teachme, I can relate very much to your TTC journey. I, too, have a full-time job and I travel extensively kaya aside from mental stress, physically demanding din job ko. Several times I thought about stopping work, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it kasi I’d lose income and with all the meds and doctors’ fees, we really couldn’t afford it. Baka lalo lang ako ma-stress kung walang panggastos di ba? So, don’t give up.
As for me, it was a learning experience. I’ve learned a lot and still learning. I’ve learned that the OB you choose makes a big difference especially for cases like ours na medyo nasa advanced maternal age na, kasi each has their own specialization. Hindi lahat ng OB pareho.
Like I mentioned in my previous post I really started full work-up when I began to see my OB Dra. Madamba-Burgos and my immunologist Dra. Aleta.
Tests I took:
1. LAT
2. APAS
3. Lipid Profile – Fasting Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, etc
4. TSH
5. FT4
6. Serum Insulin
7. Anti-Thyroid Antibody
8. Primary Immuno-deficiency Panel
I’ve also been taking meds and vitamins
1. Metformin, 500 mg 3xday – since Sep 2012 up to now to control my sugar and I think it helped with my PCOS too.
2. Vit D3, 5000 IU 1/day since Sep 2012
3. Vit B (Neurobion) 500mg, 1/day since Sept 2012
4. Folic Acid, daily since June 2011
5. Aspilet EC, daily since Sept 2012
6. Prednisone 10mg, 1/day since Sept 2012
Okay naman yung count and quality of sperm ng husband ko but OB prescribed vitamins pa rin para mas mag-improve and quality.
1. No alcohol a month prior to sperm collection.
2. Vitamins
a. Rogin-E, 1/day
b. Conzase, 1/day
Before the procedure, I cut down on my caffeine intake. Coffee drinker kasi ako talaga, so bawas lang but I couldn’t stop completely. Nagpahinga din ako from clomid and any stimulation for 3 months (Dec 2012-Feb 2013) but I continued taking my vitamins. Then March 2013 nga, nagconsult na kami sa Kato. Surprisingly and luckily, even with minimal stimulation, I produced about 6 eggs, but 3 lang yung nafertilize. After the transfer, pahinga lang ulit for another 3 months from stimulants but tuloy with vitamins. We decided to do the transfer 3 months after the hasrvest para makapahinga yung katawan ako. But aside from that I continued with work and travel. Nagstop lang ako mag-byahe a week before my scheduled embryo transfer and haven’t traveled since. Buti na lang supportive naman yung boss ko so they understand why I have to take it easy.
I tried acupuncture din 2x. I liked it and I would have continued to go if only I was not working. Weekends are full kasi so ang hirap sumingit sa schedule and weekdays naman morning lang ako nakakasingit so I had to take mornings off work to go there.
To be honest sobrang takot din ako sa needles like you can’t imagine. The first time I had to test for APAS, nanlamig ako and I had to ask my husband to hold my hand while they were drawing 6 tubes of blood. Buti na lang uso na ang vacutainer, at least 1 tusok lang ng syringe. But after that nasanay na ako sa sobrang dalas ako kunan ng dugo. Suki na nga kami sa HP and St Lukes.
I understand that not all OB’s recommend or believe in immunol tests. But if you’re to ask me, based on my experience, I would recommend you see an OB who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, kasi nasa ganung category na tayo at 35. Also highly recommend you see an immunologist para lang matest na lahat ng possible causes. If I had known in 2011 what I know now, I always say, I would have taken all the tests na maski magastos instead of waiting to have a miscarriage before taking all those tests. Traumatic makunan e.
If you can afford it, I think it’s a good idea to stop work or take a long vacation para totally stress-free.
I hope this helps. God bless sis!
