Happy Birthday

How time flies and my IVF babies are growing up fast. Baby no. 2 is going to be two years old this Saturday and baby no. 1 is going to be six years old next month. I thank God endlessly for their being and of course always grateful for Kato Ladies clinic.

Embryo Transfer Timing

For embryo transfer, Kato Ladies Clinic told me to check in on day 14 after menstruation in order to monitor my ovulation. Once my ovulation is determined, then the transfer will be five days later. Cost estimation is 236,000 yen plus costs for blood tests.

Blastocyst

One of my eggs was able to go through the blastocyst stage. I am relief and very happy to find out this news. So now my next step will be to prepare my body for embryo transfer in a few months. Blastocyst cost was 70,000 yen.

Fertilization

Today I found out that fertilization occurred only on two eggs. The rest of the eggs that were retrieved simply did not mature. Cost was 50,000 yen.

Eggs Retrieval

I checked in at 9:30AM for my eggs retrieval procedure and went straight to IVF cashier on 4th floor. From there I was directed to wait on the 5th floor. A short time later I was called into the Relax room and changed my clothes to surgical gown. I waited on the provided bed while laying down. There were at least eight beds in the Relax room and every bed was occupied. I got my turn at around 10:50AM and waited in front of the Operation room which was located inside the Relax room. After the previous person was done I was ushered into the Operation room.

The room was very dark just like in the movie theater and I could see the doctor who I assumed would do the operation was sitting down and several nurses who were standing up. I lay down just like having a pap smear examination. The doctor then began the operation quickly while I was watching the process through the monitors. I was not sedated and fully aware of the operation. Five minutes later the operation was done. I got out at 11:05AM and was instructed to lay down for a while.

Then the nurse gave me Flomox pills to take for two days and told me to change and wait on the 9th floor for doctor consultation. At the consultation, the doctor explained the IVF process in detail such as how long the wait period until the blastocyst stage occurs, the survival of the eggs, the embryo transfer, and the costs. He was very informative and encouraging. Due to the statistic and to increase the chance to get pregnant, my husband and I decided to freeze my eggs for the next cycle transfer. Total time spent at the clinic today was five hours and paid 40,000 yen plus 210,000 yen.

Day Four

I went through the usual route of going to the 9th floor and back to the 4th floor. Today, I was given a specific time to check in which was at 8:00AM. And since I arrived early I got number 77. The doctor told me today that I will have my eggs retrieval procedure on Saturday. I was also given a GnRH agonist spray that I need to take tonight at 12:00PM and 1:00AM on both nostrils. Total cost was 5000 yen.

Day Three

I learned an interesting fact today which was statistic of successful IVF in Kato Ladies Clinic. Percentages of successful IVF there are as follow:
Age 32 < has 60.6% chance by non-freezing and 76.1% by freezing.
Age 33-35 has 45.2% chance by non-freezing and 67.3% by freezing.
Age 36-38 has 26.1% chance by non-freezing and 63.8% by freezing.
Age 39-41 has 23.1% chance by non-freezing and 40% by freezing.

Non-freezing method is when the embryo is transferred back to the woman's uterus on the same cycle. Freezing method is when the embryo is frozen and will be transferred back on the next cycle.
Today's cost was 8000 yen.