Pregnancy Tests

I survived the two week wait!

I have been contemplating whether to use the home pregnancy kit since the night before yesterday. This is so not me as I have only bought 3 such kits in my whole life. Since this last kit is going to expire on 9/5/2014, I thought I might as well use it. It's one of the Watsons' home brand, a cheap one. Haha!

So, as early as 5.30am yesterday, I jumped out of bed feeling super anxious. I re-read the instructions again while holding my bladder! It reminds me of the day of embryo transfer. Hehe!

I did the test at 5.45am (I couldn't hold any longer!) and to my surprise, I saw 2 lines appeared almost immediately! My hands were a bit shaky and I held my breath. I read the instructions again (I know, I sounded dumb!) to ensure that I did the test correctly. Well, the test line was dark, almost as dark as the control line. I've only seen a faint line once before in my first pregnancy (which ended up as my 1st ectopic pregnancy) so this is quite unbelievable. I was excited!

Shortly after, I told hubby (who still looked like a zombie!) in my calmest tone possible and proudly showed him the test kit. He pretended that it's no big deal but I could see his eyes looking at the 2 lines. He said "Don't think too much, just let things be". I know he doesn't want me set my hopes high. He wouldn't know how to console me if it was a false positive.

I took deep breaths while hubby showered and tried to remain calm. Maybe the kit was faulty because it is nearing its expiry date? Maybe it's indeed a false positive? Or something is just wrong somewhere?

At Sunfert, we got registered at 7.45am and I'd quickly went to the laboratory to get my blood test done. The results will be ready within 2 hours or later. Since our appointment was at 11.30am, we decided to return home. I know hubby has an appointment at 2pm and he suggested if it's ok for me to see Dr Wong alone later. I agreed.

I returned to Sunfert by 11am. My tummy felt bloated and there's some tightness around my lower abdomen. I also felt butterflies in my stomach!

While I waited and waited, one of the nurses recognised me and greeted me with a smile. She asked me how I'd feel but I think I'd just got too emotional with such a simple question that I had tears pooled up in my eyes! Silly me! Part of me was so scared and shaky. The other part was probably just numbness. I don't know...

My name was called. I took another deep breath and walked in to greet Dr Wong. He looked happy, I think, and asked me to sit down. He then congratulated me with a big smile on his face! I must have stared at him...all blank! He gave me the blood test results sheet.

It said 1,071 mIU/ml!! I was totally speechless.

We have hoped and hoped for this for so long and before I'd realised it, I found myself asking Dr Wong if I could cry?! What a silly question?! Dr Wong gave me a hug instead. I cried.

Dr Wong said my hCG level is high so I may have more than one embryo implanted! But I told him that I don't have any symptoms other than the on and off spotting from 6/3/2014 to 9/3/2014. He smiled and said "No symptoms are normal". Dr Wong also said the spotting should be implantation bleeding. He did a tummy scan and concluded that there was no bleeding in my uterus. What a relief!

Dr Wong also said he could only tell whether it's a singleton or a multiple when he does another scan next Friday, 21/3/2014. No heartbeats yet by then, he warned...maybe by the end of March 2014?

I am to continue all my existing medications and pessaries and the IM Proluton Depot 250mg injections (every 3 days) for the next 2 weeks.

Can't wait to see Dr Wong again on 21/3/2014! Wish me luck! ;)

Spotting

To be honest, I am not in the best of moods now. :(

I am still spotting on and off since 6/3/2014 and I couldn't be sure if this is implantation bleeding. If I lie down, there is hardly anything. But when I walk about and being a little active, there'll be enough blood to stain on my liners, albeit very very little. I think it's more like pinkish brown. Please, please...let it be gone by tomorrow...

Other than the spotting, there is no pain or any cramps whatsoever. I feel bloated though. Maybe I drink too much water? Couldn't be, huh? Haha!

I try to stay positive. As long as my menses does not show up by 11/3/2014, I could still test positive!

Two more days and counting!

Hoping for a miracle...

Implantation Bleeding?!

Ok, so I freaked out this morning when I saw blood stains on my liners. Probably it's just a few drops max? But it was definitely there when I wiped.

The thing is, I couldn't really tell if it's pink or brown or red (ok, I'm partially colour-blind!). My best guess is that it's brown.

I do not know what to think. My previous experience with spotting/bleeding was never a good one and I believed it led to my miscarriage. So, for a moment this morning, I'd thought it was all over!

However, that was 8am. I don't see anymore blood stains now...well, maybe still a little on used toilet paper. I am hopeful now that the spotting could actually be implantation bleeding as it hasn't got any heavier. In fact, it tapered off fairly quickly.

Implantation bleeding happens when the embryo attaches itself into the uterine wall. Some of the tissues may be shed which leads to the bleeding. It is normally not as heavy as period and may be accompanied by light cramping. Some reports say that it could last between a few hours to a few days or even a month.

Well, I do have lower backaches and mild night sweats (in air-conditioned room!) occasionally but nothing alarming. However, I do not feel much cramps if I may recall and I certainly hope this is not the beginning of my menses!

My beta testing is not until 11/3/2014. Five more days to go!

Everything will be better tomorrow...fingers crossed!

Surviving the Two Week Wait

TWO WEEK WAIT...I have gone through these moments too many times. Sigh...but this is the first time I have decided to take a full 2 weeks medical leave from work.

I've never intended to have strict bed rest but maybe just this once, I'll try not to move about too much. There will still be exercises for me...well, going up and down the stairs! Haha! But that's about it.

I drink loads and loads of water every day (3 to 4 litres) and took my vitamins and medications timeously. Since I'm on leave, I do the pessaries insert vaginally and rest even more each time. I still have 2 vials of Proluton Depot 250mg left, one to be injected tomorrow (6/3/2014) and one on 9/3/2014. Never to forget those.

Water rationing has started and my house area is affected. Earlier, from 10/2/2014 to 27/2/2014, we didn't have water supply due to the ammonia pollution in Sungai Langat which resulted in the closure of two water treatment plants in Cheras Batu 11 and Bukit Tampoi. Our residence at Sungai Long survived only with water distributed by the Syabas water trucks every day (or every other day), although they were never on time.

Now, with this water rationing...we will enjoy water for 2 days and go without water for the next 2 days. This will continue until end of March should Mr Rain decides not to show up still. :(

I feel really bad for not being able to help to collect water. Those pails are just too heavy for me! I just do not want to risk anything. There was a time when my neighbours came to help my mother-in-law with the water while I hid inside the house! I felt totally ashamed of myself but I just couldn't tell my neighbours why I couldn't help. Sigh...

I was constipated for the first 2 days after the embryo transfer. It was so uncomfortable but I didn't push it. I took dried prunes (about 5 to 6 daily) thereafter and it does the trick!

The craze for ginger egg soup was so great that I had them 2 days in a row immediately after the transfer. However, I'd freaked out after that as I've then read that ginger could actually caused uterine contraction?! Hopefully no damage was done. I just love ginger!

I also eat at least 4 egg whites (100% cooked) every day for the protein intake. As for the rest of my meals, I try to eat in moderation of most things. My mom is so sweet, she will bring me dinner everyday so I could have at least one home-cooked meal a day. Sometimes I'll make myself simple scallop porridge for lunch. I try to stuff myself with avocados too but it's just so difficult to wait for them to ripen.

I still eat take-away hawker food in the mornings and sometimes lunch but I am avoiding oily and fried food as much as possible. Mostly soup noodles and nothing raw, no raw eggs especially.

I wear socks and use the heat pack on my feet every night. No warmer of any sort on my tummy though.

I do silly things like calculating my due date and talking to my little bubs inside me. Haha! But thoughts that I am actually pregnant (until proven otherwise!) makes me very happy. It creates positive energy, so why not? :D

No symptoms of any sort right now. I'm trying very hard not to over-analysis every minute feeling I'm experiencing. It'll drive me crazy. For all I know, it could just be all the pumped hormones that's still left inside my system.

Now, what else is there to do before I go insane?

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...