IVF/ICSI Support Group

[hihihelen]

hi baby, yes. Care allow my hubby to sit beside me during the ER process while I sleep. Then he look at the ultrasound monitor to view how the eggs are extracted from the follicles.

According to my previous gynea, the size of the follicles have to grow to a substantial size, eg 18mm dia before it's due for maturation. At maturation, the follicles will "break" to release an egg. Thus if the follicles is still not an idea size, then it might not be at maturation stage yet. My gynea told me the grow of the follicles is about 2mm per day. I suppose it's 1 follicles per egg. Not too sure about that.

 

[baby09]

Do’s and Don’t

Stage 1 (Lucrin)

- Chicken essence
- Gentle rotation in circle motion clockwise after you have jab your abdomen.


Stage 2 (Puregon / Gonal-F)

- Ensure milk or Anmum milk
- Chicken essence
- Soya products
- Brazil nuts
- Egg whites (after ET increase dosage of egg whites)


Stage 3 (2WW)

- Continue egg whites for at least a week
- Ensure milk or Anmum milk
- 2-3 pieces of Brazil nuts daily
- No pineapple and water melon
- No squatting or carrying of heavy weights (anything that stresses the abdominal muscle)
- No hot sauna or soaking of lower half body in bathtub
- No intercourse
- Do not stand or sit in a position too long. Good to walk a bit to promote circulation
- No raw food and avoid oily and spicy foods as it may cause an upset stomach. High hormone levels cause bloatedness and hence add to discomfort
- No strenuous exercise
- No other medication (eg. TCM) other than those given by your Dr


Graduates

- Anmum Milk

 

[baby09]

Hi Fresh, but it is not impossible to have most the follicles to grow to at least 18mm right?

 

[kimkurek]

baby & zaza, thanks!

ltjabi, perhaps you try to sooth the area you are injecting with hot towel, the skin will become less tense. Pain occasionally happened when I did my stage2. I inject both same time in the afternoon, so I normally sooth the area in the night. The insertion of the needles became painless the next injection. Hope it help you too!

Do check with oc if you can change your injection time, cos the last time, nurse told me not to change time to far from the usual time I inject myself cos "they are like food" for the follicles.

All best!

 

[linaang]

Hi sunflower,
Yes, actually Dr Loh advise against taking tcm herbs. But my previous experience is bleeding after BFP, so this time i am not taking any chance. I will go ahead with the herbs all the way if it can help prevent spotting. Just like zaza mention, will be at your own risk to take the herbs.

Hi Fresh,
Dr Loh was chatting and holding my son for awhile so he could have thought the embrologist finish checking the catheter and wanted to leave. At kk, nurse cover us with blanket, so no need socks.

Hi baby,
Thanks and all the best for your ER tomorrow.

Hi zaza, boon boon,kimberly,
thanks.

Hi bliss,
i also puzzled why this happen. I just read up a book and found this info under problem during embryo transfer. "Embryo can get stuck in the catheter. The doctor can only see the movement of the fluid entering the uterus on the ultrasound, it sometimes happen that when the embryo catheter is removed and inspected, embryos are found inside. This is a good sign because the embryos are sticky. Sticky embryos have a good chance of adhering to the uterine wall."

 

[itjabi]

Kimberly,

Thanks for the tip.. will try that later..
Ya even the nurse mentioned dun change timing soo sticking to my morning jabs...

Baby,
Do take care and juz tel urself alittle bit more to ur ER.. All the best..

 

[hihihelen]

Hi baby, I found this article which might answer your question.

http://www.advancedfertility.com/ivfstim.htm

 

[hihihelen]

Hi baby, thanks for the updates on Do's and Don'ts. For all ladies in 2WW, please take note of the following:

1) No massage on the shoulder and neck. This is warned by TCM Dr Zou.

2) Brazil nuts can be bought at:
● Cold Storage, small "nut" push-cart stall outside the new Jurong Point 2 NTUC Fairprice Hypermart. It's also located near the Jurong Point 2 Old Town Coffee restaurant.
● Cold Storage at Parkway or Great World City
● NTUC at Ang Mo Kio Hub, near the vegetable weighting counter

 

[justnew]

Hi Fresh,

i also found brazil nuts at Carrefour, near the bread section. Price is $5.65 per 100gm

 

[blisstan]

Lina,
lucky that the embryologist discovered that! If not, will have only 1 embryo put in.
I also wonder if mine was the same too, haha, what if they also did not check throughoutly and only put in 1 for me? ....

Heehee..
Good for u, you must rest well and hope you succeed this time! Hope to see u in the MTB thread soon.

 

[develyn]

Hi Lina ,

All the best !

Hi Sierra ,

Yes , just call me then i walk in and out lor.. keke...

I will be seeing Dr Loh this sat finally.. really hope he can start the ivf for me immediately..

 

[linaang]

Hi bliss,
according to book, it is quite common to miss out the embryo. So this must have happened many times before and the embryologist would be careful to double check.

Hi develyn,
Thanks

 

[new_bies]

Lina - all the best in 2ww

Humbug, the instructions from TFC is similar to CARE and KK, just that I wasnt told to bring a pad. A pair of socks is good, in case u feel cold in the OT... cos u would be sleeping for 2-3 hours (cant rem how long i slept). Not everyone experiences bleeding after ER. I dont. As i was told no food and water after 12mn the day b4 ER, i felt hungry when i woke up. Not sure abt other centre, but at TFC, we were given milo and biscuit.

 

[pooh_baby]

bliss - dun be sad as u are preggy now .... heheheh

develyn - jia you and hopefully we can be cycle buddies even though diff hospital

 

[blisstan]

zaza,
i am not sad, thanks! Just wondered if my ET also had the same thing happened or not.

Lina,
oic...

 

[linaang]

oh and one more thing. I thought i had a full bladder during ET, have the urge to urine and waited about half an hour for doctor to turn up. But when nurse checked the ultrasound, she says not full enough. But still can proceed with the ET. Really wonder if the full bladder means must be almost leaking?

 

[tnt]

hi lina
rest well in this 2ww..BFP BFP BFP..hehe

ya..the nurse told me (in NUH) half bladder full is adequate to see in the U/S screen liao..cos too full we might not able to hold it and tendency to let go..(and it happened to me hehe as i let go half during ET)..

 

[pooh_baby]

tnt - u are so cute

lina - rest well .... BFP BFP BFP

 

[chris_baby]

Hi Mickey,

Big congrats to you !!!!

Hi Lina,

Yup I'm with Dr Zou for 3 mths liao

wow lucky the embryolist did a double check !!! BFP BFP.. Rest well. I will be doing my ER this wednesday. Yup when I update Dr Zou of my scan results at KK, She was very surprised that i reacted "too well" to 600mg puregon within these 4 days. Now possibility of OHSS. She advised me to take more egg whites and fish.

Hi Baby,

Its the measurement of the follicles as only upon retrieval do they know if it contains eggs or empty. In my case the result of the 1st, 2nd scan and final scan total varies alot. Gd news is that my follicles are growing finally after the increased puregon, bad news now is that the doc warned me that I may now have OHSS!! Faintz rite??? 1st scan, only got 8 follicles and they are below average size hence increased puregon from 400mg to 600mg, 2nd scan (sat) scan shows i got 16 follicles and still below average size for pick-up and largest follicle only 14.5mm. Now 3rd scan (today), my largest follicle size 23mm and I got 14 follicles ready for pick-up total follicles now more than 16!!

Doc assured me that they will monitor me closely and advised me to take more protein food such as meat, fish, chicken and EGG WHITES!!

 

[chris_baby]

Hi Fresh/Sunflower,

I got my last pack of brazil nuts 100g $3.90 from cold storage parkway at the section where they sell all kinds of nuts eg peanuts, almonds etc.

 

[tany]

How long can we keep the brazil nuts?
seems like not easy to find... can i buy some to keep until i start in May/June?

 

[chris_baby]

Hi Sunflower,

Saw this in the book which I bought "babycare before birth"

Foods that have protein are mainly chicken, beef, sirlion steak, bolognaise sauce,tuna,cod, cheddar cheese,baked beans,kidney beans,eggs,milk,canned sweetcorn,hummus,almonds,brazil nuts,cashew nuts,walnuts,pine nuts,porridge oats(raw or cooked), frozen peas, baked or mashed potato,seedless raisins,brown rice,pumpkin seeds,soya milk, lentils,cooked spinach,wholewheat spaghetti,canned tomatoes,tofu,quorn,wholemeal bread and plain yogurt.

 

[hihihelen]

Thanks chris. Btw, do you need to break the shell before consuming the nut inside it? Sorry for my ignorant hor...

 

[chris_baby]

Hi Fresh,

Huh u mean they come with the shell??? cos mine don't have shells at all just thin layer of brownish skin on a few of them, and i just pop them in my mouth and munch them like snacks

heehee

 

[linaang]

Hi tnt and zaza,
thanks.

Hi chris,
all the best for your ER. 23mm follicle size is very good. Are you taking the pregnyl jab tonight?

Hi Fresh,
the brazil nut i bought also does not have shell.

 

[kimkurek]

RE: post ER
Like Bee, I also had to fast from 12mid-night the day before. When at day surgy centre, I was asked choice of drink (milo, milk) and snack (veg or tuna sandwich)

No bleeding post ER.

I woke up at 1pm (surgery was 8:30am) and rested extra another hour before I feel strong to go change and discharge. Hubby waited whole time even thou I suggested he go office when I sleep..

RH did not rush me to discharge, I suppose other hospitals are similar.

 

[hihihelen]

hi chris and lina, sorry hor.. I've never buy brazil nut before so I do not know how they look like. Always have a impression that it looks like walnut, thus need to break shell to eat. Haa... okie, I will start to stock up some brazil nuts when my turn comes.

chris, all the best to your ER on Wed. That's also the day of my op.

lina, so you are taking Dr Zou medi now? Did you ask your boy boy whether bb inside stick already or not? Hee hee

 

[chris_baby]

Hi Lina,

Yup going to KK 24hrs tonight at 9pm for the HCG jab.

 

[hihihelen]

Hi lina, did the nurse at kkivf wake u up after ER or u woke up by yourself? How long is your sleep?

 

[chris_baby]

Hi Fresh,

Thanks. All the best for your Ops on Wednesday.

 

[tnt]

hi Fresh,
yes u got to remove shell and u can find the brazil nut inside... btw, brail nuts come in shell is more "oily" taste than without shell. i tasted the both...and of cos with its original shell covered it outer it taste better...

 

[baby09]

Hi Chris, wow.. your follicle size is very good. 23mm!!! Since doctor say they will monitor you closely, then don't worry too much over OHSS. Relax for your coming ER

Itjabi, thanks. Praying hard for good number of eggs during ER.

tnt, how to let go half? Normally when I urine, I cannot control one.. will let go all.

bee, I think kkh will give milo & biscuit also as my day surgery to remove polyp previously, I was give milo and biscuit after I woke up.

 

[baby09]

Hi Fresh, thanks for the link

 

[linaang]

Hi Fresh,
Do stock up on the brazil nuts, i don't like to eat nuts, only take a few a day. The other time a lady here mention need to take 10 pieces per day, that is quite a large number. Yes, i am still taking Dr Zou herbs daily. So far no side effect. I slept for about 3 hours and heard the nurse calling my name.

 

[bkl37]

Chris - Great to hear that you have a good side and a good numbers of eggs. All the best!

Fresh - What ops you are going to do on Wed? Take care!

Itjabi - Good luck for your coming scan! Rest well.

 

[hihihelen]

Hi tnt, so there are 2 types. One with shell and one without shell. May I ask where did u get yours with shell?

Hi Lina, 10 pcs per day? Wow! that's alot. I thot our Do's and Don'ts list only state 2-3 pcs of brazil nuts per day. So how many are u taking each day?

 

[bkl37]

Updated Do & Don't inside the worksheet as well

<center><table border=1><tr><td>

IVF_FET(2009).xls (29.7 k)</td></tr></table></center>

 

[tnt]

hi baby,
can one...so long ur mind is thinking of ur bb....hehe...quite embarrased although....but not choice la...cos i was very restless liao at that time, and dr told me ok pls relax and u may let go(cos they can still monitor ur bladder in the screen) and eventually i just let go half lor...

 

[linaang]

Hi Fresh,
i only manage to take 5 - 6 pcs per day. Will try to force myself to eat more.

 

[linaang]

Hi Fresh,
i only manage to take 5 - 6 pcs per day. Will try to force myself to eat more.

 

[tnt]

Hi fresh..
i got the one with shell at giant vivo city, very oily taste...cos without shell one sold out at cold storage tat time...
i was the one told lina as 10 pieces/day was the recommended in the web...however, if u daily intake (like ur pre-natal vitamin) had selenium also, u may just cut down to the amt as in do/donts). i am eating 5pcs /day now as i m taking pre-natal vitamin oso

 

[tnt]

hi lina,
5 pcs/day is enuff liao...if u got take other supplements and dun jus force urself to swallow...
heard sunflower seed, pumkin seed, and flax seed are also good for us...so far i haven try yet, think will go try one day..

 

[libby]

Fresh
I remembered at CARE, immediately after transfer of embryos, Angela will request the embryologist to ensure the catheter is empty, we will be able to see the screen when they confirm it, before letting Dr Paul leave.

I was with Raffles TCM previously, as Dr Jin highly encourage us to do accu before and right after the ET, to boost the success chances.

Lina
Congrats to you, it's a close shave.. at least the embryologist did double check. Sticky egg is good news! They allow your boy to accompany you?

I'm always confused if I have full bladder too.. at times i feel that it's full, but to them may be different, really very torturing..

Did you go to Raffles TCM for accu after your ET since Dr Zou doesn't do.

Boon Boon
Thanks for updating the spreadsheet.

 

[humbug]

Chris, mine is 8pm to the 24hours clinic but it is tomorrow.

Jia you jia You... I am impress by the size of your follicle.. my biggest is still 17mm.. sigh.. hopefully got eggs in it. ER is Thur morning.

 

[hihihelen]

Hi Boon Boon, I've endometrial cyst. Thus my gynea is performing this op to remove it before I proceed to my next fresh cycle. I'm removing partially as my gynea is afraid it might rip off some of the ovarian reserve. I think the name of the surgery is called Ovarian cystectomy.

Hi tnt, correct me if I get you wrong. So the one with shell whcih is more oily actually taste better?

hi libby, yes. In CARE, Dr Paul will make sure that the tube is emptied before he 'speed' off again. But in KKivf, they do have the same procedure of checking and they will show u that it is empty through the screen.

 

[hihihelen]

Hi Baby09, Chris and Humbug, Hey sisters! your ER is one after another wor.. Take care and God bless! Remember to get all the Do's ready for your 2WW hor...

 

[linaang]

hi tnt,
thanks for the info. Oh good, i will take other seeds too.

hi libby,
Thanks. Yes, family member allowed to enter for ET but not ER. I didn't go raffles tcm after ET, forgot to make appointment for that.

Hi humbug,
all the best for your ER.

 

[tnt]

hi fresh,
yes..u r absolutely right...wish u all the best in ur surgery, and ovarian reserve is indeed important for us b4 as it enhance the chances. gd luck ..

 

[humbug]

Thanks fresh and Lina... hope everything will be fine

Hopefully there is at least 1 to 2 healthy good grade eggs hehe

Will not ask for much.

 

[tnt]

hi humbug
u will get dun worry..to make u feel better..:
actually my follicles b4 my ER the largest was 17.5mm. and on the ER they manage to find 2 eggs out of 8 follicles..and the next day hosp called me said the 2 eggs one is inmmature, but luckily the other one was got fertilised liao.. and finally i got my ET done with my only one precious embryo.. tats y i can make it just let go my bladder half during ET partly oso i know i only got this fortunate one embryo