IVF/ICSI Support Group

Anyone here taken supplements such DHEA, L-arginine, q10 etc?
Hi I took coq10 and royal jelly for my second fresh... Hubby took l-arginine for both cycles. I think the coq10 and royal jelly works for me le cos I got 50 eggs retrieved and 20 make it to blastocysts. My first cycle only yield 15 eggs and 8 make it to day3 embryos. And that first batch I transferred 6 embryos across 3 times but no BPF. I have got pcos. My second batch I transfer 2 PGD normal embryos and 1 stuck. Hence I think the additional supplements help in my case.

And my second fresh onwards, I stopped going to Tcm (clementi tan Kian seng) also... So i think Tcm maybe didn't help me much.
 


Such a rollercoaster week from the joy of preggie news on my first ivf + frozen cycle to the shock of going through a miscarriage... Never ever thought it will really happen to me.. As somehow i thought the ever increasing hcg means the embyro is growing well despite the bleeding. Everything happens so fast...

8 April - 1st hcg beta is 678.6 & progesterone is at 152.40. Took a progesterone jab on the same day too.

11 April - 2nd beta is 2000 with progesterone jab taken too.

12 April - started pinkish blood discharge which prompt me to consult doctor and get a progesterone jab. Blood taken for progesterone testing which is 4066.60.

13 April - blood turn dark brown red and severe cramping at midnight which was resolved by a 3rd crinone

14 April - went to scan and saw a sac. Evening time started red blood spotting with severe cramps and blood discharge at midnight again. Admitted to hospital and sac has moved its position.

15 April - cramps in the evening till midnight again and sac is gone based on ultrasound at 11:37pm

Can really feel that my body is weaker than the period that i underwent ivf stimming and frozen cycle process...
 
Wow. Warrior. I really wanted to try intralipids also. Ahha I told LC I wan to test auto immune and do endo scratch plus try Intra. All gana stopped Ahahha at least thh initiate to do endo scratch for me
Hi muff, does kkh provides intralipid then? I think a few other gynae (such as SF Loh) also does intralipid. Don't need to be their patient to do the intralipid. I did intralipid w my current doc and there is no queue. But think it's $300-400, not cheap.
 
Hi I took coq10 and royal jelly for my second fresh... Hubby took l-arginine for both cycles. I think the coq10 and royal jelly works for me le cos I got 50 eggs retrieved and 20 make it to blastocysts. My first cycle only yield 15 eggs and 8 make it to day3 embryos. And that first batch I transferred 6 embryos across 3 times but no BPF. I have got pcos. My second batch I transfer 2 PGD normal embryos and 1 stuck. Hence I think the additional supplements help in my case.

And my second fresh onwards, I stopped going to Tcm (clementi tan Kian seng) also... So i think Tcm maybe didn't help me much.
I see, where u got those supplements from? Which doc are u with? You were allow to do PGD testing?
 
I see, where u got those supplements from? Which doc are u with? You were allow to do PGD testing?
I got coq10 pills from iherb. Royal jelly from honeyworld (bought at Robinson). I'm with Dr CT Yeong from tow yung clinic. I wanted to do pgd and hence he liaised with his Bangkok contact which is an ivf/pgd clinic for my ER and ET. Meaning he did the stimm and monitoring then I flew to Bangkok for ER. Then he prepared for lining for the ET on another cycle and I flew to Bangkok for the ET. Out of 20 blastocysts, I got 5 abnormal embryos, so is a 75% normal rate.
 
I got coq10 pills from iherb. Royal jelly from honeyworld (bought at Robinson). I'm with Dr CT Yeong from tow yung clinic. I wanted to do pgd and hence he liaised with his Bangkok contact which is an ivf/pgd clinic for my ER and ET. Meaning he did the stimm and monitoring then I flew to Bangkok for ER. Then he prepared for lining for the ET on another cycle and I flew to Bangkok for the ET. Out of 20 blastocysts, I got 5 abnormal embryos, so is a 75% normal rate.
Wow.. Any reason why u didn't do in spore?
 
Spore csnnot do pgd.
Ya, Singapore cannot do pgd unless got known genetic issues... I don't have genetic issues except for recurrent implantation failure. My thinking is since I can generate many eggs, might as well check that they are chromosome normal then to keep transferring back and getting many many heart aches. In a way, this is one of the good thing out of having pcos.
 
Ya, Singapore cannot do pgd unless got known genetic issues... I don't have genetic issues except for recurrent implantation failure. My thinking is since I can generate many eggs, might as well check that they are chromosome normal then to keep transferring back and getting many many heart aches. In a way, this is one of the good thing out of having pcos.
Your implantation failure means u never gotten BFP or recurrent mc?
How much does your entire cycle cost?
 
I got coq10 pills from iherb. Royal jelly from honeyworld (bought at Robinson). I'm with Dr CT Yeong from tow yung clinic. I wanted to do pgd and hence he liaised with his Bangkok contact which is an ivf/pgd clinic for my ER and ET. Meaning he did the stimm and monitoring then I flew to Bangkok for ER. Then he prepared for lining for the ET on another cycle and I flew to Bangkok for the ET. Out of 20 blastocysts, I got 5 abnormal embryos, so is a 75% normal rate.
Just wondering how much ur entire cycle cost? Can u transfer the remaining frozen over to spore, or do u have to go back to bkk for fet in the future if u need?
 
Hi muff, does kkh provides intralipid then? I think a few other gynae (such as SF Loh) also does intralipid. Don't need to be their patient to do the intralipid. I did intralipid w my current doc and there is no queue. But think it's $300-400, not cheap.
I haven't ask thh yet Abt Intra. Good to know that I can do it elsewhere !! In case they don't do it at kkh.
 
Such a rollercoaster week from the joy of preggie news on my first ivf + frozen cycle to the shock of going through a miscarriage... Never ever thought it will really happen to me.. As somehow i thought the ever increasing hcg means the embyro is growing well despite the bleeding. Everything happens so fast...

8 April - 1st hcg beta is 678.6 & progesterone is at 152.40. Took a progesterone jab on the same day too.

11 April - 2nd beta is 2000 with progesterone jab taken too.

12 April - started pinkish blood discharge which prompt me to consult doctor and get a progesterone jab. Blood taken for progesterone testing which is 4066.60.

13 April - blood turn dark brown red and severe cramping at midnight which was resolved by a 3rd crinone

14 April - went to scan and saw a sac. Evening time started red blood spotting with severe cramps and blood discharge at midnight again. Admitted to hospital and sac has moved its position.

15 April - cramps in the evening till midnight again and sac is gone based on ultrasound at 11:37pm

Can really feel that my body is weaker than the period that i underwent ivf stimming and frozen cycle process...
Sorry to read this galaxy. It is true that Everytime after a cycle you will be weaker. Furthermore you just had a miscarriage you should do a mini confinement or just try to eat something to build back your body. Take care
 
Hi I took coq10 and royal jelly for my second fresh... Hubby took l-arginine for both cycles. I think the coq10 and royal jelly works for me le cos I got 50 eggs retrieved and 20 make it to blastocysts. My first cycle only yield 15 eggs and 8 make it to day3 embryos. And that first batch I transferred 6 embryos across 3 times but no BPF. I have got pcos. My second batch I transfer 2 PGD normal embryos and 1 stuck. Hence I think the additional supplements help in my case.

And my second fresh onwards, I stopped going to Tcm (clementi tan Kian seng) also... So i think Tcm maybe didn't help me much.
50eggs!!!! That's really good number and good quality !! Happy for you!
 
Just wondering how much ur entire cycle cost? Can u transfer the remaining frozen over to spore, or do u have to go back to bkk for fet in the future if u need?
My entire stimm cycle plus pdg for 20 embryos cost around s$17k including freezing and storage.... The pdg are charged by first 4 embryos as a lump sum then a fixed price per embryo.. As I got 20 embryos to test, so my costs went up much higher than expected.

Unfortunately Singapore don't allow import of embryos leh. so I need to fly to Bkk for future FETs too. But one good thing is Bkk FET is so much cheaper, like around $2k for the procedure! So I can afford to try more times (as compared to SG) since I have quite a number of frozen embryos left.
 
Your implantation failure means u never gotten BFP or recurrent mc?
How much does your entire cycle cost?
My implantation failure means I have never got BFP, even though I always got triple lining and my embryos always look "beautiful" at point of transfer. Maybe the first cycle was just a bad batch, though I was younger then at 32. My second fresh is Nov 15 at age 34. My first cycle was with PC wong at nuh, then I switch to private after first failure.
 
Ohhhh. Thanks for letting me know. I know Intra helps with people who has immune issues more.
This is what I understand from my friend - if you want to know if you have auto immune issues, need to go thro nuh immunology dept and draw many tubes of blood to test. However, nuh can only test a limited "range". My friend did the full range test by sending her blood to usa directly which costs 1k plus iirc. I didn't test myself for auto immune issues but took intralipid as an insurance. I believe it is not so common to have auto immune issues, but to others it is also not common to have fertility issues, so really hard to say sometimes. I may not do it again for future FET cycles cos I hate the IV drip poking into me.
 
This is what I understand from my friend - if you want to know if you have auto immune issues, need to go thro nuh immunology dept and draw many tubes of blood to test. However, nuh can only test a limited "range". My friend did the full range test by sending her blood to usa directly which costs 1k plus iirc. I didn't test myself for auto immune issues but took intralipid as an insurance. I believe it is not so common to have auto immune issues, but to others it is also not common to have fertility issues, so really hard to say sometimes. I may not do it again for future FET cycles cos I hate the IV drip poking into me.
But how long is the drip ah? Do you feel pain??
 
But how long is the drip ah? Do you feel pain??
The drip itself is not painful, almost no feeling except for a cold sensation. But got once I felt abit painful but not sure if it is cos they let the drip goes too fast and didn't dilute it with water enough. If you ask for the drip to be least painful, they can mix with more water and let it slowly drip in for 1.5-2hrs. My pain point is plugging in the IV! That said, my pain threshold is very low type. :p
 
The drip itself is not painful, almost no feeling except for a cold sensation. But got once I felt abit painful but not sure if it is cos they let the drip goes too fast and didn't dilute it with water enough. If you ask for the drip to be least painful, they can mix with more water and let it slowly drip in for 1.5-2hrs. My pain point is plugging in the IV! That said, my pain threshold is very low type. :p
I also very low pain threshold !! Hhaha :p i also can withstand any pain except the iv part when I need to go for ER. Really yucks!!
 
I haven't ask thh yet Abt Intra. Good to know that I can do it elsewhere !! In case they don't do it at kkh.

FYI, Dr Tan HH doesn't advocate intralipid. I've asked him before. U can check with him again. Even my rheumatologist dr Sheila also as it's not clinically proven. Even in NUH, they use IVIG but not intralipid & that cost in thousands. So she won't recommend it unless u really need it. After all for intralipid, it's just a bag of nutrients (I.e. Protein) being infused into your body just like taking supplements which costs couple of hundreds. That said, I didn't rule out going for it secretly during then if I fail my cycle again but after much consideration I decided to go for a detailed BT instead & treat the root of the problem instead.
 
Oh the drip through your veins on the back of your hand when they need to inject the anaesthetic into you during ER. Hehe

ER need to do IV?! The needle very thick leh, and move hand will feel pain...

Never mind la, eventually during labour also need IV so treat it as practice first.
 
I also very low pain threshold !! Hhaha :p i also can withstand any pain except the iv part when I need to go for ER. Really yucks!!
Hehe my pain threshold is so low that i dreaded every scan.. And I was on GA for my ET at nuh... Too scary for me to stay still while PC wong does his job. Haha.. So I need a super gentle doc... But IV is Heng suay one, depending on the person's skills. I got experience ranging from quick and painless to blood dripping all over the bedsheet cos the person poked in and was digging for vein underneath my skin!
 
Hehe my pain threshold is so low that i dreaded every scan.. And I was on GA for my ET at nuh... Too scary for me to stay still while PC wong does his job. Haha.. So I need a super gentle doc... But IV is Heng suay one, depending on the person's skills. I got experience ranging from quick and painless to blood dripping all over the bedsheet cos the person poked in and was digging for vein underneath my skin!
I also say. Skills is important. But you GA for ET ah? Then you have to iv isn't it more pain?! Lol!!

By the way what brand did you order from iherb for coq10 and L arg for hubby? How do you all know which brand good ah?
 
Milo I also seen n changed many Tcm previously. Raffles dr zhao, dr zhu Ping, tan Siew buoy Chinatown, dr Seah Ai wei at thomson, dr from ma kuang n dr Zou amk. Haha. It's been a long journey.

how is Seah Ai Wei? only know she always give talks
 
FYI, Dr Tan HH doesn't advocate intralipid. I've asked him before. U can check with him again. Even my rheumatologist dr Sheila also as it's not clinically proven. Even in NUH, they use IVIG but not intralipid & that cost in thousands. So she won't recommend it unless u really need it. After all for intralipid, it's just a bag of nutrients (I.e. Protein) being infused into your body just like taking supplements which costs couple of hundreds. That said, I didn't rule out going for it secretly during then if I fail my cycle again but after much consideration I decided to go for a detailed BT instead & treat the root of the problem instead.
What detailed BT did you do?
 
how is Seah Ai Wei? only know she always give talks
I was seeing Dr Seah Ai Wei for Tcm acupuncture since Jan 2015 after failing my first fresh Ivf through another 2 fresh Ivf till my bfp in Dec 2015. I personally like her very much. She's gentle, very emphatic & encouraging. Also she would customise tcm acupressure methods ranging from acupuncture, applying electric current, moxibustion etc at various times throughout my treatments with her depending on my needs. She is also able to do pre and post ET acupuncture sessions. I felt it has definitely helped me recover better from the strains of the stim jabs and overload of meds of each cycle. She only prescribed tcm meds for me on 2 occasions when I needed to recover my natural cycle after a failed fresh cycle.
I started tcm before my hubby. My hubby saw Dr Gee Swee Sien at Thomson tcm @ Katong i12 branch as he could only go on Saturdays. He highly recommends Dr Gee to his friends with sperm issues too. Dr Gee is very chatty & forthcoming with her treatment rationale and that has helped built my hubby's interest in following through tcm treatments during our Ivf days. Complementing our efforts in other aspects such as diet, lifestyle and supplements, we both saw tremendous improvement in egg and sperm quality throughout the course of our Ivf cycles.
 
I also say. Skills is important. But you GA for ET ah? Then you have to iv isn't it more pain?! Lol!!

By the way what brand did you order from iherb for coq10 and L arg for hubby? How do you all know which brand good ah?
I am using these brands.

You can google on the manufacturer, on the ingredients and reviews by users.
 

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I was seeing Dr Seah Ai Wei for Tcm acupuncture since Jan 2015 after failing my first fresh Ivf through another 2 fresh Ivf till my bfp in Dec 2015. I personally like her very much. She's gentle, very emphatic & encouraging. Also she would customise tcm acupressure methods ranging from acupuncture, applying electric current, moxibustion etc at various times throughout my treatments with her depending on my needs. She is also able to do pre and post ET acupuncture sessions. I felt it has definitely helped me recover better from the strains of the stim jabs and overload of meds of each cycle. She only prescribed tcm meds for me on 2 occasions when I needed to recover my natural cycle after a failed fresh cycle.
I started tcm before my hubby. My hubby saw Dr Gee Swee Sien at Thomson tcm @ Katong i12 branch as he could only go on Saturdays. He highly recommends Dr Gee to his friends with sperm issues too. Dr Gee is very chatty & forthcoming with her treatment rationale and that has helped built my hubby's interest in following through tcm treatments during our Ivf days. Complementing our efforts in other aspects such as diet, lifestyle and supplements, we both saw tremendous improvement in egg and sperm quality throughout the course of our Ivf cycles.
Sounds very customised sessions from dr Seah. Normally what's the cost of your session? Need to go once or twice a week
 
how is Seah Ai Wei? only know she always give talks

She is nice and assuring. One of the Tcm doctor Whom I can pour my woes to. Very gentle during accupunture as well. I didn't try her med though cos I was with another Tcm for med and she is ok with it. Thomson Tcm has shorter waiting time and nice cosy room for acu.
 
FYI, Dr Tan HH doesn't advocate intralipid. I've asked him before. U can check with him again. Even my rheumatologist dr Sheila also as it's not clinically proven. Even in NUH, they use IVIG but not intralipid & that cost in thousands. So she won't recommend it unless u really need it. After all for intralipid, it's just a bag of nutrients (I.e. Protein) being infused into your body just like taking supplements which costs couple of hundreds. That said, I didn't rule out going for it secretly during then if I fail my cycle again but after much consideration I decided to go for a detailed BT instead & treat the root of the problem instead.
I know that Dr SF Loh does intralipid for his patients..it is somehow support the implantation and cost around $200 plus per time?
 
Sounds very customised sessions from dr Seah. Normally what's the cost of your session? Need to go once or twice a week
Definitely more costly than tcm in Neighbourhood coz it's under Thomson hospital. The first consultation costs additional $50 for new patient registration. I always sign on the 6 acupuncture sessions package which is $480 inclusive of gst. If you require tcm medication which she would then prescribe in powder form, it costs $10 (excl. gst) per day for usually 3 packets per day so per week it will be $74.90 inclusive of gst.

My health was considered in pretty balanced state so I only needed to go once a week. There was only a period of 2 wks when I went twice a week plus took tcm med to recover back to natural cycle after an episode of intermenstrual bleeding due to estrogen or progesterone withdrawal after my 2nd fresh with long protocol. I was glad that I chose to treat with tcm instead of otherwise taking Noristherone which was option offered by Dr Loh. Within 2 wks, I had my normal menses and for next 2 cycles were regular with opk tested positive on CD17.

If your menses is regular and no major deficiencies identified, she would usually apply standard acupuncture with needles to improve blood and qi circulation. Otherwise she will apply various methods supposedly more stimulating (e.g, with electric current, moxi incense etc) at appropriate time of your cycle. Post ET wise, she will not use tummy areas but will alternatively use ears, arms in addition to the legs as usual.
 
I also say. Skills is important. But you GA for ET ah? Then you have to iv isn't it more pain?! Lol!!

By the way what brand did you order from iherb for coq10 and L arg for hubby? How do you all know which brand good ah?

hi muff,
i ordered these from iherb
http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-High-Absorption-CoQ10-with-BioPerine-200-mg-180-Veggie-Caps/54865
http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-L-Carnitine-Liquid-Citrus-Flavor-1000-mg-16-fl-oz-473-ml/454 - this is for my hubby

usually i will buy one time supplement from my doc, so i can see the ingredients and also the dosage. Then i will go online and find similar ingredients and also read the reviews (good and bad) and also when these reviews are written.
my doc actually prescribed carnipure for my hubby, the L-arg is recommended by another friend which my hubby took also but i cant find the same one in iherb anymore.

actually my doc also prescribed Vit D, folic acid, metaformin to me...i bought them on iherb except for metaformin (mainly for pcos patients). I ownself kiasu went to take royal jelly, fish oil and EPO alternate days. Alot of supplements hor!
 
Definitely more costly than tcm in Neighbourhood coz it's under Thomson hospital. The first consultation costs additional $50 for new patient registration. I always sign on the 6 acupuncture sessions package which is $480 inclusive of gst. If you require tcm medication which she would then prescribe in powder form, it costs $10 (excl. gst) per day for usually 3 packets per day so per week it will be $74.90 inclusive of gst.

My health was considered in pretty balanced state so I only needed to go once a week. There was only a period of 2 wks when I went twice a week plus took tcm med to recover back to natural cycle after an episode of intermenstrual bleeding due to estrogen or progesterone withdrawal after my 2nd fresh with long protocol. I was glad that I chose to treat with tcm instead of otherwise taking Noristherone which was option offered by Dr Loh. Within 2 wks, I had my normal menses and for next 2 cycles were regular with opk tested positive on CD17.

If your menses is regular and no major deficiencies identified, she would usually apply standard acupuncture with needles to improve blood and qi circulation. Otherwise she will apply various methods supposedly more stimulating (e.g, with electric current, moxi incense etc) at appropriate time of your cycle. Post ET wise, she will not use tummy areas but will alternatively use ears, arms in addition to the legs as usual.
Those more stimulating methods got extra charges?
I saw the opening hours are like office hours.. You're not working ah?
 
hi muff,
i ordered these from iherb
http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-High-Absorption-CoQ10-with-BioPerine-200-mg-180-Veggie-Caps/54865
http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-L-Carnitine-Liquid-Citrus-Flavor-1000-mg-16-fl-oz-473-ml/454 - this is for my hubby

usually i will buy one time supplement from my doc, so i can see the ingredients and also the dosage. Then i will go online and find similar ingredients and also read the reviews (good and bad) and also when these reviews are written.
my doc actually prescribed carnipure for my hubby, the L-arg is recommended by another friend which my hubby took also but i cant find the same one in iherb anymore.

actually my doc also prescribed Vit D, folic acid, metaformin to me...i bought them on iherb except for metaformin (mainly for pcos patients). I ownself kiasu went to take royal jelly, fish oil and EPO alternate days. Alot of supplements hor!

LOL!! I myself is taking Vit D, Vit C, Folic and Royal Jelly. Fish oil I gave up at some point. Ok, now im gonna add the coq10.!! I also read that L -arg is good for ladies too actually. hmm.
 
By the way anybody here has retroverted uterus? I wonder whether it affects getting/ staying preg?

I have retroverted uterus too but got a successful IUI, in fact I only know recently when TTC second time. I read online that in some condition sperms may find it difficult to swim up. I think it only seriously affects pregnancy when you develop endometriosis. You can speak to your doctor?
 

Hi Sisters here who hv purchased DHEA from iherb, can u recommend which DHEA brand to purchase?

And oso, watz the benefits of eating Royal Jelly? :D

Previously i bought pharma brand dhea same as kkh using but it's not found in iherbs.
Some of my frens tried natrol or 21st century brand. Just make sure U get the normal dhea n not those 7keto dhea.
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