Embryo Transfer

Well...I am officially in my two week wait now. So much to digest in so little time. I must admit, I am just too lazy and not in the mood to write earlier. I guess I'll backtrack to where I stopped. Ha!

24/2/2014: So we were happy with the 13 eggs collected and boy, excited I was! I was given another instructions sheet on Embryo Transfer which was scheduled on 27/2/2014 at 12noon. There were more prescriptions too:-

(i) Cardiprin 100 (contains Aspirin 100mg & Glycin 45mg) half tablet a day for 8 weeks! Yes, 8 weeks.

(ii) Cyclogest 400mg twice a day, one pessary at 11am & one at 11pm starting on 25/2/2014.

(iii) 2 vials of IM Proluton Depot 250mg, one vial to be injected on 25/2/2014 & one on 28/2/2014.

My tummy felt sore and bloated immediately after OPU and I remembered feeling the pain as I walked. This bloatness and tightness in my lower abdomen was really uncomfortable but thankfully it finally resolved the following night.

So on 25/2/2014, I took the first intramuscular (IM) injection of Proluton Depot 250mg at the hospital near my house at 7.40am before I left for work. There's really no particular timing for the shot but I'd prefer to do it in the morning...just in case.

Then, I started with the Cyclogest pessary at 11am in the office toilet...rectally, of course. A vaginal insert would require at least an hour of lying down after the insert so as to prevent it from dropping back out. I did the vaginal inserts at night instead. It wasn't that difficult for me because I've done this too many times before. To be frank, those pessaries are really gross and it's such a mess down there! Eeew...

I took half day leave to have a session of the mind body fertility theraphy with Mr Ong. Yeah, I've never mentioned about this earlier too. His centre is in Petaling Jaya. I had totally forgotten about the four sessions which come free with the Sunfert IVF package. I was so grateful that Mr Ong was able to allocate time for me at the very last minute.

The intended 2 hour session was extended to 4 hours! I was skeptical at first but I had a wonderful experience with the hypnotherapy session. It taught me how powerful a human's mind could be...and how to trust that my body is healthy to carry a baby to term.

That night, I listened to a few tracks given by Mr Ong and it were so soothing and relaxing I couldn't remember when I'd actually fell asleep! I tried the instructions for self-hypnosis too but don't think I'd managed because I was so very sleepy! Haha!

Anyway, I had another 4 hour long session the following morning (26/2/2014). It is very important to be stress-free especially during and after the embryo transfer. Mr Ong asked me to request for the mp3 that he has prepared for the use of patients during the embryo transfer from the Sunfert nurses before my transfer. It'll help me to relax. I'd certainly hope so.

The day finally came. It was 27/2/2014, the day for my embryo transfer! Yay!

I'd showered with water only (no perfumes, no cosmetics) in the morning and was ready to go.

Hubby was outstation. So my mom accompanied me to Sunfert. We reached at 10.15am and since we were early, we both had breakfast together. I emptied my bladder at 11am and started drinking the 250ml water as instructed. I'd also inserted the Cyclogest pessary at 11am, rectally again and tried not be anxious but it's really tough.

At 11.20am, I was called into the consultation room. I felt like a young student, eager to get my examination results! Haha! The nurse calmly informed that 13 eggs were earlier retrieved but only 12 were matured. ISCI performed on those 12 eggs but only 6 fertilised. I was hopeful...

She continued, however, although the fertilisation rate was not fantastic, 4 out of the 6 embryos were of good grade while 2 others were of average quality with 5% and 10% fragmentations respectively. My heart was racing with joy as we have never had any good grade embryos in all our previous IVF attempts.

The plan was to transfer 3 good embryos and freeze the rest. Sounded good to me. Fingers crossed!

I was in the theatre again by 12.15pm. I saw a monitor screen on the wall which showed 3 handsome-looking embryos and the nurse told me they were mine. It's so amazingly beautiful. I've never seen any of my previous embryos before. They were all between 9 to 10 cells embryos. And I found myself smiled and smiled...and smiled! ;)

There were 8 scheduled procedures by Dr Wong that day so they couldn't afford much delay. The nurses were busy scanning my tummy and gosh, it was so uncomfortable I felt I could burst anytime! The pressure on my semi-full bladder continued and I heard someone mentioned that this was going to be a little difficult. Well, I have a retroverted uterus.

I tried my best to stay calm and asked for Mr Ong's mp3 again. The nurses told me that they're getting it ready for me. But Dr Wong was already in the theatre then. He told me that he will transfer 3 day-3 embryos. He said he had decided that maybe day-3 embryos would be better of than blastocysts after all and again, asked me not to be worried.

A nurse then whispered into my ears informing that they couldn't get the batteries for the mp3. I was rather disappointed but politely asked if I could actually use my mobile phone instead? The nurse quickly got me my mobile and I'd immediately played one of the music tracks shared by Mr Ong earlier in his sessions.

I'd just closed my eyes and let my mind wandered with the music, not forgetting to breathe slowly. I'd visualised how comfortable the embryos were when they were inside my womb and before I knew it, the procedure was over! I think I did great! For the first time ever, I felt my lower abdomen was totally relaxed during the whole procedure. I was pushed out of the theatre at 12.40pm on a slightly slanted (30 degrees maybe) bed to the recovery bay where I was required to rest in that position for 1 hour. So I continued listening to the music with my legs slightly raised.

More than an hour later, I got dressed up in my own clothes and made a bee line to the toilet. Luckily it was only 250ml of water! Otherwise, I couldn't imagine how I could handle more than 1 hour without bursting! Haha!

I was given yet another instructions sheet titled "Pregnancy Test". There was a part that states the following:-

(i) refrain from strenuous activities such as exercise, intercourse or other physical activities that may cause undue strain to the abdomen.

(ii) take a healthy and balanced diet with lots of fruits, vegetables and fluids. Avoid traditional herbs, alcohol and smoking.

(iii) try to have adequate rest and sleep over the next two weeks though there is no need for complete bed rest. You may wish to resume work after one week unless your work is extremely stressful or involves traveling.

The nurse also told me not to take bananas, papayas, watermelon and pineapple as these fruits may encourage uterine contractions which may affect implantation.

Again, more prescriptions:-

(a) Duphaston 10mg, one tablet twice a day until beta testing.

(b) Dexamethasone 0.5mg, dosage to be increased to one tablet twice a day until beta testing.

(c) Cyclogest 400mg, to be continued twice a day until beta testing.

(d) 3 vials of IM Proluton Depot 250mg, one each to be injected on 3/3/2014, 6/3/2014 and 9/3/2014 at any time of that scheduled day.

My mom and I went for late lunch near my house while on our way back home. I couldn't be bothered much as we were both very hungry. We had economy rice. I took only the green vegetables and tofu. It's a satisfying meal! :)

I lied down once we got home. I'd only showered later that night. I felt some cramps too that late evening and at night on my lower abdomen, somewhere near my ovaries I would say. But it's bearable.

So, here comes the dreaded two week wait...