Every step is a step closer..

Sunday.
I love sunday. Maybe less than I love Saturday, but love is still love. hehe
This is the day yg biase nye mr Husband takmo pi mana..dengan alasan hendak mempersiapkan mental dan physical nak keja besok nye. chehhhh.. over! hehe..

Today we spent our sunday a little bit different from usual.
We spent it at 7th floor Tropicana Medical Centre..
Sape admitted? Takde sesape..

We were there to attend the Reproductive Health Forum organized by TMC.
And no regrets whatsoever.
Topic best2 and speaker pon best2.. of course our Dr Dev was there as the 1st speaker.
And as usual, we were totally awed and inspired by his speech titled "Maximizing your chances of conception".

Cause I know some of my readers are TTC (trying to conceive)..I'm gonna share some pointers from attending today's forum.. for this post is just on the first title dulu ok..

According to Dr. Dev, generally, 85% of a newly weds couples would be able to conceive without any medical intervention within the first year of marriage (provided no contraceptive was use).

So, the next question is, when you should see a doctor?

--> After 1 year of TTC
--> Age > 35 (the sooner the better. For age > 35, maybe you don't wanna wait until 1 year. It can be earlier).
--> Irregular periods (normal cycle is within 28 - 31 days. Kalau every month pon tak tetap cycle, lambat etc.. this is a sign you may want to see the doctor)
--> painful/ very heavy periods/ bleeding between periods
--> Pain during sex/ bleeding after sex

For fertility treatment, TIMING IS EVERYTHING! 

Dr. Dev's advice was, if you're TTC, make sure you have sex at least 3 times a weeks (alternate days in between). You can start once your period is dried and you're clean again.. Tak semesti nye tunggu nak kira waktu subur. He said that, the fertile period is around 6 days.. and if you have sex 3 times a week, almost certain you're going to conceive. Lagipon sperm can live up to a week inside a woman once released.

Other important facts:
- Orgasm for women does increase chances of conceiving
- If using lubricants, make sure it's non toxic type (he recommended KY jelly)

Other Not Important facts:
- sex position (its all myth yg suh angkat kaki 30 minit ke ape ke tu.. hahaha.. but still, ade jek org berjaya pakai tips nih kan.. it all depends on rezeki.. kalau dah Allah kata it's time, it's time!)
- time of day
- leaking of semen after sex (he elaborated about bile men ejaculated, besides sperms, there's lot of other seminal fluid.. These seminal fluid comfirm akan kuar balik ..he said that is normal for all women, and we should not worry)
- Passing urine before of after sex

His general advice was:
1) Stop smoking (reduces 13-17% sperm count, increase % of miscarriage etc)
2) Stop drinking (ditto)
3) Loss weight (Only for women. Does not effect men. Ideal BMI is <25. huhuhuh.. Ouchh..terase nye aku.. hehehhe.. [I-have-to-lose-weight-pronto! Husband and Ayong, besok takleh ngelat, mesti teman i pegi gym]
4) consult doctor if you have irregular periods
5) have regular sex at least 3 times a weeks (with alternate days in between!)
6) Take folic acid (400 micrograms a day)

We also got a goodie bag which amongst others consist of a book "Every step is a step closer: your fertility guide). Best gile and sgt informative and useful buku nih. hehe. and everyone also got free counseling with experience nurses (but kitaorg mmg ex-patients, so nothing much pon. Cant wait to see Dr Dev again tho)..and dapat la semen test (hahaha..mampos leman takmo buat dah..2 kali cukup la kata dia..hahaha..tapi untung ok kalo sape yg pegi tu tak penah buat sperm test, it cost dalam RM120 kalau kat TMC), and hormonal test (this one I may be interested to go.. tapik dia bukan kat TMC, ade certain2 lab jek. To test FSH, LH, GnRH and apetah lagik..)

The 2nd speaker talks about Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) which focus on IVF and ICSI, and the 3rd speaker talks about Investigations for infertility and the role of laparoscopic surgery.

Interesting sangat topic2 hari nih.. Memang tak ngantok langsung la..hehe..but I wont go into details on the other 2 speaker, sebab tuh dah sgt technical.. But in case you're interested, IVF costs around RM15000 and ICSI cost around RM16000 - 17000.

(Different between IVF and ICSI is that, IVF amik sample selected sperm, letak kat egg for fertilization. Tapik kalau sperm ade problem, ICSI will take the selected sperm and inject terus dalam egg. Sebab tu lah treatment dia lagik mahal.)

Tropicana Medical Centre is one the most recognized fertility centre in Malaysia (and in the world)..Rest assured that they have all the advanced technology and experience doctors.. Having said that, it's still kuasa Allah yg menentukan segalanya..

The doctor's advice is on  fertility treatments are..
1) Be prepared emotionally if the cycle fails (huhuhuhu..in other words be prepared to treat your RM15000 hard earn money as sunk cost. huhuhuhu..)..so that you would be so stressful, and this in turn will increase your chances of pregnancy..
2) Have a positive mental attitude!

Hope my post sikit sebanyak membantu all the couples out there who's TTC.
All the best.