Miška’s Story: 4 Years of Strong Emotions, Fears, Hope, as well as Patience, Rationality, and Wise Decisions

Today she is happy and just before giving birth… also thanks to SPLN. Read the multi-part interview in
which Miška shared her experience with us.

How old are you and your husband? How long have you been together?

I’ll be 30 in a moment, and my husband is 28. I might even manage to give birth while I’m still 29
(laughs). We’ve been together for 5 years.

When did you realize there was a problem? When was the turning point when you felt something
might not be right?

After about half a year of trying. At first, we didn’t address it too intensely since we hadn’t been
together that long, but when we still weren’t succeeding after a year, I realized that something
probably wasn’t right. And that’s when it all started…

Did you know anything about infertility issues before your own experience? Did anyone around you
have similar problems?

To be honest, I had never paid attention to it before, as I wasn’t thinking about children yet. After all,
few 25-year-olds think about that. You only start realizing these things when you experience them
firsthand. At least, that was the case for me. If I had known earlier, I definitely would have addressed
it earlier.

I hadn’t encountered anyone in my circle who had this problem. Almost all my friends my age (and
even younger) already have children. I’m somehow lagging behind (laughs). But it’s on a good track
now.

I only found out that someone had the same problem as my husband and me once we started
addressing it. And I must say, it’s better when you have someone you can talk to about this topic.
Mutual support and understanding—that’s invaluable. Because someone who hasn’t been through it
can’t put themselves in our shoes. They can try to understand, but they’ll never fully get it.

What followed? Where did you get your information? Google? Modrý koník (discussion forum)? Chat
rooms?

A cycle of medical examinations followed. When I was younger, I had a thyroid problem. I had
hypothyroidism, and back then my doctor told me that in the future there would be a problem
getting pregnant because I had quite high prolactin levels. I didn’t pay much attention to it then, until
I started visiting my gynecologist, who reminded me of it.

Prolactin was still elevated, but he saw the main issue in me having an anovulatory cycle—meaning
the follicle didn’t mature and no egg was released. We started treating it with medication—
Clostilbegyt. I took it for several months, and I must say it worked quickly. It’s just that getting
pregnant still wasn’t happening.

So we started looking for causes on my husband’s side as well. My doctor recommended we try a
reproductive clinic and mentioned SPLN among others. When my husband underwent an exam with
an andrologist, the spermiogram results weren’t ideal, and his doctor also recommended SPLN. That’s
when I started researching things online.

What tipped the scale? Was it hard? Did you go in without prejudice? Did you have concerns?

The internet gave me enough information regarding IVF. Until then, I had no idea about it and hadn’t
thought to look into it. I found out what all it entails, read various reviews, and read discussions on
“Modrý koník” by women who went through IVF; I studied it all carefully.

We went into it without prejudice. After all, there’s nothing wrong with longing for a child, even if
medicine and doctors have to help with that. Sure, it was tough at first to accept that we were the
ones having to go through all this… But when I realized how many people go through this, I was
encouraged by the fact that we weren’t alone in it.

Why SPLN specifically? Were you anywhere else?

SPLN because two different doctors independently suggested it to us. As I mentioned, I had never
paid attention to the existence of reproductive clinics. As soon as SPLN was mentioned, I looked up
reviews online. The information we gathered was enough for us to decide. In fact, I didn’t even look
for any other clinic because people online spoke very highly of SPLN. So we decided to give it a try.
After all, if we weren’t satisfied, we could look for another clinic. Luckily, that didn’t happen 🙂 We
weren’t anywhere else in Košice or Slovakia.

What all did you go through?

When we arrived at SPLN back when the associate professor (docentka) was still working there, we
handed over the results of our previous exams. I had a standard initial gynecological exam, and my
husband had a spermiogram. Based on the spermiogram results, it was suggested that we go straight
to IVF. So we went for it.

This first attempt was in 2016. The associate professor explained everything to us—how it would
proceed and roughly how much money to prepare. I went through a short protocol, which meant I
was stimulated for 10 days, followed by egg retrieval and transfer.

The first attempt was not successful. Although everything looked promising at first and I managed to
get pregnant, it ended in a missed miscarriage (missed abort). After stopping the medication, my
body cleared itself naturally, so curettage wasn’t necessary.

It was very hard for us at that time. I didn’t understand why it happened. We went into it with the
hope that it would succeed right away, since we weren’t old and our test results weren’t that bad. It
was a very unpleasant, painful, and sad experience. Moreover, both my husband and I felt like we
weren’t getting enough support from the doctors who were supposed to help us.

After the miscarriage, they sent us for genetic testing to see if everything was okay or if there was any
“mismatch.” But genetic tests also confirmed that everything was fine.
After this experience, I refused to undergo another IVF for some time. So during a trip to Bulgaria, we
decided to visit some doctors there to see what procedures they used and if they could offer us
different information than back home in Slovakia. They told us that the top reproductive centers were
in Istanbul, Turkey. We even started considering that option.

However, another doctor at a different center told me that I had bad blood test results. I had a
mutation that nobody in Slovakia had informed me about, nor had anyone sent me to hematology.
They diagnosed me with increased blood clotting (thrombophilia), which was actually the reason I
couldn’t carry a pregnancy. After that, we didn’t pursue anything further in Bulgaria, partly because
there was no time, and partly because I wanted to finish those tests back home in Košice.

How did you tolerate the stimulation? How many eggs were retrieved?

I tolerated the first stimulation well; I didn’t even feel any changes in myself, like mood swings from
all the hormones, weight gain, or pain. However, it was probably a weak stimulation because only 5
eggs were retrieved, 3 were successfully fertilized, and out of those 3, 2 were viable. So we had 2
blastocysts transferred right away.

With the second IVF, it was a different story. I tolerated the stimulation a bit worse; I had different
injections. I gained 4 kg, felt nauseous, and even had to visit the ER because I was scared I might be developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Fortunately, everything was fine, I was just a
bit bloated.
The second stimulation turned out much better, though: 7 mature follicles were retrieved, 5 were
successfully fertilized, and all of them survived. So the struggle was worth it! With the second IVF, we
had 2 embryos transferred at the morula stage. Both took hold, but eventually one was reabsorbed.
After so many years (4 years) and so many attempts…

We can hardly even put it into words. We are immensely happy that it succeeded 🙂 We had almost
stopped believing and stopped forcing it, telling ourselves that whatever is meant to happen will
happen. And it really did happen 🙂

How do you perceive SPLN as a clinic? Its atmosphere?

I must say, very positively. The atmosphere there is great. During the first visit, everything was new,
unfamiliar, full of people… but by the second visit (meaning the 2nd IVF cycle), we went in knowing
what to expect. We were much more relaxed.

The staff, the rooms, the doctors… we can’t say a bad word. Everything was great. I didn’t even feel
like I was at a doctor’s clinic. A waiting room with comfortable seating, a TV, kind and smiling nurses.
And the doctor? He is an amazing, positive person with a human approach and great humor. He knew
how to create a relaxed atmosphere, put us in a positive mood, and explain everything clearly. I really
felt very good there and looked forward to every next visit.

I would also like to thank the entire team at SPLN for their care and kind words. And special thanks to
Dr. Lazar for encouraging us from the beginning, answering my phone call even at midnight when I
had issues during stimulation, never being grumpy, and always having a kind and calming voice. These
are our personal feelings and experiences. And what made me happiest was seeing how genuinely
pleased the doctor was when our IVF succeeded and when he told us we had 2 beating hearts.

Miška, and how are you coping with the pregnancy? Were there any complications? Were you
hospitalized?

Pregnancy, well… first of all, I am happy :-), but I have to admit that I had issues throughout the entire
pregnancy. And I don’t just mean morning sickness. As much as I was looking forward to being
pregnant, I’m now looking forward to it being over (laughs). Every month, every week, I had to
undergo various medical tests. From blood clotting disorders to gestational diabetes to
hospitalizations.

It repeatedly bled and tore, well, it was awful, and the worst part was that doctors washed their
hands of it because I was pregnant. But one was found who didn’t see a problem in removing it. The
anesthesia was only local, and it didn’t harm the baby in any way. Not to mention toothaches…
Furthermore, my first hospitalization was at 25 weeks due to false contractions and the threat of
premature labor. I stayed in the hospital for 5 days. Then things were quiet for a bit, and the second
hospitalization was around 34–35 weeks, I don’t remember exactly, also due to threatened premature
labor. I stayed in the hospital for a week.

Now our baby girl seems to not want to come out. I guess she said to herself that since we kept her
waiting for so long, now we’ll wait until the very end (laughs). My due date is July 31st, one day
before my birthday… so we’ll see when our long-awaited bundle of joy surprises us 😉

Miška, thank you for the interview. I am convinced that your open words will be read by many
mothers and future mothers. If they are struggling with a similar problem, perhaps they will find their
way to us. We look forward to seeing them!