IVF/ICSI Support Group

[linaang]

hi jas,
Dr Tan's contact is tel: 68723237. He is at Blk 433 Clementi Ave 3. A small clinic with only 2 beds. But just note that he is very against ivf, kept insisting on trying natural. So i only see him for one visit and gave up. But hubby continued to see him after that. Do bring along your reports for 1st consultation.

hi Fellaine,
Hugs, do get a 2nd opinion. Do you mind trying the chinese method of stopping bleeding? cooking glutinous rice with 5 slices of lotus root and add in some red dates. Take this twice a day, could help stop the bleeding. This method recommended by Dr Zou, had helped me during bleeding. 24 clinic also told me to go home and lie down, do nothing except in agony of waiting for bleeding to stop.

 

[str]

Hi Labbitpj
Thanks! I m feeling much better now. But, I think my body needs more time to recuperate, been getting very tired easily.

Ladies, I would like to reiterate that we should not get disheartened with what some of us here have shared about negative experiences at KKH. Rather, I think this is a good platform for each and everyone of us to share what we have gone through and of course for us to learn and take precautions for ourselves based on what others have gone through.

Really, we should have faith with Dr Loh (if you are seeing him) as there shld not be any doubts with his medical knowledge and skills, jus that he is really really too busy, with too many patients under him. He must be overwhelmed.

Always seek doctor's opinion if we have doubts in what the nurses say.

 

[linaang]

hi minnie,
does Dr Tan mention anything when you told him that you are doing ivf? i just find him very determine on natural conception, i repeated myself twice that i am trying ivf and he just told me not to.

 

[str]

Fellaine

My heart goes out to you. I also agree with Lina that maybe you would like to seek a second opinion? Perhaps from your own personal gynae in private practice?

In the meantime, do take care ya? Hope for the best for you.

 

[lady1978]

Zaza, DH doesnt want me to go back kk. I be gtg pte.. Urself? I think SGH is full of personal touch u can go back there, when will ur nxt try be? Mine is consider first try so will be taking the full 6k only without the 3k govt co funding..

 

[lady1978]

Zaza, did dr yong say what the successful rate long vs short protocol?

 

[babydream]

Hi ladies

Can I ask KKH do a day 2 or day 3 embryo transfer - I'm confused, if you do ER on Thurs and ET on Sat, then it's consider day 2 or day 3 embryo?

When will implantation take place?

Oh, pertaining to the service qaulity of KK IVF, I think it'c cos they're too crowded with more patient then before Aug08 (due to the govt subsidy, there're more people seeking fertility treatment there).

I can understand the frustration that the gals have here as there could be less attention given - the nurses/ docs are barely taking time off to chat/ rest, as they need to attend to more patients.

If you're not comfortable with the "mass factory/ production" service, then maybe KKH is not suitable to you. (I hope I'm not hurting anyone with my "frankness" - I apologise if I accidentally do).

Before you decide on the fertility clinic, do a "pros" & "cons" list to help you.

For myself, due to the subsidised cost, I'll bear the lousy service and stay with them.

But if I BFP, I think I'll look for a back-up gynae so that need not rely on KKH doc solely.

 

[lady1978]

Hi babydream, my thinking was like u b4 take the govt grant and juz endure with the not so up to standard service but neither did i know the professional part of the doc is compromised too..

 

[babydream]

Fellaine & Wish Upon a Star

I hope both of you are feeling better.
Take care!

Hey ladies
I'd like to offer an alternative view towards Dr Loh:
Have you ever give it a thought that despite his busy schedule and long list of patients, he didnt reject any of the new request (to be under his care)? I'm sure he can refer the new patients to other doc, has he done it?
He's just like our husband - need to balance work and family life.

Just an alternative opinion, dont be upset if I've accidentally hurt anyone here.

 

[babydream]

Lyn

Dont be upset or sad, try to be happy.
I'm sure everything is going to be fine for you,

My HB always tell me, do lead a happy life - no point be angry with things that is history or over stuff which we've no control.

I know its easily said then to be done.
Put on a nice smile and treat this as a really lousy and expensive (financial, physical & emotional) experience.
Gotta move forward!

I hope when I feel down one day, the gals here can also lend me the support and cheer me up!

Anyway, this is what this forum is for - vent out your anger/ sorrow and share the experience with the sisters here, so that we can learn from each other.

 

[lady1978]

Babydream, no offence to u too. Fyi, according to SMA and MOH rules and regulations no doc is allowed to turn away patients and busy shedule is not a valid reason to be even considered a reason. He can accept alot of cases but end up patients have to suffer....

Ladies, i feel that this forum is a pillar of strength whereby everyone is giving support to one another thru this journey and no point having a debate here.

This is my personal feeling and no intention to offense anyone coz everyone has the freedom to give comments......

 

[mummynen]

Lyn... I totally agree with you on the regulations. Furthermore, it is only ethical that the doctor that we have placed our trust and money to help us, give us the attention and information that we deserved. IVF cannot be a 'touch & go' thing and it is definitely not a numbers game (like how many follicles, eggs, fertilized embryos, grade, day of transfer.... )

Likewise Lyn, I feel the same way as you. I am glad I found this forum. There are so many insights and personal thoughts shared... some similar to what I went through.

Myself has been going through emotional roller coaster these couple of days. I even wished that I get a BFN out of anger towards my husband. He could go and spend time looking for a book for a friend, but cannot even make a short trip to my mom's place to fetch dinner for me! Then he went on to make himself dinner!!! Though I was feeling crampy, I drove out to fetch the food myself!

This morning, he took his new bike out for a spin and disappeared for 3 hours! I was so pissed I felt like throwing things around the house. Really wished that I get a BFN and blame it all on him! But changed my mind when my 7-year old daughter said she'll be very sad if I don't get pregnant.... :-(

 

[minniestar]

Hi Lina,
No, Dr Tan have been quite supportive of us going for IVF actually. We discussed the options with him, after about 6 months of TCM with him. We raised our concerns as I am already 34 this year, and ask him if we should try ivf or just continue TCM with him, and he said its up to us, but he will support and tio our body if we decide to go IVF.

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? Maybe you are still young and he is confident he can tio you? I am just guessing...

 

[humbug]

Lyn,

The bad attitude only came at the end of my second cycle

So far the first one was very short.. I did not even make it to ER then.

Meow,

Each individual had different reaction to the anthestic. Maybe it is wiser to have someone with you. For me, it was a bit too strong. I was not even able to walk straight after the ER. Safer to have someone with you. ET is different cause you will not be put to sleep for the procedure.

 

[lady1978]

Humbug, the bad attitude that u mentioned came from nurses or doc?

Maybe i ask ur first round how come no ER? Wats ur puregon dosage at first round? How abt the second round? Hope u can share coz this is for my info. Thks in advanced...

 

[lady1978]

Sofia, i feel that ivf journey its very very important that DH have 101 percent of support for us. But sometimes men r men, they r less sensitive and may not understand the emotional needs of a women having to go thru a journey like this. But if ur DH is like that even b4 ur ivf then maybe u have to lower ur expectation from him. U have come so far, pls do not have any negative thoughts...

 

[babies_wanted]

Fellaine,

My heart goes out to you. But you should take second opinion n get hcg test done as wed is still almost 3 days far. whtever u do, pls take care of urself

 

[babies_wanted]

BabyDream, If Er on Thurs n Et on sat then day 2 transfer. if u r under dr loh then he mostly follows day2 ET. All the best

 

[jas1982]

hi everyone,
thanks for the well wishes. I am fine and thanks for Dr Tan contact.
I did an overall calculation of this ivf cycle and realised my total bill was $22k to $23k as my husband needed injections, my acupuncture and also my high gonal f dosage and the difficult ET I had ( 1hr 30 mins instead of the usual 10 mins) . Bearing that in mind however, we will be embarking on round 3 soon. This time, with an additional cost of urologist, we will be expecting to spend more.
I do not think a typical patient with raffles will spend the amount I spent as there were alot of 'extras'. But I just like to point that out so that you guys thinking of raffles will not get a shock. Wish me luck and all the best to everyone.

 

[wensi200]

Hi Jaas,
I took the jab on thigh yesterday & today liao... Now both my legs (alternate side) like having muscle aches.. feels like I've run a marathon.. ha ha..
I think I'll ask to switch to the butt.. but will it be 'aching' when i sit??
Btw i'm still having spotting and the 'volume' is increasing, but not yet flowing.. But I don't see any red blood traces now..
So I'm not sure if this is 'better' or??? Me & DH alerady prepared the -ve result anyway.. Now not thinking any of these stuff..
I've juz got the new iphone (DH went to q this am) so i'm 'busy' playing w/the phone. it keeps my mind off the 'sad' stuff..
I always believe 'what's yr will be yrs'.. As long as I've done my best, then there's nothing else I could do liao lor.. rite? ha ha..

*****************
regards to the svcs @ KKH issue.. pls dun get too personal k..

anyone can share whatever experiences (any hospital/doc/nurse/foodcourt/etc) here, experiences comes differently with different person.. So it's good to share share.. Then we'll know what we can look out for.

whatever stated here will be served only as a guideline, right.. (e.g. if it's re medical qns, since we're not professional trained, we can only mentioned thru experience, but may not be the 'correct'/'accurate' ans).. but at least we'll know tht actually there's some other options tht we didn't know..

Experiences are valuable! So pls keep those coming.. Be it bad or good.. It really 'enlightened' & helped me alot since i'm a newbie here..

 

[babies_wanted]

Hi Jas,

That is shocking amt. I was thinking was shifting to raffles bt this amt is way too much. Also u mentioned u had difficult ET, if you dont mind sharing wht was the problem as in one of my ealier IVFs my dr said it was difficult ET. Thanks a lot sharing the above. All the best for future

 

[jas1982]

jaas,
my husband's injections alone was about $5k to $6k acupuncture was $1k . The problem was getting to the womb was not straight forward , Dr Thong had to keep trying with 3 different sets of instruments. So my ET alone was $3.5k. Coupled with my very high dose of gonal f , 525iu, I did expect the cost to go up high. The regular figure at raffles i heard was $12k to $15k

 

[jas1982]

this price is all before medisave deduction.

 

[prettiebaby]

Hi Wish upon a star,
sorry to hear about what you are going thru' with kkivf. may i know, who is the nurse incharge?

Hi Fellaine,

Please get the second opinion and hope everything is going ok. hugs!!

I agree with kkivf service is pretty bad.
i went to second appt with dr.loh last week and doc pass me a small piece of paper to hand it over to kkivf nurse counter(written july cycle, long cycle, ect). I gave to kkivf nurse and she just ask me to "SIT" then i said, what is the letter about, what i need to do...etc, she again said "just sit" "SIT"...i wait for 30 min, then nurse Samantha called me and said i can go home now, the letter just give them for record on my coming ivf cycle...wahhhhhhhh....i so shock and wait for 30 min for nothing. funny ya..i am trying to cope with their service as i always told myself, they are busy and pls understand them. but if they have gone over board, i will not give them mercy..;P

 

[babies_wanted]

Hi Wensi,

Yes u r right n have a positive spirit. btw the clinic did early hcg or u r too early???

The butt jab will still be better n they give little high towards waist bt i think shud be less painful otherwise the nurse told me in thigh u wont be able to walk after few days. 2day was my fifth jab & the mucsles r hurting bt stil able to sit n sleep. I use the hot water bottle to soothe the area.

Take good care of urself n keep updating abt ur position.

 

[prettiebaby]

Hi Ladies,

this is my third accup with dr.zhou, 3 days ago until today, i have been experiencing cramp between my left abdomen to my leg. Should i call dr.zhou or just wait for another few days time to see if the condition persist?

 

[babies_wanted]

Jas,

thanks for the sharing the info. It is really helpful for us to decide

 

[mummynen]

hi lyn... initially he was very sure the problem cannot be his. but tests proved twice, it was. still, i didn't blame him and just said that perhaps God wanted us to put in extra efforts. he didn't like the idea of IVF but changed when i flared up. perhaps you are right that i should not expect too much from him. on the other hand, his mom & grandparents have been very supportive, they've been calling from Germany to encourage me...

its so hard to go thru this alone... but i'm glad i find a channel to express my sadness...

 

[wensi200]

Hi Jaas,
I got an early HCG test.. I took the blood test on the 10dpt (day3 trnf).. Doc did mentioned it's a little early but he still want me to do it..
I'll only get the result tmr am coz last Sat i went late lor... clinic half day..
Actually doc's email got c.c. KKIVF but i think nobody care to read emails.. If they do, they would hv call me to go down immediately, dun need to wait till late am when i check my email, then realised!!! really rushed like mad.. ha ha..

 

[mummynen]

Fellaine... take care please. i read somewhere that aspirin is not suitable for preggy mummies. i had ectopic in 2005 and almost my life when the pregnancy almost broke my ovary. i was lucky that NUH got its best gynae to attend to me that Sunday afternoon.

 

[babies_wanted]

Hi Sofia,

We r all there to support u. A lot of men want to remain in denial esp for something as senstive as infertility. Its good to knw that his family supports u. Dont worry everything will fall in place with time.

 

[babies_wanted]

Hi Wensi,

Good luck with the result. Do update us. I will pray for u.....

 

[babe79]

Sofia
Pls try to remain happy ok.. Its good for yr baby..
Yr hubby may not be so expressive in his concern for u.. Im sure he still cares for u.. And be blessed that u are preggy where alot of us wants that badly...

After my et, im so bloated and thus i became moody and pissed.. So i vent my anger at my hubby.. In the end he also got pissed... I guess our mood swings sometimes quit hard on the men.. Thou of cos i hope hubby can be more understanding to us.. Esp we are the ones who are gng thru the physical and emotion roller coaster... But men are not as sensitive as we are... Sigh..

Jas
Wow yr cost is really quite high.. But im sure u are well taken care of at rh.. Did yr dr say how come u need so long for et? What is the difficult part? U have any frozen em for fet?

 

[str]

Hi Chen,
I do not wish to mention the name of the nurse here. Wensi is rite, let's not get too personal about things and should always consult the doctor if we are in doubt.

I will definitely highlight this matter to Dr Loh on my next visit, it's better than we start to condemn the nurse without going through the proper channel, thus affecting her credibility with other patients. It will be a learning point for her too. We all learn from our mistakes

---------------

Bearing in mind that many of the ladies here are still undergoing their IVF at KK, shall we stop lamenting on the bad services in KKIVF, but focus on more positive stuff instead, looking at the brighter side of things? It's ok to share +ve or -ve experiences but too much of either becomes abit unhealthy ya

 

[str]

Wensi, it's good to take your mind off and focus on other things in the meantime. I'll pray for the best for you.

 

[prettiebaby]

Hi Sofia,

you are not alone, you have us. cheer up!! stay happy. dont fight okie, everything can settle in calm talking to each other. let him know how you feel and seek for his understanding. Man are usually not sensitive enough compared to women, just ignored him for a while and take care of yourself first.

Let me know if you need us to bash him..hehe..just kidding..kee kee..;P

 

[greenie_09]

Hi Wish Upon a Star
I agree with what you said about the services provided at KKIVF. You are such a nice lady, wish I could be like you if i were at your shoes.. thanks. You enlight my days..

 

[greenie_09]

Hi Wensi
Jia Yu..endure for a few more days and good news just around the corner..

Hi Sofia
I understand how you feel as my DH also not very supportive in having kid. I already lower my expectation on him in this aspect before i start the journey..i.e going to hospital alone, jab medicine myself and take care of children in future.. Don't be disheartened at this point in time. We will walk with you towards your BFP ya...When is your BT?

 

[str]

Hi Greenie
I guess in life, we just have to move on and put the unhappy moments behind ya. Every cloud has a silver lining

 

[greenie_09]

Hi Chen
You are starting your IVF in July? When do you start your Lucrin?

 

[funny_bunny]

Irene, jabs are given to ladies with less follicles retrieved, whereas inserts ( thru vaginal- ie like inserting tampons) are for ladies with higher follicles retrieved. I think I read somewhere on this thread that inserts gives better "support"..

 

[prettiebaby]

Hi Greenie,

I starting in july once my menses come. maybe end of july if come on time. corry, not yet on stage 1. need your guidance and advise in this journey. Before start but already feel a bit scared, confuse, loss, frustrated of myself .. all in mix messy feeling... but i will get more stronger each day by receiving all the support from all the sisters here..thanks all..stay cheers!!!

Greenie, you still so awake like me..vampired hoo hoo..

 

[prettiebaby]

Hi Wish Upon a star,

wahh..i admire you..i like your positive mindset. I wish you have a succesful FET soon.

Gift will be within your reach if you start believing it. Stay positive.

 

[greenie_09]

Hi Chen
This is my 1st cycle also. As I will be starting earlier, will try my best to relay my experience to see if it helps you later.
I am like you.. a bit loss when the time is nearer. Had been dreaming for the past few nights. Am not so worried from outside but i think my innerself starts worrying..hehe

 

[fellaine]

Hi Ladies

Although I had a bad experience with KK, I have no doubts with Dr Loh's prof skills and judgement. Just want to highlight that if anyone gal has slight spotting, please seek help immediately.

Lina, I also seek Dr Zou's advice to have her glutinous rice with 5 slices of lotus root but she did not ask me to add in red dates...

 

[justnew]

Hi Jas,

faint leh! your bill is so high!
I've been with Dr Tan for 1 yr 3mths.. he is a nice and patient doctor.. When your first visit to him, he will ask u to try naturally for a few mths.. For me, im with him for so long, so he is agreeable for me to go for ivf.. anyhow, just to let you know not all men will improve sperm problem under him no doubt he is famous for male fertility. For my case, its not. My hb sperm count was cut by half although the mobility increase tremendously.. Cutting by half is not a joke, becos we are talking about 15millions. I remember another lady here have the same problem with his hb sperm count. However, i do have to admit most of my frens under him got their sperm count improved. so maybe we are the unlucky one.. Wish you all the best!

 

[jas1982]

hi everyone,
erm shocking high as the bill might be, there are many factors contributing to it.
Baby79, no frozen as hubby's sperm not good, we only had 2 embryos.
Sunflower, there is no way Dr Tan will ask me to try natural cause without injections, husband will have zero sperms , so no way to ever have kids naturally, Dr Loh says so and Dr Thong also agrees, plus, my womb is not easy to enter.

 

[funny_bunny]

hello sunflower, what type of medication does dr tan prescript? is it brew-yourself type? or pills? thanks

 

[justnew]

Hi Jas,

i see.. ok jiayou!

 

[justnew]

Hi bunny,

there are 2 types.. powder in packet form, u just need to mix all mini packets into a cup of hot water and drink it..its like a 3-in-1.. He also give pills..
u going to see him? very hard to get appt for evening, usually need to prebook in advance..so if u are keen, i suggest you prebook a fix day every week for 2 mths in order to secure a slot in the evening.. if u cant make it , at most u call to cancel 1 day in advance.. Its easier to get a slot in the afternoon.