My treatment at Hamid Arshat (Part 2)

I know I should explain a bit further about what I'd found out about laproscopy but I think I should explain my history from the beginning so the story line would be clearer. I'm not a specialist so I can't really say that what I write here is a 'certain matter', just a humble experience and opinion on my part which people might have faced or thought differently.

After the HSG, Prof told us to 'try naturally' for a couple of months. There are a few cases where couples managed to conceive after HSG. So we were very hopeful even though one of my tubes is not patent (my right fallopian tube has beaded obstruction) for 2 reasons:

1. Prof told that I can still become pregnant with only one patent tube.

2. HSG may have removed the blockage. May...

Still, we or rather I can't manage to conceive naturally afterwards. Then I was prescribed with 2 tablets of Clomiphene (100mg) per day starting from day 3 of my period for 5 consecutive days. This.. without doing any blood test. Of course then I didn't know if blood test is necessary for me but now I'm a bit doubtful about that. Regardless, I'm not in a solid ground to comment more about this unless I'd undergone an extensive treatment which may enhance my knowledge on this area which some of you might have.

These were the side effects after taking clomiphene:

After Cycle 1 - a lot less menstruation blood, less vaginal fluid

After Cycle 2 - menstruation delay for 1 month, still lesser than normal menstruation blood (but more than after the first cycle) , vast supply of vaginal fluid (haaa amek ko.... hehe... syiok je kan, blue pulak die nih) - I'm not sure whether it's the effect of clomiphene or from the massage I had with a bidan called Kak Yah.

Talking about the delayed period, after more than 1 week I did several home pregnancy tests and the results were all negative. I went to 3 general clinics & what the doctors said were dissappointing as well. The first clinic buat HPT jugak... baik tak payah buat cam2 kan coz I pon dah buat HPT kat rumah. The second clinic performed abdominal scanning and she said I might have blighted ovum and it's most likely that I would get my period very soon since my uterus line was quite thick. The third clinic pon buat HPT jugak but luckily the medical officer wrote a reference letter for me so that I can go to Pantai. Actually I was hoping for a blood test incase I was really pregnant with low HcG.

In the midst of that, I'd also call Prof's clinic and the only available slot would be after 2 weeks time. I was told that after 2 unsuccessful attempts with clomiphene, I would have to undergo Dilation and curettage (D&C) together with hydrotubation. So I asked if it would be painful and the staff told me that I would be sedated during the process and when I woke up I would only feel mild abdominal cramp. I was unsatisfied for 2 reasons:

1. It difficult to get an appointment (2 weeks - 1 month). I know there are too many patients at the very popular and well renowned clinic and I should have understand but... could any treatment become effective that way?

2. How could a doctor decide what treatment is best by just reading the HSG result and without hormonal testing too. Perhaps I am just being suspicious but shouldn't I be when there is so little explanation given by the clinic and I'm supposed to believe or do anything they say because they studied medicine and a specialist whereas I only managed a C3 in my Biology paper? There are a number of treatment alternatives for infertility. Am I not entitled to think over if I have any other alternative?

Sorry for over reacting. I know I couldn't deny the fact that some people have had successful treatments there. But I decided to go to Pantai Hospital instead since it's nearer to my office thus I need not take a day off and also it would be free with the recommendation letter.

After abdominal and vaginal scan, the gynae told me that it doesn't look like I'm pregnant and she could see my period coming which confirmed the diagnosis of the second clinic I went. I was just not confident of the diagnosis because I'd been misdiagnosed before when the doctor told me that I have gall bladder stones when I felt that the bleeding between my period came from my vagina instead. Me? Gall bladder stones? I didn't even feel pain when I peed. No other associated symptoms as well.

The gynae said to me "Why were you given clomiphene when one of your tubes is blocked? It could waste your eggs. Better to find out what the blockage is really all about". I then asked her whether D&C and hydrotubation is approriate to treat my problem. She smiled cynically and said something which I do not really remember but signalled that the method is quite outdated. Hmmm...

Neat.. CLICK - Human Ovulation Moment Caught on Camera

Kene Gigit / Kene Cubit?

Since kawen ni rasa menjadi-jadi pulak lebam kat kaki ni. Lepas baik satu, timbul satu lagi. Hmmm kenape agaknye yea..

Secara scientificnye.. lebam ini disebabkan kurangnya zat tertentu di dalam darah yang menyebabkan kapilari darah mudah pecah. Jadi dinasihatkan supaya mengambil supplement vitamin C & elakkan pakai tumit tinggi.

Tapi my kes pulak, masa rajin pakai tumit tinggi dulu takde pulak. Sekarang dah berhenti pakai tumit tinggi menjadi-jadi. Since kahwin lah.

Ade yang cakap, masalah macam ni mungkin sebab kena gigit dgn cik yang suka mengilai tu atau saka atau ada yang menumpang di badan kita. Mak angkat hubby cakap pulak mungkin kene cubit dengan orang halus. Kalau orang halus teringat kat kite, kite akan dapat lebamlah. Tambah seorang kakak yang urut I pulak makhlus halus di mana-mana pon ade. Die pon selalu kena.

Apakah mungkin disebabkan masalah lebam ni I masih tak mengandung sampai sekarang... Wallahualam... Tapi I yakin yang makhluk halus ni ade & I yakin juga dengan saka kerana ade beberapa ahli keluarga di zaman dahulu kala, pangkat nenek-nenek & moyang-moyang yang membela saka ni.

Apa pon rasa tak salah kalau check. Tengoklah nanti macam mana..

Public Forum - Fertility Treatment

Date: 18 April 2010

Venue: Summit USJ Hotel

Time: 2-5 pm

Panels: Specialists from Puchong Fertility & Women's Specialist Centre

I knew about the forum from an advertisement in The Star the week before; Saturday/Sunday paper I can't recall. I didn't know what could I gain from the forum but since it was free, then it was worth a try.

Specialist Centre tu rasanya baru dibuka somewhere in March / April 2010. So mestilah nak promote kan.

There were 3 panels:

1. Dr Leong Wai Yew

2. Dr Yong Jee Kien

3. Dr Surinder Singh

Actually my purpose was to get more information on Laproscopy and to settle my doubts about a few matters. I did get a better view on Laproscopy & I'll write more about it in my next entry.

I managed to ask 2 questions to the panels:

1. Could D&C and Hydrotubation treat blocked tubes?

2. What could cause one's period to be lighter than normal for a prolonged period of time

These were the answers:

1. Hydrotubation may unblock tubes if the blockage is mild but it's quite unlikely or rather effectiveness is low or non existant. Hydrotubation which will cause our tubes to inflate considerably is also quite/very painful. The method is quite outdated nowadays and is now replaced by laproscopy. On the other hand, D&C do not help those with blocked tubes.

2. Hormonal imbalance may be the cause.

By attending this forum, I can say that I now have an eagle view of fertility treatment possibilities. But may be lacking here and there (tu nak kena tunggu further consultation lah)

It's true, we can search all the info on the internet but we'll tend to get confuse with the vast swarming information and then no one nearby could explain it to us. And.. most of the times, the information is also outdated unless you know a very reliable or updated sites. Why? Doctor's consultation is not free yes? What more if it involves specialists.

We received a voucher for Free Counseling at the forum. Possibly we'll get free sperm and hormonal analysis as well but it's not written in the voucher. Wait and see.. we had set our appointment on 30th Apr. Hopefully we'll get the free analysis. If we do it ourselves it would cost around RM500 together with doctor's fee. Then we can proceed with the next step.

Actually we'd done the sperm analysis and the result is good but according to Dr Surinder, some analyses are not comprehensive enough.

The most impressive panel was Dr Surinder. Dr Leong is also very nice and friendly, sangat lemah lembut... I like him. Dr Yong is not bad either.

Jealous? Giving Up?

I'm not all saint. So I do feel jealous at times. Ini adalah perasaan orang yang berasa kekurangan berbanding orang lain.

I feel jealous when I heard of all the good news on pregnancies from friends and family eventhough bile compare I'd been married for much much longer. What I know is that I'm not alone.

I had a friend who had decided after almost 5 years of marriage without a child, she wanted to stop thinking about trying. I felt a bit dissappointed in her. May be I was selfish in that I wanted a companion whom I can share all the trials and that I thought that her effort is not enough to warrant her giving up. But who am I to judge her. She's suffered for much longer and even though we share the same problem, I'm lucky to not have to go through all her bad (almost nightmarish) experiences with doctors. Perhaps I thought that I was supporting her when the fact is that I was making her feel suffocated. But I do hope she could find the right support even if it's not me because even though I might not be sensitive enough or I might be self righteous/judgmental at times, I still think that it's important for her to not give up and keep on trying.

I can feel that my life sucks and I can decide to be overwhelm by the madness of it but... come to think of it, I should not turn a blind eye to my blessings. There are others who are less fortunate.
Contohnya, those who got divorced. If he/she is with a child or children, then being a single parent would be a tough challenge tapi klu divorced with no kids, then he/she can feel very lonely. Or comparing to those who's strunggling to find a mate or had totally given up hope in finding The One.

I had not yet given up in trying to conceive. Mungkin kerana usia perkahwinan baru setahun jagung so I can say that. I called a good friend of mine yesterday; part of the reason is that I wanted to find comfort in her and the other part is I missed her and loved her very much (not having that many friends).

About my lovely friend, she's now blessed with twin girls after over 2 years of struggling. Perhaps you might think that she had not struggled for long but I believe that she had struggled extremely hard and thus deserve the fruitful result she's now enjoying. She's the one I looked up to. I'm glad to say that I'm really happy for her and I'm not jealous of her. Rasa diri sendiri jahat bila ada perasaan jealous.

"Buat apa yang hang rasa patut, biar berhabis insyaallah bile hang dapat hasilnya hang akan rasa usaha hang worth it. Aku dulu ke sana ke mari berubat. Rasa penat, hampir nak give up, sedey, jealous semua ada tapi jangan putus asa insyaallah jalan tu ade utk hang" This was her confession and advice.

MARY... AKU SAYANG KAU!!

So gals if you think that jealousy is lingering within you or that you might not be sensitive enough to your friend, please don't feel bad about yourself. We are only human. The important thing is, we should strive to bring ourselves back on the right track.

My treatment at Hamid Arshat

10 months after we got married, I suggested to hubby for a checkup up at Hamid Arshat. Being totally new to this stuff, I'm only familiar dengan nama Hamid Arshat. Rasanya di kalangan kaum-kaum ibu, Hamid Arshat is no stranger.

Sekali pandang rasa terlalu baru usia perkahwinan but I just wanted to go for a basic check up, just in case ada apa-apa yang tidak normal, we can detect it early and take immediate action. Klu semua normal, oklah..

Hubby agreed, and we went there. I'm lucky that I have such an understanding husband. I always heard that many of those with similar problem; their husband wouldn't see the doctor which is very frustrating dan pronouncing defeat would be the most likely option.

I had had a few scans on my wombs with Dr Hamid and other doctors and it appeared to be normal. Tapi masa scan dengan Dr Hamid, it was already day 20 of my cycle and yet he said my egg had not yet been released which is not normal.

So the next step would be 'Semen Analysis' untuk abang romeo & I had to go for HSG (Hysterosalpingogram). Memang rasa agak seram untuk buat HSG. I dah baca a few forums and ada yang cakap HSG sakit and ada yang cakap just a slight discomfort.

A story from a dear friend, she went for HSG at government hospital. She bleed for slightly more than 1 month after the HSG due to infection that she had to be rushed to the emergency ward. Her friend also experience the same thing. Tell me how could I not be afraid after hearing such stories?

Ideally, HSG should be performed after your period but before ovulation. More or so day 10 - day 12 of your menstrual cycle. I went for my HSG at Daya X-Ray at Jalan Raja Laut. Seram bila doctor nk masukkan something into my vagina. Lepas 2 rasa macam vagina kene screw. But seriously, I do feel a slight discomfort and no pain at all. I noticed that most people who came there came for HSG. So I felt confident that the doctors there are already expert. Klinik Hamid Arshat pon ade bekalkan I antibiotic, as precautionary against infection.

So after that we went to Hamid Arshat for 'Semen Analysis'. Keputusannya, my husband is normal and I had one blocked tube. Tapi Dr Hamid cakap I can still get pregnant even with 1 tube. So he told us untuk cuba secara normal since kesan dari HSG tu boleh unblock tube I yang ada blockage tu. A few people do get pregnant after HSG.

I still can walk like normal people after the HSG procedure. Tapi masa kat kat klinik Dr Hamid dah rasa senak semacam, tak boleh stand straight. Bongkok mcm nenek kebayan. Sampai kat rumah lagi menjadi-jadi tp lepas tuam dengan air panas, malam tu dah rasa lega cket tp kembung-kembung masih ada. All in all, the HSG went well for me except the result yang agak mengecewakan.

I Feel Happy Today Because...

I Feel Happy Today Because...

1. My eyes rasa fresh sangat hari ini after I started taking 21st Century Eyebright Complex (traditionally used to improve eye strain and visual fatigue). Selalu kepenatan and nampak kabur b'coz my eyes are working too hard everyday... staring at the pc at least 8 hours a day, stitching during free time and watching tv. Orang sekarang banyak kerja pakai mata dari tulang empat kerat kan.. I also tried Bioglo's Cucumber Eye Mask from Cosway (cheapest eye mask I managed to find).

2. I'll be joining a reunion with my primary school friends this weekend. How cool is that. Eventhough I'm a bit antisocial and wouldn't know what to say, tapi since it might just be 1 hour makan-makan, jadi boleh la perhati kanak-kanak yang dahulunya comel tapi sekarang dah rupa makcik pakcik. Hehe... including me, (to myself-tolong jangan perasan muda).

3. I usually will greet old friends yang kadang kala muncul dalam YM. But today rasa macam tak nak tegur. I just don't want to hear their happy news if there's any. Macam teruk but today is too good that I don't want to spoil it with my jealousy. It's refreshing to acknowledge that we are capable of being jealous and allowed to be jealous. Tak la sampai nak aniaya sesiapa.

4. I started taking anti-cleanse last night. Walaupon rasa selalu nk memBALAK but it's quite mild.

5. My cross stitch is almost done. Yay!!! My little Venice..

6. I'm listening to Lady Gaga

7. I had my period after 2 months.. finally, tired of all negative UPTs and listening to doctors telling me that it was so unlikely that I was pregnant. Memang betul tak pregnant pon..

8. I'd decided to join aerobics again (after refraining myself, just incase the aerobics cause anovulation). Now I think that I was wrong .. Suka-suka!!

Keloid Treatments

Since high school, I'd tried a few stuffs to cure my keloid


1. Silicon gel sheet, seingat I the price range from RM70-90. Gunting dan tampal atas keloid. Cara ini yang paling tak effective, at least for me.


2. Ultrasound Machine. My mother bought this at 3k I think. Kalau di klinik, doctor akan charge RM60 for an hour of usage, jenuh pula nk ke klinik setiap hari. Rasanya cara ni tak berkesan eventhough my mother claimed she can see the difference.


3. Homoepathy Radziah in Shah Alam. Setakat ni homeopathy adalah rawatan termurah tak sampai RM30 sekali pergi dengan ubat sekali. It was quite effective, I think I can feel a slight reduction on the size of my keloid. Dr Radziah suruh I pantang makan ayam bandar dan ikan yang tak bersisik. Tapi sayangnya I rasa ubat homeopathy ni membuatkan najis I bergerigi and kesannya melecet bila buang air. So I stopped.


4. Laser and Steroid Injections. This had been the most effective method ever. I went for this treatment 6 months after I got married and not being able to get pregnant. Laser tidak boleh untuk orang mengandung, just a precaution for the safety of fetus. Sempat la laser and inject for 2 times. Total cost was less than RM500, I think. & then I stopped because I bleed in between my menstrual cycles. Mcm takut la pulak. May be I'll continue selepas I berjaya dapat anak pertama. The last result of my keloid adalah macam gambar sebelum ni. It looks huge but actually it had reduced to 1/2 the original size. Measurement is still the same tapi kempis by 1/2. Agak pedih & bau terbakar masa buat laser ok... Dulu konon-konon nk buat lasik. Tapi lepas buat laser kat keloid ni, takuts ok, kat mata tu...

Bidadari

The package arrived today, at my office. I'd only placed the order yesterday afternoon. The agent, kak.khem@yahoo.com is very efficient and friendly as well.

After a few trials of this and that, I decided to try 'set kehamilan dcl'. Priced at RM250, the set includes Inte Cleanse, Bidadari, Nu Age, E Gnius and dcl membership. Each trial, I really hope to God it would work.

My cousin suggested me to try on Biodex, but a few other people recommended Bidadari since it also equally effective, is a bit cheaper and easier to maintain.

I hope I can write a testimonial on this product later. :)