She's here again....

Ya, she's here one more time....I just finish my period last Wednesday and now I am having it again. I realized drugs can really affect science. Anyway, I got my period yesterday around 7pm. I remembered when I first went to KLFGC; I was told that if I have my period after 5pm, then the next day is considered as Day 1 of period. For example in my case:-

Period - 7pm Thursday (since after 5pm, Friday is considered Day 1)

I called my nurse today to confirm. Yes, I was right. I was told to start my injection from tomorrow, Saturday. I can do the injection any time of the day be it morning, evening or night. But the subsequent days, the timing should be the same. The nurse asked me to come in again on Tuesday (Day 5) for a checkup. By right I should be going in on Day 6 but since it is a public holiday, I was told to come in a day earlier. The nurse advised me not to take my injection for the Day 5 first. So I have to carry my IVF bag again to the clinic. Will update soon how my injection went. Till then take care friends and have a great weekend.

IVF on or off ?

Good afternoon friends. My appointment yesterday was at 11.45 am. My husband and I reached the clinic around 10.30 am. We were called in after 30 minutes. Dr Helena greeted us and we did not waste any time. Dr scanned me...Although she was counting the follicles, she was finding for the dominant follicle. She then measured it. It was 7mm...The size had reduced. Previously was 10mm. Dr told us that we were on the winning side but I had to do an urgent blood test. I was to be tested for estradiol and also progesterone level. I was asked to go to level 3A to perform the blood test. We immediately got it done. We were asked to come to the clinic in an hour’s time. We went for a drink, chatted a while and went back to the clinic. After a while of waiting, I heard my name was mentioned by one of the nurse. I was called in to see the doctor. I was not that nervous going in the clinic to hear the news. I opened the door knob looked at the doctor. Dr said "Good news". Pheww....I knew I was on the right track. Dr told me that my levels were good and I can start my IVF soon. She said that I will be getting my period in 2 to 3 days. Then I can start my IVF on day 2. Dr asked me if I wanted to take back my injections or come in when I get my period. She knew that we were coming from quite a distance. We decided we would bring back the injections with us. I did not understand the science behind the period again as I just finished my period last week. I was too excited I could start my IVF that I did not go into the details behind the science of my case. Dr said that we had won this time. Since my nurse was no longer with the clinic, I was assigned to another nurse; Nurse M.

Nurse M explained how to use my injections. I was to give her a call when I get my period so that we can make an appointment for Day 6. I was given Puregon injection Kit as below.

I had my cooler bag, ice bag, Puregon pen, puregon cartridge, needles, alcohol swabs, a consent form and my medication table. I was supposed to start my injection on Day 2. My dosage was Puregon 250 IU. Below is a video on how to use the pen correctly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLE5ra84u4Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcFr-CO_e-A

We then were called to make a payment. The Finance Officer noted that we were starting our IVF soon. She asked us how much was our package discussed with the Dr. We told her we did not discuss on that. She then checked and realized our package was RM15000 altogether. So we decided to break the payment into 3 payments. 

Total IVF cost - RM 15000

We paid - RM 5000 

Waaaaa.... :(

Hi dear friends. I updated my previous blog entry (Monday) while I was having a bad headache. It continued till night. After I had my dinner, things got worst. Terrible headache, tried to sleep but my headache won the race. I started vomiting again and again. 5 times till my throat was so sore. Whenever I drank water, it's out again. The headache made it worst....Felt so sick....I was thinking why am I having this just before my checkup. I was hoping my appointment result will be good though. My husband was helpless....He was asking me what he should do. I barely could speak....Then he asked if he can get me 100 plus. I agreed as I know my stomach was too empty and needed some energy. I agreed although felt bad that he had to go out at 10pm to get a drink. I drank only few sips as my throat was hurting so bad from all the vomiting. I was watching some movie and I dozed off. My husband woke me and we went to bed. 

Yesterday, I woke up at 4am. I realized my head was slightly painful. I tried to sleep again since I really needed to sleep else I will be in pain. Then I woke up before my alarm. As excited as I was, quickly smeared butter and jam on the bread for breakfast. Took my bath, got dressed but I just took a bite of my bread. Just could not get it down. My husband and I left our place at 7.30am. Reached the clinic at 9.40am. The traffic was much worse than usual. Surprisingly parking was so empty. So was the clinic. Just few patients and also nurses. There was a new nurse. I told her my appointment was at 10am. She checked and my name was 1.45pm. I was like it shouldn’t be. I don't know from where that time came. Luckily she said that it was not a problem. I was called in immediately. Dr Helena as inviting as usual. We had a short chat. She remembered my sister's wedding. She said good decision to postpone because it was not good to be stressful during IVF. She then wanted to scan me...While she was counting 1,2,3 then one Whoops came. I knew something was not right. I could see 1 of the follicle was bigger than the rest. I was having all kind of thoughts already. Dr measured the bigger follicle. It was 10 mm...Then she continued the counting. I think I had approximately 8 follicle on right and 5 on my left. I am not sure I was having more or not on the right because my mind kind of got blanked when I saw the bigger follicle. After that I went to see the Dr. She explained that sometimes it happens. The body chooses 1 follicle to outgrow the rest. She then asked me if I still have the Yasmin pills. I said yes. She asked me to take it till Sunday and come again to see her again on Monday. Sometimes the pills can withdraw back the follicle, sometimes it does not. If it decides to withdraw, I can go on with IVF else, postpone another month. My heart was like 'WAAAAAAA, not another month'. I have already postponed 2 months. Dr said we will see who wins next week. Is it us or the follicle. Hopefully we will win. Felt quite disappointed today but I am trying to be positive. I did some research on the internet. All of the cases I found had to postpone their IVF cycle. Hopefully I will be one of the very lucky one and all will be good so that I can continue my IVF soon.

Total cost:-

NO CHARGE.

(We were shocked because we thought we will be charged for the scan)

P/s - We drove 2 hours to the clinic, 5 minutes with the Dr, paid RM4 for parking since it was so short and drove back 1.5 hours more to reach home with disappointment. But I am trying my best to stay positive till next Monday. I started my Yasmin pill yesterday. Hoping for the best next Monday.

She's here

Yes ....She's here....I got my period yesterday morning. So............. 

IVF, here I come..

I made an appointment to see the Dr tomorrow.  I asked the nurse if I could come in Day 3 instead of Day 2. She said it was not a problem. Phewwww. I was relieved. My husband will not be able to follow me if it was Day 2. That's why we chose to go with Day 3. 

Am I ready for IVF? I will have to say YES. Below was my list what I wanted to do before IVF.

 1) Reduce some kilos. Exercise ...exercise....exercise
2) Acupuncture
3) Add CoQ10 vitamin to my entire vitamin intake till my IVF starts
4) Increase egg intake
5) Malay massage
6) Cupping

So the progress of the above:-

1) Yes, done that. 2 kilos down. It was tough but I managed to achieve my desired result.

2) Yes, will continue. I have gone to 7 sessions so far.

3) Yes, will continue till the egg collection day.

4) Yes, 3-5 eggs per week.

5) No, did not have the chance on this. 

6) Yes done it once. It took nearly 9 - 10 days for the marks to go off.

I am happy. 5 out of 6 completed. I am just a bit worried that I might not be able to continue my IVF if my cyst comes back. This month I had very sharp pain on my left side. That's where my previous cyst was. This time my period was extra painful then my previous months. I am just hoping the cyst is not there and I can continue my IVF this month. Wish me luck, friends.

Acupuncture session 2 completed

Good morning my dear friends. How did I feel after acupuncture session 1? I was feeling quite normal the whole day. I had the second session yesterday at 12pm. I just had to wait 15 minutes this time. I went in and the Dr greeted me. She asked how I felt yesterday, if I was tired. I said I was OK, quite normal. She asked me to lie down. She asked me how my cycles were every month. I told her I have slight delay and recently somewhere below 35 days and earlier was below 40 days. She said, 'Next month your period should be OK already'. I immediately answered her, 'I hope I do not get my period next month, Dr!'. Dr laughed and she hoped the same too. She started the procedure. I asked her what she used before she poked me. I was right. It was alcohol swab and it is used to clean the area. She did the same procedure like the day before. 4 needles on the tummy, 2 on my hand, 4 on my thigh. But she said she will add 2 more. The needles count will increase by each session. I had the extra 2 needle below the thigh and probably 2 inches above my ankle. She then had the light on as usual. I had a 20 minutes timer. I felt more relaxed this time. Just a bit pain on the side where the new needle was. After the 20 minutes, the assistant took off the needles. I did not feel any pain. When she took out the needle below my thigh, there was blood. She was wiping few times. She showed me a bit of blood. I checked the spot again there was no bleeding. I then paid and left. The blood was totally disturbing me. As soon as I reach home, grabbed my laptop and checked if it was normal there was blood when the needle was withdrawn. And YES it was. Pheww what a relieve. My next appointment was Friday 10.30am. The clinic is closed on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Total cost:-

Acupuncture - RM 25

Acupuncture session 1 completed

Good evening friends.....Looking at my title, sure you guys would have figured out that I have found an acupuncture centre at last...My husband managed to find an acupuncture centre in Raub last Friday. Since I was not really recovered from cupping last week, I decided to go on Monday (which is today). Please refer to the website below for more information on acupuncture.
http://www.fertilityfactor.com/infertility_acupuncture.html

The centre opens at 10.30 am. I called the centre around 10.20 am. The receptionist answered. I told her that I will be coming at 11am...She said OK...My husband and I reached the clinic right on time. The clinic was full. We did not have place to sit at all. I asked the girl how many people were before us. She said 6 more and it will be long enough before your turn. She asked us to come back at 12 pm. Then we went to the town and went back to the clinic at 11.45am. The clinic was looking better that time. We patiently waited for our turn. It was 12.30 pm by the time my turn came. We have to take off our shoes before we go in the doctor's room. We were greeted by a young lady doctor. I explained our situation that we were trying for a baby and we will be doing our IVF next month. She asked if we were OK in term of all the treatment. We just answered YES...She grabbed my right hand and checked my wrist for some time. She then did the same for my left hand....After some time, she asked me to show my tongue. She immediately told us...Your stomach is not good. Your period cycle is not good. You have a lot of 'angin' (gas) in your body. WOW....We were so impressed how she found that out. She asked me if I was taking any medicine. I told her all the vitamins that I was taking. She jot down as I was telling one by one. Then she asked me if I drink alcohol or smoke. I said 'No'. That was good. She jots that down as well. She started to advise me what I should do and what shouldn't I do.

1) I should not be eating spicy food

2) I should not add coconut milk to my food intake

3) I should not be taking iced drinks. Only warm water is allowed

4) I should eat slowly

As she told me the first two item, I was thinking to myself. I just cooked chicken curry and added a bit coconut milk to the curry before coming to the clinic. Oh Oh....Probably I will start that from tomorrow. The doctor explained that spicy and coconut milk cause 'angin'(gas). She said that since this is my first time doing acupuncture, I might need to come in very frequent. She suggested me to come in at least 3 times a week. It is so that the blood is circulated well throughout the body. We agreed. She then showed us our cubicle. This clinic can accommodate 3 patients at one time. We were parted by curtain. I lay down on the bed. She looked at my stomach. She put some wet cotton on my tummy. I guess it should be the alcohol swab. She took a needle and poke on my tummy one by one. 4 needles went on my tummy. She asked me if there was any pain. I said 'No'. She said 'Good'. The places that she poked were all the essential points. She then pokes 1 needle each on both my hands. She pokes 2 needles each of both my thighs. She always asks if it is painful. I always said 'No'. She even pushed in deeper and asks me if it is painful now. I said just slightly. Doctor said 'Very good'. Altogether 10 needles were on me. Doctor said that we have to wait for 20 minutes. The doctor's assistant came in with a TDP lamp. She put it so that the machine is facing towards my tummy. It provided some heat. My husband and I waited. It was already 20 minutes. Doctor came in and advised that I can't bathe or wash hand within 1 hour. After that, it is fine. I should be feeling tired today because of all the muscle and it is perfectly normal. First 2 acupuncture session the patient will feel tired. By the third session, no more tiredness. She also advised me to drink a lot of water. She then left. She did not take out the needles. After another 10 minutes, her assistant came in and removed all the needles. She also asked if it was painful. I just said ' No'. As we were leaving to the door, the doctor told us again' Don't forget what I said'. I said OK. I told her that I will meet her tomorrow. We paid and tried to make an appointment at 10.30am tomorrow. The receptionist said it was already full. She said I only could come in at 12pm. So 12 pm it is. I will definitely meet her tomorrow. How am I feeling after 3 hours? For the tiredness, I do not feel so much of that. Just slight muscle pulls on my hands now and then. Otherwise I feel perfectly normal. 

Total cost :-

Acupuncture for fertility - RM 25