The Transfer and Pregnancy so far...

As mentioned in my previous entry, the embryo transfer was done on 8 April... only 2 embryoes were qualified to be transferred... although not many as others going through IVF, at least there were growing embryoes to be transferred... i knew some people who didn't make it this far because their embryo didn't develop/grew...

Overall the procedure was not painful... just uncomfortable... unlike during the egg retrieval procedure where i was put under general anesthesia, this time no anesthetic was given... so, you're wide awake during the whole process, having the doc and nurses looking at my you-know-what for a few minutes...

At first the embryologist showed the embryos at the TV screen before the procedure started... She showed both embryoes... here's a pic of one of them... this is one of the fascinating thing about IVF, you get to see your baby development from the very very beginning!



so then the doc inserted the cold speculum to my you-know-what then inserted a special tube and directed it to my uterus... the doc did this with the guidance of the ultrasound machine... then after reciting Bismillah ("In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate") the embryos were injected to my uterus... the Doc ended the procedure with a doa, ameen by all present in the procedure room... syahdu time nih... then he said to me he has done all that he could to help me conceive now it is in Allah swt hands to fulfill my wish or not... i thank him... then the nurse adjust my feet to a higher position and i was left for half an hour to rest before going home...

i was given a week medical leave...the next appointment to check whether i was pregnant or not was about a month later... during the first two weeks after transfer, i didn't feel a bit different... i was convinced the procedure failed... especially i had two incidents of choc stain on my panty so i thought the emryos must have come out from my uterus... the wait was a major emotional challenge which i cannot describe... you try to keep positive but you have all these doubts running through your mind...

when my period was due but didn't came, i was a bit happy and encouraged... people told me to do a home pregnancy test but i just didn't have the courage to do so... those of you who are/have been trying to conceive would understand the feeling of doing UPT each month but only to be heartbroken to see a single line... so i never did a UPT...anyway upon passing my period due date, i suddenly had this high fever... i was shivering cold but my body was boiling up to 38.5 degree celsius. so i went to see the fertility doc before my appointment date but was told to take frequent showers to cool down the body and take panadol only when required... the doc also mentioned that a high fever at this early stage can effect the implantation process or cause miscarriage if there was implantation... we were devastated to learn this...

fast forward to the day to find out whether i was pregnant or not... on 4 May that is... we saw this during the ultrasound...



the presence of a sac confirmed we were pregnant with a singleton!!! the other embryo didn't make it... but we are super happy anyway that our first IVF cycle was a success...

besides having the high fever... other symptoms that i had throughout the pregnancy especially during the first and early second trimesters were nausea, vomitting, no apetite, couldn't even drink plain water... of course fatigue, sleepy all the time... and i can't cook... can't be without air conditioning... and i was diagnosed of having a big cyst at 4 months pregnancy... the doc that i'm seeing for pregnancy checkups suggested an operation after 5 months pregnancy to avoid complication when the baby grows bigger but luckily she referred me back to the fertility doc and he strongly advised her not to do anything to the cyst unless necessary... he has seen similar cases in IVF patients... the cyst grew because of all the drugs taken during IVF...

Alhamdulillah i have now reach the third semester... most of the pregnancy symptoms have gone except for the unable to cook, cannot live without air conditioning and laziness... more over now i get tired so easily, feeling out of breath even after doing a simple task... guess is because the baby is bigger now... but a lot of people commented how small my tummy is compared to how far along i am...

All praises to Allah swt for making our dream come true and we hope and pray hard that our baby will be born into this world in healthy condition... Ameen...

IVF updates...

on D12 the Doctor scanned the follicles to checked that they've grown to a mature stage for retrieval...

that night i had to take a final shot of this med...see the note i scribbled on the box... the nurse stressed the importance of injecting this med on time...



on D14 the doctor picked up the follicles... i had to fast the night before and was given sleeping med during the procedure... the total of eggs retrieved was 8... not too many since i only have one ovary... after the procedure felt cramping the whole day like before getting your period... i was informed that this and a little bleeding is very common...

i was instructed to take this hormone pill 3 times a day and wait for the call from the embryologist for the next stage...



2 days after the pick up the embryologist called me...asked me to come to the hospital on Friday for the transfer... she told me they will transfer 2 embryos... and she instructed me to start taking the ventolin pills... the pills will help to relax the muscle ...



well, TODAY is the EMBRYO TRANSFER DAY!!! my appointment is at 3 pm... so right now i'm just relaxing at home...

i'm so excited right now... DH and i pray that this will be it... hopefully everything will turn out well...

Our IVF cycle starts...

As i've mentioned before the cycle for IVF starts on day 2 of a menstrual cycle. before the expected period, we had to go and purchase the hormones at the hospital... the hormones must be kept at 0-4 celcius so we had to bring along a cooler box with us to the hospital...

we bought our own cooler box but you can actually rent one at the fertility centre. from D2 to D7 DH had to inject me every morning with a dose of the hormone to encourage growth of eggs... here's the hormone in our cooler box...





to inject the hormone we were provided (rent) a special "pen" with a fine needle... here's a pic of the "pen" in its casing... the small white containers are the needles... have to use a new needle for each injection...



if you're wondering how big is the needle, here's a pic of the needle...



my first injection was when we were at my parents house... of course i was freaking out that morning, even woke up several times the night before thinking about starting the injections... luckily hubby was so calm like he's been doing injections all his life... and most importantly, it didn't hurt at all... just like being bit by an ant...

if you're wondering about the price... each box of the hormone cost RM420... till today we bought 5 boxes already... do the math your self...

on D6, D8, D10, D12 (planned so far) i have to go to the hospital for follicular monitoring... they check how many eggs i'm producing and the sizes... so far i have 5 eggs that are looking good... i have only one ovary that's why my eggs are not much as others going through IVF who can produce more eggs from 2 ovaries... oh well, as my doctor says "it's the quality that counts not quantity!"

starting D8 i was given another med to inject on top of the previous hormone... this med was to stop the follicles from releasing the eggs...

here's the other med... each dose comes in a syringe... so we just throw the syringe after every shot...



now the needles for this syringe is much thicker than the "pen" and i do feel pain each time injected with this med...tahan je lah!



so far that's all we've been through... we are not informed yet on the dates of eggs retrieval and embryo transfer...

at present we are feeling good... just going through each step accordingly... we do not think about the result that much... because we know ultimately it is in Allah swt hands whether we will be success in this procedure or not... and we believe whatever the outcome may be, it will be the best for us...

What a Great Reading!!!

i came across this book at mph bookstore... the title attracted me instantly... and for just RM 19.90, i never knew then that my perspective on life would soon be changed...



the author geniously wrote in a manner as though his talking directly to you personally... he present the facts with simple yet eye opening examples and of course supports by reciting the relevant Quran verses...

the book is thoughtfully presented, starting by discussing what we perceive as challenges in life, why we have to have faith in God, why we have to believe in fate and how to always be a happy and winning person looking beyond the challenges in life... mashaAllah, this book really speaks to the heart... the author also does not simply push facts to you, he discuss each matter thoroughly... by the end of the book you will feel so fulfilled and enlightened...

i love this book so much that i even bought a few as a gift to friends and family...

one example the author presented on how we are just weak human beings to understand the masterplan of Allah swt is this example on how a child when sitting and looking from below where his mother is stitching commented on what is his mother doing that looks from below/behind the stitching work so ugly. So the mothers then shows her stitching work from above and only does the child see how beautiful the stitching work actually is... the author compared this example to how we human beings look from our weak perspective how challenges in life are always a burden that we often question why do they even exist at all... but instead if we look from a different perspective we'll see that Allah's plan is the greatest of all... challenges in life makes us much much much better human beings... of course the author discuss this matter much better than what i'm trying to share here... the book is in Malay so it's a bit difficult for me to review the book in English...



The bottomline is the book is great and anyone needing some motivation in life should buy and read this book!

IVF is our only chance!

Last Thursday had gone to the hospital for HSG test...

the result? as expected... since this was my second time doing the test, i'd assume the result was the same as the first time...

yep, my tube is blocked... the contrast dye didn't flow through... they concentrated on my right tube since i've only got the right ovary...

so with one ovary left and non-functional tube, i can only conceive by IVF...

my next appointment is in Feb to discuss and plan the IVF...

we are not sad... redha...

we just have to work a little harder in order to have a child...

insyaAllah, our hope will come true... someday...