more complicated regimen of vitamins, supplements, and powders. I continued to see an acupuncturist once a week, but also saw a massage therapist, a chiropractor, and even a hypnotist semi-regularly. Fertility yoga, meditation CD’s, infertility support groups and mornings at our church’s prayer garden became part of my life. Not a day went by that we weren’t aware of what we could or should be doing to have another baby.

All of this effort added a huge weight to our marriage; the time-commitments, last-minute appointments, cancelled plans due to appointments, physical pain from needles and other medical procedures, extreme financial burden, and emotional rollercoasters month after month weighed heavily on both of us. We made the decision to try IVF (using my eggs, not a donor), and our first IVF cycle failed devastatingly, but we didn’t give up, and after a second cycle of IVF, we finally became pregnant with our daughter.

Our baby girl was born about 3 years ago, after another healthy pregnancy and delivery, and as much as I couldn’t fathom going through all of the appointments, and stress of trying again, I couldn’t shake the feeling that our family just still wasn’t complete after our daughter was born. Some people tried to tell me to leave well enough alone, and be happy with the two healthy children I had. And of course, I was extremely grateful for our beautiful family as it was, but I just knew someone else belonged with us. So, we started trying for baby #3 when our daughter was about six months old, and continued to try on our own for over a year. This time, we tried to stay more relaxed and focus less on “trying”, and more on the blessings in our lives. I could no longer find time to fit in as many acupuncturist and other specialist appointments but we still focused on our diet and continued to pray for an answer of which direction we should go. When our daughter was about eighteen months old, we began feeling the pressure of getting older and of our children getting older, and we decided to go back to the fertility clinic. This time we started right with IVF, since it was the only way we were successful with getting pregnant with our daughter. We endured three more IVF cycles over the course of eleven months. One cycle resulted in a devastating ectopic pregnancy which took three months of weekly appointments, blood tests and vaginal ultrasounds to finally conclude that my body was rid of the non-viable pregnancy in my right fallopian tube. The ectopic pregnancy left my emotions completely fried. I needed a break, and although we never stopped “trying” we stopped talking about trying. Six months later, feeling stronger & hopeful, we tried one more IVF cycle, which also failed. We were left exhausted defeated, sad. But I didn’t feel completely hopeless this time.

It was during this last round of IVF that a friend of mine in Michigan told me about the work that Craig and SIMIO physical therapy were doing for fertility patients. She had mentioned his work to me years ago, when we were trying for our second baby, but at the time when we were already seeing so many specialists, flying to Michigan to see Craig just seemed impossible to add in. However, now I became much more interested and hopeful after hearing about the continued success that he was having with patients of his own who were struggling with infertility. He was feeling confident about the strides that he was making and the knowledge he was collecting.

This time, the decision was easy to fly to Michigan to meet with him. It certainly was cheaper than medical fertility treatments and much more pleasant. I flew to Michigan in the spring of 2016, and my first meeting with Craig was incredibly insightful and hopeful. Craig is very knowledgeable about the human body and how muscles work together. He is also very confident about what physical therapy can do to correct weaknesses and misalignments in the body. After a series of strength tests at his clinic, he taught me how to do a regimen of exercises at home to work to correct some of my muscle weaknesses in the pelvic area. The exercises were easy to fit into my lifestyle (I could do them watching TV if I wanted), and I faithfully did what Craig had taught me to do. I flew back a few weeks later and Craig was able to see progress in some areas that were weak before. He adjusted the series of exercises that I was doing, taught me some new ones, and worked with my husband to show him how to alleviate some muscle tightness in certain areas through pressure and massage. I went back home and continued to faithfully do Craig’s therapy exercises. The visits with Craig were not at all like visits at a medical office. Going to SIMIO makes you feel like you are doing something for your overall wellbeing. Craig is impressive with his knowledge and he is quick to describe a concept many ways using analogies or jokes, or whatever it takes until you understand what he is saying. The strength tests that he performs are painless, they are similar to what a chiropractor may do. And he will keep you at ease through the whole process. Before assigning any exercises, he made sure that I fully understood the intended result of the exercise so that when I was at home, I knew where I should feel the exercise working and how it should eventually become easier. Working with SIMIO was by far the least-invasive “fertility treatment” that I did, and the whole time I felt like I knew why I was doing it, and the side benefit is that the exercises were making my body stronger.

A little more than two months of time passed since my first meeting with Craig when I saw that amazing, miraculous second pink line on an ept test. Needless to say, I was in absolute shock. For the first time in my life, at age 37, after nearly a decade of trying to get pregnant, I became pregnant without any medical intervention! It happened naturally, the “normal” way that I had dreamed about, and that I had heard about just “happening” for everyone else. I couldn’t believe it, and I am still a little bit in shock, but now I am into my second trimester with a baby girl. I have seen her kicking around and rubbing her eyes on our 12-week ultrasound and I have heard her sweet little heartbeat three times. I am forever indebted and grateful to Craig and SIMIO Physical Therapy.

I could not recommend his services enough to anyone who may be heading down a path of serious medical fertility treatment, especially to anyone who does not have an explanation of their infertility. I wish I had seen Craig long before going deeper into medical drugs, needles and procedures.”

“My husband and I got married when we were in our mid-thirties. We both grew up in large families and were excited about the opportunity to have children of our own as soon as possible.

After a year passed without success, I began using charting techniques and ovulation predictors. We were then introduced to the Creighton Model and started doctoring through Natural Procreative (NaPro) Technology. After much blood work, many ultra sounds, and a laparoscopy, the doctor determined that I had significant amounts of endometriosis. At the same time, my husband had a sperm analysis completed, which revealed very poor sperm count and quality results. It seemed that both of us had issues that together might make it impossible for us to ever have a child together. As a result of these findings, I had surgery to remove the endometriosis and my husband began taking very expensive supplements geared toward improving sperm count and quality. After a couple months of healing following surgery, I began taking Clomid, Progesterone, Fertile CM, Mucinex, Amoxicillin, and HCG injections. We were told that the three to six month period following surgery would be the most likely time for us to conceive and that these medicines could aid in the process. Unfortunately, that period also passed without success. We were frustrated, exhausted and ready for a break. It was at this point that both of us stopped taking fertility related medication altogether.

About this time, it was recommended that I see Craig at SIMIO Physical Therapy. We were reluctant, but hopeful based on recent successes that had been shared. We decided to give it a try for two major reasons. One, there was absolutely no medicine involved. Two, it was a black and white measurement. Either the therapy applies or it doesn’t. I began working with Craig and was able to monitor progress through improvements in my measurements. Within three months, my measurements were within reach of the target zone. My last appointment with Craig was to tell him that I was pregnant, and our two and a half year journey was over!

I would be remiss at this point if I didn’t add that my husband and I spent countless hours praying for a child. It is often said that God delivers miracles through the hands of those around us. We believe that our miracle was made possible through the hands of Craig and his team at SIMIO Physical Therapy.”