Hello Everyone!
Praise the LORD for he heard my cry and answered!
I am so grateful for all of your prayers over the last week. As most of you know from Facebook we got news on Wednesday that my estrogen was high and that I have a cyst on my right ovary that was producing extra estrogen. We were delayed from our start date and sent out a call for prayer. After continuing the birth control for 2 more days my numbers today came back TWO WHOLE POINTS lower!!! We got the all clear to start this month!!!
In other miraculous news Dr. Khan located my left ovary! Although it has been determined difficult to locate and genetically small it is still producing follicles!!! Praise the Lord for giving Dr, Khan the patience to locate it. I am so amazed that I can go from not having one to locating it and seeing that it is small but healthy.
In the last few days I have had many many hours of prayer and reflection. During this time I have been blessed with tremendous peace. Words spoken to me and revelations made include the following:
1. That this baby must be something pretty special to have the enemy so worried. News Flash: The devil doesn't win!
2. Although the oars of a boat go in the water and take from the water the boat it still propelled forward. God will give and God will take away and to His own purpose and design. I may not always understand or like the outcome but I am still propelled forward.
Eric and I are beside ourselves with excitement and can not wait to start the medications. Our official start date for medications is May 3rd. I will go for a few days (5/3,5/4,5/5) and on 5/6 I will have an evaluation to gauge how the medications are working.
Please keep praying for the doctors and for our emotional state. I have a hard time focusing these days. I feel as though I have neglected a few duties around my house (cleaning, cooking, shopping for groceries) I need to get a handle on balancing doctor visits, Home responsibilities and Work. There is also a great deal of "what is next?", "what if this actually works?" and "Can I have a moment to think?" going on in my mind. I don't have a complete thought ...ever. I hope that this can change soon.
Thank you all for your encouragement, support and prayers. Miracles do happen and I am believing that this is ours.
In HIS grip,
Nichole and Eric
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Follow-up, Results and a Calendar?... What a Week!
Hello Everyone,
What a week! After our delightful weekend together relaxing and enjoying each others company the information we received in our follow-up appointment began to sink in and actions were formulated. New discoveries have been made as a result of recent testing we both had done. Eric's results were MUCH BETTER than the last testing. Praise the Lord!
My Ovarian Assessment Report showed that my hormones are causing some issues. Specifically, my anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is low. What this means is that what they use to judge my ovarian reserve is reduced. This indicates that my Egg Retrieval Score is reduced and that compared to other women 31-35 years old I am below average. UGH! definitely not what I wanted to hear. The good news is that my actual age (32) is a BIG bonus. Because of my actual age my chance of good egg quality is... Good. My feelings specifically about this... crummy. Please pray that my outlook and my guilt surrounding something that I can not change or affect in any way diminishes with reflection and prayer.
During our follow-up appointment Dr. Khan advised us that my hormones indicate that the outer shell of my eggs may be hard which could be preventing pregnancy. Due to these results Eric and I have chosen to have the doctors perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI, (pronounced ick-see)).
To help you understand this procedure I got the following information off of about.com :
In normal IVF, many sperm are placed together with an egg, in hopes that one of the sperm will enter and fertilize the egg. With ICSI, once the eggs are retrieved, an embryologist will place the eggs in a special culture, and using a microscope and tiny needle, a single sperm will be injected into an egg. This will be done for each egg retrieved. If fertilization takes place, and the embryos are healthy, an embryo or two will be transferred to your uterus, via a catheter placed through the cervix, two to five days after the retrieval.
This procedure makes it more expensive for us to have our IVF done. Praise to our Great Provider in Heaven! Our insurance covers most of this cost! Eric and I are paying out of pocket about 20% of the total cost! There is a financial strain, but we felt like the Lord was leading us to save money aside for about 2 months. Because of these savings we are able to pay these added expenses without concern!
Some dear friends and family that have gone through IVF gave me some wonderful advice. They told me to take this step by step and not focus on what was next. Their advice has been remarkably helpful. So, I am focusing on the current step. Payment and Medications. I should here from the pharmacy today about the cost and delivery of upcoming medications. Eric and I have also sorted out payment of IVF as discussed above.
A momentous occasion also happened at the appointment on April 15th; I got my IVF Calendar! This is the calendar of events that helps us follow what we will be doing. Here is an outline of dates:
April 11-April 26th: Birth Control
April 27th: Pre-IVF Evaluation Appointment 8:00AM EST (bloodwork, and ultrasound. will get results in the afternoon of the same day)
April 28th: Injection Class- 10:00 AM EST (eek! They are going to teach my how to inject myself without fainting.)
April 30- May 2nd: First doses of the medication
May 3rd: Follow-up Appointment and monitoring of fertility medication results 8:00AM EST (they will review medications and the results. At this appointment they will determine whether or not the drugs need to be reduced, lowered or are working as intended).
I will have more appointments in the next e-mail and as things progress. These are the dates and appointments that I am focusing on at this time. Please pray that my nerves are steady through the first injections and that the anticipation of these appointments does not make me an unbearable person to be around. :D
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
Eric and Nikki
What a week! After our delightful weekend together relaxing and enjoying each others company the information we received in our follow-up appointment began to sink in and actions were formulated. New discoveries have been made as a result of recent testing we both had done. Eric's results were MUCH BETTER than the last testing. Praise the Lord!
My Ovarian Assessment Report showed that my hormones are causing some issues. Specifically, my anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is low. What this means is that what they use to judge my ovarian reserve is reduced. This indicates that my Egg Retrieval Score is reduced and that compared to other women 31-35 years old I am below average. UGH! definitely not what I wanted to hear. The good news is that my actual age (32) is a BIG bonus. Because of my actual age my chance of good egg quality is... Good. My feelings specifically about this... crummy. Please pray that my outlook and my guilt surrounding something that I can not change or affect in any way diminishes with reflection and prayer.
During our follow-up appointment Dr. Khan advised us that my hormones indicate that the outer shell of my eggs may be hard which could be preventing pregnancy. Due to these results Eric and I have chosen to have the doctors perform intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI, (pronounced ick-see)).
To help you understand this procedure I got the following information off of about.com :
In normal IVF, many sperm are placed together with an egg, in hopes that one of the sperm will enter and fertilize the egg. With ICSI, once the eggs are retrieved, an embryologist will place the eggs in a special culture, and using a microscope and tiny needle, a single sperm will be injected into an egg. This will be done for each egg retrieved. If fertilization takes place, and the embryos are healthy, an embryo or two will be transferred to your uterus, via a catheter placed through the cervix, two to five days after the retrieval.
This procedure makes it more expensive for us to have our IVF done. Praise to our Great Provider in Heaven! Our insurance covers most of this cost! Eric and I are paying out of pocket about 20% of the total cost! There is a financial strain, but we felt like the Lord was leading us to save money aside for about 2 months. Because of these savings we are able to pay these added expenses without concern!
Some dear friends and family that have gone through IVF gave me some wonderful advice. They told me to take this step by step and not focus on what was next. Their advice has been remarkably helpful. So, I am focusing on the current step. Payment and Medications. I should here from the pharmacy today about the cost and delivery of upcoming medications. Eric and I have also sorted out payment of IVF as discussed above.
A momentous occasion also happened at the appointment on April 15th; I got my IVF Calendar! This is the calendar of events that helps us follow what we will be doing. Here is an outline of dates:
April 11-April 26th: Birth Control
April 27th: Pre-IVF Evaluation Appointment 8:00AM EST (bloodwork, and ultrasound. will get results in the afternoon of the same day)
April 28th: Injection Class- 10:00 AM EST (eek! They are going to teach my how to inject myself without fainting.)
April 30- May 2nd: First doses of the medication
May 3rd: Follow-up Appointment and monitoring of fertility medication results 8:00AM EST (they will review medications and the results. At this appointment they will determine whether or not the drugs need to be reduced, lowered or are working as intended).
I will have more appointments in the next e-mail and as things progress. These are the dates and appointments that I am focusing on at this time. Please pray that my nerves are steady through the first injections and that the anticipation of these appointments does not make me an unbearable person to be around. :D
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
Eric and Nikki
Monday, April 11, 2011
A triumphant and exhausting week...
This week has been particularly trying for me. On Monday night I got rushed to the hospital by Eric. As it turns out I had a kidney stone. All of you that have had one are now sympathizing.. Ouch. Some say that it is the equivalent to giving birth. If that is the case, any foolish notions I had of giving birth naturally have now been thrown out the window. The pain was like being run over by a car on my hip and then upon standing up being punched in the gut by a professional boxer. Never, ever, do I wish that kind of pain on anyone, not even my enemies. While in the ER I fell in love with my husband all over again. He will make the best birthing coach ever. He was efficient with information for the hospital staff and patient with me as I hurled snappy remarks about not touching my stomach. On Tuesday afternoon I passed the kidney stone. What a relief! I had a burst of energy and went out to get ready for my birthday celebration (Yes, my birthday was on April 5th). Eric and I had a lovely evening at PassionFish in Reston. As a result of the stress of the kidney stone and my "yearly" exam my period came early this month. A whole six days early. Chris (the nurse coordinator) at Dr. Khan's office took pity on me and the rest of the week it detailed below.
Now for the IVF news, I am still healthy, all tests are done and as of tonight at 6pm I will be starting the first step in my official IVF Cycle, birth control. Sounds funny to be on birth control when you are trying to conceive but there is a reason. Not only will the doctors have more control over my cycle but it help to prevent hyper-stimulation of my ovary. This was a very serious concern for me as they still believe I only have one functioning ovary.
In other news my required women's yearly visit went very well. They had already received notification from Dr. Khan's office that I had moved over to his facility. My exam went smoothly and I am all set to see the OBGYN (Dr. Tudder) when I become pregnant. :D
As if this week hasn't been exciting enough we received a letter from the doctor's office indicating to us what our cost will be. It is right in line with what we were hoping for. God is so wonderful to us as it is the amount that we have left on our Flexible Spending Account Card! We feel so incredibly blessed and reassured that this is our Lord's timing. We are feeling an enormous amount of peace. Please keep prayers covering us during this highly emotional time.
Upcoming events: Eric has a manly appointment on Wednesday and then we have our follow-up with Dr. Khan as scheduled on Friday (April 15th- our 11 year anniversary). After this appointment we will have an actual schedule of events of which I will update you all on. For our anniversary Eric and I will be going to the Inn at Little Washington for a feasting experience like none other and then maybe catching a museum exhibit over the weekend.
Resting comfortably in HIS grip,
--
Nichole Nathan
Now for the IVF news, I am still healthy, all tests are done and as of tonight at 6pm I will be starting the first step in my official IVF Cycle, birth control. Sounds funny to be on birth control when you are trying to conceive but there is a reason. Not only will the doctors have more control over my cycle but it help to prevent hyper-stimulation of my ovary. This was a very serious concern for me as they still believe I only have one functioning ovary.
In other news my required women's yearly visit went very well. They had already received notification from Dr. Khan's office that I had moved over to his facility. My exam went smoothly and I am all set to see the OBGYN (Dr. Tudder) when I become pregnant. :D
As if this week hasn't been exciting enough we received a letter from the doctor's office indicating to us what our cost will be. It is right in line with what we were hoping for. God is so wonderful to us as it is the amount that we have left on our Flexible Spending Account Card! We feel so incredibly blessed and reassured that this is our Lord's timing. We are feeling an enormous amount of peace. Please keep prayers covering us during this highly emotional time.
Upcoming events: Eric has a manly appointment on Wednesday and then we have our follow-up with Dr. Khan as scheduled on Friday (April 15th- our 11 year anniversary). After this appointment we will have an actual schedule of events of which I will update you all on. For our anniversary Eric and I will be going to the Inn at Little Washington for a feasting experience like none other and then maybe catching a museum exhibit over the weekend.
Resting comfortably in HIS grip,
--
Nichole Nathan
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