₦airaland Forum

Hello house; This is an ‘almost’ silent follower [my story is on the ‘anyone trying iui, ivf’ thread] coming back to say thank you. I can honestly attribute our success at the visa interview yesterday to all the info I gathered here over the months & prayer.

One good sign was that just before our turn, a man & his infant was granted by the oyibo lady we were waiting for. Meanwhile, DH was busy calmly reading a book [Lady G, u people get liver o! ], while I was feverishly internally praying make our visa money no enter bush (if denied there was inadequate EDD time left to reapply separately). The interview:

VO: why are you going to the US?
DH: medical reasons - my wife is having a baby and it’s a precious one, she’s having 1st baby in Bleep years of marriage…
ME: involuntarily exclaiming, : hen?!
DH: I mean at Bleep years of age ( I’m an old mama youngy) i.e, AMA in obstetrics/medical jargon
VO starts typing: what do you do?
DH: I’m a lawyer and chairman of Bleep
Turning to me: what do you do?
ME: Homemaker. She nods and continues typing
VO: have you travelled out together before?
DH: yes, to the UK in 2006 & 2008
VO: have you contacted any doctor and how much do you want to spend?
ME: yes, & I pass over doc’s letter & budget sheet (courtesy this thread).
VO studies it for a minute: when are you due?
ME: December Bleep.
VO: do you have family in Texas?
ME: no, North Carolina
VO: you can pick up your passports in 3 days time…

My e-brethren, that was it o. I quickly gathered my papers & waddled out after DH! Only God’s favour, despite my fears, no exam of bank statement (which had only a few thousands balance) or other document apart from above mentioned. Because experienced posters & mods on this thread have been continually hammering on plainness & honesty, I had explicitly stated on my form DS160, that my reason for this travel was to birth my baby & I also contacted & printed out letters of 3 other docs/hosp just in case I needed to prove that a ‘self pay’ can deliver in the US for under $8,000.
So now, forex/ticket hustle. Don’t know how it will happen cos of cost/availability but it must only end in praise!

LadyGuinivere:
Congrats Thermolady! We bless. The Lord for His Mercy. Happy bumping.
Your post spoke to me cos that's what I always say. Research. Don't let your doctor 'cut and paste' you with the same regimen as every other patient.

Nne. Pls eh no vex. Can you put naira sign behind the treatments you tried. I'm trying to plan ahead.
I'm particularly interested in the acupuncture. After a session my period improved so I'm a believer and intend to add that. Was it Dr Essien at ajah used?

How much was the intralipid and was it at Georges you got it done? Thanks and God bless

Thanks for your prayers and best wishes! Yes Lady G, it was Dr. Essien but at their branch at Amuwo Odofin area. To make the sessions less painful, I paid 20k for a new set of needles (i'd been using former set for over 2 years and they were getting blunt) and then negotiated the cost of the daily sessions - without any medications. What you end up paying depends on your bargaining power.

I took the intralipids at the Olive branch clinic. I don't know specifically how much it cost because for us, it was built into the initial treatment costs.

To God be ALL the glory, I got my BFP and a scan confirmed pregnancy at Olivebranch Lekki this week! This is coming after over 19 years of TTC that included several years of natural health therapies, countless IUI s, Clomid & TI cycles and 9 embryo transfers. This clinic has indeed become my last TTC ‘bus stop’ as I had prayed and hoped.

My sisters-in-waiting, it was God’s mercy at work. What I think also helped me was:

*RESEARCH, research & more research! Pls. don’t put yourself 100% in ANY doctor’s hands without researching your options & being able to request whatever will benefit you.
*Doing a vagisteam before starting meds. Combined dried herbs like basil, motherwort, rosemary & mugwort (obtained from Alade market Ikeja)
*Insisting on the cancellation of the penultimate scheduled embryo transfer when my lining refused to grow beyond 7mm (many other Drs.' would have railroaded and gone ahead anyway, just hoping to get 'lucky' as they sometimes do for even much thinner linings.) In this successful cycle my lining was 9.4mm before intro of progesterone & 11.1mm on day of Embryo Transfer.
*Doing needle acupuncture EVERYDAY in the 12 days before the embryo transfer (was able to fit in a session on the very morning as the transfer was done in the afternoon) using acu-points that aid blood flow to uterus.(located my Lagos acupuncture clinic thru online research)
*Using Viagra cream - not tablets, vaginally (sourced from a Canadian Dr. in Malaysia and Bricanyl tablets (from Alpha) for about 11 days - also to increase blood flow. ; in fact Dr. Emeka agreed to delay down regulation, giving me 2nd shot of Zoladex after expiration of 1st one, in order for me to receive the Viagra parcel (research also shows though more expensive, Zoladex gives higher success rates than daily Buserelin injections)
*Castor oil pack on tummy almost daily for about two weeks
*Daily sitz baths (alternating sitting in hot & cold water), sometimes twice daily, stopping 2 days before the transfer – also to increase blood flow.
*Sometimes soaking feet in hot water for 20 minutes, before bed (also to increase blood flow to uterus)
*Day 21 Endometrial Scratch (had also done one before at another clinic the previous year)
*Femoral massage: got hubby to press artery for me at least once daily & at the clinic just before the transfer
*Having intralipid drip at the clinic one week before the transfer - with the general absence of availability of immune tests in this country, it’s a good safeguard whether or not your body actually needs it.
*Daily eating 5 Brazil nuts (ASDA uk) before transfer & throughout 2 week wait. Was able to get pineapple only on 4th day after transfer so ate its core only on Days 4 & 5..
*Doing a deep tissue body massage 2 days before the transfer (got a bargain package – there are several, on dealdey site)
*Insisting on Day 5 transfer: after so many past failures and disappointments, I had made up my mind after research that even if all our embryos appeared to be struggling, no Day 2 or 3 transfer; if they all died before Day 5, so be it. Luckily we had 90% ICSI fertilisation and all made it to blast.
*After the transfer, taking DAILY injections (with Dr’s permission) of 100mg Gestone in addition to clinic’s 2x 400mg cyclogest; quite painful & bum already feels like a pin cushion but for me no sacrifice is too much. Clinics here do not do regular hormone checks for levels after the transfer so it makes me feel safer. I’m also prepared to endure the daily injections for as long as necessary!
*Just before the transfer, requested & got a picture of our embryos which I used as a point of contact in prayer.

What I’ve learnt (the hard way) on my long, long TTC journey:
No doctor, spouse, family or friend, can desire my success more than my own self: I am my own best advocate! My sisters, despite glowing recommendations of any fertility clinic/Dr, do your own research. Never be afraid to ask questions and always try to go with your gut feelings; run/’talk to your feet’ if you have integrity concerns about any of them; I have also learned that though often tedious and inconvenient, it pays to try to prepare as much as one humanly can (castor oil, massage, foot soak, etc), before the embryo transfer and above all, to always pray for God’s mercy & intervention.

Quincygirl:
GOD is faithful and there is always a prove that HE alone is worthy to be Praised and seek our desires. Here is another inspiring IVF story. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=2eAuPDOpBs8

Good evening house, my own ivf story is still unfolding but I would like to appreciate a listening Nigerian IVF Doctor:

I’m a ‘ work in progress,’ an ‘alumnus’ of 4 different IVF clinics and currently at my 5th, which I’m hoping and praying, is my last & successful ‘bus stop!' Having been ‘bitten’ in recent times during my long infertility journey as a result of going along with cycles that ought to have been cancelled before embryo transfer, I - now very ‘shy’, some days ago, decided just before the transfer, not to go ahead with it, and my sympathetic doctor willingly agreed to this cancellation & to start the cycle over, despite unforeseen costs to him that this entails.
In a clime where usually, the only reason deemed sufficient to stop/shelve a scheduled transfer is embryo death, threat to life or an act of God, this cancellation is particularly appreciated. Dr. Emeka, if you’re reading this, I’m saying ‘thank you.’ May your good work continue to speak for you. [Your ‘thermo’ patient]