hi, my husband, "DH" has been writing here occasionally and I thought I should finally surface and share my IVF experience.
I am 36 years old and went through IVF with Dr S F Loh starting in late March and we really thank God that we succeeded on our first try though I had all sorts of complications along the way. Whenever Dr Loh saw me, he would say "Wah, you again... what else went wrong this time"?
When I started IVF, instead of 2 weeks of Lucrin, I ended up being on Lucrin for about 4 weeks as I developed a 5cm cyst and dr Loh said I can't proceed if the cyst doesn't reduce in size. We prayed and many friends prayed for us as well...and finally, after about 4 weeks of Lucrin, the size of the cyst was reduced to about 2cm.
I then started Puregon and was given 250iu. After 7 days, I went back for the scan and was told that I have many follicles. Was told to inject for another 2 days and thereafter, was Pregnyl and then ER. When it's time to take the Pregnyl jab, it's a good idea to ice the area before they give the jab -- not so painful this way. It is important to note that during the course of Lucrin/ Puregon, I was eating 2-4 cooked egg whites everyday.
On ER day, 45 follicles were taken out... which was considered a lot but honestly, I was feeling fine even though the nurses and docs said that I am likely having OHSS. Nurse Angelline at KK is really a kind soul - she told me not to eat oranges or spicy food so as not to upset the tummy and that eating lots of egg whites will help minimize bloating or symptoms of OHSS. I drank only warm/ hot water and rested as much as I could.
Dr Loh doesn't believe in TCM but I do think that the reason why i felt alright despite the large number of follicles taken out was due to the accupuncture. I had been going for regular accupuncture during the jabs, before/ after ER and after ET.
On day 2 which was suppose to be ET day, I turned up at the hospital only to see all the other ladies having their ET but was told by Dr Loh I can't transfer as he was afraid I am having OHSS. I kept telling him I was fine but he did not want to risk it and told me to wait for another 3 days while they take 6 follicles to grow them to a blastocyst stage.
I went home crying cos it seemed that at every stage, something wasn't going right. That weekend was torturous as we waited till the following Monday morning to find out if any of our follicles made it to the blastocyst stage. Thankfully, 2 of these follicles grew well to become blastocysts and they were transferred on day 5 (not including the day of the removal). 19 of my follicles were also fertilized and frozen.
So, as rightly pointed out my husband, I felt nothing during the 2ww and had absolutely no symptoms. In fact, the only symptoms I felt was that menses was coming. I was so sure that menses was coming...
On BT day, I was so scared and I kept telling the nurse I had no symptoms. Well.. she said, if your menses not here yet, then still go chance. I told KK to call my DH and don't call me. Fast forward, the call went to DH to tell him that I am pregnant but my HCG wasn't actually all that high. I think my HCG was about 500 whereas the other 2 ladies that were on the same cycle with me had HCG in the 1k+ and 2k+.
I still didn't have any symptoms after the BT and couldn't quite believe I was pregnant till the first scan which was just a little short of 8 weeks pregnant. That was when we found out we are having twins.
I had more complications thereafter which included a stay in the hospital due to bleeding. (This was my first sign of pregnancy symptom!). I can only blame myself for the bleeding as I think I over exerted myself on housework the day before and the next day, I started bleeding. I ended up in KK's A&E and lost so much blood that I thought for sure the babies are gone but they stayed strong and I had to stay strong for them as well. From the hospital, they also detected that I had a certain type of antibodies and even Dr Loh couldn't tell us if it will affect the babies. After the discharge from hospital, I had to get weekly painful progesterone jabs to stabilize the pregnancy and I was on bed rest for a month except for going to the toilet. We had to see Dr Loh for weekly scans and each time, he will tell us that there is still a big blood clot in my uterus so anytime, can start bleeding again.
At 12 weeks, we went for the OSCAR test and was told that one of the twins is high risk for Down Syndrome. We were devastated but decided not to proceed with amnio as we will accept the babies in whatever form they come in.
We also had to see a hematologist (blood specialist) regarding my antibodies and was glad that the type that I have doesn't affect the development of the babies.
Fast forward to last week where we had our detailed scan - Dr Loh sent us for a high risk fetal abnormality scan in view of my antibodies and poor OSCAR result and we thank God, that both babies are growing well and are normal. All their structures are normal and no sign of Down Syndrome was detected.
My babies have been good to me... I have an excellent appetite and have never once threw up. We're about half way there...now we just pray that babies will continue to stay in me for as long as need be. Am likely to deliver in early Jan if things go as planned.
In looking back at this IVF journey, it certainly hasn't been an easy one but it is definitely worth it. I know many different ones are facing different challenges and emotional roller coasters whenever an IVF fails. Do persevere and my DH and I will continue to pray for the many ones who are still going through IVF waiting for their miracle baby.
My TCM doctor did tell me to avoid certain foods and some actions that I should avoid so here's my list
1) "Bai chai" - the long, white vegetable
2) No cucumbers, cabbage, bittergourd, watercrest
3) No mangoes, oranges
4) No tea of any kind (not even chinese tea or chrysanthemum)
5) No cold drinks (I drank only warm water)
6) No barley
7) No squatting
8) Stay off my feet whenever possible
If anyone is interested in the accupuncture, you can contact Louise (female) at 9741 2365. She is in this little shophouse unit near Telok Ayer (10 min walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT). It isn't a big business but I truly believe she had helped to strengthen my body for IVF. I am just sharing the contact...Do rem that for those with Dr Loh, he doesn't believe in TCM so he will be angry if you tell him you going through accupuncture.
I hope that what I've shared will encourage some of you here to persevere. Our wish is that everyone will be bless with the babies that that so desire.
Have a blessed day.....