Resolve

Last night, I went to my first Resolve support group meeting. I love my individual therapy, but I was really curious to see what a group session was like. So to "celebrate" NIAW, I went. I'm so incredibly glad I did! It was as fun as you could hope for when you're at an infertility support group. There were 4 other ladies there, including the leader. One had PCOS, one was unexplained, one had MFI, and the leader has DOR (diminished ovarian reserve) and eventual POF (premature ovarian failure).

In addition to being a mix of issues, ladies were in various stages of treatment. The unexplained couple had done 3 IUIs and was in the process for their first IVF when they decided it wasn't for them. They've put all treatment on hold until something speaks to them. The MFI couple is in their 1st injects IUI cycle, and the PCOS couple is preparing for their first RE appointment. I carry with me an insecurity (which I know is silly) about not being able to relate to ladies who've been through treatment and its roller coaster of emotions. The leader has actually not been through treatment either - her egg donor backed out at the last moment and any treatments are now on hold. So she related to my feelings of having not been through failed treatments.

We were there for 2.5 hours, just sitting and talking. We covered so much in that time: dumb things people say, how our husbands deal, how we deal, how IF makes us feel like we need something more fulfilling than our current jobs, charting, what we mourn most because of IF, misconceptions from our 8th grade health class, how we're feeling about Mother's Day coming up. I love how I can talk to the ladies on the Bump about all these things, but there was something wonderful about having that face-to-face.

I would definitely recommend attending a group if there's one in your area. You can find the listing here.

Oh, in relation to Resolve Groups but on a kind of amusing note, I was looking at the list of groups in my area. There are meetings for IF, PAIF, and adoption across the metro area, as well as a group for men. The IF, PAIF and adoption groups meet in restaurants and cafes. The men's group? Meets at Dave & Buster's.