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...
