The battle with the uterus

So…after my sob story I thought its best to document my journey so far before heading forward!

So when did it all start? I would say back in 2011, a year before I got married when I went for my first gynae check. As a biomedical student, I knew my irregular periods (sometimes I only get them once in 3 months), painful cramps, adult acne, weight fluctuations etc meant something was wrong.

So there I sat at the subsidised clinic in NUH, as the junior doctor told me with a blank face that I had PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).

 

‘1 in 3 women have it…’
‘ possibility of diabetes..’
‘adult acne…’
‘weight gain…insulin resistance..’
‘problems conceiving’

These were just some phrases that breezed past me. Frankly, the symptoms weren’t anything new. And at 26 years old, infertility seems like a foreign concept so I didn’t think much of it.  After all, she didn’t say it was IMPOSSIBLE TO conceive, just difficult.

Difficult.

So difficult. We started trying seriously a year after we got married and I immediately went to see a specialist as I knew my chances of conceiving naturally was near to nil. The first doctor we visited was Dr W C Cheng from Thompson Medical Centre. Recommended by my cousin who also had difficulty conceiving, he was sweet and made it seem like it was no biggie. Just pop a few clomid pills and I should be pregnant!

nope. Tried 6 rounds of clomid to be exact over a year. Soon, my rational mind told me to move somewhere cheaper as I knew IVF could be a very distinct possibility and government hospitals had grants that would make it so much more affordable. (my husband also refers to this as my disease of having itchy backside)

So off I went to SGH to consult Dr Yu. She was recommended by a colleague who had 2 friends who successfully went through IVF with her. With high hopes (but lower than a year ago), I repeated my story to her. Sadly, she wanted me to try clomid again – higher dosage – and it took me 3 unsuccessful rounds to convince her to dig deeper.

By then, we had already been trying two years, had spent thousands of dollars and still nowhere near pregnant.

After that, I went for a few procedures to check if I had any other issues besides PCOS (Yes because PCOS alone is NOT enough. duh)

So in a nutshell, I went for-

1) A Hysterosalpingogram Dye Test which is basically a procedure to check if my tubes were blocked, using a dye to flow through my tubes to my Ovary.

2) Fallopian Tube Recanalization – a procedure to clear my tubes. It was a day surgery and I was put under sedation. Fun.

3) 2 failed Intrauterine Inseminations  (IUI).

These were the most trying periods. The Drs talked about this so positively that each time I swore I was pregnant. It didn’t help that the medications i was taking caused many pregnancy symptoms so I was convinced every twitch or bloatedness or headache was a sign of my pregnancy. when I got my period after each of the procedure, it was as if a rock had been smashed into my stomach and heart and I’m moving one step closer to the only option I have left.

After alll of these, Dr Yu finally decided I needed more help and suggested IVF. I was having mixed feelings about this actually. I mean IVF would be much better for me as it works on whatever issues PCOS causes BUT that would also mean I’m literally at the end of the string.

If this doesn’t work, then what?

But if I wanted a baby in my womb, I needed to move forward. So I said YES to IVF.

But SGH Care centre was about to undergo renovation and I would have to wait 7 months to get a slot. Would I like to try a 3rd IUI cycle meanwhile?

Argh it just doesn’t get easy. So off I moved again. (itchy backside returns) I had just turned 30 and I knew the odds of getting pregnant was higher If I acted fast. 7 months is a long time.

So…for the 3rd time..I moved and went to KKH. I read through forums and requested for Dr Sadhana. I think she knew that SGH’S reject patients were all coming as she very quickly looked through my records, ordered a series of blood tests and before I Knew it, I had a slot.

I was going to do IVF.

WOW.  This is it. And that’s when I decided to start a blog. And here I am 😉