Hi everyone! Until today I was a "lurker" here. I've been following this and the previous thread over the past 4 months, and I find the sharing of experiences here very useful and encouraging. So I thought it's high time that I also share my story, in the hope that it could inspire others as well.
My husband and I have been married for almost 13 years (he's 42 and I'm 39), and we have been trying to conceive ever since. We did a few fertility work-ups during the early years of our marriage but these were limited to the usual regular ones e.g. taking of Chlomid, follicle monitoring, timing contact, etc.
This year, God planted a new hope in our hearts, and we decided to give IVF a try, especially since I'll be turning 40 soon and we don't want to look back someday thinking, "What if...?" We did some consultations with St Lukes CARMI, Dr. Pastorfide and KATO. We eventually settled with KATO because of their body-friendly IVF protocol.
I underwent minimal stimulation and had my egg retrieval back in April. They got 7 eggs from me, 5 of which were mature and the other 2 were in GV stage. Out of the 5 that were fertilized, only 2 reached blastocyst (day 5/6) stage.
I was supposed to have my embryo transfer in May but since Dra. Ong-Jao discovered an endometrial polyp and myoma, I had to undergo hysteroscopic polypectomy and myomectomy first. By June, I had my embryo transfer done by Dr. Mendiola. Both blastocysts were transferred to me (the weaker 1 with assisted hatching). Unfortunately, however, the embryos did not implant. I was really sad. Even if we went into this with an open mind knowing na our dream of having a baby may or may not happen, masakit pa rin pala kapag nag BFN. But the good thing is, since we've been praying a lot, mabilis kaming naka move on ni hubby because God gave us the strength to do so.
We were planning to go for another IVF cycle right away, but during my last check up, progesterone level was still high from all the meds I had to take post transfer. Di pa raw nakarecover ang body ko, so the doctor suggested to wait for my next period na lang.
While waiting, an old friend (who also had a hard time getting pregnant before but is now a mom to a beautiful 12 year old daughter) got in touch with me and suggested that I check out info on reproductive immunology and consult an immunologist first before doing another IVF cycle. After doing some research, I am now convinced that this is the way to go, kasi useless lang to pursue IVF if may issues pala sa immune system. This was not suggested to me by KATO though.
Anyway, to cut the story short, I went to see an immunologist recently and had my blood tests today. I should know the results by next week if may immunology problem nga ako. Hopefully wala. Those of you who had a similar problem, may I know sino ang immunologist nyo and how much more or less ang cost ng treatment?
Keeping all of you in my prayers. In God's time, we shall each have our own little bundle of joy.
