Waist line is literally increasing. Wondering if it's due to the med.
All the gas building up. Sigh.
Suspecting it's that because I've not noticed any gain at other parts of body but the abdomen area. And I've been extremely hardworking at my exercise regime and pretty cautious with my diet.
And there's an obvious increase in waist line. Apparent from my clothes. Tsk.
Or maybe I'm just finding excuses for the increase haha
Showing posts with label ttc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ttc. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
IVF seminar by Prof PC Wong
Attended the IVF seminar conducted by Prof Wong on 30th May.
DH and I noticed that almost all present appeared young-ish (20s, 30s) and looked healthy! No weight issues, good looking also. Made us wonder what is happening to young Singaporeans and their fertility.
It was very informative and I'm glad we attended the science seminar. Something which all teaching reproductive system should attend.
Some things which I remember from the seminar ...
- Strictly no exercise, including yoga during the 2WW
- Rest, but not bed rest
- Not necessary to have high protein diet. That is for women who are down with OHSS, as they suffer a loss of protein. Otherwise a balanced diet is sufficient.
- Prof Wong does not recommend supplements which have not been well researched on ... example DHEA, royal jelly .. He said he wonders why people would read on the forum or websites and believe other people and start popping stuff into their mouths without knowing what they are
- TCM is fine, can complement, but he doesn't recommend the continuation of medicine once the injections start
DH and I noticed that almost all present appeared young-ish (20s, 30s) and looked healthy! No weight issues, good looking also. Made us wonder what is happening to young Singaporeans and their fertility.
It was very informative and I'm glad we attended the science seminar. Something which all teaching reproductive system should attend.
Some things which I remember from the seminar ...
- Strictly no exercise, including yoga during the 2WW
- Rest, but not bed rest
- Not necessary to have high protein diet. That is for women who are down with OHSS, as they suffer a loss of protein. Otherwise a balanced diet is sufficient.
- Prof Wong does not recommend supplements which have not been well researched on ... example DHEA, royal jelly .. He said he wonders why people would read on the forum or websites and believe other people and start popping stuff into their mouths without knowing what they are
- TCM is fine, can complement, but he doesn't recommend the continuation of medicine once the injections start
Anyway I strongly recommend anyone who is thinking of, or planning to embark on ivf journey to attend this seminar, which is organized every 5-6 weeks according to prof.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Traditional chinese medicine
Back in 2006, I went to see a TCM and she helped with my condition then.
But I think it's simply asking too much of me to visit her twice a week, and for me to travel at least an hour each time, and goodness knows how long the waiting time is going to be every visit.
Stumbled upon the information that TMC opened a clinic at NUH. Decided I should give TCM a try in preparation for the IVF treatment.
As expected, she gave me medicine which was 燥热. As a result I was slightly constipated and some pimples popped. Increased my water intake to more than 2 litre per day to counter.
I was surprised at the number of needles used during acupuncture. She used 11 needles on the tummy, 2 needles on each arm, 2 on each leg and 3 on the head. As compared to my previous experience which was in total 3 needles (1 on each leg and 1 on the tummy). And for one hour, compared to half hour.
Update: I've the habit of taking warm honey water every morning, so the little issue of "fake constipation" (as I like to call it) is solved by adding one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the honey water. Probably it's the acid that's working. I remember when I added lemon in the past, I had very active bowels.
But I think it's simply asking too much of me to visit her twice a week, and for me to travel at least an hour each time, and goodness knows how long the waiting time is going to be every visit.
Stumbled upon the information that TMC opened a clinic at NUH. Decided I should give TCM a try in preparation for the IVF treatment.
As expected, she gave me medicine which was 燥热. As a result I was slightly constipated and some pimples popped. Increased my water intake to more than 2 litre per day to counter.
I was surprised at the number of needles used during acupuncture. She used 11 needles on the tummy, 2 needles on each arm, 2 on each leg and 3 on the head. As compared to my previous experience which was in total 3 needles (1 on each leg and 1 on the tummy). And for one hour, compared to half hour.
Update: I've the habit of taking warm honey water every morning, so the little issue of "fake constipation" (as I like to call it) is solved by adding one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to the honey water. Probably it's the acid that's working. I remember when I added lemon in the past, I had very active bowels.
IUI (Cycles 6 to 8)
Prof put me on 100 mg of clomid from CD 2 to 6. NUH protocol is to have scan on CD 12.
All 3 times, follicle sizes were ok (all above 18 mm) and lining were at least 9 mm.
Jan '15: 1 follicle, trigger CD 14, IUI CD 15
Feb '15: 3 follicles, trigger CD 15, IUI CD 16
April '15: 2 follicles, trigger CD 15, IUI CD 16
All 3 times, follicle sizes were ok (all above 18 mm) and lining were at least 9 mm.
Sadly, they were unsuccessful. So we will embark on ivf.
Private gynae vs Hospital
After the bleeding corpus luteum cyst incident, I met up with the earlier gynae. She said she would recommend that I go straight to IVF, but because she's at a private hospital, would be better for me to go to a government hospital so that I could have the co-funding.
Decided on NUH since they would have my records. And specifically Prof PC Wong.
At that point of time, I knew I'll be on study leave in 2015. Thought it'll be a good time for me to go for treatments as it would not be disruptive to my work.
However, after meeting prof, he said he wanted to see how I respond to IUI first before going onto IVF. More on that later.
But after going to prof and reading up on what the others mention on SMH forum, I realised the protocols that hospitals have are definitely more structured that what the private gynae I went to had.
If anyone were to ask me if they should go to a hospital or a private gynae for infertility treatment, I would say hospital definitely. I wasted over a year with the private gynae, and there were still details which she missed about me.
After going through the procedures in NUH, I would question my previous gynae:
- why did she not monitor me when I was on clomid to see if I'd actually reacted to the medicine?
- why did she assume that I was insulin resistant and put me on metformin for more than a year?
- why did she not monitor me when I was on puregon?
- why were there no blood tests done?
On CD 2 blood test, my FSH was 8.6 IU/L and LH 8.8 IU/L (ratio almost 1:1). AMH 33.7 pmol/L. Progesterone 2.2 nmol/L.
Decided on NUH since they would have my records. And specifically Prof PC Wong.
At that point of time, I knew I'll be on study leave in 2015. Thought it'll be a good time for me to go for treatments as it would not be disruptive to my work.
However, after meeting prof, he said he wanted to see how I respond to IUI first before going onto IVF. More on that later.
But after going to prof and reading up on what the others mention on SMH forum, I realised the protocols that hospitals have are definitely more structured that what the private gynae I went to had.
If anyone were to ask me if they should go to a hospital or a private gynae for infertility treatment, I would say hospital definitely. I wasted over a year with the private gynae, and there were still details which she missed about me.
After going through the procedures in NUH, I would question my previous gynae:
- why did she not monitor me when I was on clomid to see if I'd actually reacted to the medicine?
- why did she assume that I was insulin resistant and put me on metformin for more than a year?
- why did she not monitor me when I was on puregon?
- why were there no blood tests done?
On CD 2 blood test, my FSH was 8.6 IU/L and LH 8.8 IU/L (ratio almost 1:1). AMH 33.7 pmol/L. Progesterone 2.2 nmol/L.
Cycle 5 (part 1): Clomid + Puregon
This doomed cycle started on 20 July 2014.
Had clomid 50 mg from CD 2 to 6, and Puregon 50 IU from CD 5 to 9.
Went for scan on CD 10 and this was what was seen:
On CD 10, 8 big follicles with the largest 15.3 mm.
So the gynae told me I should not continue with any injections, and no trigger shot because there are too many follicles, but DH and I should continue to BD alternate days until CD 20.
And again no other scans, instructions were: if HPT was positive, contact the clinic to set up appointment; if bfn, then we'll decide if we should do another round.
Had clomid 50 mg from CD 2 to 6, and Puregon 50 IU from CD 5 to 9.
Went for scan on CD 10 and this was what was seen:
On CD 10, 8 big follicles with the largest 15.3 mm.
So the gynae told me I should not continue with any injections, and no trigger shot because there are too many follicles, but DH and I should continue to BD alternate days until CD 20.
And again no other scans, instructions were: if HPT was positive, contact the clinic to set up appointment; if bfn, then we'll decide if we should do another round.
Clomid (Cycles 1 to 4)
Gynae prescribed clomid (50 mg) to take from CD 2 to 6. Was told to BD on alternate days from CD 10 to 20, but no scans were done during each of the cycles - 2014 January, February, May and June.
The first failed cycle, AF was extremely heavy and cramps were so bad I had difficulty driving. I remember having to attend a workshop and had to sit on the floor, it was so so bad. I woke up from the cramps on the first night.
The second cycle, AF was still extremely heavy, cramps were more manageable in the day time, but again I woke up from the cramps.
The subsequent month I took a break from clomid, but instead of a period I spotted for 8 days. Following month was better.
For all the months, I was meticulous in tracking with OPK and my BBT. Kept a journal to observe the lines and the BBT charts. OPK and BBT were pretty aligned.
After the failed cycle in June, went back to the gynae and she suggested that I add injections to my next attempt. But she said it's not necessary to do IUI as the probability of success is not much higher than natural conception.
Again, in retrospect, I should have voiced out why there was no scanning done during the cycles to determine if I had actually responded to clomid, and whether ovulation actually did take place. But all these only came to me after I switched to NUH later and those came in.
Of course, some private gynaes could be more conscientious.
The first failed cycle, AF was extremely heavy and cramps were so bad I had difficulty driving. I remember having to attend a workshop and had to sit on the floor, it was so so bad. I woke up from the cramps on the first night.
The second cycle, AF was still extremely heavy, cramps were more manageable in the day time, but again I woke up from the cramps.
The subsequent month I took a break from clomid, but instead of a period I spotted for 8 days. Following month was better.
For all the months, I was meticulous in tracking with OPK and my BBT. Kept a journal to observe the lines and the BBT charts. OPK and BBT were pretty aligned.
After the failed cycle in June, went back to the gynae and she suggested that I add injections to my next attempt. But she said it's not necessary to do IUI as the probability of success is not much higher than natural conception.
Again, in retrospect, I should have voiced out why there was no scanning done during the cycles to determine if I had actually responded to clomid, and whether ovulation actually did take place. But all these only came to me after I switched to NUH later and those came in.
Of course, some private gynaes could be more conscientious.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Trying to conceive
Old blog deleted to make way for a new phase of life (somewhat new since we have been TTC for a while now). Thought it's about time to document this journey. Hopefully it'll graduate into a blog on pregnancy and then on babies in the near future. :)
We were married in 09, but yet to be successful in conceiving. Embarking on IVF this cycle, today is D14, will start on short/antagonistic protocol with dydrogesterone on D18.
I hope whoever stumbles upon this blog will find it useful ... whichever stage of TTC you are in.
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