The Unnecessary Panic

13 May 2015

Being a first timer pregnant woman, I had no idea what to expect.. I did my homework and do the readings, but when I found a little trace of spotting, I immediately panicked and saw my obgyn. Dr Andi Hudono was not available, so I went to see Dr Robert Alief, despite the nurses saying that it's normal and is a common sign of pregnancy.

So I went ahead and see Dr Alief and after he scanned my tummy, he said everything was ok and I should have some rest.

The Pregnancy Test

7 April 2015

Our appointment with Dr Andi Hudono to check the programme was successful. I couldn't even get myself to buy a test pack because I was too scared to find out the result. So we did the urine and blood test at the doctor.

It was a positive. My BHCG level was 1250.

And on our next appointment, we found out that there were 2 yolk sac. We're having 2 babies! Praise the Lord.

OHSS

30 March 2015

My tummy was as big as a 5 month pregnant woman's belly and I had severe diarrhoea. So I went to see Dr Robert Alief. Dr CL's nurses recommended Dr Andi Hudono as he is their main contact in Jakarta, but he was on leave that day.

After he scanned my tummy, he said I had OHSS - Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome, which is a side effect of the hormone injections I was taking before the OPU. It is common for women who have undergone fertility treatments. There is no medicine for it, the treatment is only by eating lots and lots of protein... which means 5 egg whites a day and whatever other proteins of my likings.

OHSS was a bitch, I couldn't sleep on my side because I could feel that something is inside my stomach and I went to the toilet for more than 5 times a day. Dr Alief said the good news is that it is normally the first sign that the IVF programme worked. Fingers crossed..... and fortunately the OHSS inconveniences disappeared after about a week.

Embryo Transfer Day

It has been a while since I last posted, so to pick up where I let off.

24 March 2015 was the schedule for the embryo transfer. We were scheduled for 11 am but Dr CL was late. So we waited there, with my full bladder, without any information on whether we have any embryo(s) to transfer. Tried asking the nurse but no one would say a thing. So we waited... and prayed... until 3 pm the nurse called me up to get a shot, to prepare myself for the embryo transfer. YAY! Meaning we do have at least an embryo. At that point in time, they still wouldn't tell us any info on the embryo.

Came 4 pm and we finally saw Dr CL. Turned out out of the 15 eggs, we had only 2 embryos, one super good and the other so so good. Dr CL scanned my uterus, checked whether everything was ok for the transfer and whether I had enough water in my bladder... hello, i've been holding it in since like forever. Btw, I was allowed to pee as much as a cup, at maximum. (Full bladder was required to make it easier for the transfer)

So then I was prepped and we went ahead with the embryo transfer. It took around 10 minutes for them to clean me up and 5 minutes for Dr CL to put it them in. Waited for around 1 hour in bed then we could go back to the hotel.

More praying and waiting until another 2 weeks, when we know whether any of the 2 sticks in my uterus. We stayed in Damansara for another 5 days and we flew home. Asked Dr CL whether it's ok to fly, he said it's fine, but at least wait for 24 hours. On day 7 after embryo transfer, I was back to work.