Living with cystic fibrosis, your dreams for the future can be a little hazy. But while attending my grandmother's 90th birthday celebration recently, I was struck by an image of myself that I had never seen before: myself in the distant future.
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When my husband and I were given the thumbs-up from my cystic fibrosis doctor to start trying for our own family, it felt like a small victory 12 years in the making. After being referred to a maternal-fetal medicine physician for a preconception consultation, we are finally taking our first steps toward parenthood.
As an infertile man with cystic fibrosis, I never thought my wife and I would be on the cusp of our first pregnancy. Fortunately, over the last 18 months, we've learned a thing or two about navigating the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) process.
As a social worker who specializes in helping adults with cystic fibrosis, I realized several years ago that there's a connection between intimacy and sexuality, and the successful management of a daily CF treatment plan. By "partnering with your partner," you can work together to enhance your relationship and minimize the barriers to your care.
Living with cystic fibrosis is a constant reminder of the things that have been taken from me. I feel like I've made a bargain with the devil, so to speak.
Most women with CF have normal hormonal function, reproductive tracts and sexual development. Despite this, there are common general and disease-specific sexual and reproductive health concerns that are common in CF.
Finding a Balance Between CF and High School
In a culture flooded with advertisements about the perfect body, secret weight-loss tricks and fad diets, our cultural ideals of weight are often skewed to an image that is far from healthy.
When I was 13, my family went from having two seemingly normal kids to two CF patients in a manner of a few short months -- and boy, did it change everything. Because of my late diagnosis, I faced a unique set of challenges that helped make me the strong person I am today.