Child Loss & Grief
An Endometriosis Diagnosis whilst Working in Fertility – Suzie, founder of Binto, shares her Story
Eloise Edington | 15 Mar 2021
Today on Fertility Help Hub, we hear from Suzie Devine, who is a women’s health and fertility nurse, founder of Binto, wife, dog mom and advocate. Suzie shares her own personal trying to conceive journey. From finding out she had endometriosis and what this meant for her, to how it led to her founding personalized vitamins, (made for those on a mission to help women everywhere get access to safe and effective over-the-counter products, alongside licensed healthcare specialists), all at an attainable price-point. We are also running a giveaway with Binto until tomorrow! Click here to find out more and apply.
Words by Suzie Devine
In all my years working in fertility, the thought never crossed my mind (and I never guessed) that I might receive an infertility diagnosis. Looking back now, it seems silly that thinking that working as a fertility and IVF nurse meant that I would get pregnant easily. In December of 2019, my husband and I finally decided to pull the trigger on trying to conceive. Growing our family and becoming parents is a lifelong dream of mine. Full of excitement that it was finally my turn to get pregnant, we did not dwell too much on the fact that something could go wrong.
The Beginning
I bought ovulation predictor kits and used the Ovia App to help track my cycles. I’m very regular and my ovarian reserve work-up looked perfect, so I felt confident starting to try and conceive. Not getting a positive pregnancy test during the first two months was extremely frustrating, but we were still having ‘fun’ trying. However, at the beginning of March 2020, we had a chemical pregnancy loss and I started to notice a new, and very annoying, burning sensation in my pelvic area. Since I witnessed so many couples waiting too long to see a fertility specialist, I immediately emailed a close family friend and RE physician, Maureen Kelly.
That moment marks the beginning of my road to an endometriosis diagnosis, infertility and pregnancy loss.
Related Article – Ovulation Prediction: How to Detect Ovulation Accurately and Easily
My Endometriosis Diagnosis
During our fertility work-up with Dr. Kelly, we identified a broad-based endometrial polyp on the ultrasound (Day Three of my cycle) and determined that the polyp was the likely cause of my pelvic pain and a reason for our troubles conceiving. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. we waited two months to get in for the polyp removal surgery. Waiting was agonizing! All I wanted was to get this polyp out and get pregnant. It felt like every day a new person was announcing a pregnancy and we couldn’t even try.
During the shut-down I taught several classes on TTC (trying to conceive) during COVID-19, which helped me feel less isolated. I realized how many couples’ plans became derailed due to global shut-downs. Thankfully, the fertility community figured out how to reopen safely and, by the time June rolled around, I got the polyp removed. We thought everything was good to go after the surgery, however the burning cramping came back about two weeks post-op and Dr. Kelly finally diagnosed me with endometriosis.
The endometriosis diagnosis hit hard. All I knew about endometriosis was the horror stories of my long-time patients at the fertility clinic where I worked as an IVF nurse. While many women with endometriosis get pregnant on their own, many deal with long fertility journeys with surgeries, IVF and too many unknowns to count. I put on my scientist hat and started researching everything about endometriosis and infertility. What I discovered left me confused and disappointed. This disease, which impacts 1 in 10 women (although that is likely to be on the low end), still remains a mystery to fertility specialists and there is little research into understanding how it works and why it causes infertility.
Related Article – IVF: 5 Tips to Avoid Common Mistakes During IVF Treatment
Emotional Rollercoaster of IVF and Miscarriages
Prior to moving straight to IVF (knowing how invasive, expensive and emotionally draining the process is) my husband and I planned to try a few IUIs. It worked! We got pregnant in August 2020, but miscarried at seven weeks, due to a chromosomal abnormality with the embryo. Fast-forward to today, we’ve gone through one round of IVF, a transfer of a PGT (Pre-genetic) tested embryo, another miscarriage and we’re planning to start our second IVF cycle in the coming weeks. For this round of IVF, I feel more prepared for what lies ahead. I feel good about my stress levels (now managed by lots of Reiki, meditation and therapy) and about the lifestyle adjustments I’ve made over the past year of trying to conceive, but I am still nervous about it at the same time.
Truthfully, my miscarriage in January 2021 (what would have been our baby girl), left me traumatized. It made me doubt my path in life and my ability to lead a company that helps thousands of women in their fertility journeys. Getting on Instagram was painful, leading events on fertility was gruelling and showing up to work everyday, to be the leader I’m supposed to be, was near impossible. I completely broke down and my support system told me to take some time and heal. It ended up being the best decision for myself and for our Binto community. I realized how passionate I am about fertility and women’s health, how much I actually LOVE what I do and how much the work we do and the products we make at Binto matter.
Related Article – Parenting / Life After Baby Loss?
Launching Binto
The point of my story is to tell you that you’re not alone. We don’t know how easy or hard our journey to parenthood will be…there is no one-size-fits-all with fertility. After noticing a huge gap in the fertility market and so many of my fertility patients asking product questions and getting confused, I launched Binto in the spring of 2016.
Binto is the culmination of my life-long commitment to women’s health. Working in healthcare for several years, I’ve seen the fertility journey for what it can be: long, frustrating, overwhelming, expensive. I’ve also seen my patients bloom with renewed purpose. When you’re on that TTC journey, it’s hard to know where to turn or whom you can trust. There’s no magical formula. There’s no pill you can swallow that’ll give you a guarantee. But you can get your body as healthy as possible. I can help you with that—and that’s why I started Binto.
Related Article – Five Essential Functional Medicine Tests for Fertility
So, What Does Binto Do?
Binto connects you to health professionals and personalized supplements. Our mission is to redefine your fertility and prenatal journey, with the use of OTC supplements and tele-health consults. We provide you with daily supplement packets, customized for your health needs and fertility treatments. Whether you’re suffering from endometriosis, irregular cycles, PCOS or unexplained infertility, we can give you the extra health support you need. All your Binto products are delivered to your door, in easy-to-use, daily packaging, at an attainable price point (subscriptions beginning at $20/month). We operate as a monthly subscription so you don’t need to stress about running out or going to the store to fill up on your prenatal vitamins. When it comes to fertility, we want to take one thing off your plate.
What inspires me is that there’s hope for all of us on this journey. The care we put into making Binto for you, with our team of experts—well, hopefully, it feels like a nurse squeezing your hand.
FHH Readers get 20% off with code “FHH20” at checkout
Binto supplements are manufactured in the U.S. in an FDA approved laboratory and all are Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certified. All our products are gluten free, vegetarian, NON-GMO, and preservative and filler-free. We look to the latest data and research and ASRM and ACOG guidelines when formulating Binto supplements.
