Sunday, May 30, 2010

Back from Ipoh!

There was a change of plan, instead of departing for Ipoh from SG on Fri 28 May, RY decided to leave on 27 May Thur evening in view of the shorter working day (office close early at 4pm for the "eat-with-family" campaign).
So RY picked me up from wrok at 4pm to go home to pack up and finally set-off at 5pm to MY.

It was a very adventurous drive since the night traffic was really busy and all the night riders were driving really fast and ones need to be fast in order to keep up with the traffic.
I dont think I'll ever have the courage to drive alone on the Malaysia hi-way at night, it's really no joke, eveyone is moving really really fast ..........

Both SG and MY customs were very smooth and we managed to reach Ipoh at 11.30pm.
We didnt starve, we had our fast food dinner at the toilet stop after Malacca.

This morning 7am, we set off from Ipoh and back in SG at 1pm and we were glad that there wasnt any queue at the customs.

I dont think we'll try night driving to Ipoh again (KL is ok since its shorter distance and we've done it couple of times) since it's really very tiring .........
But not sure what RY thinks ...........

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Vesak Day to Ipoh

This Fri 28 May is Vesak Day and it's a public holiday in SG, since its long weekend RY has suggested to drive back to Ipoh.

I think it's kinda crazy to drive such long hours to go back Ipoh and spend just 3 days there, but I know I should respect RY since he wants to go back home to see his parents ........ he's ultimately somebody's son, so I should let the parents see their son too ......

Initially we planned to meet up the parents in KL but last min, the parents cant make it, so RY change his plan to go to Ipoh instead.

You may ask, why dont you extend our stay in Ipoh?
It's becos' I've a flight to catch on the following Monday to go on a biz trip for a week.
I'm actually not very keen to do any biz trip and that's the reason why I switched to this current job to minimise travelling.

Sometime I asked myself, was it a mistake that I took up a travel intensive job years ago which may have somehow delayed my family planning??
I've no answer for that since it was the "best" decision at that point in time as I was enjoy doing it ........
It's also no point crying over spilt milk now.

Well, I look forward to Ipoh trip for the yummy food as well as my cheap hair cut (I get my hair done in a proper salon for RM25 by qualified hair stylist).

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

I'm doing well and am feeling fine!

I've decided to throw away the old pessimistic me and embrace a more Positive Me!

"I'm doing well and am feeling fine and is on my way to welcome my precious BABY!"
Yes, this is what I've been repeating to myself for the last 2 days!

I wont let other people rule my feeling by giving me negative input as they dont understand myself better then me.
The doctors or nurses comments shall not defeat my spirit!

I've assured my ovaries that they've done a good job by producing good eggs during the last 2 IVF which resulted in 3 BFP and short pregnancy which range from 8 to 10 weeks.
My body need to rest and has signaled to me that they need some time to recuperate before they go into serious business to help me conceive and carry my baby to full term .......... I think this was the reason why the last IVF cycle failed.

I'm sure "they" wont disappoint me.
I just gotta be patient and dont stress my body parts and organs ......... just give them some ample rest and they've be back into action again ........

Do you think I sound silly to come out with the above thoughts/ reasoning?

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Mens came on CD26 20 May

I'm pretty glad that my mens came naturally on CD26 which is last Thurs 20 May.

Well I didnt go to KKH to do CD2/ CD3 FSH & E2 blood test as I was thinking the reading may not be accurate since the GF residual could still be inside my body system, so no point waste my time & money to do the test.

I'll wait till either Jun or July then proceed to the test.

Weekend at Downtown East Chalet

My sis had rented chalet at the Downtown East in Pasir Ris and had invited everybody during the weekend.

I was there yesterday at the chalet and was rather surprised to see my niece - Slyn 13 years old brought her boyfriend along.
I remembered vividly that Slyn was a very adorable, beautiful and active baby 12 twelve years ago ......... it was a joy playing with her when she was an infant and todler.
She's a really beautiful girl and time really flies fast, now she has a boyfriend who is 3 years older then her from the same school.

My sis wasnt very pleased with Slyn having a relationship at such a young age but she has promised that they'll both remain as very good friend and wont do anything which will worry the parents.

We think this puppy love wouldn't last too long since soon the boy will go to junior college or poly to further his study.
Soon Slyn may experience the pain of ending a relationship but this is part of growing up........

I also took all the kids to the beach for a stroll and it was really nice to see children running around in the park and playing games.

I'll remember the image of the kids playing and play it in my mind again and again to create the positive thoughts/ energy to help me conceive a child ..........

I look forward to the day of bringing my own kids to the park for a fun outing ...........

Inconceivable by Julia Indichova

I chanced upon this book by Julia Indichova - Inconceivable : A Woman's Triumph over Despair and Statistics

http://www.enotalone.com/article/4496.html

http://fertileheart.com/

I'm sure quite a no. of ladies in the fertility quest has already read it.

I'm half way thru the book and is really glad that someone actually proves the doctor & the statistics wrong - high FSH can still get preggy and delivery healthy baby with no artificial interferences.

There're a few things she listed in her book which I think it's good to practise, for instance - regular exercise (yoga, skipping rope), healthy diet, wheat grass supplements, meditation, instilling positive thoughts in our minds and then channel into positive energy in our body ........

She also taught us to listen to our own body and be patient and not to put it into a race ........

After reading her book, it makes me feel that I shouldn't lose hope.
We need to stay as positive as possible to let our body do the healing!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

FSH got Worst!

Its really bad news that my Apr FSH reading has gone up to 26!
Yes, its 26 and there's not typo error.

This reading means I wont be able to proceed to IVF short protocol.

Doc asked me to repeat the test this coming cycle to check if it's still as high.

If the reading is still high, I'll need to go for donor's egg or adoption .........

I dont think I'll repeat the FSH test so soon, I'll instead take a break before I go for the test as I dont wanna stress myself up.

Doc told me to try naturally ourselve and he was rather nice, he told me that there're ladies who got FSH 200 and yet got preg naturally ........
I replied that him that I'll buy "TOTO" (lottery ticket) at the same time to see which strike first.
He said, maybe I strike both.

We all know that the chances of getting preg naturally is very very low, the probability is so slim that its equivalent to wininng of lottery.

He just being nice and polite to instill some hope in me which I appreciate since he's known as a doc of few words.

Life still goes on, I think I'll plan for a holiday to US - San Francisco this July.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Property Craze in SG

SG property market has been booming and seem to continue to do very well as the property prices keep increasing.

The property developer keep launching new projects one after another.

We think they're tyring to launch as much as they can while the economy is doing well so that they can fetch really good price.

However, RY and myself are rather skeptical since we dont believe SG being such a small country can sustain this kind of growth long (just bearly few months receovery from the financial crisi) .........

In view of the current Europe crisis, not sure if Asia will be implicated.

So we've decided not to committ in any new property purchase now, instead we'll wait for the low season then get another property.
Anyway, we're not in a hurry to buy any yet, so we can wait .........

Monday, May 10, 2010

What is the "normal" Ovary Size?

I've done some research on the normal ovary size for different age group.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WG6-45F4NJG-7D&_user=10&_coverDate=06%2F30%2F2000&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1329560796&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=8972ce6cded5761cf21e490ca0d2b09d

Abstract


Objective. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship of ovarian volume to age, height, and weight in women undergoing transvaginal sonography.

Methods. Thirteen thousand nine hundred sixty-three women 25–91 years of age undergoing annual transvaginal sonography as part of the University of Kentucky Ovarian Cancer Screening Program were the subjects for this investigation. Each ovary was measured in three dimensions, and ovarian volume was calculated using the prolate ellipsoid formula (L × H × W × 0.523). Mean ovarian volume according to age was calculated for each decade of life.

Results. Data were obtained from 58,673 observations of ovarian volume. Mean ovarian volume was 6.6 ± 0.19 cm3 in women less than 30 years of age; 6.1 ± 0.06 cm3 in women 30–39; 4.8 ± 0.03 cm3 in women 40–49; 2.6 ± 0.01 cm3 in women 50–59; 2.1 ± 0.01 cm3 in women 60–69; and 1.8 ± 0.08 cm3 in women ≥70. Mean ovarian volume was 4.9 ± 0.03 cm3 in premenopausal women and 2.2 ± 0.01 cm3 in postmenopausal women (P < 0.001). The use of exogenous estrogens was associated with a significant reduction in ovarian volume in women 40–59 years of age, but not in women ≥ 60. Ovarian volume was unrelated to patient weight but was greater in tall women (>68 in.) than in short women (<58 in.).

Conclusion. There is a statistically significant decrease in ovarian volume with each decade of life from age 30 to age 70. Mean ovarian volume in premenopausal women is significantly greater than that in postmenopausal women. The upper limit of normal for ovarian volume is 20 cm3 in premenopausal women and 10 cm3 in postmenopausal women.

Are you within the range as mentioned in the study above?

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Chinese Celebrity in her 40s is Preggy!

It's nice to know that Carina Lau (44) is 3 mths preggy after multiple tries in IVF!
http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/celebrity/buzz/asia/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4073449

Gigi Lai, in her late 30s, also got preggy with the help of the same fertility specialist as Carina's.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/1042207/1/.html

These celebrities are so rich that they wont blink their eyes for paying expensive fees to consult the best fertility doc to have their own baby ........
Carina is said to be on long break from work .........

For us, ordinary people, who has limited resources ($$$), we can only go for affordable treatment & limited cycles and still need to work while doing the fertility treatment, as well as during the pregnancy..........

Update on 25 May 2010:
The latest gossip revealed that Carina is not pregnant after all .........
http://www.divaasia.com/article/9183

Friday, May 7, 2010

Another Colleague is Preggy

Today I get to know that another colleague of mine is 4 mths preggy and her baby will be due in Nov'10.
She has requested to go on 2 months unpaid leave in Sept/ Oct to get ready for her baby's arrival ...........

I'm happy for her but at the same time feeling kinda of jealous and sad for myself since I still have no baby ......... if not for the 3 m/c, I'd be a mother or 3 babies ...........

God, pls help me to get over my sadness & jealousy.
Pls answer to my prayer to let me get preggy and have my bundle of joy soon ..........

Happy Mother's Day 2010!

Today we celebrated Mother's Day in advance since we want to avoid the huge Sunday crowds.

The whole family (6 adults + 2 kids - Mum, RY & myself, brother, sis brought kids along) had dinner at this Chinese restaurant called Brilliant Garden @ The Cheverons in Jurong East.

http://www.gimtim.com.sg/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=72

They served ala cart buffet at SGD22.80++ per pax during weekday and $25.80++ for weekends.

Everybody enjoyed our meals since the quality and portions are good.
I think its value for money.

We'll consider going back again!

How I wish next year I can only upgrade to status "Mum" and get to celebrate this special occassion with my mum as a mum myself ........

Sunday, May 2, 2010

What've I been doing for the past few weeks?

I've been busy reading up about diminishing egg reserve and ways/ means to improve the egg quality.

After reading from the various sources, I realised that there's no way the increase the egg quantity since we're borned with a pre-determined qty of follicles but we're able to improve the egg quality and it would be to load up more protein & anti-oxidant health supplement.

Protein to aide in the egg growth and the anti-oxidant is to delay aging so that the body is able to produce the fertility related hormones .........

I'll try to take whey protein, DHEA, COQ10, grape seed extracts, multi-vit, Alpha Lipoic Acid etc prior to my next IVF cycle .......

AF came after 44 days

Last Sunday 24 April, my AF finally came on CD45 ........
The week the AF came, I was extremely tired and sleepy.
Despite having 7 hrs of sleep, I'll still wake up feeling tired as if I've not been sleeping the night before.

Last Sun, went to TCM and she explained that this was due to the residual effect of the high Gonal-F which I jabbed for 12 days in March.
She prescribed a very bitter medication for 5 days consumption to help to expel the Gonal-F residual.

For the 1st 2 days the AF flow was pretty heavy but on the 3rd it was pretty ligh but I was told to complete the medication.

On CD3 (Tue 26 Apr) I went to KKH to have by blood test to check on E2, FSH & AMH.
The clinic also did scanning on my follicle count and they informed that the AMH result will only be availble in about 2/ 3 weeks time.