TLDR: fertility treatments seems needlessly cruel and painful. Is this normal or is this clinic particularly Spartan
I’m undergoing fertility treatment at Kato Ladie’s Clinic in Tokyo and man, some of these practices are barbaric.
After some light research and a recommendation found in another thread on Reddit, I decided to start undergoing fertility treatment at KLC in Shinjuku.
Firstly, I was surprised by their approach to hormones. Instead of pumping the body full of hormones to produce an excess of eggs, the praxis is to harvest eggs already maturing on their own, and only use hormone therapy if it seems like the eggs aren’t maturing at the normal rate.
Shocked and appalled at the fact that the extraction, which is basically a giant needle going in to your ovaries via your vagina, was done completely unmediated, I still decided to proceed and did my first egg extraction in June.
The extraction was basically like getting a piercing, 3 times after another. By the 3rd one I was nearly hyperventilating trying to breathe through the anxiety. Even though I’d chosen this, I almost felt violated by the procedure.
None of the eggs survived/developed enough to be frozen, so I decided to go again. Time is ticking and all that.
Tried exhaling before each needle prick the second time around, but that apparently made the ovaries jump around and ended with the doctor was forcefully jabbing around, trying to get the right spot. I was better prepared for it the second time around and got 2 eggs, both developed in to the freezing stage.
Had one implanted a month ago, and while it didn’t result in pregnancy the embryo is still in there somehow, so I’m scheduled to do a operation to “clean out” the uterus to get it out. This is basically the same procedure as an abortion, and I’ve been told it’s done with local anaesthesia. Is that normal? This just sounds a bit barbaric to me… the fact that they don’t even tell you to take ibuprofen in advance, which fucking helps with the pain, is mind boggling to me.
I can deal with having failed IVF tries, but the needless pain just seems cruel.
8 comments
Sending you lots of hugs through this painful time. I hope you are able to get acceptable care, and wish you luck in having a beautiful, healthy baby
Sounds like a shitty clinic. Search for another one.
My wife did not experience what you’ve mentioned. She felt very cared for and didn’t feel any pain. I would recommend our clinic, but it’s not useful for you because it’s in Kobe.
I did IVF in Okinawa and I could not have had a more different experience. I did stims, was put under for my ER, and was closely monitored up until my 11th week of pregnancy, when I switched over to an OB. I would recommend finding another clinic that aligns with how you want to be treated, this clinic sounds brutal.
You could talk to them, but unfortunately, it’s my understanding after my wife has undergone IVF at a few different clinics in Tokyo, that anesthesia is not given. She had to go through 7 different extractions due to low egg count.
Regarding the first issue about hormones, IIRC Kato Ladies Clinic’s policy is to be as “natural” as possible, so it might not be the best fit for you if you want a more aggressive approach.
I’m so sorry, this sounds insane and I’m so surprised you went back for more. You are so strong.
I have had some traumatic gyno experiences so in my home country I always receive valium before invasive procedures. Here they seemed shocked when I requested it.
So if you decide to proceed at KLC, I went to loco clinic in nakameguro and got a prescription for valium which I took about 45 mins before my gyno procedure. It won’t help with the pain but def takes the edge off anxiety (and I don’t suffer from anxiety usually, just around gyno stuff). I told the doc at loco what it was for and he was totally fine to prescribe it.
Otherwise I would recommend tokyo fertility clinic, the head doc is a little quirky (i’m guessing he’s on the spectrum?) but he seems to know his stuff/has worked abroad/the nurses are supportive. Best of luck <3
my wife went to the same clinic, it was painful but after 4 sessions she got pregnant, she searched a lot on the internet and this is the one with the highest success rate, I advise you to grit your teeth and try again! Good luck
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I did IVF with St. Marianna Hospital in Kawasaki before. The nurses, doctors and staff were all very kind. You are right that they are very conservative with hormone treatment. They have to save that for later when all else fails. I have high pain tolerance but I still specifically requested to have anesthesia during egg extraction. If you are in Tokyo, you might want to check the hospital.
Like others have said, try another clinic. My good friend did hers at a Ladies Clinic in Miyogadani. Would that be too far for you? She did the whole process there and wasn’t what you described.