IVF/ICSI Support Group

Hi PandaWife,
My egg quality after fertilisation is not good either. Does it mean it can be checked by analysing the growth hormones in our blood? Did u do the hormones jab? Mind me asking how much does this and the DNA fragmentation test cost?

Hi Hazel,
Hmm...usually 2ww period I'd take the herbs only and no more acup, then during AF, I don't take any more herbs. After AF, then I'd go back for the next batch of herbs and a few sessions of acup until ovulation. So, I've never taken her herbs from D1 of menses...

Hi Gan,
I'm so tempted to spend! But since I practically did nothing during Nov & Dec, I've got near zero income, so don't dare to go shopping except for online shopping hehe.
 


hi sisters, just did acu at dr zou, tea include chinese can't take. She said chinese tea also dun drink so oftenm liang.
 
Muski,

Did your doc explain what is the possible reason for the poor fertilisation?

The growth hormone blood test is $160 and the DNA one costs $250.

The normal growth hormone level to deliver good eggs should be about 20. And DNA fragmentation should not be more than 30%, otherwise its considered not ideal.

My growth hormone level is very low.. only 0.1. I nearly fell off the chair when I saw the report. I will be starting the growth hormone jab this cycle..need to jab daily for 2 months before we can embark on the next ivf cycle. I am not sure how much the growth hormones cost, but I heard that its quite expensive. Forgot to ask the nurse just now. But I will be picking up the medicine next weekend, will let you know the price if you are interested.
 
Hi pandawife, thanks for sharing on the growth hormone bt & DNA fragmentation, this is the first time I have ever heard of these tests? can you share which clinic you are with? and these tests, are they to be taken during IVF cycle or before embarking the cycle?

This growth hormone jab is to increase the quality of your eggs? Sorry for so many questions.
 
sorry ladies,
can i check at which stage do we start taking the blackmore conceive well gold tablets?
and for the egg whites, must it be half boiled or hard boiled?
thanks
 
PandaWife,
Gynae only said it could be something related to genetics cos egg and sperm appeared fine. After ICSI, they managed to fertilise. But when they start to divide, things dont look too good. I asked if there's anything I can do to improve the situation but she only suggested trying another round and hopefully the quality of eggs would be better than the previous batch.

Do you know what growth hormones you'd be injecting? Any possible side effects? Thanks for this very useful piece of info. I'll ask Prof Wong and Dr Yu SL when I see them for 2nd opinion over the next 2 weeks. DNA fragmentation is for the sperm ya?

sun,
regarding egg whites, best to take it half-boiled cos hard boiled ones may have much less nutritional benefits (protein destroyed?)
 
sun, you can start taking the blackmore conceive well gold tablets now
I bought 1 box at unity today, 20% off since i am finishing my centrum multi vit.
 
Bunny,
I am with CARE at Paragon. This centre specialises in ivf. This is also the first time i know about these tests. Yup, growth hormone is for the quality and growth of the eggs. But it is also not 100% guaranteed that this will definitely improve the quality of the eggs. I was told that they will only know if the growth hormones worked when they do ER. So its a risk that we have to take.

Muski,
Egg and sperm appearance is only a partial way to determine their quality. During my last cycle, the embryologist told me my eggs look to be of good quality after ER, but it seems otherwise. And even normal looking sperm can have DNA fragmentation, hence, in this case, looks are deceiving. :p

I don't know what kind of growth hormone yet. Everytime I go for appointment, I am so overwhelm with emotions that I cannot think leh. haha.. so never really ask many questions.
Side effects are quite individual I suppose.
 
Bunny,
Missed out the last part of your questions. The tests are taken to investigate the possible cause of the low fertilisation rate in the our last cycle. Hence, its done before we embark on the cycle.
 
Su,
Yes, I am seeing Angela. Both me and my hb are very comfortable with her after the session today and have decided to switch to CARE for our 2nd attempt.

You are no longer with CARE?
 
hi elle

congratS!!!


hi babygalore
i just love your positive outlook in life.. i've been a bit moody recently.. cos Mar is fast approaching. i'm cycling using Mar flow. i'm having insomnia.. getting only 3-5 hrs of sleep consecutive days. alot of energy although didnt have much sleep.. i think i am stressed w taking BBT every morning too. haiz.

been starting to go for morning jogs for past 2 mths... now avoiding eating rice and was able to lose some weight.. i tot i got to be a bit fitter for the next cycle lah..

eh.. meanwhile how to improve on my sleep ar?
 
Hi ladies,
Unfortunately I do not hv good news to share....my AF reports even before Pregnancy test...
I cried lots when I had spotting yesterday...
And my embbies din survive till D5 for freezing.,..guess will switch to KKH if I m mentally prepared for it...
Those whom are cycling...jia you! and congrats to those whom BFP!
 
Pandawife, yes I am no longer with them. Not because they are not good it's just that I can't use the govt grant if u do my ivf there. If the govt had allowed it I would have continued with them. I remembered how Angela gave me an encouragement when my 2nd iui failed. Now I am with Nuh.
 
bunny,
Care to share y yr cycle fails?
If u dun wan to share, its ok...I understand...
For mine, I got spotting on D9 aft OR and today it becomes v heavy flow which is D10...
I m overall v comfortable wif Prof and the CHR nurses...bt my oni concern is my embbies cannot survive till D5 for freezing...
 
Bunny,
You are most welcome.

Meow,
You can try taking a glass of warm milk. it works for me when i am stressed and cannot sleep.
 
hi rostrum, I dont mind sharing, actually we dont know what's the cause of low fertilization, even the docs cant explain, and the only advice they can give is to try again.

My FSH , AMH levels are favorable and DH's tests are okay as well. But IVF/ICSI isnt working out for us at this moment. That's why I am curious about the tests that pandawife took. Hope this helps.

Will be you embarking a fresh cycle in the couple of months ?
 
Hi Bunny,
Low fertilization means it still gets fertilised right?
I had 13 embroys retrieved and 11 are matured...out of these 11 oni 7 got fertilised, is tis consider low also?
I dun hv the courage to try again so soon...financial set aside..its the emotional stress and sadness tt we hv to go thru...
Do u go TCM? Mabbe TCM will helps?
 
Hi Babygalore,

I am fine. Staring FET end Jan and going to scan on 21 Jan to check for lining.... You are one postive lady... Continue to smell the roses afterall ivf is not everything...

But then cycling is tiring.
My history so far
IUI #1 = -ve ( raffles)- Dr Sheila Loh 2008
IUI # 2= -ve ( raflles) - Dr Sheila Loh 2008
IVF # 1 = -ve (KKH ) - Dr Loh SF 2009
FET #1 =?? ( KKH) - Dr Loh 2010
IVF #2 = ?? ( NUH) - Prof Wong 2010

Sometimes i feel like i am fighting a lonely battle cos i have no friends or colleagues doing this.... i dun mind broadcast to the work that i do liposuction but for this ... i choose to keep mum...

I also dun know how long i can continuing TTC...shuttling between dr Zou and KKH is tiring..

Meow,

Sleep is very important. Do you work ? Why not do lot of physical act like jogging in the day so that at night you will sleep like a log... no need to think. Alternative ask doc to presrcibe sleeping pills at low dosage.

For the rest of the sis here,
Continue to try on 10, 12, 24 days of the cycle... cos you never know when you may strike.
 
Rostrum, sorry to hear about your news. *hugz*.
I know the feeling is terrible. Cry if it makes you better. Do let out your frustration.

Sorry to ask you this, are you sure that the spotting means your AF is alredy here? You might still be pregnant you know. Chedkc with CHR nurses ok.

It is good to take a break before starting a new one.

Take care Rostrum
 
Rostrum, to me having 13 follicles retrieved and 11 matured and 7 fertilised is considred good for me.
Coz for me, i had 10, 6 matured and 4 fertilised. After putting in 2, the other 2 did not survived.
I remembered Prof telling me, usually only 60% retrieved have follicles and mine is in the range. with that he did tell me the % of fertilsed too and mine also did fall in the range. So i bet yours is already good. Perhaps when u see him, you may want to ask him about that.
 
Hi Rostrum,
Did you go for BT after you realized you are spotting?
I had spotting and gradually started to bleed few days before BT and i went down to CHR clinic for BT. I wanted to be sure it's over and done with.
It turns out to be high positive and i was given oral meds and jabs. it took a few days before the bleeding stops.
So far I am into 8 wks now and praying everyday that my baby is growing well and normal.
 
Su_yana & bakaholic,
My bleeding is not the normal bleeding..I can say tt its obviously a menses flow...cos I need to change 3-4 pads today..sorri if I sound gross...I believe in wat I see and strongly believes tt its not a pregnancy sign...Its lost!
sad.gif

The CHR nurse did tel me to go for a BT tml and to me its a cruel fact tt I got to face it tml....
Ya, I will check wif Prof on the follow up consultation & wat cld lead to the failure so tt I can work from there...bt dh says he wun wan to cont wif NUH anymore due to the fact tt the embbies oni get frozen till D5...
Bt I still like the service from NUH la...haha...

bakaholic, tts very good news...m sure yr baby will be growing well...I dun tink I m as lucky as yrs..cos mine is more than bleeding...
 
hi lyn

yup..last nite took Yomeishu, slept slightly longer.

rostrum,
i got to take the BBT so dr zou can have more stuff to talk to me leh.. hehhee.. no lah. i also wanna try naturally loh.

thanks for the warm milk suggestion.. i go find cow now. heheheh.. and hugz k. u can always sms me.


judebaby,
i'm stressed abt the cycling in mar. but tdy went to dr zou there.. she told me to relax. if not not good for body too.. so just now managed to take a 3hr nap. happy!
 
rostrum, i think we need to take bbt, coz dr zou always asked me what is my temperature. but i have never shown her my chart
 
Hi Rostrum, maybe you can still go TCM to take herbs to tiao your body first.
When i first go to Dr Zou after the failed IVF, i also didn't take bbt as i have not taken it for long time since i find it stressful too. So when Dr Zou asked, i will tell her i have not been taking. After going to her for abt 3 weeks, only then i start taking my BBT whenever i remembered when i woke up.
 
Rostrum, sorry to read ur news. Don't be disheartened ok. Rest for now first.
Bakaholic, congrate to u. Take care for now.
 
Hi ladies, pardon for intruding ... After reading the posts here, i feel that I'm not alone. I'm feeling as lousy each time i have relatives, friend or colleagues who're pregnant. Yday my MIL just told me one of my hubby's cousin is conceiving. And suddenly I feel that pressure again though I've been trying to avoid feeling that way.

CNY is coming and i hate having to face the relatives with their same qn all over again.

I'm thinking of trying IVF after seeing TCM, with no results. I have one of my tube blocked and hubby's sperm has low mortality rate. I'm just wondering if you girls have the same problem as me? And do you need to always take medical leave to go for jabs and such?
 
Hi Pink,

You are definitely not alone. I have endo plus a blocked tube. DH also has low mortality rate. We went through 2 docs, 2 tcm before we finally decided to try ivf with the 3rd doc.

For my last cycle, doc gave medical leave when I had to go for scans or jabs. But I recently switch clinic and they give time off chit instead.

Hope this is helpful.
 
Pink,

DH now taking supplements to improve the sperm.

Yes, I did one before my last ivf to remove an endo cyst, but doc was unable to unblock the tube.
 
I heard that IVF is pretty tiring and taxing.

Do you need to take MCs and leaves quite often since you need to go for doc appts etc?

I hope you will STRIKE after this 1st try
happy.gif
 
No problem, I am happy to share the information if its helpful.

I try to arrange if possible for appointments to be scheduled on Sat.. if not, some of it can happen over lunch time. The balance will be medical leave or annual leave. I spoke to my boss before embarking on ivf, and was lucky to have her support. Hence she was very understanding through out.
 
Hi Pink

I have one tube removed and DH sperms are not too active. Married for 5 years and did 3 IUIs all failed. I did my first round of IVF last year but due to OHSS I am going back to put the embryos back next month after a long break.

Hm..let's put it this way. IVF is a long process. At any stage of the process, there is a chance that something may happen like fear of injections, no. of eggs, quality of eggs, sperm quality etc. Before u start, u must be mentally prepared for waits at clinics, acupunctures, high protein diets, mood swings, needles, TCM medications and the medical bills.

BUT despite all these, what we get is a chance of a postive pregnancy test at the end of the journey. Any tiem u feel low and feel like giving up, go to IVF mum-to-be forum. They are all the successful cases. These ladies have went thru all these. I have rested for a year before my first FET. Now i only remember the good things like DH was there when i needed him, the doctor's assurance, dr zou's encouragement etc.

Important thing is to stay positive and dun give up. You will cope as u go along. Jia you
 
Hi Pink,

Yup, I am currently with CARE @ Paragon.

It is important to remain positive to go through ivf. Nancy is right, there can be a number of fear, uncertainty and frustrations throughout the cycle. It is very important that you have support from your DH. For me, my DH and mum were the ones who helped me make it through the last cycle and cope with the failure.

Having experience from the last cycle, I am defintely better prepared to go through it again and hopefully can share good news with all the lovely ladies here in 2010.
 
Pandawife, hope you don't mind me asking, you mentioned that you took the test due to low fertilisation rate, is there a certain percentage of the follicles retrived that should become embryos?
 
Pink, which hospital will you be with? I am with KKIVF. Jabs are done at home by my DH, scans are in the morning (for kk, u can be there as early as 730am to queue for the scans), so usually will go early for the scans. Would just be 1 or 2 hours away from work on days you need to go for scans. Only took hospitalisation leave on ER and the days after.
 


Gan,
According to embryologist, normal fertilisation rate should be above 50%. Example, if ICSI 10 eggs, more than 5 should become embryos.
 
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