December to Remember

Via beta testing, I am no longer pregnant.  I was for a short time but due to the beta testing numbers, I no longer am.

beta test 1-->  91.1
test 2 --> 36
test 3 --> 51

From what we gather, any number above zero is a good beta number.  It doesn't matter the number as long as it doubles and continues to double every day or every other day for about the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. 

Mine didn't.  I had what is called a chemical pregnancy which came to its conclusion December 5th. 

Blood Test

Joseph and I went to the doctor today for my blood test.

We will be phoned tomorrow morning around 9am for some results. 

Now...if I am, I cannot say for a few weeks.  If I am not, I still may not say for a few weeks. 

Either way, if I am not, it is okay. 

We will do this again at least one more time if is didn't work this time.

Keep your fingers crossed!

xoxo

Hatchlings

So last week on Tuesday, November 12th, I had my egg transfer.  Joseph and I lovingly and laughingly refer to them as hatchlings. 

Joseph goes with me to all appointments unless it is just a shot (a 30 second process that doesn't hurt) then he doesn't need to be there for that so I let him sleep.

We arrive at 10am on Tuesday.  I get my daily shot in my bum and then we are waiting to see the doctor.  He tells us that there were a total of 8 eggs and out of those 2 were acceptable and viable.  Of those 2, only one made it to day 3. 

That being said, only one hatchling will be transferred.  Only one.

on my way home from the doctor

OHSS

Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

This is a valid and serious concern due to Joseph and I doing IVF.  It happens from taking all of the hormones. 

I am concerned this may happen to me, but I am walking as much as possible and monitoring my pee and weight.  I have gained weight during this treatment but not a lot so I am also monitoring that.  The doctor monitors my ovaries and has not noticed anything abnormal so far.   We will see after ten days from surgery and about ten days after Nov. 15th of these shots.  Basically, I will worry about this until the end of December.  Hopefully it is nothing to worry about.

Surgery

Surgery.

Nothing to eat or drink when I wake up.  We need to be at the doctors by 8am. 

Brian and Tiffany went with us for support. 

bright and early

We arrive at the doctors and are the first ones there.  We all chill out and see what's what.  Pretty soon I am called back and Tiffany comes with me.

Woah

The last few days have been a blur of activity.

Thursday, Jospeh and I went to the doctor and I was examined again and given a long list of instructions for the next few days.  I was given another shot of hormones in my belly by the nurse and given 2 injections that needed to be taken at the same time at 8pm that night.

I also took the rest of the day and went to Seoul to visit Chien and eneded up back on a bus to Daejeon about 7:20p which meant I would need to give myself these shots on a bus.  A moving bus.  In the dark.  I deserve a medal.  At about 7:50p I got out the plastic bag of ice water holding the shots and began to get myself ready.  There was no way I could give them to myself at the same time so I just resolved to do them as quickly as possible back to back.

Doctor Visit 11-5-2013

Went to the doctor this morning.

Pretty tired.

J and I woke up about 6am and had coffee then headed out about 7:40 to catch the bus.  We arrived at the doctor about 8:30 and waited about 30 minutes for our appointment.

The doctor asked me again if I was having any problems or pain or any side effects of the medication (No) then asked me to go around the bend and change for my exam.

He found 4 follicles on the right and 2 on the left.  Research I have looked at says anywhere from 8-15 follicles is good.  Any more and I am in danger of over stimulation.  I don't want that, and in reality, we only need one that works. 

Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013

Little Points of Wisdom.  That is what I am calling my injection sites.  Pretty soon I will be able to call them constellations.

On Saturday, J and I went to Maria for our appointment.  We didn't wait too long and for a Saturday, that is great.  The key is to get there when they open or before (8am or 8:30).
Maria opens at 8:30am but their doors are open about 8am.  There is something satisfying about being first for the day.

Selfies

Self Injections.


Here is a video of me giving myself an injection of folliotropin. 

We need to keep the medicine refrigerated and if I will not be home during one of the times I need to get a shot, I take a bag of ice and water with me and inside another baggie is the box that holds my injection.

Experiment 626

I began writing this post before the shots began then I reread it and deleted it.  Why?  I don't feel the same way now that I am actually stabbing myself. 

Either way, I still think there should be pills instead of shots; but then again, I suppose the science of the medicine working faster and more effectively has its own hypothesis.  All of that being said, I cannot believe women go through this for years. It is emotionally and physically draining.

Moon Blood

On the third day of my Aunt Flo I am required to go to the doctor and recieve a rather large supply of injections to self administer twice a day at home.

So it is the third day and Joseph and I went to the doctor.  I got another exam and then we went home with 7 boxes of injections.

The 8th box, the nurse used on me this morning. 

Between 8am and 9am and 6p and 8p at night I am to have an injection.  Yes.  Only one.  The same medication, but only one, twice a day.
Yippee!

Cruzin' for a Brusin'

This past Thursday (Oct. 17th) I got my first shot.  It was a shot of Decapeptyl-Depot.  Simply a fancy name for hormones (estrogen). This particular medicine is not used in the United States.  It is used primarily in Europe and Asia.  Strangely, that makes me feel better.  The "depot" part means it is one shot to last one month instead of daily shots for one month.  I am very grateful to have one monthly shot. 

Some of the research I have found about this drug is below.  So far I have no side effects--thank goodness. 

One nifty bit of information about getting this shot is I have one hell of a bruise on my belly.  It is one and a half of my palms.  It is huge.  J and I have named it Big Bertha.   You wanna see it?  Say 'please.' 

Shots McGee

Who doesn't like shots?  They're the best.

However, if you happen to be one of the few who does not like shots, then look no further.  This is soon to be full of them.

I receive my first shot this Thursday.  It is a shot in my abdominal area of GnRH Agonist.  This medicine has various uses none the least for IVF procedures.

So It Begins...

IVF here we come!

J and I decided to begin IVF last week.  We went to our doctor (Maria Infertility) in Daejeon last Friday and had some tests done.

J gave a sample to make sure things are still the same as before (they are) and I got to have a blood test to check for all kinds of nasty things:  do I have any diseases, am I already pregnant, do I have low red blood cell count, or a hight white blood cell count and some other things as well, I'm sure.

This week, Thursday, I will go again for the doctor to examine my girly parts and see how things look in there in terms of my wanna be hatch-lings.  Are they the right size, etc.

Maria Fertility Hospital

Maria Fertility Hospital is pretty great so far.

Their number is 042-522-6555 if you need help or any information.

First, when you become a patient you recieve a patient card that looks like a debit card with your name, doctor name and patient number.
Anytime you go for an appointment or call for information, you should need this card.

I asked our boss to help me in finding out some informaiton we had about the IVF procedure at this facility.  I wrote down the questions and then she called and had a conversation in Korean.

Below are the questions and answers.

Small Helpings

Being here in Korea with a limited supply of other foreigners to speak with about babies is sometimes hard.

Out of all the people we know personally only 1 has had a baby and no one we know in Korea, foreigner or Korean, has had fertility problems.   Super.

That is the entire reason for this blog.  Someone at some point may need it and not living in Seoul, it would be a good idea for other people to know where to start.

I had a conversation with 2 ladies about our process so far and thought that perhaps this conversation may be needed by more than just them, so I am posting my side of the conversation in the hopes that it may help others.

Hmmm. Just throw a screwdriver in there.

Well we were told that IVF is our only option. 

We will have a second opinion exam for both of us and go from there.  The doctor said to wait one month then test again--which will be next weekend. 

If IVF is our only choice then we have decided to do it. 

We discussed all avenues and reasons for and against and we have decided to give it a go at least twice.  In Korea the procedue is about $3,000USD per treatment from start to finish so it is a lot more affordable here than in America. 
If we were living in America we would not be able to afford this even if we wanted to.  It seems it is fortunate we are here.

The hospital we are going to currently is a private hospital and they are very good from what reviews and other information we can find about them. 

We will begin IVF in either August or September 2013 so we will see what we see when it comes nearer.

Donations and the waiting game

Our baby doctor is about 2 blocks from our house so it is very easy getting here.

Saturday's are the only days we are available to see the doctor due to our work schedule.

Today we arrived for our appointment at 11am for J's exam and now we having been here since then awaiting the results.  It is now 12:48 and we were told it should be one more hour.

Not complaining though because in Korea this is the ONLY time we have waited longer than a few minutes for the doctor.

Since this is a Saturday it is very, very busy.  We did not even have a seat in the waiting room for about 40 minutes and had to stand.

When I am finally pregnant it will be easier scheduling appointments during the week because I will not be working. Or I will have less hours allowing visits to the doctor during the week. I shall insist upon it.

Until then, alas, here we are. Waiting.

On a more personal side, J's exam went swimmingly. He had a room, a Lazy Boy and  T.V. with only one channel. For some reason I find myself giggling over this and have no idea why.

Improvements?

Well, we have found a fertility doctor which is open on Saturday's.  Yippee!

We went this past Saturday and actually had to wait a little over an hour to see the doctor.  This is unusual in Korea as the normal wait time is about 5-10 minutes.  Saturday however, is a very busy day for this hospital so it is fine with us.

It is important to note that we did not make an appointment before going.  It is not really needed or wanted in Korea but it depends upon where you are going.

I had another check up and the doctor wants me to have a HSG test coming up.  My better half will have an examination next Saturday and we will go from there.

It is called Maria Infiritility Hospital.  There are locations throughout South Korea and a few other locations in Asia and even one in New York City.  If you are interested the link is below.

http://mariababy.com/neweng/about/about_01.asp

Our doctor did not speak perfect English but it wasn't hard to understand what was going on.  He asked us many questions.  Communication was fine, we had no trouble.  

The nurses and doctor were very kind and nice and the hospital is very clean and spacious.  All medical equipment was top notch (so far) and I did not feel strange being there.

Our bill was a tiny bit higher here versus the same things done at the other baby doctor but not so much that it is a problem. 
Maria's bill: 23,000W and the other place was 15,000W.

Not bad for our first trip to a new hospital.  Let's see how it goes...

Round 2!

Clomid Side Effects?

So the past 3 weeks I have been having a sore abdominal area and a very sore chest.

Did a little research and was not relieved about what the possible causes of this could be.  I will make an appointment at the doctor's in the next few day or two and have them check me out to make sure things are okay.

Take a test tomorrow and we will see how that goes.  The doctor's appointment will be for any follow up work regarding the test and to schedule proper infertility testing for both J and myself.  A complete workup this time.

I'm honestly not too hopeful about a positive test result tomorrow since there hasn't been one in the past 10 years but I guess it could happen. 

Some information about work in how it relates to all of this is forthcoming...not wanting to jinx anything by spilling the beans early.

Oh..and no, we haven't been trying for a kid the past 10 years, we've just not been trying to prevent one.

Clomid Experiement

Day 1:  New Year's Eve

Happy New Year everyone!

I began our night at 9:30pm by taking 100mg of clomid.  Went to bed about 2am and didn't notice any side effects except for a slight headache and feeling a little drowsy.  Thought that might have just been due to it being New Year's, so wanted to wait until Day 2 to see what's what.