IVF/ICSI Support Group

[gannk]

Alyssa

How many egg are you taking now? Actually for some ladies here, some of them start one week before Puregon jab to prevent OHSS if they have developed the sympton previously. Some of them took once they start puregon. They took like 5 a day etc. Maybe you can cook half boiled egg, which is much more easier to digest.

Alternative you can drink Ensure milk too, this will help to prevent OHSS and it has all the nutrients required too.

 

[sagimoo]

ahkat,

sorry to hear that.. u must be strong ok.. take care and stay positive..

 

[linaang]

Hi ah kat,
welcome to the thread. Don't give up, give ivf a try.

 

[mummywannabe]

Ladies,

I hope there will be no more bad news from now on.. pls let there be good news on and on!!!!

 

[sagimoo]

totally agree with sam.. gd news keep coming! gd news keep coming!(shoo away bad news!!)

hope everyone here will have gd news coming their way.

 

[ttc_no2]

babydust to everyone :>

I must be one of the most unprepared ladies here. Never go for acu or take TCM. Also dun know when must we start taking supplements like Ensure and eggs.

I have just started the pill, Lucrin starting next friday. Can you ladies share when I should start taking more protein and some possible side effects? Sorry, tried to read the archives, but really a lot and cannot find the relevant info easily

 

[gracelynn]

hi alyssa

actually you do not need to take egg whites at the lucrin stage, u only start the egg whites when you are into 3-5 days of puregon cos that's when you need a high protein diet.

if you have pcos, you could start as early as when you start your puregon stage, to relieve the symptoms of OHSS. the number of egg whites range from 4 to 6 daily (though i know some pple who ate up to 10 egg whites daily), preferably raw/half boiled.

please, please do not consume the egg yolks - too much not good for health.

you can always supplement with Ensure or similiar type high protein milk powder, but do note that these are usually 'heaty' which can worsen constipation etc.

ttc_no2,
guess the above info will help you as well.

ah kat,
sorry to hear of your loss. It's hard to accept it but take your time to recuperate after yr d&c.

an update
chew, you asked when my ET and ER will be, i'm disappointed that it has been postponed again, so far this is the 2nd time it has been postponed, hopefully after the 4th scan tomorrow, will have a firm date.

follicles are still not growing as well as expected, RE doubled the puregon, hopefully it's not too late for the late bloomers to catch up.

 

[linaang]

Hi babymaking,
hope your follicles will grow quickly.

 

[sagimoo]

babymaking,

u dun think so much ok.. your follicles must be growing slowly and steadily so you dun be disappointed and must not have the dishearten feeling ok. things will turn out fine tmrw after your scan.. stay positive and lets pray together that everything's will be fine..

cheer up gal..

 

[ttc_no2]

babymaking
thanks for the info! My follicles were slow to grow for my previous 2 aborted IUI cycles too. Hope it will be better with IVF

 

[irish_coffee]

Hi Grace BB
They do have the machine in the clinic but Dr Jin only use traditional manual acupuncture treatment on me.

 

[gracelynn]

hi lina & chew

thks for the encouragement, fingers crossed, will update tomorrow! i guess i am so disappointed because the only difference this time round is that i did intensive accupunture. I thought accupunture is supposed to help egg quality and production, not make it grow slower. oh well, just wait & see. I'm still trusting that it will help in other areas like implantation. *hopeful*

Sunflower & those interested in TCM
Dr jin is with raffles hospital TCM centre. The first consult is $40, they have a IVF booster package meant to complement those undergoing IVF - 5 sessions for $350.

So far since i started seeing her last mth, she advise me to get 2 packages - ie 10 times. Her sessions start with a consult, then an hr of accupunture, just needles and hot lamp, no machines. Needles placment & no of needles differ from time to time depends on the consult. I had needles going thru the ear cartildge which is damn painful.

frequency is usually once a week, during puregon stage is twice a week, and once the day before ER, and on the day of the ET itself.

Apppointments wise, sometimes if you try to make through the hospital, she may not have the available slots but if you call her directly, she can somehow arrnage to slot in.

She's rather flexible to set the appointments esp during the puregon stage (which is what i am going thru now..as no one can determine when the ER going to be)

She is very knowledgeable about the IVF procedure, sometimes she will compare the protocols with what raffles hospital is doing (afterall she is based in raffles hospital)and comment on 'what should have been done instead'

to compare between Dr Zou (AMK) and Dr Jin, i would say that Dr Zou is more chatty and tends to talk abt her experience with other patients in detail, where else Dr Jin is more friendly and professional and relates only what's specific to the situation.

and oh yeah, Dr Jin speaks English although she is more conversant with mandarin.

hope the above information helps.

 

[under_grace]

Sunflower,
Dr Jin has an acupuncture package for IVF. 5 sessions for $350. Not including medication.

Thanks babymaking for answering all the questions really well. I chose Dr Zou in the end becos I happen to get her appointment first. After that, I think it was a wise choice (rather than going for the booster) becos I needed to 'tiao' my body due to the earlier miscarriage. Yes, Zou also recommend 3 mth acupuncture before trying FET. She said success will be high...

Yeah!

Babymaking, so you've been to Zou before. What makes you go to Jin instead?

 

[1sttime_ivf]

hi ladies - just to update. i went for my 1st scan yesterday and saw 2 sacs, so potentially twins

think i'm only 4 weeks, have to wait another 2 weeks to see heartbeat. i cant believe it myself. still in a daze. babydust to everyone

 

[gracelynn]

grace BB,
I saw Dr Zou when i was going through my FET process, we did accupunture and TCM meds for few weeks on weekly basis and then daily for the 3 days leading up to FET. Also had to consume tcm powder for the 17 days during the 2ww. Dr Zou was very optimistic abt the success of the cycle, however, the cycle failed. It's nobody's fault but i wanted a fresh start.

This time, i decided to start afresh with Dr Jin, partly because of her association with Raffles hospital.

During consult, she gave an overall view of the process and how accupunture can help my condition which according to TCM principles is 'damp heat' which is the the hardest to clear.

She's better acquainted with the IVF process/schedule per se, as in the dosage of medication, when the scans, blood tests should be, and the progress of the cycle etc and was able to adjust the accupunture to suit the timing.

also, Dr Jin does accupunture on the day of the ET, to help with implantation where else Dr Zou do not.

personally i think the IVF booster package is somewhat a hospital gimmick cos TCM is to 'tiao' in the long run but it gives confidence that a short run of 5 sessions can also be effective, where else with Dr Zou, it seems like an endless process with no reviews of how effective the accupunture is.

Cost wise, Dr Zou is a lot cheaper than Dr Jin, if i remember correctly, Dr Zou charges $25 per session whereelse raffles hospital charges $70 per session (350/5) excluding medications & GST.

I'm a recent convert to TCM, previously I am totally against TCM cos many of the sinsehs i seen before tend to be vague about the process and time line (or utter really stupid stuff).

However a friend who had success with one of the sinseh i previously saw said something that i think is very true.

She said that TCM is also a test of your faith on the sinseh, if you believe that this sinseh/treatment will work for you, then go for it 100%, but if you go in with doubts, then you are just setting up the treatment to fail.

so since you have already chosen Dr Zou, then continue with one cycle and see how it goes.

 

[gracelynn]

pontail,

CONGRATS, what a blessing!

 

[under_grace]

Dear Babymaking,
Thanks. I'll just stick with her for a while and see how it goes...
What is the charges for medication at Raffles?

 

[dawnnie]

Hi gals,

Below is the new updates, I have graduated from KKIVF, cos my BT increases from 60 to 2000 after 1 week!:

Updated List

Planning to do IVF/FET
ros (IVF - Apr 09)
Starzy (IVF - Feb/Mar 09)
grace BB (FET - Jan/Feb 09)
happyever (FET - Jan/Feb 09)
lina (IVF - Dec 08)
splithair (FET - Jan/Feb 09)
pbabe (FET - Dec 08)
besswbb (IVF - Dec 08)

stage 1: (lucrin or suprefact)
fellaine
alyssa
jas

Stage 2: (puregon or Gonal f)
babymaking
chew

Stage 3 - 2WW:
piggy09

Successful:
Hopfully, LFB, pleasance, akachan, Pretyy lady, BBW, ponytail, sam, hope & faith, Dawnnie


Can I check with you gals, wats your BHCG BT on week 4? I'm afraid mine is too low, cos my 1st BT was 22 then...

 

[linaang]

Hi ponytail,
That's good news of twins. Congrats!

Hi babymaking,
Thanks for the explanation and feedback of both Dr Zou and Dr Jin. Yes, agree that we must have faith when going for TCM, same goes for trusting on the ivf doctor and hospital to give us success.

Hi Dawnnie,
Congrats, take care for the 9 months ahead.

 

[gannk]

Babymaking and GraceBB

Thank you for the information. I believe other than faith, fate to meet the right TCM is also impt.

Ponytail

That is a good piece of news!! Congrats!!!

 

[hopefaith]

Hello Ladies..been busy lately and very tired..sleep most of the time!!

Alyssa..regarding egg whites..maybe its better if taken half boiled..taste nicer!!..And drink lotsa water..dont need to take in gulps..take in sips..use a strw easier. U have to keep urself always hydrate, its very important. When is the day of the trigger of the follicles?

Ponytail..COngrats!! How many weeks are u?..Aand when u first test for beta hcg, what was the number?
Congrats to u too Dawnie!

 

[sagimoo]

ponytail & dawnie,

congrats...

babymaking,

hows your scan today? please keep us updated..

 

[hihihelen]

Hi Dawnie,

I'm glad that you have succeeded. Have a smooth 9 months ahead.

Hi Pony,

Congrats on the twins.

 

[1sttime_ivf]

dawnie - congrats

helen, chew, hopefaith, sunflower, lina, babymaking - thanks for your well wishes. i did my ER on 1 nov so nurse said i am only 4 weeks. i dont know abt my levels cos NUH tends not to tell you. my bit of advice to all ladies is that you must not give up, your turn will be here soon. like my hubby said, when we were trying its such a long wait, then suddenly pop got 2. so must be patient and keep healthy.

 

[cubeball]

hi all, just did HPT n it's a BFN .... well at least i prepared myself for my BT tis tuesday.

 

[gracelynn]

dawnie,
congrats! that's really astounding from 1st bloodtest at 22 to 2000 plus in a week!!! to a healthy 9 months ahead. yr beta of 22 is taken on which day of the 2www?

cubeball,
HPT is not as sensitive as blood test, normal HPT shows positive only at 25, so keep your hope up. who knows, you may turn up to be another Dawnie.

personal update
finally can proceed to the next stage next week, pregynl jab is scheduled tomorrow night and ER on Tuesday.

Total: 33 days of lucrin and 13 days of puregon (11 x 200iu + 2 x 400 iu)

<font size="+2">Updated List </font>

Planning to do IVF/FET
ros (IVF - Apr 09)
Starzy (IVF - Feb/Mar 09)
grace BB (FET - Jan/Feb 09)
happyever (FET - Jan/Feb 09)
lina (IVF - Dec 08)
splithair (FET - Jan/Feb 09)
pbabe (FET - Dec 08)
besswbb (IVF - Dec 08)

stage 1: (lucrin or suprefact)
fellaine
alyssa
jas

Stage 2: (puregon or Gonal f)
babymaking
chew

Stage 3 - 2WW:
piggy09
cubeball

Successful:
Hopfully, LFB, pleasance, akachan, Pretyy lady, BBW, ponytail, sam, hope &amp; faith, Dawnnie

 

[confuse]

babymaking,
I have puregon for 9days. Hope this round after accup will help improve my eggs quality.

 

[alyssa_r]

hi baby making.
can i know e reasons why ur lucrin is so long. tot usually 2-3 weeks.

all e best for ur ER

 

[pretyy_lady]

hi dawnie,
CONGRATS to your amazing beta climb!! when is your 6-wk scan scheduled?? meanwhile, continue to keep your spirits high &amp; eat healthily.


hi blesswbb,
m always rooting for you. to share... my chinese physician advised before that for accu to be effective, there should be at least 2-3 sessions each week. furthermore, accu mostly assist in the implantation more than the egg quality. for the latter, it's better to adhere to the chinese medic prescribed per your condition. m praying for good development of your follicles. keep up your spirits!!

 

[ttc_no2]

hi ladies,
I have a question, wondering if you can help. I started on the pill on D2 of my cycle. Usually, my menses will end in 5 days but since I started on the pill, it has been dragging on for more than a week now and today i see fresh/more spotting again. Is this normal?

 

[1sttime_ivf]

cueball - if your bt is on tues it may be a bit too early to test on sat ? also, there are a lot of false negative stories so dont be disheartened. jia you.

 

[sagimoo]

babymaking,

happy for u.. its really worth the wait right?

btw, just wana check with u, i feel pain on my left abdominal. is it common? i went to toilet and realise that there is discharge (its like when ovulating kinda discharge - like egg white). do u experience this as well?

also, when they scan to see your follicles is just normal scan or vaginal scan? cos tmrw i going for my scan.. will dr loh be there too?

 

[confuse]

Chew
Don worry abt the discharge. Its normal to hv discharge.

 

[confuse]

Pretyy lady
I'm very worried after reading those ladies after accup they hv lesser follicles. But then after 4mths of accup and chinese medicines i do find improvement. During the last natural FET, I found myself ovulate with 2 follicles with the right size.
I do hope this time round most of my eggs will be of good quality and right sizes.

 

[confuse]

Alyssa,
Some pple need to hv lucrin longer. For my case i have endometrosis. Dr loh advise is to hv lucrin longer in order to control it before going thru the puregon stage. It will also improve the chances.

 

[gracelynn]

good morning gals

alyssa
when you are on puregon, u also have to simultaneously jab lucrin, so altogether the average is between 23 (14 days lucrin only + 9 days puregon + lucrin) to 35 (21 days lucrin only + 14 days puregon).

ttc_no2,
i had spotting thru out on BCP on both 1st and 2st cycle. the 1st cycle, i thought something was wrong and went down to see the RE for a scan but it turned out nothing, and the RE said it was just hormones inbalance. This time round, i just ignore the spotting. if you are worried, do see the doctor to at least exclude bleeding from other causes like cysts etc.

chew

ah, dun know whether worth the wait...will see on tuesday when the report comes out with how many mature eggs retrieved.

every step of the ivf journey is filled with uncertainty even if it's the 2nd or 3rd time going through. what went on well in the 1st cycle, not neccesarily will go well in the 2nd cycle. i thought it will get easier with multiple attempts, but frankly experience only makes it worse, one is more aware of the zillions of things that can go wrong. *wryly*

how many days of puregon are you on? i had EWCM starting from day 8 of puregon, from what i read in other forums, although there is EWCM, there is no chance of natural ovulation so long lucrin is jab daily as lucrin is supposed to suppress the LH surge for ovulation. Ovulation will only occur when the HCG/pregynl jab is administered.

as for the pain, you may want to check with the nurses? i had pain as well but mine is most probably triggered by ivf meds due to a pre existing illness.

You only get to see SF Loh during the first consult, ER and ET. during the rest of the time, the doctors on duty will review the follicle growth,the nurses will advise the next steps etc and scans are transvaginal done by the sonographer.

update when you get back, hope you can proceed to ER ASAP.

 

[bbwish]

Hi ponytail,
Congrats on having twins!

Hi Dawnnie,
Congrats to you too!

 

[1sttime_ivf]

BBW - thanks

do you have MS ? how many weeks are you? I have no MS and although everyone tells me not to worry, i cant help worrying especially since twins means supposed to get more serious MS. are you working ?

 

[bbwish]

Hi Ponytail,

I should be almost 7 wks now. Just feel a bit nauseous, but no vomitting. Other than that, I also get full easily. Don't worry, i think without MS can be just as healthy &amp; normal.

 

[fellaine]

Hi Chew

How's the scan today? So was it vaginal or tummy scan? Mine will be on Thur.

Did you consume egg whites during stage 2?

 

[sagimoo]

blessbb,

thanks..

babymaking,

thanks for the info..

just came back from my scan.. only 11 follicles and one is 18.5, the rest is between 5-12.. so will extend 2 more days of puregon to 400 units.. wed morning will go for another s
scanning.. not sure by then, will the follicles grow to the expected size.. now i beginning to worry.. but my lining is consider good 9.

fellaine,

its vaginal scan. i stop taking egg whites since it can only be consumed raw or half boiled.. but am taking protein drink from gnc.

maybe i should start to take egg white again..

anyone out there got better suggestion to increase the growth of the follicles? please advise.. many thanks!

 

[sagimoo]

babymaking,

btw, whats EWCM?

 

[fellaine]

Hi Chew

Do you know what's the ideal size of the follicles?

 

[marvliz]

Chew
take more protein. from my understanding, the folicles need protein to grow well.. btw, which CD are you are?

anyway, EWCM is egg white cervical mucus. it is the fertile mucus that is produced by the body during ovulation time. you should be getting quite a lot of EWCM now due to the huge number of folicles..

Good luck!

 

[sagimoo]

fellaine,

ideal size is 16-20.

ml,

thanks for the info.

sorry just wana check what is CD?

 

[fellaine]

Hi Chew

You mentioned that you are scheduled for another scan on Wed, so if everything is fine, your ER will be on Wed too?

And also what is the average no of follicles? Maybe you should start taking egg white these 2 days.

 

[nlenny]

hi ladies,

anyone knows of we will get MC for FET at KKH? IF yes, how many days are given?

 

[sagimoo]

fellaine,

wed is only scanning to see if the follicles are growing.. nw dr loh concern is only 1 follicle is ideal size but not the rest. so the rest of my follicles have to grow in order for me to go next stage - er.. if my follicles are growing they still need to jab pregnyl before they do er for me.

there isnt any average no of follicles.. most important, it must be of good grade and not too little cos usually only about 70% is able to use for ivf/icsi.

 

[sagimoo]

hi lenny,

if im nt wrong, from previous posting, some ladies out there was saying about 7 days mc will be given for fet.

 

[gracelynn]

chew,
dun worry, at least u got an increased dosage earlier, that means the follicles got more time to get bigger, they grow like 2mm every other day. if i remember correctly, an ideal size is 18mm-20mm.

how many small follicles (below 10 mm) do you have? i read that the more small follicles, the higher chances of OHSS. as of last scan i have about 10 odd 8 - 10mm,hope they grow out by ER tomorrow.

CD stands for cycle day.

so far read that the only thing that promotes follicle growth is super high protein intake, preferably water soluble type as it is absorbed into body the fastest.