Success Story｜With Warmth and Patience, We Walk This Fertility Journey Together (Repost from Dcard)

I’ve always been a quiet reader in the community, reading other women’s posts about their fertility journeys. Now, I’d like to share my own experience and pass on some positive energy.

My husband and I got married in early 2021. We tried to conceive naturally for over half a year with no success. I tracked ovulation using body temperature and ovulation test strips, but no good news ever came. Growing anxious, we decided to undergo fertility testing.

The results confirmed that we were an infertile couple, and our chances of natural conception were extremely low. The main issue was that my husband had a very low sperm count and poor motility. If we wanted to conceive, we would have to go through IVF and use ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) to combine the sperm and egg.

After receiving the diagnosis, we left the doctor’s office in silence. My husband felt guilty and kept apologizing, but I comforted him, reminding him that even people with “normal” test results don’t necessarily conceive easily. At least now we had an answer and could address the issue directly.

Never did I imagine that a TV drama like Mother to Be would reflect my own life. I just knew one thing—I was terrified of starting IVF. I hated injections and blood tests. So my husband and I decided to give ourselves one year: he would undergo varicocele surgery, and both of us would start seeing a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and take herbal decoctions. If, after that year, we still couldn’t conceive naturally but still really wanted a child, we would move forward with IVF.

After a year passed and we still had no good news—and my husband’s numbers had only declined—we decided it was time. Reading stories from this online community helped me feel less afraid of IVF. I gathered the courage to consult with three or four fertility clinics.

One doctor bluntly told us our success rate was low, though not zero. He spoke cautiously and left us feeling disheartened. Another clinic outright refused to treat us, saying my husband’s issue had to be solved first—but we didn’t understand what else could be done after surgery had already failed to improve his condition. The doctor didn’t seem to care and dismissed us. I felt incredibly frustrated. I had finally built up the courage to begin IVF, only to be shot down one after another by doctors.

Then we found Huayu and met Dr. Hsu. He gave me hope again. After reviewing our test results, Dr. Hsu said we were a mild case of infertility and that he was confident we could succeed. That’s what they call “doctor chemistry,” I guess.

During our consultation, Dr. Hsu patiently answered all of our questions. Despite having many patients, he never rushed and took time to communicate with us gently and clearly. He made us feel genuinely seen and heard. As soon as my next cycle started, we returned to the clinic and began the IVF process.

During a transvaginal ultrasound, Dr. Hsu discovered a polyp in my uterus. Because I was menstruating at the time, he scheduled a hysteroscopy after the cycle ended. Sure enough, the polyp was confirmed. Dr. Hsu said it could be removed during egg retrieval, so I would only need to be under anesthesia once.

The weekly appointments went very smoothly, and my follicles were well managed. Most importantly, none of the blood draws or injections hurt—which was a huge relief for me. Every nurse had incredible skill. Even the intravenous anesthesia needle that I feared most was administered painlessly.

I ended up retrieving 15 eggs, two of which were immature. Thirteen fertilized successfully, and we selected five embryos for PGS testing.

However, when the PGS results were ready and we were preparing for the transfer, Dr. Hsu found that the polyp had grown back—and it was even bigger than the previous month’s. I was devastated. Everything had gone so smoothly, and I thought I was one of the lucky ones. But now the polyp had returned.

Dr. Hsu referred me to Dr. Wang and suggested I have a hysteroscopic polyp removal at Zhongshan Hospital. My consultation with Dr. Wang was also calm and reassuring. He told me our embryos were of excellent quality and emphasized the importance of optimizing the uterine environment before transfer. To avoid wasting even a single embryo, we proceeded with a second surgery. The procedure was not frightening, and everything went smoothly. I was finally ready for the next cycle and embryo transfer.

Due to the timing, we ran into the Chinese New Year holiday and couldn’t proceed immediately. I worried the polyp might return again during the break. Dr. Hsu suggested I take a leuprolide injection to give my uterus time to rest. After the holiday, everything resumed smoothly, and we scheduled the embryo transfer for Valentine’s Day.

The transfer was quick and painless—though the full bladder part was a bit uncomfortable. Then we waited 14 days for the pregnancy test. Coincidentally, the day of the test was our wedding anniversary. The positive result became the best anniversary gift we could have hoped for.

To all the sisters out there still debating whether to begin IVF, I highly recommend the team at Huayu.

※ This article is a personal experience shared for reference only. Actual treatment outcomes vary by individual. Please consult with a qualified physician for medical advice.