Before one consider IVF & ICSI, there is AIH, IUI, SO-IUI and clomid to consider.
Clomid is basically hormone medicine to trick the brain into ovulating. this is the cheapest form of fertitlity treatment and the only non invasive one, and also the first course in treating fertility issues.
Taken from kkh website.
How Is Clomid Given?
Your doctor will usually start you off on the smallest dosage which is 50 mg (1 tablet) daily. This is taken for 5 days either from the 2nd or the 5th day of your menstrual cycle.
The doctor will check for the effectiveness of this dosage by taking a blood test (serum progesterone) on the 21st to 23rd day of your menstrual cycle. The dosage can then be increased if necessary.
You are advised to have sexual intercourse between the 6th and 21st day of your menstrual cycle.
After 4-6 cycles of clomid, one has to consider other alternatives, which involves artificial insemination. There are various types to consider depending on the situation one is in.
AIH - Artificial insemination by Husband.
IUI - Inter utarine insemination (not neccesarily using husbands sperm)
and SO-IUI - which involves taking hormones to ensure super ovulation where more eggs are produced.
AiH and IUI basically work the same way as SO-IUI without the super ovulation bit.
What Is Superovulation & Intrauterine Insemination (SO-IUI)?
Superovulation is a procedure where two to three ovarian follicles (eggs) are stimulated and brought to maturation and ovulation.
It is usually combined with intrauterine insemination in which the prepared sperms are placed directly into the uterus. This procedure will enhance conception for the couple.
Who Is Suitable For SO-IUI?
Any couple who has unexplained infertility, mild male factor infertility, cervical factor infertility and mild endometriosis can undergo this procedure. The patient must have normal fallopian tubes and her husband should have sufficient good quality sperms.
If the husband requires chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer treatment, he may have his sperms cryopreserved (frozen) for future use by this procedure.
How Is The Procedure Done?
The procedure is done on an outpatient basis.
Fertility drugs are given for 10 days or more to produce between two to three mature follicles. These drugs may be either injections (gonadotrophins) alone or a combination of tablets (Clomiphene) and injections. Ultrasound scans are done at intervals to determine the number and size of the follicles before another injection (HCG) is given for final maturation and subsequent ovulation of these follicles.
On the day of the insemination, the couple has to bring the husband's semen sample to the hospital. The semen is prepared and the motile fraction is then placed into the uterus using a fine catheter through the cervix.
The patient is then started on medications to help improve the chances of implantation and thus pregnancy. A blood test (serum progesterone) is taken seven days after the insemination to monitor the effectiveness of these medications. The patient should return to KKIVF 17 days after the insemination for a pregnancy test.
Useful Information
Success rates (KKIVF rates)
Natural conception in a fertile couple aged about 35 years old occurs about 15% per month. When infertility factors are present, this is much reduced.
SOIUI improves the chances of conception for infertile couples and the average success rate is about 12-15% per cycle or 26% per patient after 3 cycles.
The overall success rate varies with the cause of infertility and the age of the female partner. For some conditions, the pregnancy rate can be as high as 36% per patient.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Fertility Procedures - Part 1 (IVF & ICSI)
Did some research on the net over the past few months, decided that i better collate them in ine place. and perhaps having it all written down somewhere means i dont carry all that info in my head.
even when im writing this, i ask myself where exactly do i start? Fertility is soemthing that we all take for granted.When one is single, talking about making babies is certainly not acceptable social behaviour here. Even if one is married, specifics is still a taboo topic.
Ive always thought that getting pregnant should be a done deal. well at least almost everyone i know has kids, and those who dont have, do it out of choice. so fertility..well infertility is not something that i expect to encounter.
that brings me back to where do i start? one of the websites that i found useful was www.kkh.com.sg
it contains most of the basic terms of fertility, some treatments and procedures. its a good place as any to start.
the most common term would be test tube babies, or clinically known as IVF.
What Is IVF?
In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) involves putting the eggs and sperms together. By natural selection, the egg will usually allow only one sperm to enter and this usually leads to the fertilisation process in the laboratory. After fertilisation, the embryos are allowed to grow for a short period of time before being placed into the uterus. A successful pregnancy can be confirmed about 2 weeks later
Who Is Suitable For IVF ?
IVF is the only fertility treatment for women with irreparably damaged or blocked fallopian tubes. IVF is also offered when infertile women cannot conceive with simpler methods of treatment for conditions such as endometriosis, ovulatory dysfunction, unexplained infertility, sperm disorders and immunological problems.
What Is ICSI?
Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) involves injecting a single sperm into each egg to allow fertilisation to occur in the laboratory.
Who Is Suitable For ICSI ?
ICSI is recommended if your husband has poor quality sperms or if you have had difficulties with fertilisation in the past. If this is your first ICSI cycle, it may also be combined with regular IVF.
IVF / ICSI Prgramme
IVF programmes utilise Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation which results in more eggs and hence a better chance of pregnancy. Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation is carried out with GnRHa (e.g. Lucrin, Buserelin or Nafarelin) and gonadotrophins (e.g. Metrodin HP, Gonal F or Puregon) injections. Various protocols are used. The protocol using GnRHa and gonadotrophins is described here.
1. Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation and Monitoring
a.
GnRHa InjectionGnRHa treatment is given daily to prevent a spontaneous ovulation and to ensure that the ovarian follicles grow in synchronous fashion. It usually starts in the 2nd half of your menstrual cycle and continues for about 14 to 20 days. Some patients may need to take this medication for longer periods.
Blood tests and ultrasound scans will be done to ensure that the optimum response is reached. Once this is achieved, you will proceed to the gonadotrophin injections.
b.
Gonadotrophin InjectionGonadotrophin is injected daily into the muscle/subcutaneous tissue of your thigh or buttock to stimulate the growth of the follicles in the ovaries. After several days of gonadotrophin injections, an ultrasound scan is performed to determine the number and size of the growing follicles. You will need additional injections if the follicles have not reached the desired size.
When the follicles have reached the desired size, an injection of HCG is given and GnRHa and gonadotrophin are discontinued. The HCG is required for the final maturation of eggs before the egg collection. The egg collection is scheduled about 36 hours after the HCG injection.
2. Sperm Preparation
During the gonadotrophin injections, your husband need not abstain from sexual intercourse before the egg collection. On the day of the egg collection, your husband needs to produce a fresh masturbated semen sample.
3. Egg Collection (Oocyte Pick Up)
The egg collection is performed at KKIVF. The eggs are collected through a special needle attached to an ultrasound vaginal probe. A mild sedative will be given to you, as only minimal discomfort will be experienced during the procedure.
After the egg collection, you will be observed for a few hours before going home. It is important to understand that not all follicles will necessarily contain an egg and that some of the eggs may not be ripe enough for fertilisation. An overnight fast is required before oocyte pick-up procedures.
Hormonal stimulation induces superovulation; eggs aspirated from the mature follicles transvaginally with ultrasound-guided needle
4A. Fertilization
The sperms are added to the collected eggs in a dish to allow fertilisation to occur by natural selection in the laboratory. A check to confirm that fertilisation has occurred is carried out the following day.
Unfortunately, in about 10% of couples, there is no fertilisation at all. The nurse coordinator will inform the patient of any successful fertilisation.
4B. Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection
ICSI will be performed on the day of oocyte pick-up. During the procedure, a single sperm will be injected into each egg via a microneedle. On the following day, a check is made to confirm that fertilisation has occurred. The nurse coordinator will inform the patient of this result.
5. Embryo Transfer
A few days after the egg collection, you will need to return to KKIVF to have the embryos placed into your uterus. An overnight fast is recommended before the embryo transfer procedure.
Embryos are re-placed into the uterus using a fine catheter. This is usually painless and takes only a few minutes. Usually, three embryos are transferred. A smaller number may be transferred if there are insufficient embryos or in younger patients. We encourage your husband to sit in during the embryo transfer.
Eggs fertilized in-vitro (IVF) with sperms. Embryo transferred directly into uterus, bypassing tubal occlusion.
You may go home shortly after the embryo transfer. You will be given daily medications (progesterone or HCG) to support the lining of the uterus and to enhance the chances of the embryos implanting.
There is no restriction on activities including sexual intercourse.
6. Freezing of Extra Embryos
A proportion of patients may have excess good quality embryos. These may be frozen for future use. Patients do not need to undergo Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation and egg collection again for these future thaw cycles.
7. Pregnancy
You will need to come to KKIVF 17 days after the embryo transfer for a pregnancy test. You should call KKIVF if you are menstruating so that further instructions can be given.
If you are pregnant, subsequent ultrasound scans and blood tests will be arranged to ensure that the pregnancy is proceeding normally.
8. Useful Information
Success rates (KKIVF rates)
Our overall clinical pregnancy rate is about 30-35% per cycle and the take-home-baby rate is about 25-27%. Additional embryos frozen further enhance the pregnancy chances in many of our patients.
Generally, patients who are below 36 years old have a better pregnancy chance. However, your chances of success will depend very much on your own individual circumstances.
Besides IVF and ICSI (these are considered the final steps in the trying to concieve ladder), there are other options to try. like AIH, IUI, SO-IUI.
will post these in another entry - this entry is already far too long.
even when im writing this, i ask myself where exactly do i start? Fertility is soemthing that we all take for granted.When one is single, talking about making babies is certainly not acceptable social behaviour here. Even if one is married, specifics is still a taboo topic.
Ive always thought that getting pregnant should be a done deal. well at least almost everyone i know has kids, and those who dont have, do it out of choice. so fertility..well infertility is not something that i expect to encounter.
that brings me back to where do i start? one of the websites that i found useful was www.kkh.com.sg
it contains most of the basic terms of fertility, some treatments and procedures. its a good place as any to start.
the most common term would be test tube babies, or clinically known as IVF.
What Is IVF?
In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) involves putting the eggs and sperms together. By natural selection, the egg will usually allow only one sperm to enter and this usually leads to the fertilisation process in the laboratory. After fertilisation, the embryos are allowed to grow for a short period of time before being placed into the uterus. A successful pregnancy can be confirmed about 2 weeks later
Who Is Suitable For IVF ?
IVF is the only fertility treatment for women with irreparably damaged or blocked fallopian tubes. IVF is also offered when infertile women cannot conceive with simpler methods of treatment for conditions such as endometriosis, ovulatory dysfunction, unexplained infertility, sperm disorders and immunological problems.
What Is ICSI?
Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) involves injecting a single sperm into each egg to allow fertilisation to occur in the laboratory.
Who Is Suitable For ICSI ?
ICSI is recommended if your husband has poor quality sperms or if you have had difficulties with fertilisation in the past. If this is your first ICSI cycle, it may also be combined with regular IVF.
IVF / ICSI Prgramme
IVF programmes utilise Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation which results in more eggs and hence a better chance of pregnancy. Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation is carried out with GnRHa (e.g. Lucrin, Buserelin or Nafarelin) and gonadotrophins (e.g. Metrodin HP, Gonal F or Puregon) injections. Various protocols are used. The protocol using GnRHa and gonadotrophins is described here.
1. Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation and Monitoring
a.
GnRHa InjectionGnRHa treatment is given daily to prevent a spontaneous ovulation and to ensure that the ovarian follicles grow in synchronous fashion. It usually starts in the 2nd half of your menstrual cycle and continues for about 14 to 20 days. Some patients may need to take this medication for longer periods.
Blood tests and ultrasound scans will be done to ensure that the optimum response is reached. Once this is achieved, you will proceed to the gonadotrophin injections.
b.
Gonadotrophin InjectionGonadotrophin is injected daily into the muscle/subcutaneous tissue of your thigh or buttock to stimulate the growth of the follicles in the ovaries. After several days of gonadotrophin injections, an ultrasound scan is performed to determine the number and size of the growing follicles. You will need additional injections if the follicles have not reached the desired size.
When the follicles have reached the desired size, an injection of HCG is given and GnRHa and gonadotrophin are discontinued. The HCG is required for the final maturation of eggs before the egg collection. The egg collection is scheduled about 36 hours after the HCG injection.
2. Sperm Preparation
During the gonadotrophin injections, your husband need not abstain from sexual intercourse before the egg collection. On the day of the egg collection, your husband needs to produce a fresh masturbated semen sample.
3. Egg Collection (Oocyte Pick Up)
The egg collection is performed at KKIVF. The eggs are collected through a special needle attached to an ultrasound vaginal probe. A mild sedative will be given to you, as only minimal discomfort will be experienced during the procedure.
After the egg collection, you will be observed for a few hours before going home. It is important to understand that not all follicles will necessarily contain an egg and that some of the eggs may not be ripe enough for fertilisation. An overnight fast is required before oocyte pick-up procedures.
Hormonal stimulation induces superovulation; eggs aspirated from the mature follicles transvaginally with ultrasound-guided needle
4A. Fertilization
The sperms are added to the collected eggs in a dish to allow fertilisation to occur by natural selection in the laboratory. A check to confirm that fertilisation has occurred is carried out the following day.
Unfortunately, in about 10% of couples, there is no fertilisation at all. The nurse coordinator will inform the patient of any successful fertilisation.
4B. Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection
ICSI will be performed on the day of oocyte pick-up. During the procedure, a single sperm will be injected into each egg via a microneedle. On the following day, a check is made to confirm that fertilisation has occurred. The nurse coordinator will inform the patient of this result.
5. Embryo Transfer
A few days after the egg collection, you will need to return to KKIVF to have the embryos placed into your uterus. An overnight fast is recommended before the embryo transfer procedure.
Embryos are re-placed into the uterus using a fine catheter. This is usually painless and takes only a few minutes. Usually, three embryos are transferred. A smaller number may be transferred if there are insufficient embryos or in younger patients. We encourage your husband to sit in during the embryo transfer.
Eggs fertilized in-vitro (IVF) with sperms. Embryo transferred directly into uterus, bypassing tubal occlusion.
You may go home shortly after the embryo transfer. You will be given daily medications (progesterone or HCG) to support the lining of the uterus and to enhance the chances of the embryos implanting.
There is no restriction on activities including sexual intercourse.
6. Freezing of Extra Embryos
A proportion of patients may have excess good quality embryos. These may be frozen for future use. Patients do not need to undergo Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation and egg collection again for these future thaw cycles.
7. Pregnancy
You will need to come to KKIVF 17 days after the embryo transfer for a pregnancy test. You should call KKIVF if you are menstruating so that further instructions can be given.
If you are pregnant, subsequent ultrasound scans and blood tests will be arranged to ensure that the pregnancy is proceeding normally.
8. Useful Information
Success rates (KKIVF rates)
Our overall clinical pregnancy rate is about 30-35% per cycle and the take-home-baby rate is about 25-27%. Additional embryos frozen further enhance the pregnancy chances in many of our patients.
Generally, patients who are below 36 years old have a better pregnancy chance. However, your chances of success will depend very much on your own individual circumstances.
Besides IVF and ICSI (these are considered the final steps in the trying to concieve ladder), there are other options to try. like AIH, IUI, SO-IUI.
will post these in another entry - this entry is already far too long.
CD 64 supposed to pick up med to induce AF
it has been a while since i last updated this journal.
where did we stop? on CD42 - where we saw LA and he said to wait 2 more weeks.
about 2 weeks later 17/06, LA called to enquire on status, still perplexed over it. in the end, went to
see him the next day and got 2 blood tests done. one for HCG and the other for progesterone.
got the results on tues. confirm no pregnancy, no hcg at all. progesterone level has dropped so AF is suppose to be due soon.
LA suggested if it doesn;t come by Fri - to get some medicine from him to induce.
i think it's the same medicne that took 15 days to work, if that's the case, have to time it to take it later as DH is not around till thrid week of July.
will discuss with LA later.
where did we stop? on CD42 - where we saw LA and he said to wait 2 more weeks.
about 2 weeks later 17/06, LA called to enquire on status, still perplexed over it. in the end, went to
see him the next day and got 2 blood tests done. one for HCG and the other for progesterone.
got the results on tues. confirm no pregnancy, no hcg at all. progesterone level has dropped so AF is suppose to be due soon.
LA suggested if it doesn;t come by Fri - to get some medicine from him to induce.
i think it's the same medicne that took 15 days to work, if that's the case, have to time it to take it later as DH is not around till thrid week of July.
will discuss with LA later.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
CD42 No AF still, saw LA
AF is now two weeks late. saw LA again to get medicine to induce AF. He didn't give me any and wanted to wait for another 2 weeks before seeing him again.
He's baffled that AF did not come at on its own as it should as i have ovulated.
Three possible scenarios - 1) KKH mixed up the blood test results 2) spontaneous miscarriage (should have AF though) or 3) i may really be pregnant even though the HPT is negative.
A blood beta HCG test is unlikely to detect hormone if a HPT cannot do so, as the strip ones are already very sensitive.
so well, it's back to the waiting game again.
He's baffled that AF did not come at on its own as it should as i have ovulated.
Three possible scenarios - 1) KKH mixed up the blood test results 2) spontaneous miscarriage (should have AF though) or 3) i may really be pregnant even though the HPT is negative.
A blood beta HCG test is unlikely to detect hormone if a HPT cannot do so, as the strip ones are already very sensitive.
so well, it's back to the waiting game again.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
CD 33 and no AF, negative HPT
looks like AF is not going to turn up on time. tested a couple of time on CD28, CD29 and CD33, negative HPT.
this cycle is shot.
emailed KKH, got a terse reply to continue with clomid and get duphaston to induce AF.
will wait till this sat CD36 and then decide what to do.
dun know how this duphaston thing work and how long it takes effect - if it takes too long to work, then the fertile period will fall when hubby's on reservist and then it all goes to waste.
this cycle is shot.
emailed KKH, got a terse reply to continue with clomid and get duphaston to induce AF.
will wait till this sat CD36 and then decide what to do.
dun know how this duphaston thing work and how long it takes effect - if it takes too long to work, then the fertile period will fall when hubby's on reservist and then it all goes to waste.
CD 33 and no AF, negative HPT
looks like AF is not going to turn up on time. tested a couple of time on CD28, CD29 and CD33, negative HPT.
this cycle is shot.
emailed KKH, got a terse reply to continue with clomid and get duphaston to induce AF.
will wait till this sat CD36 and then decide what to do.
dun know how this duphaston thing work and how long it takes effect - if it takes too long to work, then the fertile period will fall when hubby's on reservist and then it all goes to waste.
this cycle is shot.
emailed KKH, got a terse reply to continue with clomid and get duphaston to induce AF.
will wait till this sat CD36 and then decide what to do.
dun know how this duphaston thing work and how long it takes effect - if it takes too long to work, then the fertile period will fall when hubby's on reservist and then it all goes to waste.
Monday, May 16, 2005
CD21 blood test results is out today
got the results for the blood test this morning from KKH IVF.
I've ovulated. the numbers are 72.3 nmol. no idea what that means but i'm glad that i've ovulated nevertheless.
did some research on the net and came up with these links. will keep them here.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_n5_v44/ai_11666518
PROGESTERONE
Serum progesterone testing has been used as a screening tool to identify patients at risk for ectopic or other abnormal pregnancy. [16,17] With follow-up ultrasound scanning used for definitive diagnosis, a quantitative serum progesterone level of more than 25 ng per mL (80 nmol per L) proved 99 percent accurate in predicting a living intrauterine pregnancy. Sixty percent of the patients with progesterone values below 25 ng per mL had abnormal pregnancies.
and this other one
http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hormonelevels.html#progesterone
which has a chart with all the blood work required and the intepretation.
saw LA this evening as well. He said that almost 99% of his patients husband have low sperm count and they can still get pregnant. oh well, let see how it goes.
he named 6 factors of infertility. can't remember them all - no ovulation, blocked fallopian tubes, low sperm count, fribriods, unexplained infertility. can't remember the 6th one. he suggested to try a couple of months on clomid and if it doesn;t work, to go for a HSG to check for blocked tubes. he eliminated all except for fallopian tubes which he doesn't know till after the HSG.
(it was some time later with a new gynae that we found out that the CD21 blood test is an inaccurtae mtd to confirm an ovulation)
I've ovulated. the numbers are 72.3 nmol. no idea what that means but i'm glad that i've ovulated nevertheless.
did some research on the net and came up with these links. will keep them here.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_n5_v44/ai_11666518
PROGESTERONE
Serum progesterone testing has been used as a screening tool to identify patients at risk for ectopic or other abnormal pregnancy. [16,17] With follow-up ultrasound scanning used for definitive diagnosis, a quantitative serum progesterone level of more than 25 ng per mL (80 nmol per L) proved 99 percent accurate in predicting a living intrauterine pregnancy. Sixty percent of the patients with progesterone values below 25 ng per mL had abnormal pregnancies.
and this other one
http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hormonelevels.html#progesterone
which has a chart with all the blood work required and the intepretation.
saw LA this evening as well. He said that almost 99% of his patients husband have low sperm count and they can still get pregnant. oh well, let see how it goes.
he named 6 factors of infertility. can't remember them all - no ovulation, blocked fallopian tubes, low sperm count, fribriods, unexplained infertility. can't remember the 6th one. he suggested to try a couple of months on clomid and if it doesn;t work, to go for a HSG to check for blocked tubes. he eliminated all except for fallopian tubes which he doesn't know till after the HSG.
(it was some time later with a new gynae that we found out that the CD21 blood test is an inaccurtae mtd to confirm an ovulation)
Friday, May 13, 2005
CD21 KKH sperm test results
went to KKH to get hubby sperm test results - the results are not promising. both density and form is way below normal. density at 6% per 10 million and form is 2% per 10 million. am rather shell shock by the results, and it's worse off for hubby.
saw a different doc this time round - Dr S. She's very professional and eh not very encouraging though in terms of what we can do to improve sperm quality. She suggested we do another sperm test in three months (late july) and we see what we can do from there.
was suppose to do a blood test for protestergone on CD23, but she said we can do it today which is CD21. so we headed to IVF for the blood test.will get results on mon afternoon.
after doing the blood test, we are suppose to make payment and get the next appt, we got a number and there were like 20 pple ahead of us in the queue. i didn't want to q and suggested that we go to the cafeteria instead, he refuse and i almost blow up in tears at that point in time.
in the end, he found a seat at the waiting area and after waiting 10 min, the q only moved by one person. i gave up and spoke to the counter gal to make fast payment. will get an appt via phone.
we headed back to see Dr LA with the intention to tell him about the sperm test results.
despite being told that we didn;t need an appt, his clinic was full. and we were told to wait for another half an hour. hubby was upset as the queue doesn't look like it will disapte within 2 hours, much less than half an hour. We left the clinic and i was upset.
anyways to make a long story short, i manage to call the doctor later in the afternoon, explaining to him the results. He claim that in his nine years of experience, he had only 5 good results from SA, and yet the gal still got pregnant. I donlt know if he's trying to reassure me or what. but i do know that this is a huge blow for darling. but nevertheless i told darling what LA said, hopefully this will kick him to start leading a healthier lifestyle.
saw a different doc this time round - Dr S. She's very professional and eh not very encouraging though in terms of what we can do to improve sperm quality. She suggested we do another sperm test in three months (late july) and we see what we can do from there.
was suppose to do a blood test for protestergone on CD23, but she said we can do it today which is CD21. so we headed to IVF for the blood test.will get results on mon afternoon.
after doing the blood test, we are suppose to make payment and get the next appt, we got a number and there were like 20 pple ahead of us in the queue. i didn't want to q and suggested that we go to the cafeteria instead, he refuse and i almost blow up in tears at that point in time.
in the end, he found a seat at the waiting area and after waiting 10 min, the q only moved by one person. i gave up and spoke to the counter gal to make fast payment. will get an appt via phone.
we headed back to see Dr LA with the intention to tell him about the sperm test results.
despite being told that we didn;t need an appt, his clinic was full. and we were told to wait for another half an hour. hubby was upset as the queue doesn't look like it will disapte within 2 hours, much less than half an hour. We left the clinic and i was upset.
anyways to make a long story short, i manage to call the doctor later in the afternoon, explaining to him the results. He claim that in his nine years of experience, he had only 5 good results from SA, and yet the gal still got pregnant. I donlt know if he's trying to reassure me or what. but i do know that this is a huge blow for darling. but nevertheless i told darling what LA said, hopefully this will kick him to start leading a healthier lifestyle.
Friday, May 06, 2005
CD14 Ovulation?
making love last night was just like having sex - didn't feel like it at all and feeling like crying after it all.
this is not working at all. i don't know why i am feeling this way. perhaps it's the idea of 'having' to do it. perhaps it's the stress of knowing that one 'have' to do it.
this is not working at all. i don't know why i am feeling this way. perhaps it's the idea of 'having' to do it. perhaps it's the stress of knowing that one 'have' to do it.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
CD13 and baby names
today is CD13, well we were supposed to start badydancing every other day since CD10. but then as i got a bad case of UTI and then subsequently got a sore throat and flu, hardly in the mood to baby dance.
got a scare last week, sun, got high fever and pain in lower back. saw the doctor at 5am in the morning, got a urine test done and then realised i got a bad case of UTI, well so much for following advise not to wash up immed after baby dancing. how embarrassing to see a doctor for that sort of infection.
anyways he gave some antibiotics and turned out im allergic to those as well, had a rash through to monday. what a lousy weekend.
the only up side? - got an MC for 2 days.
and well, it;'s CD 13 and we really should not waste this cycle. so maybe tonight is when we make our baby.
if it's a gal, her name will be leqi, if it's a boy, his name will be lei something (i've haven't really think this through yet)
other names which are already taken, kai ling & kai wen
got a scare last week, sun, got high fever and pain in lower back. saw the doctor at 5am in the morning, got a urine test done and then realised i got a bad case of UTI, well so much for following advise not to wash up immed after baby dancing. how embarrassing to see a doctor for that sort of infection.
anyways he gave some antibiotics and turned out im allergic to those as well, had a rash through to monday. what a lousy weekend.
the only up side? - got an MC for 2 days.
and well, it;'s CD 13 and we really should not waste this cycle. so maybe tonight is when we make our baby.
if it's a gal, her name will be leqi, if it's a boy, his name will be lei something (i've haven't really think this through yet)
other names which are already taken, kai ling & kai wen
Friday, April 29, 2005
AF finally here - end of clomiphene cycle
this should be posted like a week ago but hadn't got the time to do it.
well, AF finally came on Fri 22/04, for once in my life, i was jumping with joy that it came. surely there's some irony there.
anyways, full bleed started on Sat, and i'm suppose to take clomiphene on the second day. started first dose on Sunday, no symptoms whatever, so far so good.
symptoms started kicking in during the working week, AF stopped by Wed, which is rather startling as mine never stops when it should.
A nagging pain in the lower right abdomen and blurred vision by Wed made me panic. not to mention a total lethargic, not enough sleep me walking in the office.
gave a call to the gynae to list out symptoms - he said he had never in all his years of practicing had patients who experienced these symptons before and laughed it off.
i jokingly replied that perhaps i've been reading too much into it.
but then after i put down the phone, i felt kinda silly. am i imagining it all?
a post on a online forum, however came up with other women who have experienced blurred vision/mood swings/ sainzness etc. Thank goodness. i'm normal.
Perhaps it's really time to change gynae.
CD0 AF started Fri 22/04 (late at night)
CD1 Sat 23/04
CD2 Sun 24/04 - CD6 Thu 28/04 clomiphene 2 tabs per day
Most fertile period CD10 - CD20Mon 02/05 - Thu 12/05 - loads of baby dancing in store.
well, AF finally came on Fri 22/04, for once in my life, i was jumping with joy that it came. surely there's some irony there.
anyways, full bleed started on Sat, and i'm suppose to take clomiphene on the second day. started first dose on Sunday, no symptoms whatever, so far so good.
symptoms started kicking in during the working week, AF stopped by Wed, which is rather startling as mine never stops when it should.
A nagging pain in the lower right abdomen and blurred vision by Wed made me panic. not to mention a total lethargic, not enough sleep me walking in the office.
gave a call to the gynae to list out symptoms - he said he had never in all his years of practicing had patients who experienced these symptons before and laughed it off.
i jokingly replied that perhaps i've been reading too much into it.
but then after i put down the phone, i felt kinda silly. am i imagining it all?
a post on a online forum, however came up with other women who have experienced blurred vision/mood swings/ sainzness etc. Thank goodness. i'm normal.
Perhaps it's really time to change gynae.
CD0 AF started Fri 22/04 (late at night)
CD1 Sat 23/04
CD2 Sun 24/04 - CD6 Thu 28/04 clomiphene 2 tabs per day
Most fertile period CD10 - CD20Mon 02/05 - Thu 12/05 - loads of baby dancing in store.
Friday, April 22, 2005
AF still not here yet. What cld be wrong?
finished the last dose of medicine on 18/04 Mon, and was hoping to see AF within the next couple of days - it's Friday 22/04 and still no sign or symptoms.
called the gynae yesterday but no reply from him or his office. as usual the dragon woman gets on my nerves.
called at 10am plus, she said will pass on msg, called at 2pm plus, said already passed msg to doc, called at 4pm plus said will remind doc, called at 6pm, kena tsf to voicemail, called at almost 8pm, someone answered and said doc in surgery till10pm, guess that's it. another sleepless night.
went to KKH with DH to give the SA. and it took us 41 min to drop off the sample. arghs. talk abt efficiency and following previous instructions given.
poor hubby, took ages to produce the sample at home...that despite not doing it for the past 3 days. i guess it doesn't help that i was laughing :P
by the time i reached the office, i decided to wait till 10am to call my gynae. in the end, called him at 945am, couldn;t wait any longer. he gave all reasons why he didn';t return call. i already guessed so but didn't have the patience to reassure him. LOL. i need assurance here.
anyways, he said to wait a couple more days and to do a UPT before heading to his office on Mon. so i could be pregnant - i asked abt the probability and he says he won;t know. right, i can;t wait for the weekend to be over.
oh yes, he said the medicine i've been taking is not of any harm to the baby if i;m really positive.
Thk goodness. IF.
a bit puzzled though, we did a UPT on the 08/04 and it was a negative, last week 15/04, the KKH gynae did a scan and he said the uterine lining is thick - as it shld be due to the AF inducing medicine - so how can be pregnant?
and if not pregnant - then why didn't the AF induce medicine work as it should work the last time?
will know by monday i suppose.
anyways anyways do i ahve a choice. someone suggested a blood test, shd i go for that?
still deciding or can we wait till monday? arghs.
actually didn't wait till monday to find out, during lunch time, wen to get a HPT form watsons and did a test - it's a negative, so there goes the hope. for a short time on friday like for 3 hours after the doctor's phonecall, i got high hopes that perhaps i didn't need to go thru all those fertility medicine,
oh well, it's not to be.
http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-calendar/getinfo?_requestid=326251
anyways i found this amazing website, all you need is to input some stuff and it give a day to day break down of what is happening now.
AMAZING.
called the gynae yesterday but no reply from him or his office. as usual the dragon woman gets on my nerves.
called at 10am plus, she said will pass on msg, called at 2pm plus, said already passed msg to doc, called at 4pm plus said will remind doc, called at 6pm, kena tsf to voicemail, called at almost 8pm, someone answered and said doc in surgery till10pm, guess that's it. another sleepless night.
went to KKH with DH to give the SA. and it took us 41 min to drop off the sample. arghs. talk abt efficiency and following previous instructions given.
poor hubby, took ages to produce the sample at home...that despite not doing it for the past 3 days. i guess it doesn't help that i was laughing :P
by the time i reached the office, i decided to wait till 10am to call my gynae. in the end, called him at 945am, couldn;t wait any longer. he gave all reasons why he didn';t return call. i already guessed so but didn't have the patience to reassure him. LOL. i need assurance here.
anyways, he said to wait a couple more days and to do a UPT before heading to his office on Mon. so i could be pregnant - i asked abt the probability and he says he won;t know. right, i can;t wait for the weekend to be over.
oh yes, he said the medicine i've been taking is not of any harm to the baby if i;m really positive.
Thk goodness. IF.
a bit puzzled though, we did a UPT on the 08/04 and it was a negative, last week 15/04, the KKH gynae did a scan and he said the uterine lining is thick - as it shld be due to the AF inducing medicine - so how can be pregnant?
and if not pregnant - then why didn't the AF induce medicine work as it should work the last time?
will know by monday i suppose.
anyways anyways do i ahve a choice. someone suggested a blood test, shd i go for that?
still deciding or can we wait till monday? arghs.
actually didn't wait till monday to find out, during lunch time, wen to get a HPT form watsons and did a test - it's a negative, so there goes the hope. for a short time on friday like for 3 hours after the doctor's phonecall, i got high hopes that perhaps i didn't need to go thru all those fertility medicine,
oh well, it's not to be.
http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-calendar/getinfo?_requestid=326251
anyways i found this amazing website, all you need is to input some stuff and it give a day to day break down of what is happening now.
AMAZING.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Appt at KKH
Friday 15 April 2005
Was debating whether to go or not for this appointment after the horrendous polyclinic wait and feedback from posters in TTC that nothing much will be done as referred patients will be seen by a MO (medical officer).
in the end, i've still decided to go - my rationale was perhaps the diagnosis would be different (better?) - illogical. or perhaps the other doctor will confirm on what LA said and give the go ahead for treatment which will reassure us that LA knows what he's doing. anyways it's kinda convoulted.
been cranky and moody for the past few days, not sure if it's the medicine or just the waiting.Oh well, in the end did see the doctor at KKH. Lucky me, despite being a subsidised case, the doc on duty that day was the senior consultant. and he's really efficient and straight to the point. the type of doc i like.
despite waiting for over an hour to be registered, i reach there at 8.45am for a 9.10am appt, i didn't get to see the doctor till about 11am. by the time he's through with me and i got to collect prescription and stuff, i left the hospital close to 1pm. a looong looong day. i was totally exhausted by then.
how did the appt go?well, after being registered, you are suppose to go to another station where they take yr ht/wt and blood pressure. so you queue for that. 20 min or so.and after they done that, you go and wait for the doctor. eh this one is like an hour or so, judging that i got the first appt of the day.and then consultation is like 20 min (which is long, considering that other doctors are going thru their patients like 2 every 15 min)consultationThe doc is a nice guy, straight to the point and efficient. i don;t know why, but i wasn;t expecting efficient. maybe the concept of public hospital. therfore i wasn't expecting to be examined physically, expecting the first visit to be basically 'taking of medical history etc etc'The gynae said he will do a scan to confirm diagnosis. and his nurse appeared to tell me what to do. i was expecting a abdominal scan until the nurse told me to strip and put underwear 'in that drawer' - whoops.
I wasn't expecting a internal scan and frankly was rather embarassed. and certainly not mentally prepared for it. while being in that vulnerable position, he asked if i had a pap smear done before and i said no. He asked me why not? the gynae i'm seeing now says it's low risk hence not necessarily. He wanted to do one and called the nurse, and then asked me if i wanted one now?
in that position, the last thing i wanted is a pap smear. and i told him i will go back to my gynae for that. He nodded and inserted the probe in. He mentioned that the uterine lining is a little thick (which is normal as i'm taking medication to induce AF).he showed me the left polycyctic ovary and said that he can;t see the right one clearly. He ended up manipulating the probe about, trying to see the right ovary and was casuing me some pain. to his credit he did asked, if he was causing me pain. and i said yes, he gave up saying that my right ovary was too far away, and then printed some ultraounds.He then took the probe out. finally. The total scan didn;t take that long, maybe 5-10 min max but it felt like aeons to me and i ended up feeling brusied for the next couple of days.
the nurse came in and helped me off the table. got dressed and got his diagnosis. well he confirmed that i have PCOS (great surprise).he suggested that i see my currnet gynae for the clomiphene treatment for 3 months, and if that doesn't work to come back and see him for other alternative methods.
He then prescibed some vitamins for hubby, clomiphene for 3 months at 1 tab per day. and oh yes, a sperm analysis for hubby. I;m sure hubby is jumping with joy at the prospects of doing the sperm sample.
the sperm sample appointment.so after the consult, i'm suppose to go get a appt for hubby to deposit his sperm. to KKH credit, i am allowed to choose an appt, i wanted to know the results as soon as possible and picked the earliest appt next friday 830am. got detailed instructions and a small plastic container.
to anyone who is reading, it's nothing gross. just awkward. Hubby's suppose to clear his stuff on the 18/04, no activity for the next 3 days and produce the sample on 22/04 am into the sample before bringing it in within an hour.
The drop off is suppose to take less than 10min, all you need is drop of the sample and go. results will be given to ya via the doc at the next appt.
remember these instructions. so well, so i thought.
as you can imagine, hubby's like...into that small container, oh well, got to do what a man got to do.
Was debating whether to go or not for this appointment after the horrendous polyclinic wait and feedback from posters in TTC that nothing much will be done as referred patients will be seen by a MO (medical officer).
in the end, i've still decided to go - my rationale was perhaps the diagnosis would be different (better?) - illogical. or perhaps the other doctor will confirm on what LA said and give the go ahead for treatment which will reassure us that LA knows what he's doing. anyways it's kinda convoulted.
been cranky and moody for the past few days, not sure if it's the medicine or just the waiting.Oh well, in the end did see the doctor at KKH. Lucky me, despite being a subsidised case, the doc on duty that day was the senior consultant. and he's really efficient and straight to the point. the type of doc i like.
despite waiting for over an hour to be registered, i reach there at 8.45am for a 9.10am appt, i didn't get to see the doctor till about 11am. by the time he's through with me and i got to collect prescription and stuff, i left the hospital close to 1pm. a looong looong day. i was totally exhausted by then.
how did the appt go?well, after being registered, you are suppose to go to another station where they take yr ht/wt and blood pressure. so you queue for that. 20 min or so.and after they done that, you go and wait for the doctor. eh this one is like an hour or so, judging that i got the first appt of the day.and then consultation is like 20 min (which is long, considering that other doctors are going thru their patients like 2 every 15 min)consultationThe doc is a nice guy, straight to the point and efficient. i don;t know why, but i wasn;t expecting efficient. maybe the concept of public hospital. therfore i wasn't expecting to be examined physically, expecting the first visit to be basically 'taking of medical history etc etc'The gynae said he will do a scan to confirm diagnosis. and his nurse appeared to tell me what to do. i was expecting a abdominal scan until the nurse told me to strip and put underwear 'in that drawer' - whoops.
I wasn't expecting a internal scan and frankly was rather embarassed. and certainly not mentally prepared for it. while being in that vulnerable position, he asked if i had a pap smear done before and i said no. He asked me why not? the gynae i'm seeing now says it's low risk hence not necessarily. He wanted to do one and called the nurse, and then asked me if i wanted one now?
in that position, the last thing i wanted is a pap smear. and i told him i will go back to my gynae for that. He nodded and inserted the probe in. He mentioned that the uterine lining is a little thick (which is normal as i'm taking medication to induce AF).he showed me the left polycyctic ovary and said that he can;t see the right one clearly. He ended up manipulating the probe about, trying to see the right ovary and was casuing me some pain. to his credit he did asked, if he was causing me pain. and i said yes, he gave up saying that my right ovary was too far away, and then printed some ultraounds.He then took the probe out. finally. The total scan didn;t take that long, maybe 5-10 min max but it felt like aeons to me and i ended up feeling brusied for the next couple of days.
the nurse came in and helped me off the table. got dressed and got his diagnosis. well he confirmed that i have PCOS (great surprise).he suggested that i see my currnet gynae for the clomiphene treatment for 3 months, and if that doesn't work to come back and see him for other alternative methods.
He then prescibed some vitamins for hubby, clomiphene for 3 months at 1 tab per day. and oh yes, a sperm analysis for hubby. I;m sure hubby is jumping with joy at the prospects of doing the sperm sample.
the sperm sample appointment.so after the consult, i'm suppose to go get a appt for hubby to deposit his sperm. to KKH credit, i am allowed to choose an appt, i wanted to know the results as soon as possible and picked the earliest appt next friday 830am. got detailed instructions and a small plastic container.
to anyone who is reading, it's nothing gross. just awkward. Hubby's suppose to clear his stuff on the 18/04, no activity for the next 3 days and produce the sample on 22/04 am into the sample before bringing it in within an hour.
The drop off is suppose to take less than 10min, all you need is drop of the sample and go. results will be given to ya via the doc at the next appt.
remember these instructions. so well, so i thought.
as you can imagine, hubby's like...into that small container, oh well, got to do what a man got to do.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Seen the doc
it's not so bad, didn't have to wait more than 20 min top.as usual, he asked for history - er doesn't he keep any records? anyways it's hard to be upset with him as he's a pretty nice guy, LOLanyways after the history, he asked if i could be pregnant, i told him abt the home pregnanancy test and he said it should be a clear out positive or negative - i guess a little part of me was wishing that the negative was a mistake. strange isn't? *wryly*
he did a short abdominal ultrasound and said everything is normal, PCO is still there. and went straight into explaining that PCO is hormonal imbalance and that i need to lose weight - yes we all know that. If i could lose a kg each time he said that to me, i would be kate moss.
so the plan is this , get AF coming again by taking sonulut for the next 10 days at 2tabs in the morning. it should come within the next week. then take clomiphere (fertility medicine) from D2 to D6 (5 days at 2 tabs in the morning), have coitus (sex) from D10 - D25 and between D20-D25, i can go back for a blood test to see if the fertility medicine is working - ie if i'm ovulating.
he took my word for it and i didn;t have a urine pregnancy test, so saved some bucks there. a short visit of 20 min consultation and there goes 75.20. i sure hope that this one cycle will do the trick.*keeps fingers and toes crossed*
*reminds myself - no caffiene
*Sat 09/04 - Mon 18/04
2tabs sonulut in the morningD2 - D6
2 tabs clomiphere in the morningD10-D25
BDD20-D25 blood test
he did a short abdominal ultrasound and said everything is normal, PCO is still there. and went straight into explaining that PCO is hormonal imbalance and that i need to lose weight - yes we all know that. If i could lose a kg each time he said that to me, i would be kate moss.
so the plan is this , get AF coming again by taking sonulut for the next 10 days at 2tabs in the morning. it should come within the next week. then take clomiphere (fertility medicine) from D2 to D6 (5 days at 2 tabs in the morning), have coitus (sex) from D10 - D25 and between D20-D25, i can go back for a blood test to see if the fertility medicine is working - ie if i'm ovulating.
he took my word for it and i didn;t have a urine pregnancy test, so saved some bucks there. a short visit of 20 min consultation and there goes 75.20. i sure hope that this one cycle will do the trick.*keeps fingers and toes crossed*
*reminds myself - no caffiene
*Sat 09/04 - Mon 18/04
2tabs sonulut in the morningD2 - D6
2 tabs clomiphere in the morningD10-D25
BDD20-D25 blood test
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Had a call from a GF
Friday
i've forgotten that M is going to be 1 yr old in May, how fast time flies.I don't think i can wait any longer to have kids. been reading up that the chances of conception gets lower and lower once past 30. do we have the time or the money to wait till later to try?i don't think so. hopefully the sooner we start trying means that we will spent less time and money on it.
did i tell ya about the dragon of a lady - eh the recept at the gynae - well she's one of the reasons why i'm so hesistant about making an appt to see the gynae. From galfriends and other posters who see him, they all agree that she's a bit of a dragon, but that she's a nice person to those who are pregnant which obviosuly i am not. sighs.it looks like i got to deal with her. let me muster up enough courage to call her.
i called her ard 2 plus to arrange for a appt, tentatively 12pm on friday. mentioned to her that i would like some time to discuss some issues with the doctor about having a baby and would appreciate an appt when the doc has time to talk things through.She said anytime in daytime can, cause day evenings, the doc is fully booked with 48 patients to see. wow - being a gynae is lucurative. :P
i told her i will return call and confirm with hubby first. and she just hang up the phone :??bother - i really hate this. i'm so tempted to just forget abt this. but then he has all my records.anyways, i discussed with hubby and we decided to give him another try. i wasn;t too sure that public is the way to go, esp since reading online that subsidised patients are usually seen by an MO or a registar only and it will take a longer time in public sector to get anything done. - the 3 hr wait at the polyclinic convinced me of that.
we don't have time to waste.so i called the clinic up again and was surprised that the call is picked up by the gynae himself. i thought i got the wrong number. :P. anyways got the appt fixed and yes, i'll be seeing him in a few hours time.
It's 5am in the morning and i couldn;t get to sleep. hubby is not sleeping well either and rather than having 2 persons tossing on the bed and waking each other alternatively, i figured that i could use the time on the computer to do up medical history and the questions i wanted to ask the doc.
i've forgotten that M is going to be 1 yr old in May, how fast time flies.I don't think i can wait any longer to have kids. been reading up that the chances of conception gets lower and lower once past 30. do we have the time or the money to wait till later to try?i don't think so. hopefully the sooner we start trying means that we will spent less time and money on it.
did i tell ya about the dragon of a lady - eh the recept at the gynae - well she's one of the reasons why i'm so hesistant about making an appt to see the gynae. From galfriends and other posters who see him, they all agree that she's a bit of a dragon, but that she's a nice person to those who are pregnant which obviosuly i am not. sighs.it looks like i got to deal with her. let me muster up enough courage to call her.
i called her ard 2 plus to arrange for a appt, tentatively 12pm on friday. mentioned to her that i would like some time to discuss some issues with the doctor about having a baby and would appreciate an appt when the doc has time to talk things through.She said anytime in daytime can, cause day evenings, the doc is fully booked with 48 patients to see. wow - being a gynae is lucurative. :P
i told her i will return call and confirm with hubby first. and she just hang up the phone :??bother - i really hate this. i'm so tempted to just forget abt this. but then he has all my records.anyways, i discussed with hubby and we decided to give him another try. i wasn;t too sure that public is the way to go, esp since reading online that subsidised patients are usually seen by an MO or a registar only and it will take a longer time in public sector to get anything done. - the 3 hr wait at the polyclinic convinced me of that.
we don't have time to waste.so i called the clinic up again and was surprised that the call is picked up by the gynae himself. i thought i got the wrong number. :P. anyways got the appt fixed and yes, i'll be seeing him in a few hours time.
It's 5am in the morning and i couldn;t get to sleep. hubby is not sleeping well either and rather than having 2 persons tossing on the bed and waking each other alternatively, i figured that i could use the time on the computer to do up medical history and the questions i wanted to ask the doc.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Had this feeling that perhaps.....
perhaps i'm pregnant after all.
After chatting with a galfriend, thought that perhaps since menses is late, just perhaps i could be pregnant after all.
got myself in a frenzy and hurry to get back home to test.
it was a negative.oh well, life goes on
After chatting with a galfriend, thought that perhaps since menses is late, just perhaps i could be pregnant after all.
got myself in a frenzy and hurry to get back home to test.
it was a negative.oh well, life goes on
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Step 2
I wonder what made me think that sat is a good time to go to the polyclinic. the opening hours are from 8am to 12.30pm. I reached the place at 8.45am and even before i got out of the taxi (yes, i took a cab, got no idea how to reach the place via MRT), i saw a long queue snaking out of tthe building.
woah, i didn;t know that many people go to polyclincs - i've always visited pte doctors. ok, i resigned myself to the long wait. Ok a side point which i think is funny.The queue was kinda funny - it stuck straight out in a straight line from the registration desk - and right out of the building into the rain (there was a slight drizzle) - i don;t understand why people were queuing in the rain when they could have moved sideways and took shelter under the corridor instead. that's singaporean for you.
As i was in the rain, i wondered if i should say something, but then fortunately the queue moved forward, and i got out of the rain. I turned backwards to see if anyone would move sideways out of the rain - but no, instead i saw a couple of umbrellas being opened.
well singaporeans.anyways, the queue (i thought it was for registration but no, it's pre-registration) - took about 15 min and i passed my IC to the lady and got a number. i looked at the number i am holding on to and the one that is flashing n the disply and i freaked out. i'm like 200 numbers behind.I managed to snag a corner chair while resigning myself to the wait. Thank goodness i got a trusty novel with me. As i read my book, i did some people watching and there are loads of new borns (crying babies) around. what an irony.
Ok, while i try to concentrate on my book, the numbers went flashing by and surprisingly within 45min, i got registered. by then it was almost 10am. that was a painless process.
now as i waited to see the doctor - there's a board that says it takes an hr and 4 min - why the precision, i'm so amazed. and that estimated time doesn't change at all.
so i settled down to wait and inbetween there was some drama going on with other people who were seeing the doc as well. oh well it puts for interesting reading, but not now. ( never got round to writing abt it - oh nvm)
i watch the numbers jump and noticed that each consultation didn't take more than 15 min max. and the queue numbers jump like 8 to 10 numbers each time. i was thinking like not too bad, it's going to my turn soon - perhaps within the 1 hr and 4 min promised at registration.
almost to 1hr and 4 min, my number flashed and i finally saw the doctor. a young lady, she sounded like she's from the philipines, OK, a foreign talent. :P i got nothing against foreign talent but surely there are enough doctors to go round in Singapore? - loads of kids out there wanted to be doctors.anyways back to the topic, I told her that i wanted a second opinion since i've been diagnosed with having PCOS a couple of years back and treatment at a pte clinic has not brought any results as i have not concieved since trying for a baby for 1 yr and a half.Guess what, the next question she asked was ' when did you get married?' - now that was a bummer question. We gotten married about 4 mths ago. Eh, i got nothing against pre marital sex but duhz, need i spell it out in black and white? btw She asked this question twice.
anyways, the next thing she asked was if i ever was pregnant - she asked this twice as well. and this was AFTER i explained that the pte doc said it's unliekly i can concieve due to PCOS.I'm just thankful that there was no physical examination.She wrote me a referral letter and asked me which hospital i prefer. Eh, KKH? isn't that where these sort of matters are sent to? or is there another women's specilaist hopsital around that i'm not aware of?i got the letter and was sent with a patient clinic assistant to make an appointment. She pointed me out to where i could get a seat. i figured that it's going to be another long wait. in 20 min time, i heard my name being called and finally managed to see someone who can get me a appointment.
that 20 min was rather interesting actually, i overheard a conversation between two ladies in their early thirites - well aunties, conversing in Mandarin about the inefficiency of the system. Evidently one of the ladies had to go for a blood test and a scan but she had her blood test done and told to see the doctor, after waiting ages to see the doc, she was told by the doc to go get a scan at another place, and had to wait for another appt. and after she got an appt, she had to go for the scan and the results will be sent to this doc. So she came back to see the doctor and was told that she had to make another appt to get another scan. and that's why she's waiting to get another appt.Sounds confusing? it sure is for me. and you know what, it's one and a half month since that first blood test.
I sure hope that whatever she's suffering from doesn't spread fast, in one and a hlaf months, a patient could be dead by then.anyways, after 20 min or so, my name was called out and someone helped me make an appointment for 2 weeks later with the fertility clinic in KKH.
I'm so eagerly waiting for the appointment. not.
woah, i didn;t know that many people go to polyclincs - i've always visited pte doctors. ok, i resigned myself to the long wait. Ok a side point which i think is funny.The queue was kinda funny - it stuck straight out in a straight line from the registration desk - and right out of the building into the rain (there was a slight drizzle) - i don;t understand why people were queuing in the rain when they could have moved sideways and took shelter under the corridor instead. that's singaporean for you.
As i was in the rain, i wondered if i should say something, but then fortunately the queue moved forward, and i got out of the rain. I turned backwards to see if anyone would move sideways out of the rain - but no, instead i saw a couple of umbrellas being opened.
well singaporeans.anyways, the queue (i thought it was for registration but no, it's pre-registration) - took about 15 min and i passed my IC to the lady and got a number. i looked at the number i am holding on to and the one that is flashing n the disply and i freaked out. i'm like 200 numbers behind.I managed to snag a corner chair while resigning myself to the wait. Thank goodness i got a trusty novel with me. As i read my book, i did some people watching and there are loads of new borns (crying babies) around. what an irony.
Ok, while i try to concentrate on my book, the numbers went flashing by and surprisingly within 45min, i got registered. by then it was almost 10am. that was a painless process.
now as i waited to see the doctor - there's a board that says it takes an hr and 4 min - why the precision, i'm so amazed. and that estimated time doesn't change at all.
so i settled down to wait and inbetween there was some drama going on with other people who were seeing the doc as well. oh well it puts for interesting reading, but not now. ( never got round to writing abt it - oh nvm)
i watch the numbers jump and noticed that each consultation didn't take more than 15 min max. and the queue numbers jump like 8 to 10 numbers each time. i was thinking like not too bad, it's going to my turn soon - perhaps within the 1 hr and 4 min promised at registration.
almost to 1hr and 4 min, my number flashed and i finally saw the doctor. a young lady, she sounded like she's from the philipines, OK, a foreign talent. :P i got nothing against foreign talent but surely there are enough doctors to go round in Singapore? - loads of kids out there wanted to be doctors.anyways back to the topic, I told her that i wanted a second opinion since i've been diagnosed with having PCOS a couple of years back and treatment at a pte clinic has not brought any results as i have not concieved since trying for a baby for 1 yr and a half.Guess what, the next question she asked was ' when did you get married?' - now that was a bummer question. We gotten married about 4 mths ago. Eh, i got nothing against pre marital sex but duhz, need i spell it out in black and white? btw She asked this question twice.
anyways, the next thing she asked was if i ever was pregnant - she asked this twice as well. and this was AFTER i explained that the pte doc said it's unliekly i can concieve due to PCOS.I'm just thankful that there was no physical examination.She wrote me a referral letter and asked me which hospital i prefer. Eh, KKH? isn't that where these sort of matters are sent to? or is there another women's specilaist hopsital around that i'm not aware of?i got the letter and was sent with a patient clinic assistant to make an appointment. She pointed me out to where i could get a seat. i figured that it's going to be another long wait. in 20 min time, i heard my name being called and finally managed to see someone who can get me a appointment.
that 20 min was rather interesting actually, i overheard a conversation between two ladies in their early thirites - well aunties, conversing in Mandarin about the inefficiency of the system. Evidently one of the ladies had to go for a blood test and a scan but she had her blood test done and told to see the doctor, after waiting ages to see the doc, she was told by the doc to go get a scan at another place, and had to wait for another appt. and after she got an appt, she had to go for the scan and the results will be sent to this doc. So she came back to see the doctor and was told that she had to make another appt to get another scan. and that's why she's waiting to get another appt.Sounds confusing? it sure is for me. and you know what, it's one and a half month since that first blood test.
I sure hope that whatever she's suffering from doesn't spread fast, in one and a hlaf months, a patient could be dead by then.anyways, after 20 min or so, my name was called out and someone helped me make an appointment for 2 weeks later with the fertility clinic in KKH.
I'm so eagerly waiting for the appointment. not.
Step 1c
his only encouragement was to lose weight - which i have to say is sound advice. PCOS patients tend to be overweight and overweight poeple tend to have PCOS. while it's uncertain to say which causes the vicious circle, suffice to say is that when one have PCOS it's a tough battle to lose weight.
and loosing weight is a real battle - i don't eat that much, i'm not fussy about food, i wonlt q more than 10 min to buy food, and where i work, it's common to queue that long to have food, which explains why i prefer to skip lunch.
So despite all of that, i still am putting on weight - i say that's because i'm happy. Everything seems to be going fine in my life right now. We got a flat, did the renovations, got a wedding package, got the gown, did the invites, had the wedding, did the honeymoon bit (ok it was just across the sea, but it's still a deliciously cool break) and the bedminton and the only dark spot is the lack of vomitting and the cravings for coke.
sighs. life is never smooth.
So that brings me to the next step.
Step 1c
Public hospital - that the only one that comes to mind is KKH. everyone i know in my generation is born in KKH. well, it can;t be that bad - despite all that i heard about it. It's the national women's hospital after all.
I surfed the net a little bit more and found out the various things that they do there. well, they have a centre for infertility - there you go, that word again.
ok, there are two ways one can go about seeing a doctor at KKH. To call their one number hotline and make an appointment and get charged non subsidized rates which cost slightly more than pte doctors without the service. now that's ridiculous.
the other way is to get a referral via a polyclinic.
NOw this is where i kinda barked up the wrong tree - i assume that there will be doctors specialising in women's health in the polyclinic - so i called the one nearest to me, i got the number via the MOH website.
It was an answering service and after watiting 15min and pressing buttons, i got a operator who didn't understand what's women wellness is and what's a pre conception screening is - the only thing i got out of her was pap smear - well i suppose that's as close i can get to women's screening, until she asid she can;t make an appt until she knows which day i started my last menses. - well i told her it's not regular and she went on about surely i know when was the last time i had my menses and she can;t make an appt with the doctor until i tell her.
That's when i gave up.
perhaps a personal visit to the polyclinic will be better.
that brings to Step 2
and loosing weight is a real battle - i don't eat that much, i'm not fussy about food, i wonlt q more than 10 min to buy food, and where i work, it's common to queue that long to have food, which explains why i prefer to skip lunch.
So despite all of that, i still am putting on weight - i say that's because i'm happy. Everything seems to be going fine in my life right now. We got a flat, did the renovations, got a wedding package, got the gown, did the invites, had the wedding, did the honeymoon bit (ok it was just across the sea, but it's still a deliciously cool break) and the bedminton and the only dark spot is the lack of vomitting and the cravings for coke.
sighs. life is never smooth.
So that brings me to the next step.
Step 1c
Public hospital - that the only one that comes to mind is KKH. everyone i know in my generation is born in KKH. well, it can;t be that bad - despite all that i heard about it. It's the national women's hospital after all.
I surfed the net a little bit more and found out the various things that they do there. well, they have a centre for infertility - there you go, that word again.
ok, there are two ways one can go about seeing a doctor at KKH. To call their one number hotline and make an appointment and get charged non subsidized rates which cost slightly more than pte doctors without the service. now that's ridiculous.
the other way is to get a referral via a polyclinic.
NOw this is where i kinda barked up the wrong tree - i assume that there will be doctors specialising in women's health in the polyclinic - so i called the one nearest to me, i got the number via the MOH website.
It was an answering service and after watiting 15min and pressing buttons, i got a operator who didn't understand what's women wellness is and what's a pre conception screening is - the only thing i got out of her was pap smear - well i suppose that's as close i can get to women's screening, until she asid she can;t make an appt until she knows which day i started my last menses. - well i told her it's not regular and she went on about surely i know when was the last time i had my menses and she can;t make an appt with the doctor until i tell her.
That's when i gave up.
perhaps a personal visit to the polyclinic will be better.
that brings to Step 2
Step 1b
Step 1b
normal pte gynaes - i'm seeing one now. He's a pretty nice guy - professional and his rates are reasonable and he's like 10 min walk away from home. galfriends i know are seeing him an dpraise him for his bedside manners.
so all in all, he's a good gynae altogether. I've been seeing him for the last couple of years for various women's issues - irregular menses, those that do not come and those that when they do come, forever never ending menses as well.
There's a saying to describe menses - 'yee mah (auntie) come to visit' - i don't think this is refering to anyone's favourite auntie.
so while i used to be relatively happy that there's non of the inconvenience of having menses most of the time, yee mah only visits like once in 3 months or she even goes on vacation for longer periods of time. that surely don't restrict my activities.
sometimes she visits and with a vengence stays for a couple of weeks or even once a couple of months. i thought i would have died of blood loss before i saw him about it. a jab later and a couple of days later, he managed to stop it.
so my visits to him is limited to him trying to regulate my menses and me trying to make sure that it doesn;t affect my life.
menses is a bane in my life. there's a joke to beware the one that bleeds a week and don't die of bleeding, well i should say, one should beware the one that bleeds for weeks and don't die.
It's a draining process. literally. getting drained of blood as well as energy. though usually by the second week or so, one gets used to the tiredness and just hope that it will go away on its own.
not to mention the grouchiness and the short temperedness. i know i'm grouchy, i know i'm short tempered. and i know that PMS is not an excuse to give in to all those 'feelings' - and i believe in mind over body. chemical reactions or not, i'm going to rein in my grouchiness and temper - which i think i do successfully most times - which results in a swollen tougue and retarded responses.
swollen tongue when one just bites on the tongue to keep that remark from slipping out, and retarded responses when one just have to find another diplomatic reply to that REALLY STUPID question.
ok, that gynae, why didn;t we start with him instead? well , come to it, we did start with him. i remember asking him about the chances of concieving with all that menses irregularity - even me, in all my attempts to decieve myself - know that something is wrong.
it got seriously wrong - he did a ultrasound scan- the sort whereby you donlt wish it on anyone else. He put a probe via the vagina and he moves it around to see the various reproductive organs. the good news is that it's all intact, the bad news is the cysts on the left ovary and the heavier than normal lining of the womb which he said will clear.
Now he's not hopeful that the cysts will clear and he said it's probably PCOS - polycystic ovary syndrome - a serach on the net will tell you that a zillion women acorss the world have that and they sure talk about it.
I'm not too shattered back then, i wasn;t planning to have kids. i'm sure i didn't want to have kids. the only thing that plagued my mind was the higher possiblity of having cancer due to the irrgeular menses.
so half heartedly, i took the medicine he gave, which was meant to regulate the menses cycle. after months of having it and not having it, it got put on the back burner while i prepared to get a flat and do renovations and prepare for our wedding.
normal pte gynaes - i'm seeing one now. He's a pretty nice guy - professional and his rates are reasonable and he's like 10 min walk away from home. galfriends i know are seeing him an dpraise him for his bedside manners.
so all in all, he's a good gynae altogether. I've been seeing him for the last couple of years for various women's issues - irregular menses, those that do not come and those that when they do come, forever never ending menses as well.
There's a saying to describe menses - 'yee mah (auntie) come to visit' - i don't think this is refering to anyone's favourite auntie.
so while i used to be relatively happy that there's non of the inconvenience of having menses most of the time, yee mah only visits like once in 3 months or she even goes on vacation for longer periods of time. that surely don't restrict my activities.
sometimes she visits and with a vengence stays for a couple of weeks or even once a couple of months. i thought i would have died of blood loss before i saw him about it. a jab later and a couple of days later, he managed to stop it.
so my visits to him is limited to him trying to regulate my menses and me trying to make sure that it doesn;t affect my life.
menses is a bane in my life. there's a joke to beware the one that bleeds a week and don't die of bleeding, well i should say, one should beware the one that bleeds for weeks and don't die.
It's a draining process. literally. getting drained of blood as well as energy. though usually by the second week or so, one gets used to the tiredness and just hope that it will go away on its own.
not to mention the grouchiness and the short temperedness. i know i'm grouchy, i know i'm short tempered. and i know that PMS is not an excuse to give in to all those 'feelings' - and i believe in mind over body. chemical reactions or not, i'm going to rein in my grouchiness and temper - which i think i do successfully most times - which results in a swollen tougue and retarded responses.
swollen tongue when one just bites on the tongue to keep that remark from slipping out, and retarded responses when one just have to find another diplomatic reply to that REALLY STUPID question.
ok, that gynae, why didn;t we start with him instead? well , come to it, we did start with him. i remember asking him about the chances of concieving with all that menses irregularity - even me, in all my attempts to decieve myself - know that something is wrong.
it got seriously wrong - he did a ultrasound scan- the sort whereby you donlt wish it on anyone else. He put a probe via the vagina and he moves it around to see the various reproductive organs. the good news is that it's all intact, the bad news is the cysts on the left ovary and the heavier than normal lining of the womb which he said will clear.
Now he's not hopeful that the cysts will clear and he said it's probably PCOS - polycystic ovary syndrome - a serach on the net will tell you that a zillion women acorss the world have that and they sure talk about it.
I'm not too shattered back then, i wasn;t planning to have kids. i'm sure i didn't want to have kids. the only thing that plagued my mind was the higher possiblity of having cancer due to the irrgeular menses.
so half heartedly, i took the medicine he gave, which was meant to regulate the menses cycle. after months of having it and not having it, it got put on the back burner while i prepared to get a flat and do renovations and prepare for our wedding.
Step 1
Step 1
One would have thought that THE WAY to go about is is to make love loads of times - to the point of having sex for the sakes of it. but NO, it doesn;t work. I'm still not preggy yet. it's quite unbelievable - for one who abhors preganancy terms and avoids them like the plague and now i'm like head over water in them. and i consider preggy a pregnancy term, why can't pple say that they are pregnant instead of preggy?
after spending a couple of nights pondering over the next steps, I've concluded that we need external help. not a another woman nor another man - our sex life is pretty ok (in my opinion) - it better be his opinion as well.
ok, external party - professional medical parties - that's what i was refering to.
I spent some time surfing through the various websites - let's ttry to recall.
The first place is to check with my friends and contacts as to pte gynaes - that surely has to be the first place to start with, or so i thought, until i got some numbers and start making the calls. from scanning through some posts at a local forum, there are some 'famous' gynaes that pop up consistantly and a coincidence that one of them was recommended by a contact. He's known to have higher than average success rates, has a posh clinic in a pte hospital in singapore, and sky high charges. after ascertaining the sky high charges and the would you believe it 2 hrs waiting time to see him, i decided that as good as he is, he would be one of the last options to consider.
and to boot, he's attached to one of the most expensive private hopsitals for delivery expenses and post natal care.
so while he's the 'best', he's put on hold till things get worse.
ok, that was rather negative. i'm trying to have positive thoughts here. after reading through, or shd i say sifting through the myariads of postings on trying to conceive, i can;t help but be negative about it all.
If nature deems that you are suitable to have a child, surely it's nature that one will have one? and perhaps if one can;t have one, sirely it's because it's all part of the survival of the fitess kind of thing?
i've tried explaining this to hubby and all he did was to look at me and say there's no way you are getting out of this one - parents are getting old and isn't Y's baby so cute? wouldn't you like to have a baby like that? and my reply is still - only if i can return him.
as you can see, having a baby is really not top on my list of to do things. Having enough money to go on a long vacation trip sure sounds more enticing than having a 'bundle of joy' - especially so if we got to go out of our way and most probably get loads of strangers poking me in all the places that i wish never get exposed in public.
ok, back to choices. after pte gynaes which cost the bomb, there's other pte gynaes which don't specialised in fertitliy cases - the normal pte gynaes - i donlt know what they are called, but i suppose that because they do not have a reputation for fertility cases - that's another bad word.
Yes fertility is a bad word, i'll say more about it later. (later i found out there's another worse word - call sub fertility)
One would have thought that THE WAY to go about is is to make love loads of times - to the point of having sex for the sakes of it. but NO, it doesn;t work. I'm still not preggy yet. it's quite unbelievable - for one who abhors preganancy terms and avoids them like the plague and now i'm like head over water in them. and i consider preggy a pregnancy term, why can't pple say that they are pregnant instead of preggy?
after spending a couple of nights pondering over the next steps, I've concluded that we need external help. not a another woman nor another man - our sex life is pretty ok (in my opinion) - it better be his opinion as well.
ok, external party - professional medical parties - that's what i was refering to.
I spent some time surfing through the various websites - let's ttry to recall.
The first place is to check with my friends and contacts as to pte gynaes - that surely has to be the first place to start with, or so i thought, until i got some numbers and start making the calls. from scanning through some posts at a local forum, there are some 'famous' gynaes that pop up consistantly and a coincidence that one of them was recommended by a contact. He's known to have higher than average success rates, has a posh clinic in a pte hospital in singapore, and sky high charges. after ascertaining the sky high charges and the would you believe it 2 hrs waiting time to see him, i decided that as good as he is, he would be one of the last options to consider.
and to boot, he's attached to one of the most expensive private hopsitals for delivery expenses and post natal care.
so while he's the 'best', he's put on hold till things get worse.
ok, that was rather negative. i'm trying to have positive thoughts here. after reading through, or shd i say sifting through the myariads of postings on trying to conceive, i can;t help but be negative about it all.
If nature deems that you are suitable to have a child, surely it's nature that one will have one? and perhaps if one can;t have one, sirely it's because it's all part of the survival of the fitess kind of thing?
i've tried explaining this to hubby and all he did was to look at me and say there's no way you are getting out of this one - parents are getting old and isn't Y's baby so cute? wouldn't you like to have a baby like that? and my reply is still - only if i can return him.
as you can see, having a baby is really not top on my list of to do things. Having enough money to go on a long vacation trip sure sounds more enticing than having a 'bundle of joy' - especially so if we got to go out of our way and most probably get loads of strangers poking me in all the places that i wish never get exposed in public.
ok, back to choices. after pte gynaes which cost the bomb, there's other pte gynaes which don't specialised in fertitliy cases - the normal pte gynaes - i donlt know what they are called, but i suppose that because they do not have a reputation for fertility cases - that's another bad word.
Yes fertility is a bad word, i'll say more about it later. (later i found out there's another worse word - call sub fertility)
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