My IVF Pregnancy Journey Part 1

I have not been active on Steemit for many months now. I have only just recently visited the site and submitted two posts since. And woah!!! I was quite overwhelmed by the amount of information I had to read with regard to changes on Steemit, and to be honest, I do not understand one bit at all. Like I always tell people, they're all too technical for me. I don't think I will ever learn or understand the language. But that's all right. I guess I will just have to go with the flow.

Well, I have been busy with work and concentrated on getting pregnant. The title of this post plus the photo certainly gave it away... Yes, I am pregnant!!!! Finally!!! Praise be to God!!! Right now, I'm in my third trimester - 30 weeks and 2 days to be exact (or 7 months pregnant).

But please bear with me as I would like to go back to the very beginning to where and how my journey started. It's full of ups and downs for sure.

False Alarm!!!

In my post last year, My Actifit Report Card: 4 February 2019, I detailed how I was feeling really sick that I even had to go to the emergency room to get myself checked up. That day, I experienced severe painful cramps and I was bleeding heavily. I was very anxious because I was expecting that I was already pregnant. That day, it had been 45 days since my last period. I was always regular, never late... if anything, the longest cycle was 34-35 days, but that happened probably only twice in my life.

At the emergency room, the nurse told me there was nothing they could do since the lab and the radiology department were already closed, so they sent me home but advised me that if the pain and heavy bleeding would still persist in the morning, that I needed to go back to the hospital. I went to the doctor's surgery the following day instead and the doctor ordered for me to take the blood test to confirm if I was indeed pregnant.

The blood test result came back two days later... the hCG level showed no indication of pregnancy.

HCG level stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin level. An hCG level of less than 5 mIU/mL is considered negative for pregnancy, and anything above 25 mIU/mL is considered positive for pregnancy. Source: American Pregnancy Association

The bleeding (which I concluded was the actual menstruation, and not due to any complication) continued though but decreased in intensity in the next few days. As usual, I felt sad and depressed. I was hopeful that maybe that was it... that I was pregnant.

My cat, Kimmy, could somehow feel what I was feeling that night. She lay next to me on the couch, which she hardly ever does. My husband, John, would comfort me, but I think since this was like a regular occurrence - me being in this state of mind almost every month - I think, he's gotten used to it. He'd reassure me that everything was going to be okay but it was just not time yet. I'd feel comforted, but it was not enough. I knew I was getting rather impatient.

The Turning Point

John and I have been married for almost eight years now. All these years I had been hoping to conceive, but every month when I'd get my period, I'd feel miserable because it would just mean that we would have to try again to get pregnant. Back in 2018, I told John that on my birthday in February 2019, once I turn 36, and if we're still not pregnant, that he just needs to support me in my decision to look for other options, rather than wait naturally. I told him I would look for some fertility clinics where we could go to for help. He agreed.

My birthday came, I turned 36 in February last year, and obviously not pregnant. It was just a false alarm. Because I had been tracking my period, I knew I was very late. I had already taken three pregnancy tests days before I went to the E.R. They all came out negative (of course)... not even a faint second red line to give me a glimmer of hope that it could be positive. All I was thinking, I'm late, so this must be it. But of course, I was utterly disappointed.

So after my birthday, I told John I would go to my GP (general practitioner) so we could get answers and help once and for all. The GP gave me referral letters to consult with either private or government-assisted fertility clinic. I chose the latter as I found out there was a huge difference between the two in terms of cost. In the meantime, the GP ordered that I take blood tests and Ovarian reserve test, also known as the Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) test, as I need to bring these test results on my first consultation with a specialist.

Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) is a hormone secreted by cells in developing egg sacs (follicles). The level of AMH in a woman's blood is generally a good indicator of her ovarian reserve. AMH does not change during your menstrual cycle, so the blood sample can be taken at any time of the month - even while you are using oral contraception. (Source: IVF Australia)

We Chose Flinders Fertility

I phoned Flinders Fertility clinic to make an enquiry regarding their services, cost and everything. I informed them I had the referral from my GP. The person on the other line asked me to email them the referral letter and then we could go from there. I booked an appointment for the first visit and on that same day, I received this letter of confirmation from them. My excitement and a thrill of hope grew and I couldn't wait for me and John to drive to Adelaide for our first consultation with the fertility specialist.

For the record, I am not advertising this clinic where I am paid to endorse them. I know that there are lots of people that have been struggling with infertility, and they have tried various specialists and clinics, and still could not get the results that they are hoping for. I am not saying that if people will try Flinders Fertility, they may get the help that they need and would result in a favourable outcome, but it's what my husband and I opted for and now we're pregnant.

We chose Flinders Fertility because it was not that expensive compared to the private fertility clinics. Like I said, there is a huge difference when it comes to cost. With Flinders Fertility, we found out that if we would choose to go through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, it would only cost us less than $7000. Whereas, the private clinics would cost us a minimum of $12,000. Our thoughts: both clinics are just the same. They can talk about their success rates, but at the end of the day, if we are going to get pregnant, we will, whether we choose private or government subsidised fertility clinics.

To be continued in Part 2 of My IVF Pregnancy Journey...

Thank you for reading. If you have any comment or feedback, you may reply below.