Once your simulation starts, keep me in the loop during the stimulation cycle (avg: 11 days): the day of the trigger shot, egg retrieval, and embryo transfer day because you need to come to see me more often during the time. Here’s the timeline. After you get the suppression check, you are very likely to start the stimulation drug (Gonal-f, Menopur, Follistim, Braville or any of these drugs combined). You are required to get ultrasound and blood work done on day 4/5 and day 7/8 to check your E2 level, the size & numbers of follicle growth and the thickness of endometrial lining. You are very likely going to get screened these test 2-3 days in the row on the day 9-10-11. If your follicles are growing evenly (means one follicle is dominating) and your E2 level is in the range, it is very likely you will get triggered on day 11 (as early as day 8 and as late as day 17).

IVF/IVI Medications

• Gonadotropins
  
• Clomiphene Citrate (Clomid)
  
• Leuprolide Acetate (Lupron)
• HCG Trigger

Egg Retrieval & Embryo Transfer

• Folliculogenesis
• Egg & Embryo Quality
• Day 3 Embryo Grading
• Day 5 Blastocyst Transfer
• Embryo Implantation
• Embryo selecting methods

I prefer to see my patients twice during the period but all depend on their status of progress and one treatment around the trigger. After you get triggered, you are going to get egg retrieval 36 hours later. I had  37 hours a few times in the past but it is rare. Take a nice rest on the day of egg retrieval with plenty of electrolytes (coconuts water is the better source than sugary sports drinks on the market) and have a nice bone broth when you come back from the procedure. The key to this stage of nutrition is not to burden your GI system means to eat light. Chicken noodle soup will be a great option.

You do not want to think about the negative result, however, more than a dozen patients each year, become pregnant by coming for acupuncture when their period starts (day 3/4) after failed IUI/IVF. After one to two cycles after failed IUI/IVF, your body still contains stimulation medications so that your chance is higher than normal if we can nail the right ovulation time. I believe “less stressed out” uterus accept conception with “left overstimulation” to trigger the strong ovulation and keep progesterone level on the luteal phase high and long! I can NOT stress enough the fact that does not waste your following cycles after failed IUI/IVF.

I will try to fit you into my clinic schedule as much as possible. Please use email or text as the main communication method.

Nutrition intake during this phase

This is the most frequent asked questions. #1. Avoid eating out #2 Avoid drinking green juice and eating a plate of salad. #3. Eat warming foods means to avoid eating summer vegetables – tomatoes, cucumber, grown in the summertime will be the cooling effect on the uterus. Rather make lentil soup, chicken stock, roast vegetables, and chicken, eat sweet potatoes, potatoes (avoid eating these two if you have oxalate toxicity), cook foods when you are making during the wintertime – nice and warming foods.

Just Before & After Acupuncture and the timing of implantation

A lot of patients believe the fact that acupuncture treatment is beneficial “just before and just after” the embryo transfer. But the truth of the matter is it is not 100% accurate after helping couples to conceive for 16 years. It all depends on individual cases. If you happen to have a strong belief that “getting just before and just after embryo transfer is the acupuncture treatment I absolutely need it”, I suggest you call Domar Center at Boston IVF to reserve your treatment “JUST before and JUST after”.

The day of day 5 transfer or frozen embryo transfer which I count as the implantation day 5, the chances are your embryos will be implanted in the day between 7 – 10. Day 7 will be the earliest and day 10 is the latest.

The first beta is very low but the second test is much higher means your embryo implanted a later phase like day 10 even day 11. I have a few patients in the past who had the initial test as low as 24. This is a good example and one of the crazy things happened for a patient of mine who was on the stretcher to go to the D&C room at the major hospital in Boston. I was trying to get connected with her by texting, calling to reconsider the procedure and ask your doctor to test your marker again. The nurse rushed and came to the room saying the doctor that her HCG jumped up high enough to be in the right pregnant range. The baby is in middle school now in Maine.

If you are doing the fresh cycle and very likely your embryo transfer day will be day 3 or possibly day 2 or day 5 if the embryos are dividing rapidly and doing fantastic, I just want the audience to know the fact getting the successful IVF cycle does not come by just doing the before and the after-treatment but rather the accumulation of good lifestyle, healthy eating habits, better sleep hygiene, and acupuncture treatment will be the key success to get pregnant and keep the healthy pregnancy and the labor. If you are going to get the beneficial treatment from your practitioner, ask for getting treated at the implantation phase.

You may notice the spotting when the embryo is implanting so that please do not panic when you see the slight pink discharge during this phase. At least clinically, I have been having a much higher success rate by treating my patients in this way for the last few years. Use your energy, time, and money wisely.

Consider taking 3 – 7 days off from work during this phase if you can.

*** Implantation will not occur as soon as you have done IVF. Please take a look at this chart.

Understanding Embryo Implantation

• Blastocyst day 5 transfer
• Implantation after IVF
• IVF Implantation Timeline
• The Cause of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss at time of implantation
• The link between Beta2 Glycoprotein and implantation failure
• Embryo Implantation & Immunologic Factors, Part 1 and Part 2

Morning sickness majority of patients start to suffer morning sickness starting week 8 (4-5 weeks for multiple pregnancies) and tend to subside between weeks 11-13. You will be able to eat normally and feel less tired by this time. Acupuncture can help your symptoms! Vitamin 6 (P-5-P form), Ginger capsules, and Sea-Belt made for motion sickness but it does help by pressing PC6, acupuncture morning sickness point for 24/7. 

You will be able to find out the sex of your baby in the 16th week. In the week 11-13 (the last day for this test is 13th week and 6 days pregnant) is also the time you will see your gynecologist for early risk assessment test ( Nuchal Translucency Screening Test)to assess your baby’s risk of having down syndrome and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems. Here are differences between a screening test and diagnostic test (CVS and amniocentesis) It will help you decide whether you need CVS (chorionic villus sampling) or amniocentesis. Here’s what the American Pregnancy Association says about prenatal testing. You are more than welcome to come to see me on the weekly basis but I usually let my patient go and suggest them to come back to see me around 30th week in order to have the easier labor. Weekly acupuncture treatment will help you tremendously. When it comes to the 30th week, your stomach will be pretty big but get much bigger for the next 10 weeks which will lead you to have restlessness sleep, sacrum (low back) pain, headache, carpal tunnel, hypertension etc… I am able to help you turn the baby’s position (breeched baby) around a 35-6th week. It all depends on how big the baby is and I need permission from your doctor. If the baby is still small, the chances are your baby will turn again! I am able to induce your labor as well. My happiest time is the baby announcement arrives on my iPhone!!!