Daisy and her endometriosis battle

Daisy, a wonderful patient of Harley Street Fertility Clinic went through a rather difficult time dealing with endometriosis at a very young age. She braved through it all and today, she is now a mother to a baby girl! Here is Daisy, sharing her story when she was expecting baby Hope.

Listen to Daisy's story in the podcast below.

Podcast part 1:

Podcast part 2:

The start of her fertility journey with Harley Street Fertility Clinic

“I was diagnosed at 17 with endometriosis. I had multiple surgeries to remove my endo, and I had to keep on top of my pain. I also have only one ovary left and there I was, expecting a little girl,” says Daisy, smiling.

When she was 20, Daisy was worried about possible fertility issues that may arise due to complications of endometriosis and asked her gynaecologist at the time if he would recommend her to freeze her eggs. Daisy recalls that “he laughed at me, in the nicest way possible, and said ‘you are too young, you have plenty of time, you are 20, we would never do any IVF on you!’”

Surprised by his answer, Daisy decided to seek a second opinion. She asked her dad if he would take her to see someone else. A google search for ‘The best fertility clinic in London’ came back with Dr Venkat and Harley Street Fertility Clinic.

When her fertility journey with HSFC started, Daisy was 21. “I did tests, and one of them showed low AMH*,  too low for a 21-year-old.” Dr Venkat advised her that she was heading in the direction of being prematurely infertile, although she was so young. That’s when Daisy decided to take action.

 Egg Freezing Process and IVF Treatment

In 2016 Daisy decided to freeze her eggs. She changed gynaecologist to get a better patient/Doctor relationship.

“In March 2016 I sat down with Dr.Venkat and we went through everything we had to go through to have the best chance. I am single and we decided to get a sperm donor from a sperm bank,” says Daisy.

There were 2 cycles of egg retrieval. The first stage was embryo freezing, then Daisy had another cycle with only egg freezing. “I had the option, in case I met someone in the future, to use those eggs. There were 7 eggs in the first cycle there were 7 eggs, and 5 fertilised. The second round of egg collection gave us 4 eggs.

They were kept in the freezer. In 2018 I had my last laparoscopy. Because her endometriosis was now severe, Daisy’s gynaecologist recommended a hysterectomy. “He knew about my egg retrieval and about my frozen embryos so he recommended starting my IVF treatment .”

Daisy says that from 2018, the clinic was her second home.

“It was THE best experience I could have had after my previous bad experience. IVF is not fun, it’s heart-wrenching at times, but when you have an amazing clinic, and nurses, even reception staff, it really helps going smoother when you feel the extra love and support.”

 Being a Single Mum

“I live with my best friend who is going to be ‘the dad’. I am also very close to my dad, who lives around the corner. All my other friends are a massive support network for me and my baby, which is amazing.”

Her feelings during the pregnancy

“If I didn’t have the pain which comes with endometriosis, I felt great during my pregnancy. I had a lot of energy. I wasn’t that hormonal, I don’t think. It’s the pain that took its toll, but that was managed with a few painkillers which are safe for the baby. I kept saying myself, every day she is growing more, the longer I keep her in, the better. I have to put a brave face and keep on going. I know she would be very, very worthwhile when she arrived.”

Pandemic challenges

“The lockdown was interesting. I thought it was going to be scary when I was in the hospital and  I could escape when I was in labour. If I had a C-section it would be a longer delivery. The hospital staff were amazing and wouldn't let anyone in. The worst was not having visitors. The last part of my pregnancy was tough, not having people around, not being able to go out, have dinner with my friends, enjoying my last moments of our pregnancy together. Me and my friends texted each other continuously. 

Embryos or frozen eggs left

“This was the last embryo and it’s been the only one that survived to day 5. She was meant to be here and it was meant to be.  It’s because my hysterectomy was necessary that fate played a magical hand.    If I wasn’t planning the hysterectomy, maybe I would have enquired about having more embryos, more eggs frozen, more cycles, but it’s ok, she’s worth it, she’s all I need, we are all good.

A message for other women

“Have the best support that you have. I wouldn’t be able to do this without my best friend I live with, and 2 of my best friends, and my dad. They were not pretending to give me good advice, they meant it. The doctors you work with, just ask. I saw a few doctors and a few said, you're ok, just take painkillers, get on with it. I changed doctors, I wanted someone to understand what I was going through, to be empathetic. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. You deserve to have the best experience in your experience, knowing that it will end with a beautiful child at the end of the day.”

Dr.Venkat – a phenomenal woman

“I owe her everything. She is the most graceful woman on this planet during this whole experience. Even when I had bad news or something wasn’t going right, she would smile and give me a cuddle, saying ‘We’ll go through this together, we’ll give you a child,’. Every single person who met her loved her. She is putting in such an amazing experience, She deserves the world for helping people to have babies. She would go above and beyond for all her patients. I simply think she is a phenomenal woman.WE revisit the clinic every year. Even if she is extremely busy, she would always have 5 minutes for me whenever I called, she is very adapting and she does this for every patient. Amazing!”

If you are wondering what Daisy’s baby is called, it’s a name that will remind Daisy of what kept her going through her battle with endometriosis.

“Her name is  Hope. I needed a lot of Hope going through this journey. I cannot wait to show her to everybody. I made her a scrapbook, and everyone at the clinic will be there.”