Day 23 (5DPT) - Anything that goes up must come down

Yay!! Finally recovered from the flu today though I felt a lot better yesterday. The days immediately following ET was a nightmare. I can stand a cold just not a sore throat. So it's true that anything that goes up must come down sooner or later. Just when you think you can't bear it anymore, it starts becoming better!! =)

I spent the few days after ET resting in bed because of the flu and not because I wanted to be particularly careful. Today is 5DPT (days past transfer) and I have another 3 days to go before the much awaited blood test at 9DPT. I have no symptoms so far except for breast tenderness which I was experiencing even before egg retrieval so no biggie there. The daily homework is just vaginal application of Crinone twice a day and that's it. The instruction was to apply once in the morning when I get up and once at night (no set time indicated). I try to apply at the same time both in the morning and at night so the time gap between each application is 12 hours. My logical reasoning is that this ensures a constant supply of progesterone in the blood stream everyday. The same reasoning was applied to the follicle stimulating injections which I took at approximately the same time everyday - constant flow of hormones in the body. The doctor's assistant instructed to "try" to take the injections at the same time everyday however if it's not at the same time then it's okay too and I have read somewhere that the stims do not have to be at the same time everyday as well. However, I don't want my body to feel like it's on a roller coaster ride everyday - a huge dip and then a big surge in hormones. It's just my personal approach to taking medications - whether it is for IVF or for a UTI. I also try to lie down for 15-20 mins after Crinone application and then move around to optimize absorption of the hormone.

The last few days, while I was resting I couldn't help compare the equipment at IVF Canada and Mackay Memorial Hospital. At IVF Canada, when I underwent IUI, my feet were mounted on metal stirrups hanging from an upright pole like a pendulum. When the speculum was inserted, it was the most uncomfortable experience!! I think the speculum was not the right size? I could feel the entire thing going inside, it was next to painful!! I still flinch when I think of it! At Mackay Memorial Hospital, the embryo transfer  included inserting a speculum however I felt the least discomfort! It was very smooth almost like glided in. There are no stirrups but actual "legrests" (think of armrests? these are legrests!) on the sides, support for the entire leg, very comfortable! I would chose to come back to Mackay Memorial Hospital to do IVF again or if this cycle is negative, they have excellent facilities and most importantly, a great IVF team here. IVF Canada - BUH BYE FOREVER!! Note: I am not promoting Mackay Memorial Hospital. I am just writing an honest, unbiased experience at both IVF clinics. The operation bed has the same leg rests set up at Mackay Memorial Hospital.


~~~~Let the next 3 days roll~~~~~