Fertility – The Journey of Infertility: Testimony

Fertility – The Journey of Infertility: Testimony

A friend of mine who I went to elementary through high school with has been going through the most amazing journey, infertility. Her story is incredible.

I  am a true believer that God has a purpose for everything, and it’s sometimes puzzling to see the challenges that some have to go through – yet at the same time, they will never experience the challenges that someone else has to go through. Therefore we are all unique in our own ways. As well as we can really see how blessed we all are individually. He will never give us anything we truthfully cannot handle, just may push us to our outermost limits!

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I asked our friend Sarah if she would mind sharing with all of you her personal experience with her infertility and she so kindly agreed. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous asking because I know that this can be a very private issue for some. But like me, Sarah is a firm believer that God knows what he’s doing and will take care of it all!

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Here’s Sarah’s story:

When we were told IVF (in vitro fertilization) was our best chance of adding to our family, I had to Google a lot about it. I was diagnosed with Lean PCOS, and well, I had to Google a lot about that too!! (besides asking my doc of course). Basically I had all the gears to make a baby, but my body just couldn’t push play. I was healthy as could be; I worked out 6 days a week, ate a healthy diet and took the best vitamins I could get. My PCOS is just genetic for me, and there was nothing I could do to prevent it.

Infertility affects 7.3 million people in the U.S. This figure represents 12% of women of childbearing age or 1 in 8 couples. That was us!

But lets get into how IVF could make me be “fertile!”

The Process

In vitro fertilization is a procedure in which they take ripened egg or eggs from the female’s ovary, fertilizing it with semen, incubating the dividing cells in a laboratory for a varying amount of time (2-5 days), then putting the embryo back in the uterus at the appropriate time. Easy right!?!? Well, there’s a few other things….

*  take birth control for a month prior to prep the hormones

*  take TONS of injectable drugs to prep the follicles and eggs

*  have an ultrasound every other day towards the end

*  call your nurse a lot

*  feel sick

*  exhausted AND overwhelmed,

I am sure there is probably more….but we would be here all day!

My End Result?

Well, I will find out in two weeks! The good news is, during my egg retrieval they pulled 20 eggs from me, and from there we were able to make 9 embryos! We felt so blessed- God is so good! We chose to take the 2 best embryos from the crop, and 5 days later they were put back inside me. All the embryos left will be frozen if we want to use them later down the road. If we don’t want any more children after this, we will donate the rest of our embryos. I didn’t even know that people used donor embryos, but yes, it is a thing! Will we get pregnant? I was told we have an 80% chance, but my heart says this is up to God now. If we don’t we will give it another go with embryos that are frozen. I am one determined woman!

Positive Lifestyle

What I can say is that I am so glad I took care of myself the best I could during this process.

Lots of praying, getting good nutrition with food and my Shaklee supplements, giving myself time to relax, asking for help when I needed it, and for me, having a support system not keeping it a secret was extremely helpful. I feel so lucky to live in a world where we have this kind of technology!

Sarah’s Nutritional Supplement Regimen While Trying to Conceive:

1. Life Energizing Shake: 
   • 24 grams* of protein, including 16 grams of plant-based, non-GMO protein
   • Added leucine to help preserve lean muscle and achieve a healthier weight
   • A powerful combination of prebiotics and one billion CFU of patented probiotics
   • Omega-3 (ALA) to support heart and brain health
   • Gluten free, lactose free, low glycemic, and Kosher
   • Contains no added artificial flavors, sweeteners or preservatives
2. Women’s Vitalizer:
   Every Vitamin + Minerals Your Body Needs
   • Bio-optimized nutrients for optimum absorption
   • High potency to fuel your body’s most vital functions
   • 100% or more of the Daily Value of all vitamins
   • All eight essential B vitamins, including biotin
   • Higher levels of vitamin D3, the most potent form of vitamin D

   Most Powerful Antioxidant Spectrum*

   • Helps protect cells, tissues, and organs against aging*
   • Superior protection against free radical damage*
   • Full-spectrum vitamin E from all eight natural forms
   • 26 antioxidants working together to augment your body’s antioxidant network*

   All 7 Omega-3 Fatty Acids

   • Help reduce the risk of heart disease**, also promotes brain and joint health*
   • High potency EPA and DHA
   • Ultra-pure, pharmaceutical grade
   • Contains natural fish oil derived from small, cold-water fish

   Guaranteed Superactive Probiotics

   • Support healthy digestion and immunity*
   • Extensively studied active cultures
   • Patent-pending delivery system
3. B Complex: Important for folic acid!!
   The B vitamins are vital for proper bodily function as they help convert food into energy for your cells. There are eight essential B vitamins, and they work best when they work together. Unfortunately, the typical Western diet doesn’t provide enough whole grains, leafy green vegetables, and fish needed to provide 100% of the Daily Value.
4. Performance: natural hydration drink. Your ovaries can hyper stimulate (from all the drugs) when they perform the procedure to take your eggs so it’s very very important to stay hydrated.Shaklee Performance is clinically proven to hydrate better than water. In fact, it has more electrolytes and provides more energy than the leading hydration drink. Our proprietary OPTI-LYTE™ electrolyte blend plus our unique mix of carbohydrates delivers instant and sustained energy and supports optimal hydration.

*****Update: Sarah did in fact get pregnant and had 2 successful pregnancies!

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I am so grateful that Sarah shared her journey from infertility to fertility with us! I know that I will most definitely be praying that she will become pregnant with the embryos they implanted! I also pray for peace of mind while she and her husband wait to find out the news! I think she is so brave to share her story. I hope that it inspires you if you are going through infertility or know someone who is. Please share with them Sarah’s positive hope.
I’d love to ask you to keep her family in your thoughts as well as she patiently awaits.

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This post correlates with my A-Z Blogging Challenge:

A is for ADD / ADHD

B is for Breastfeeding

C is for Cleaners ***ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!!!

D is for Diabetes & Obesity

E is for Eczema

F is for Fertility