To live without HOPE is to cease to live

After taking the big decision and discussing it with Dr. Rashmi Yogish, she scheduled the 4th IVF Stimulation/ OPU in Aug' 16. All preparations were done, mentally, physically, financially and spiritually; the wait was for a miracle to happen soon.

Although, 17 oocytes were obtained after the stimulation, only 5 blastocysts (all Grade A) were cryopreserved. Dr. Rashmi swore that all my blastocysts were EXCELLENT (as perfect as a textbook diagram) and that these would definitely bear fruit, a baby.

In the consecutive month, 2 Day-5 Blastocysts (Expanded and Hatching) were trasnferred under Frozen Embryo Transfer. But as the fate was pre-decided, none of my beans attached to my womb.

Me and my DH have gotten used to this struggle, pain, disappointment and much more, but I really wonder how it would be when I conceive and deliver. I really want to see a flower bloom in the desert. Hope, someday it does.

We are still not losing hope!!!

Decision time: "4th IVF Stimulation" or "Using donor gametes" ?

May to July '16 was more of family joys and less of emotional turmoil. After getting back to Bangalore, I met Dr. Rashmi Yogish on my Day-2 of the next month, and the question remained the same: "Another IVF Stimulation" (4th to be precise) or "Using both donor gametes"?

My DH and I had different views this time, again. He insisted to go for donor gametes, however I wanted to go for the last stimulation. My logic was that if I have to go through all the physical pains of IVF procedure just to try if I could experience motherhood, then why not exhaust my egg reserve than using someone else's. No! I do not have a problem with donor concept but I still have hope; maybe it's not the egg/embryo quality in question but the environment where the embryos are expected to florish. However, ERA test conducted proves that my uterus is Receptive.

Also, it feels a little weird to me. Imagine, I go through the entire IVF process, successful pregnancy, labour and child-birth and then have a baby who neither resembles me nor my DH. WHAT!!! Wouldn't it be super-obvious that either we accidentally got our baby exchanged in the hospital crib or used donor gametes? Come on! If you are so OKAY about the no-resemblance part, then frankly speaking, adopting a child is the best solution! Unfortunately, in today's age also, infertility is treated as a taboo topic and an inauspicious thing. I am not sure how well it is treated outside India but we Indians are driven a lot by "what will people say/think?" and that is more disturbing and frustrating than not being able to conceive. Living in a metropolitan city like Bangalore, I have peer-pressure, I feel horrible for the women in rural areas where women are abused and treated as outcast.

Doctor was in agreement with my logic and wanted to give it a one last try before concluding that its the uterus which needs attention, and not the embryos.

So, we all agreed to go for the last IVF stimulation of my life! Yes, it was a declaration. I have no idea how much one stimulation could  impact one's body, and here I am daring for the 4th one. Frankly, even if this fails, would taking so much risk with my body be a complete waste? Huge amount of money spent on so many IVF cycles can still be earned, but health gone bad once cannot be undone.

Anyhow, we went ahead with the decision of doing OPU in Aug'16.

Moving on with life and inferility

After a positive (although failed pregnancy), my faith on Dr. Rashmi Yogish grew further more. I had total of 4 Day-5 Blastocysts (best one's which survived), out of which two were used in the Nov FET.

After a break of 2-3 months, letting everything come back to normal, my 2nd FET (1 Day-5 Blastocyst) in Mar'16 was a failure too.

Consecutive month was my 3rd FET (1 Day-5 Blastocyst), i.e. in Apr' 16. Despite all possible permutations and combinations of medicines and methods, 3rd FET was also a failure.

Highly disappointed and angry with my fate, I went to visit my parents for a few weeks (that's when I was not writing posts).

I not only refreshed my mind and mood, it also helped me and my DH take a call on what to do next. The question was "Another stimulation with DS" or "Using donor gametes".

My first ever... Pregnancy & Miscarriage :`(

The IVF Stimulation done in Sep’15 was my 3^rd attempt. Mostly, after every stimulation, if there is no Fresh Transfer done in the same cycle, Fertility Experts give your body a good 1.5 months of resting time. After the stimulation, I was on Tab. Primolut-N (twice daily for 7 days) and Tab. Cabgolin (once a day for 10 days) to normalize the hormones and put an end to all the chain reactions resulting from overworked Ovaries and all other organs involved.

After I got my period in Oct, I was put on Tab Ovral-L for 21 days and was asked to come back only on Day2/3 of Nov's period. This waiting time could be very tricky, depends how you tackle it. I chose to be positive and prepare myself for a good news. I utilized these 40-50 days to re-arrange my closets, cabinets, etc. I made all comfortable clothing handy, being super-optimistic. I worked out well and ate healthy food too; although I eat healthy food all the time but I added more nuts, fruits and greens in my diet.

I got back to Nova Bangalore in Nov’15 and was prescribed Tab. Progynova, Estrodiol Gel, Inj. Susten and Cap. Susten with a strict routine and timings to follow. Dr. Rashmi added an Intralipid Infusion on the day of my Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET).

My beta hCG Test was due 14 days post FET. ALAS, IT WAS A POSITIVE RESULT! Repeat test confirmed my pregnancy, although the values weren’t doubling as expected. I got other necessary blood tests done, as directed by Dr. Rashmi. First time ever, I got Gestational Age (GA) mentioned on my file… First time ever, my tears weren’t of pain and sorrow but of joy and happiness. As per my Expected Delivery Date, I should have delivered a baby by now, Aug’16, but it was a short-lived moment of happiness. After my second endovaginal (EV) sonography, my doctor was tensed. She directed me to get a more detailed Early Pregnancy Scan done by an expert. Unfortunately, by then I had some bleeding and Early Pregnancy Scan showed an empty sac :`( Also, beta hCG done on the same day showed a dropped value. 

My First Pregnancy became a miscarriage :`( :`( :`(

OPU and Embryoscope done by Dr. Rashmi Yogish at Nova Bangalore

I got 18 oocytes picked-up in Sep’15, out of which 12 became zygotes (10 were Normal, 1 Abnormal and 1 Degenerated). We used Embryoscope in order to pick the best embryos to use; it is a time-lapse system for observation of embryo development under necessary physiological conditions required by a living embryo while they are in the IVF laboratory. This service was offered at Rs.15000 in Sep’15. Each DS sample came for a price of Rs.5000.

Since we were using ADI/DS, we used two different blood group samples instead of the universal "one sample" rule. That idea was Dr. Rashmi Yogish’s… I told you, “she knows her stuff really well”.

Out of 12 zygotes, 11 were observed under Embryoscope for at least 5 days. Nova Bangalore did share a video with us, showing the growth of each zygote for 100 hours in a fast-forward mode. 4 embryos were cryopreserved (3 were Day-5 and 1 Day-6), which were of Cavitated Blastocyst (CB) & Hatching Blastocyst (iHB) cell state. Two cryotops were used to store the two blood types separately.

I was given a month’s break to get my hormones back to normal state, skipping a Fresh Transfer in the same cycle. Next month was action-packed.                                              

And I am back after a short break

I am sorry that I stopped telling my story at a very crucial juncture. I had my reasons to go on a break, which lasted a few weeks longer than expected; will update about it later. I shall be regular now on. 

Cheers!

Laparoscopic Myomectomy, HRTs and OPU under Dr. Rashmi Yogish at Nova Bangalore

It was May’15 when I met Dr. Rashmi Yogish (Clinical Director & Consultant, Nova IVI Fertility Clinic, Koramangala, Bangalore). After reading my entire infertility history, she suggested that removing the Subserosal Fibroid might make a difference. It didn’t sound like a hunch as she backed it up with logic and explanation.

At that point in my life, I could have possibly said a “Yes” to “Anything” but Dr. Rashmi sounded like “she knows her stuff really well” and that gave me a lot of confidence. My DH agreed to go ahead with the surgery ONLY after understanding all the pros and cons, logics, scientific facts, etc.

In June’15, I underwent Laparoscopic Myomectomy for the removal of my not-so-big Subserosal Fibroid at Malathi Manipal, Jayanagar (one of the other few hospitals Dr. Rashmi is associated with). The surgery went well with not much of pain but looking at my sutures was a disturbing sight. I was on a month-long rest.

The action started after I got my July periods. I was on HRT-1 (1^st month of Hormone Replacement Treatment) for the month of July’15. Basically, taking Tablet Progynova 2mg and Tablet Meprate 10mg for specified number of days. Accidentally, I skipped a dose and got untimely periods. Anyhow, HRT-1 restarted after the bleeding got over. Then Aug’15, HRT-2 followed. At the end of each HRT, there were specific blood tests to be done on few specific days only.

During HRT-2, on a specific day of the cycle, a Mock Embryo Transfer (Mock ET) was performed. Things were smooth and went as expected. My Oocyte Pick-Up (OPU) was planned in the cycle following HRT-2.

Good "First Impression" : Nova Bangalore

Apologies for not posting anything for a week, I was undergoing my latest IVF cycle. Details about it will follow.

To start with my set of stories about Nova Bangalore, I would like to first mention the single point of contact (SPOC) for patients at Nova Bangalore, the receptionists. All the receptionists were (still are) welcoming, smiling, eager to help and multi-lingual.

My first interaction with them was face-to-face. For a change, I didn’t want to Google about my next doctor, so that I have no presumptions or expectations and go with an open mind. One fine day, I just planned to visit the clinic and told one of the receptionists’ that I have come from Nova Delhi and would like to meet their specialist. She asked me if I was carrying my file/ case history. Since I was, I gave it to her. She informed me that the concerned doctor was out of town and would be back in 2-3 days. Instead of letting me go back empty-handed, the receptionist made a quick call to someone, and upon the caller’s consent, she suggested that, if I wish, I could consult the other doctor. I took that option. The other doctor wasn’t in the clinic when the receptionist called him, but he made himself available in the clinic at the earliest. Within 10 minutes, I met Dr. Mahesh Koregol (Gynecologist, Nova Specialty Hospitals, 5^th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore).

Dr. Mahesh read through all my & DH's infertility history. He seemed quite knowledgeable and well-informed about Infertility. He assured me that I shouldn’t lose hope as there are other scientific advancements which could be used as an option in our case. He suggested that I come back and meet the specialist on the Day-2 of my next cycle. It was a ray of hope, and I grabbed that opportunity with full enthusiasm.

Next, meeting Dr. Rashmi Yogish.

Bidding Goodbye to Nova Delhi after 2 more failed Day-5 Blastocyst Transfer

After the failed Fresh Embryo Transfer (ET), Dr. Nalini Mahajan planned a Day-5 Blastocyst Transfer in the next cycle, under the same conditions as that of ERA.

There was a delay between ERA and next transfer because of two reasons: 1) OHSS and 2) either skipping a single dose of Estrogen substitute tablet on my behalf or a malfunction of some medicine, which caused untimely bleeding.

Also, during the Stimulation Process for Oocyte Pick-Up (OPU), I felt I had OHSS symptoms. Although, nobody at Nova Delhi agreed to me, but the internet said it all. I agree that not all information on internet is 100% correct but feeling like a bloated lower abdominal area made me look pregnant and the fullness inside gave me the idea how carrying a baby inside would be like.

Ovarian HyperStimulation Syndrome (OHSS) occurs only after the eggs are released from the ovary (either after ovulation or by receiving a shot of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG)).

So, the body needed time to get back to normal before proceeding with the next transfer.

Two Day-5 Blastocysts were transferred in Mar'15, but even that didn't work in our favour. A Blastocyst transfer is supposed to have better Success Rates than Fresh or Frozen Embryo transfers. I was waiting to get lucky with my next cycle then, last cycle at Nova Delhi as I was left with just Two more Day-5 Blastocysts. Trust me, all of them were mostly Grade-A, and few were Grade-B. I guess, what matters is "The Right Time". At that point in time, mine seemed far away. We were losing hope with each failed cycle.

The next cycle (3rd transfer at Nova Delhi, under Dr. Nalini Mahajan) was also a Two Day-5 Blastocysts transfer. This was done in the consecutive month, Apr'15, sadly, my beans didn't stick this time also.

I didn't want to start afresh and try another IVF cycle at Nova Delhi, even though Dr. Mahajan was quite experienced and knowledgeable. Somehow, I felt something was missing. That pushed me to get back to Bangalore and try my luck with Nova Bangalore.

I had read a lot about Nova's Success Rates being exceptionally good, hence the decision to visit Nova Bangalore.

All this might seem pretty casual but trust me, when you are going through all this, your body takes a lot of foreign particles inside and your brain works overtime. All you need to do is keep your cool and stay happy... because if mind isn't healthy, body can never be healthy. My DH gave his best in keeping me away from worries, tensions, tears and fears.

A fresh ET & ERA at Nova Delhi

After we met Dr. Nalini Mahajan (Nova IVI Fertility, New Delhi), my DH also felt the positivity in her approach. We went ahead with our treatment with her.

In Oct’14, I had my OPU (Oocyte Pick-Up) and 17 oocytes were retrieved. I was on Injection Menopur 450UI from CD6 and OPU was done on CD13. But before the OPU, she had me change my hypertension medicines. 

Earlier I was taking a combination of Tablet Newtel 40 and Newtel-H 40. According to her, Telmisartian Hydroclorothazide was not pregnancy-friendly, so she changed my medicines to Methyldopa 500 thrice a day.

Three days after OPU, a fresh ET was done, which didn’t succeed. A failed fresh ET and 2 failed IUIs in the past were enough for her to conduct a test on me called Endometrial Receptivity Array (ERA). It is kind of a biopsy of the endometrium done under specific conditions, HRT (P+5) to be precise and the procedure is carried out just like IUI. HRT (P+5) means Hormone Replacement Therapy and P+5 means intake of Progesterone (Injections and/or Capsules) +5 days. 

The report took 10-15 days to be published and sent back to the clinic. Thankfully, mine was Receptive. The preparation, procedure and publishing of report happened during Dec’14 and Jan’15.

Seeing the ERA Report, Dr. Mahajan made some changes in her plan for the next cycle.

Zeroing in on a clinic in Delhi

Delhi, the capital of India, has a gamut of opportunities for everyone. I, being a patient seeking help of a fertility expert, contacted many fertility clinics telling my case history to a few junior doctors over the phone or emailing it to the head of their department. I got positive response from two, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and Nova IVI Fertility Clinic (Nova). At SGRH, I had direct contact of the senior doctor; she asked me to call her the moment I reach Delhi. At Nova, I had built a good rapport with the receptionist; she not only made to talk to the Director of the clinic, but also book an appointment for me one month in advance.

I wanted to setup everything before setting off to Delhi, as I had to stay with close relatives and causing them least troubles. I called SGRH doctor but she had quit SGRH and had joined a private practice. That didn’t sound like a good idea to me, as I contacted her because of SGRH’s history of FIRST IVF Baby in North India. Since the brand name attached to her got dropped, I chose Nova over her.

In Oct’14, I decided to try my luck at Nova IVI Fertility (Opp. St. Thomas Church, Africa Avenue, R K Puram Sector-2, Block B-2, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi). I registered myself as a New Patient and after physical examination, I then met Dr. Nalini Mahajan, Director of Clinic. After understanding the case, she advised a few tests to be done before I met her next. I called my DH for the next appointment.

Using DS, 1 failed ICSI, 2 failed IUIs... what next?

We decided to do ICSI first with Donor Sperm (DS) sample procured by a bank suggested by MHB in Jayanagar, Bangalore. Out of 6 oocytes frozen in one straw, 5 oocytes survived after thawing process and only 3 fertilized well with DS of my DH’s blood group. All 3 were transferred and none got implanted :-(

Since we had 6 more frozen oocytes, the plan of action was to fertilize 3 oocytes with 1 DS sample of DH’s blood group and last 3 with 1 DS of my blood group and use IUI instead of ICSI.

Unfortunately, none of the 2 IUI cycles succeeded. By then, my body had taken a lot of injections and medicines and the brain was really dissatisfied, hence a break or change was required.

We decided to say Good-Bye to Manipal Hospital Bangalore (MHB) and decide another place to continue our quest. Deciding on whom to consult next in Bangalore seemed next to impossible as MHB was the ONLY last option in Bangalore.

As I had a few relatives in Delhi whom I could trust blindfolded, I chose to stay with them and take my chances in Delhi.

More about it, later.

Choosing and Transporting the Donor Sperm from Bank to Hospital

To simplify things for us and follow the guidelines for themselves, Manipal Hospital (MHB) gave us contact details of a Donor Sperm Bank in Jayanagar (operated in Bangalore, but had nation-wide samples). After speaking to the Bank, we discovered that things shown in the Bollywood Hindi Movie “Vicky Donor” was not fake, if not 100% true. People have huge demands for Donors for both the gametes.

I visited them alone, assuming that it would be little discomforting for DH to go along and ask for Donor Sperms. They had a list of donors and asked me to pick a donor on the basis of their Blood Group, Height, Weight, Complexion of Skin, Eyes and Hair, Built and Education. I selected two, one of my DH’s Blood Group and another one of mine. They had several huge cans (bigger than milk cans used to collect cow milk in the barns) filled with Liquid Nitrogen and Frozen Donor Gametes. Thankfully, the samples I chose were readily available and all they required was a letter from the Doctor stating the reason for purchase and of course, the money. Since our Transfer Date was after more than a month and to be used for IUI, I told the Bank to block those two samples for me. I made a junior doctor speak to the Bank to authenticate my request.

The day my IUI dates were finalized (3-Day transfer on 1^st Aug’14), 5 days prior to that I collected one of the two samples (handed over to me in a mini flask with vials submerged in Liquid Nitrogen, hanging inside attached to a strong thread,) along with the Authentication Report (Semen Analysis, HIV, HCV, HBSAG and VDRL reports) and gave it to MHB's Lab for fertilization process. Transportation had to be done delicately; the flask had to be kept 90 degrees perpendicular to the ground. Although I had placed the flask on the co-driver's seat (seat-belt tightly fastened), driving alone with the flask was difficult.

IUI-1 Cycle details will follow.

Toughest decision: Adoption vs. Donor Sperm

We had had a rough 2-year journey “trying to conceive”. Last few months were the roughest and taking a decision on our way forward wasn’t any easier. Me and my DH, both sat down with a set of pen and paper each. The task was to jot down all the advantages/disadvantages of “Adopting a Baby” versus that of using a “Donor Sperm sample for ADI”.

It was definitely a nerve-wrecking activity. We both took time and reviewed our points several times before starting the debate. I remember keeping those 2 paper pieces in my safe. After a lot of discussion and argument, I had to agree with DH to go ahead with ADI (I am still open to Adoption). I do not understand why our Indian Society is so NOT open to adoption. I guess, the idea is to show off your baby bump to your neighbours, friends and even strangers.

If I can’t have one, why should that stop me from adopting one? After a lot of thinking, I suggested my DH that we could adopt a child and go to another city and live for a year or two and come back with a baby… “Tadaa!!! I delivered while we were away”. DH didn’t approve such a brilliant idea.

DH said if our child can’t have his chromosomes, at least it should have mine. Well, my point was (still is), if it ain’t Yours’ then let’s make one adopted child as ours (not by chromosomes but by characteristics). It will still be Ours’. Unfortunately, I couldn’t win this argument with my DH and had to give in.

We took this decision in May’14 and visited MHB at the start of my next menstrual cycle for IUI.

Next step, visiting Donor Sperm Bank for IUI-1 planned for July/Aug’14.                                                            

Last attempt to find a cure for my DH's Azoospermia and Bilateral Varicocele Grade III

After hearing the same advice from Dr. Rupin Shah in Mumbai, we visited a few famous tourist spots, namely Siddhivinayak Temple, Mahalaxmi Temple, Haji Ali, Juhu Chowpati, Colaba Causeway, Gateway of India, Elephanta Caves etc in the rest two and a half days.

Upon our return to Bangalore, DH and I decided to visit one last specialist. We re-visited Dr. A Nagaraj Rao (Professor & Head of Urology Department, St. John Medical College and Hospital, Koramangala, Bangalore) in May'14. He briefly remembered our case history (told to him in Sep'12) and we also updated him about our latest Doctor-Hopping and their conclusions.

His advice was to get a Bilateral Testicular Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) done at Anand Diagnostics, Shivaji Nagar. I do not remember the cost of this test, shall update if I recall. Here's what FNAC procedure is :-

The result of this test would determine whether a Varicocelectomy could be of any help or not. We went ahead with the procedure in May'14 itself. The report was ready after 3 days and here's how it looked :-

 The report came with the studied slide too, for further reference or investigation. 

We went for the review of this report to Dr. Rao. He concluded that although Sertoli cells and Spermatids are seen but occasional; performing another procedure wouldn't change anything or undo the past. At that moment, it seemed to be a dead-lock situation for us; anger, depression, disappointment, fear, frustration, regret were just a few emotions to name which were portraying our state.                                                          

Meeting Dr. Rupin Shah in Lilavati Hospital - Mumbai

Our Delhi and Kolkata trips were informative but not pleasing. Our next destination was Mumbai and target specialist to meet was Dr. Rupin Shah. He was a visiting faculty/consultant in some clinic/hospital in Bangalore in 2014 but he wasn't visiting Bangalore in May or June that year; that forced us to make some travel plans. My DH likes to call such trips as "Medical Tourism", although it is within our country itself.

Anyway, we called and took next feasible appointment with Dr. Rupin Shah (Consultant Andrologist and Microsurgeon, Centre for Male Reproductive and Sexual Medicine, Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Bandra West, Mumbai). We flew to Mumbai 16 hours prior to our appointment and also emailed him our reports (we had briefly discussed our case with him over the phone, as they think out-station patients deserve to clarify few things before travelling to Mumbai).

Reaching the hospital an hour in advance is always a good idea. There's a One-time Registration done for Rs.100 and I fail to recall Dr. Shah's consultation fee. Everything is quite organized there; however the only tricky part was dropping one's prescription paper (which later gets attached to your file) in a letter-box type enclosure attached to the doctor's cabin door. That way, your turn may not come as per your sequence in queue, but randomly, by chance/luck/probability. Since there weren't many patients waiting at around 9:30AM on a weekday, we met up with him well within the "waiting time at a clinic" norm.

His advices were :-
1. Attempting a microsurgery (Varicocelectomy and Biopsy) to fix Bilateral Varicocele Grade - III
2. Using Artificial Donor Insemination (ADI)

We were so convinced with his confidence on fixing the Bilateral Varicocele that I almost got my DH admitted in the hospital on the spot, with no family or friends around to bank on for any help. Then we both took individual 10-minute time-off to virtually walk-through the whole thing. Fortunately, we agreed to "not taking hasty decisions" again and immediately went back to meet Dr. Shah to ask the Percentage of Success in such cases.

By his vast experience, he concluded that the TESE could have destroyed any plausible chances of natural sperm generation; his final advice was to take a chance with Varicocelectomy. We had already collected all possible details required for the microsurgery in those 10 minutes. After hearing the dreaded phrase “take a chance", we told Dr. Shah that we need to re-think and take advice of our parents too, and pushed off from there. Dr. Shah had patience; he quietly listened to all our concerns and fears and gave unbiased advice. He was quite affable too.

We faced disappointment in Mumbai as well. Since we had planned a 3-day trip, we continued with our plan after spending nearly 3 hours in Lilavati Hospital. In those two and half days, we explored Mumbai as much as possible and had good fun. It isn't just the disappointments which get hard-wired on your memory, good things too are a part of it; the key is to strike the balance to stay happy and positive. That's why we never miss an opportunity to enjoy life in spite of the tough situation we were facing.

My DH's Computer Assisted Sperm Assessment (CASA) and Semen Analysis Test Reports

Here's a copy of my DH's CASA and Semen Analysis Test Reports for reference.

The first report is of a Computer Assisted Sperm Assessment (CASA) done in Manipal Hospital Bangalore (MHB's) Advanced Andrology Laboratory in the month of Dec'12, which was 2 months prior to my DH's TESE procedure.

The next report is of a simple Semen Analysis test done in a reputed Pathological Clinic in Bangalore. It is evident that the sperm count became NIL after TESE.

Our visit to Institute of Reproductive Medicine - Kolkata

After meeting 3 specialists in Delhi and getting disheartened, my DH joined me in Delhi and we took off to Kolkata to visit another specialist and also to take some time off from stress for a few days by exploring Kolkata.

First things first, a month prior to heading to Delhi, I had called Dr. Baidyanath Chakraborty (Institute of Reproductive Medicine, Salt Lake City, Kolkata)  for an appointment. Since he has a busy schedule, one has to wait for a month (plus/minus few weeks) to get an appointment. Well, it isn't just a simple Doctor's Appointment; they issue you a specific date and time for visiting the institute. You need to carry a print-out of your Appointment Confirmation E-mail sent by the institute, else the guard won't let you in. Reaching the venue 30-60 minutes prior to your appointment is recommended, as their waiting area (in 2013) on ground floor was not very big, with limited number of chairs provided. Since our time of visit was in Apr'13, 9:30AM appointment suited us well to beat the heat outside and also to find a good seat with a fan above; we reached the institute at 9AM and had to wait for almost 2 hours just to get our name called (FYI, we were 5th in queue for that day).

Next step was to check the female partner's height and weight, then a brief wait again, and then head to the first floor to meet a Data Operator to feed all possible details of medical history of both partners into their system. After some more wait, we were finally sent to a hall on ground floor to meet Dr. Chakraborty.

Then a disgusting and embarrassing thing took place. Turn by turn, all females were asked to go to a hallway and then a vaginal test was conducted by a junior lady doctor by inserting her finger(s), not a probe; without even enquiring about the diagnosis/prognosis.

Anyway, after the physical examination, me and my DH were sent to finally meet Dr. Chakraborty. After explaining our case (in spite of narrating it to the Data Operator), DH's physical examination was done. His conclusion was to meet another Uro-Andrologist as he didn't have the expertise on male infertility. He recommended meeting Dr. Rupin Shah in Mumbai. 

Since we were already in Kolkata, we made our trip fruitful by visiting Belur Math, Dakhineswar Kalibadi, Kalighat Temple and a few local markets. Unfortunately, because of the strict Airline Rules, we couldn't carry the famous Kolkata Roshogullas back home for our folks, but no one could stop us from carrying different shapes and flavours of Sondesh :)

                                                                    

My meeting with 3 specialists in Delhi

I am back to broadcast the description of our Doctor-Hopping sessions in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Here it goes...

In Feb'14, we completed two years of Trying To Conceive (TTC). In these two years, my DH and I discussed our infertility with 12 doctors (Allopathic and Ayurvedic) in Bangalore. Guess that wasn't enough to find a solution to our problem. So we shifted our concentration from Within Bangalore to Within India.

We travelled alone to Delhi in Feb'14 and first met with Dr. Sanjay Mittal (Uro Andrologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi). His Consultation Fee was Rs. 700 then. It took him just 5 minutes to glance through my DH's reports, give his verdict and support it with logic and science. He appeared to me as a very knowledgeable and experienced Uro Andrologist. Unfortunately, his conclusion was just the opposite of what I wanted to hear from him. He advised only 2 things; Artificial Donor Insemination (ADI) or Adoption :( His confidence made me lose hope, whatever little was left.

Hearing this for the first time was too much to handle alone. These 2 years had taught us that Patience and Perseverance are of great importance in pursuit of a happy life. With this zeal, I took a week to roam around in Delhi and then meet Dr. Kapil Kumar Juneja (Urosurgeon and Andrologist, Moolchand Medcity, Lajpat Nagar III, New Delhi). Since my DH wasn't there to meet him personally and Dr. Juneja was going out of country for few days, he advised to get an Epididymal/Testicular Biopsy at Moolchand after a week or any good hospital in Bangalore. 

Exactly 1 year prior to that date, my DH had got TESE/ incision-suture process done on him; neither of us wanted him to go through the same state of affairs, again. I informed Dr. Juneja about TESE and that no sperms were found in the extraction, so should there be any chance of finding them now. Dr. Juneja politely suggested me to pay a visit to Ayurveda Dept. at Moolchand.

Were we back to square one? 

Well, I met Dr. S V Tripathi (Chief Physician - Ayurveda, Moolchand Medcity, Lajpat Nagar III, New Delhi) the next day, as I reached Ayurveda Dept. after its closing time. I was pretty clear about not repeating the steps, but fortunately, he didn't say so. He saw all the reports and prescriptions (Allopathic and Ayurvedic medicines) and told me very frankly, not to waste more time, money and efforts on trying to treat something which isn't possible anymore. He had good knowledge about science and his field, but we couldn't make use of it in our case.

My Doctor-Hopping session in Delhi wasn't fruitful. Guess that was enough for me to call my DH to Delhi and plan a weekend getaway trip. After all, vacations make you feel good and help in relaxing your nerves, and that was exactly what the need of the hour was.

Bon Voyage!

9 months of Ayurvedic Treament, yet no positive results

On Dr. Sowmya's recommendation, we visited Dr. L. Sucharitha (Pandit Clinic, 5th Main, Chamarajpet, Bangalore) in Dec' 13. Her Consultation Fee was Rs.200. She wrote 4 really expensive medicines for a month's consumption and none of the medicine names were available on Google (neither then, nor now). Those specific medicines were available only in Pandit Clinic; I guess they used code words for all their medicines, not sure if that's ethical. A layman like me couldn't decipher anything from this attached copy of the bill.

Anyway, my DH did consume those Ayurvedic medicines for a month. At month end, the report remained the same. So in Jan'14, Dr. Sucharitha told that she'll tweak the combination of medicines. Here's what she prescribed next :-

With 9 months of Ayurvedic Treatment, DH's sperm production remained hindered. We then decided to resume our Doctor-Hopping, but outside Bangalore.

My next post will tell you about our experience/ conclusion told to us by famous doctors in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Beginning of a new treatment... Ayurveda!

After consuming Ayurvedic medicines for almost 2 months, DH got his SA test done and there were still no sperms to be seen. That called for another visit to Dr. Sowmya. For your information, in Patanjali Chikitsalaya, there is a concept of No Consultation Fee. There is a box kept on the doctor's table, if you wish, you could put any amount of money in that box; nobody will question you if you don't. As a goodwill gesture, we always did.

In Sep' 13, she asked my DH to conduct the Punchkarma process at home, with all detailed instructions provided by Dr. Sowmya, printed on a piece of paper. Once that got over, DH resumed all his medicines and an extra medicine added, called Ajamodadi Churna for 7 days. Upon completion of Punchkarma and 7-day course of new medicine, DH was asked to repeat SA test. Unfortunately, repeat test had the same result.

In Oct' 13, she made little more advancement in her line of treatment. She added a mix of few medicines to be consumed once daily, along with the previous medicines. This was a complicated one. We had to mix Heerak Bhasma, Vang Bhasma, Abraka Bhasma, Praval Pishti, Moti Pishti and Pushpadhanva Ras (quantities were decided as per her calculations) and then divided it into 60 parts, each to be consumed twice daily. This process was followed for two months.

In Dec'13, SA test result didn't show any improvement. This time, Dr. Sowmya had no new medicine to prescribe but suggested us to visit another doctor, one of her Gurus, Dr.Sucharitha.

Details will be in my next post.

"Ayurvedic" medication for DH was our next step

By the end of Mar'13, we both were physically and mentally tired so we decided to take Dr. Vasan's prescribed medicines and expect a miracle to happen; and also buy time to find a good, knowledgeable and experienced ayurvedic doctor.

For that, we then visited Patanjali Chikitsalaya. Patanjali Chikitsalaya (Clinic) is of Baba Ramdev fame. We had heard a lot about the success of Ayurvedic Treatments done in his Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar Campus (Bhagirathi Nagar, Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Uttarakhand).  

We met Dr. Sowmya (Brigade MM Complex, K R Road, Yediyur, Jayanagar 7th Block, Bangalore) in July' 13. She read all reports and understood the harm done.  She explained the scope of treatment and asked us to be patient as Ayurvedic Treatment is a time consuming thing.
Here’s a copy of her prescription :-

Part I of medicines were tablets and Part II were powdered medicines to be mixed together and consumed with hot milk. All the medicines were available in their own Divya Pharmacy, just next door. She asked my DH to consume the medicines for at least one month, then repeat the SA Test and come back for review along with the report.