Kathleen came to me at 42 years old carrying six failed IVF cycles, all aneuploid embryos, a miscarriage, and years of being told donor egg was her only path forward. She was exhausted, traumatized, and barely holding onto hope.
In this Story of Hope, Kathleen joins me live to share exactly what shifted for her: the root cause work, the protocol changes, the functional medicine testing, and the moment a doctor finally looked at her and said “you are actually young.” Two years after applying to our functional fertility group coaching program, she is two weeks away from delivering her own baby boy.
This is not just a success story. It is a roadmap. If you have been told your eggs are too old, your numbers are too low, or that you have run out of options.
SEE TRANSCRIPT BELOW OR CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR THE FULL VIDEO.
(Transcript begins below)
[00:00:41] Aimee: Hi everyone, I’m so excited as always to be here for another story of hope. This one… oh my god, I’m already getting emotional. This is Kathleen, and we are so happy that she is here. Right before we came live, we were looking at when Kathleen applied to our functional fertility group coaching program, which was literally two years ago—almost to the date, May 31st, 2023. And now she is… you want to stand up and show everybody your big belly?
[00:01:18] Kathleen: Okay, sure. I’ve got that going on.
[00:01:23] Aimee: She’s going to be induced in about two weeks. Last week was her last week of work, and here we are. I want to read just from the application real fast and then obviously we’re going to get into sharing. So when she applied, she was 42 years old and she said, “I produce a good amount of eggs but they’re all aneuploid.” And she said, “I eat about 70% clean, I do acupuncture. My RE (Reproductive Endocrinologist) continues to tell me I’m too old and I need to stop and get a donor egg, so I’m not learning anything from her. If anything, she’s making me feel really bad about all of this.” And then your AMH was around a 1.6, and two years prior it was even lower. So your AMH actually shifted when you started shifting some of your own things. When you came to me, we had done your initial intake and I just want to quote one thing because I thought it was pretty powerful. You said that the first RE was just super pushy about the donor eggs, and that was really devastating to you. Her two big beliefs were “my eggs are crap” and “I’m too old.” But as we talked more, you did say, “I feel like I still have some good ones.” I remember telling you—I do remember this—where I said to you, looking at because that one paper had just come out where I was like, well, according to this, still 30 to 40% of your eggs are actually still good. And I remember you being like, “That feels so hard for me to believe right now.” Share with everyone that feeling.
[00:03:26] Kathleen: Yeah, absolutely. I think when you get told no so many times, you just start to believe it in every cell of your body. And I was there.
[00:03:33] Aimee: Yeah. And so by the time we met, you had already had two IVFs that yielded two blasts and then three blasts—all were PGT-A abnormal. They were high-stim protocols. Then you had three IUIs. The second didn’t work, and the third IUI you made too many follicles, so they converted to an IVF and that’s when you made one euploid. That was for me a very interesting thing, like oh, IUI meds helped her make a euploid. Lower stim, even though she has a good reserve for her age, maybe would make the difference. Then you did one more IVF and it resulted in one unknown embryo, and then you got pregnant somewhere in the middle—you had a natural pregnancy.
[00:04:42] Kathleen: We transferred one of the unknowns and I got pregnant. That’s right. And then I miscarried.
[00:04:50] Aimee: And that’s kind of when I met you, because you hadn’t had a period since the miscarriage when you joined the program. And then she had also met with a third RE who said her egg count improved because she was no longer on the pill, and she had been on the pill her whole life. I think this is something really important to point out to everybody: the birth control pill shrinks your ovaries and can reduce AMH and antral follicle count. It can take 6 to 9 months to recover from that. So for any of you getting tested soon after being off the pill, it’s not a good time to do that. So, then we meet, and I guess for you, talk about some of the big changes that we initially made that you felt had an impact.
[00:05:51] Kathleen: Yeah, I think following your diet was a big one for me because I think I had no idea of what I was eating and when to eat. And I think just the meditation really, really helped a lot.
[00:06:08] Aimee: As I said to Kathleen before we went live, I remember that first call and, lovingly, she was like a deer in headlights when I met her. You were so traumatized. And not to overshare, but she’s also in the medical field. So I think there was part of that too—how can I doubt these colleagues of mine that are telling me I am “all bad,” all my eggs are bad, there’s no hope. You were so torn, but then I got it out of you to say, “No, I do actually believe there must be some good eggs left in me.” I remember writing out your goals: 30 grams of protein with each meal and four to six servings of veggies. You had said you were either “200% good or 200% bad.” We would laugh about that. But also, you have an intense, busy life, so a lot of it was meeting you where you were at, preparing you with snacks, and retraining you on how to not go those long gaps without eating.
[00:07:11] Kathleen: Yeah, I think I made a lot of comments about getting anxious and just eating a donut. It was always the donuts.
[00:07:15] Aimee: Well, it was the stuff at work! It’s like, I’m starving, someone has a donut, I’m going to eat it—versus being prepared. I also wrote in all caps: “NEEDS HEALTHIER BOUNDARIES AT WORK.” And your sleep was not that great; you weren’t going to bed until midnight and then up at 6:00 AM. We tried to shift that. I remember I wrote: goal for this cycle, turn off TV by 10:30, maybe read a good book until 11:00, and then go to bed. You had read It Starts with the Egg before meeting me, so you were on CoQ10, fish oil, and a multi. We also talked about focusing on the facts: your FSH, your AMH, and what was happening with your body because you were so worried about early menopause.
[00:08:25] Kathleen: Yeah, with the PCOS I just didn’t have regular periods, so I didn’t really know what was happening.
[00:08:37] Aimee: That’s right. The PCOS was present, so her AMH and antral follicle count were high, but there was this insulin resistance going on. Metabolically, we needed you eating enough and keeping that blood sugar stable because that was really impacting your emotional states as well. So you went through the six-month program with us. What were some of the highlights for you?
[00:09:08] Kathleen: I think just hearing other people’s stories. And one comment will always stay in my mind—when you asked us, “Do you think you can get pregnant?” and I remember thinking, “No, not at all.” And then you said, “Well, you must, because why else are you here?” That really changed my mindset.
[00:09:40] Aimee: And what about the functional testing? Was that insightful?
[00:09:48] Kathleen: Yeah, we did the stool test and the Dutch test with Carrie. My GI flora was a little out of whack, so I worked with her as well and took her supplement recommendations just to try and get my body as ready as possible.
[00:10:05] Aimee: And then the work with Samantha, the therapist on the team. I feel like you enjoyed that. Then, even after the program ended, you did more one-on-one coaching with Heather, correct?
[00:10:30] Kathleen: Yeah, because things change a little bit here and there and she helped me continue to tweak my protocol. She also just made me feel like I was on the right track.
[00:10:48] Aimee: So then let’s talk about what finally worked. It’s September 6th, 2024. You started working with Rejuvenating Fertility Center, correct? You were traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast. How was that?
[00:11:03] Kathleen: It was stressful. Sometimes I thought, “Is this crazy?” But I just couldn’t find a doctor locally who would listen to me. They kept giving me high-drug protocols. I would have my retrievals on day seven or eight, and Heather was saying that’s just way too early. They wouldn’t listen. When you recommended the guys in New York, I thought, “Let’s just do it.” When I spoke with Dr. Marco, I said to him, “Look, I know I’m old and it’s probably not going to happen.” And when he said to me, “You’re within our normal demographic… you’re actually young,” I thought, “Oh my gosh, I need to go here.”
[00:12:02] Aimee: I love Dr. Marco. So, September 6, 2024, she’s doing a low-dose protocol instead of high-dose, which she had done for the previous six cycles. Do you remember the dosing?
[00:12:33] Kathleen: I was only on Clomid and Gonal-F, and that’s it. I think the Gonal-F was in the 150s.
[00:12:57] Aimee: So she does a low-dose protocol. How many cycles rendered the two euploids?
[00:13:05] Kathleen: I did two. The first one I got a low mosaic Trisomy 21, and he recommended not to use that embryo. Then we did a second one and he added on Dexamethasone. For whatever reason, that worked great with my body. We made three blasts, and two were euploid—which was the best I have ever done.
[00:13:36] Aimee: Three blasts, two come back normal. That’s 66%! That’s insane. Then we moved into the transfer protocol. You did our anti-inflammatory protocol, right? The antihistamine—low-dose steroid, baby aspirin, Zyrtec, and Pepcid. And then they did a biopsy and a hysteroscopy, and you had a low amount of endometritis and a nodule.
[00:14:25] Kathleen: Yeah, I can’t remember exactly what the nodule was, but yeah.
[00:14:33] Aimee: They did another biopsy and scope and then you transferred. What was the date of transfer?
[00:14:42] Kathleen: November 1st.
[00:14:53] Aimee: And now you still have one euploid on ice! One boy and one girl. Here is an email you sent on September 6th: “I did an endometrial biopsy which revealed some endometritis and a benign and rare nodule called a placental site nodule, apparently a remnant of my previous miscarriage.” Keep in mind, no other doctor wanted to go back in and do a hysteroscopy after that loss. Had they moved her to a donor egg and transferred, she would have likely miscarried that donor embryo because no one checked the uterus. That is such an important point. You also wrote that Dr. Marco put you on Gonal-F, Dexamethasone, Clomid, and Ganirelix. While you didn’t make as many embryos—only three made it to blast—two were normal. In the past, you’d get nine blasts and they’d all be aneuploid on 5x more meds.
[00:16:38] Kathleen: Dr. Marco called me multiple times the morning he received my PGT results to personally tell me I had two normals. Because of the time difference, I was asleep, and I saw multiple phone calls and thought, “Oh my gosh, what is this?” It was a really great moment.
[00:17:19] Aimee: During this time you’re also doing the functional medicine work for your microbiome. You wrote: “My GI symptoms have improved 70 to 80%. I’m not uncomfortably burping or having gas. I’ve gone from being always tired to feeling okay. I feel less anxious and like I can manage the day better.” That was September 6th, and two months later, you do the transfer and it works. We put you on the antihistamine protocol and the CCRM protocol with baby aspirin. On November 11th—11:11, angel time—you sent the email: “I just got a positive result!” And now you’re two weeks away from having a baby. Tell everyone what you said to me before we recorded, about waking up in the morning.
[00:20:09] Kathleen: Because I heard so many “nos”—one doctor here straight off the bat said, “You’re old, it’s not going to happen, you need a donor egg”—I still don’t really believe this, even though in two weeks I’m having my C-section. I wake up every morning and I feel my abdomen to make sure it’s still there and I’m not dreaming. I still haven’t told a lot of people because I feel like I need that baby in my hands.
[00:21:08] Aimee: I think it’s truly PTSD. You wrote to me on June 3rd: “I’m sorry I’ve not kept you up to date. I’m 32 weeks pregnant. It has taken me up till now to truly believe this is happening. I remember that first meeting where you asked who believes they can get pregnant—I didn’t answer because I didn’t believe I could. I had seen five REs at that time. I’m 44 years old and I never thought this would happen to me.” And you still follow the food plan, take the supplements, and meditate every day. It’s just beautiful. What words of inspiration do you have for those in your shoes?
[00:23:21] Kathleen: Educate yourself on the process, ask questions, and advocate for yourself. Know that there’s not just one way to do it.
[00:23:44] Aimee: Medicine is an art, not just a science. What works for one doesn’t work for another. We can’t just say, “At 43, this is the standard protocol, and if it doesn’t work, it’s your fault.”
[00:24:03] Kathleen: It’s also changed how I practice medicine every day. You can’t just lump everyone into the same category and say, “Donor egg.”
[00:24:17] Aimee: I’m so excited! I can’t wait for the baby pictures. Don’t forget the new mama guide for C-section recovery and breastfeeding. Thank you so much for sharing.
[00:24:33] Kathleen: Thank you.
Interested in working with Aimee? Join her 6-month Functional Fertility program: aimeeraupp.com/coaching
Get Aimee’s fertility books here: aimeeraupp.com/books
Grab my FREE fertility starter kit here: aimeeraupp.com/fertilitystarterkit
How to do castor oil packs: https://aimeeraupp.com/get-pregnant-faster-tip-castor-oil-packs/
Get my FREE MTHFR guide here: aimeeraupp.com/mthfr
CHECK OUT AIMEE’S ALL ORGANIC & FERTILITY FRIENDLY SKINCARE LINE: AimeeRauppBeauty.com
FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA Follow me on social media so you don’t miss these sessions live! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aimeeraupp/…
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@aimeerauppfertility