Experiencing the American IVF Hospital: My 30 day Full Record from Consultation to Transplantation

When writing this long article, it has been exactly 30 days since I first entered the gates of the INCINTA Fertility Center in the United States. In these 30 days, I went through remote video consultations, initial blood draws, hysteroscopy, ovulation induction, night needle, egg retrieval, embryo culture, PGT testing, endometrial conversion, and finally transplantation. Every step feels like stepping on the tip of the heart, both nervous and full of anticipation. In order to prevent future friends from taking detours in the United States, I have compiled a timeline, expenses, emotions, and details, and used a first person perspective to recreate a real, complete, and unfiltered journey to aesthetic reproductive medicine.

Overview of itinerary and key data

Total direct medical expenses ≈ 23865 USD(Excluding airfare, accommodation, car rental, catering, insurance).

Why choose the West Coast of the United States?

Before making the decision, I conducted a horizontal comparison of all mainstream reproductive medicine destinations worldwide, including technical differences, laboratory certification, Chinese communication, follow-up obstetric connections, time difference, flight duration, and visa convenience. There are only three reasons for ultimately locking in Los Angeles:

1. High average laboratory levelOne of the metropolitan areas with the highest number of CLIA/CAP dual certification embryo laboratories in the United States, with a high median annual salary for trainers, low talent mobility, and stable techniques.
2. Chinese living radius is matureFrom the airport to Torrance, Arcadia, and Irvine, the Chinese navigation will not drop, and even the CVS pharmacy has Mandarin prompts.
3. Clear regulationsCalifornia has a transparent legal framework for assisted reproductive technology, allowing parental rights to be included in judgments regardless of marital status or partner sex, with fewer steps required to obtain certification upon returning to the country.

Hospital screening process

I spent a week pulling Google Review, FertilityIQ, CDC's 2022 annual report, and SART data into Excel, screening out 10 institutions with a score of ≥ 4.5 and a cycle count of ≥ 300. Then, I filtered them twice according to "within 30 miles from the airport, proficient in Chinese language coordination, and able to accept international credit cards", and finally identified 5 institutions for on-site visits:

After visiting 5 places, I returned to the hotel and used a weighted scoring table (doctor communication, nurse response, laboratory visibility, price transparency, Chinese support, parking convenience) to score each item. INCINTA won with a score of 92/100, so I immediately used my first visit deposit to secure a spot on my credit card.

Day 1 Remote Video Consultation: Change 'impossible' to 'possible' first

In the Zoom conference room, Dr. Lin is wearing a dark gray suit with a microphone pinned to the collar and a hospital logo wall in the background. His first sentence was, 'I have read your 36 page file, let's talk about your worries first.' At that moment, my prepared lengthy self introduction froze in an instant. There is no promotion in the conversation, no "success package" rhetoric, only pure data: AMH 1.9, FSH 9.8, AFC 7-8, last time domestic ovulation promotion only obtained 3 eggs, of which 1 was fertilized. His prediction is: using a moderate dose antagonist regimen, aiming to retrieve 10-12 eggs, 3-4 usable embryos, transplant 1 embryo, and freeze the remaining blastocysts. Throughout the entire 30 minutes, he spent 18 minutes answering the 15 questions I listed, and the remaining 12 minutes for me to consider on my own. Before hanging up, he added a sentence: 'Take your time, fertility is a marathon, not a sprint.' This sentence was silently recited by me countless times in the following 30 days.

Day 2-3 Domestic Preparation: Set Your Body to "Takeoff" Mode

After the video, the nurse sent a "90 day pre conditioning checklist": 1 capsule of multivitamin per day, 600 mg of coenzyme Q10, 25 mg of DHEA (only for those with low testosterone), aerobic therapy with a heart rate of 120 or above three times a week, and turning off the lights before 23:30 at night. At the end of the list, bold: No profit, no herbs. I put all the traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations in the drawer and replaced them with an iPhone alarm clock to remind me that the screen must be closed at 23:28. To reduce insulin resistance, I switched my staple food to brown rice and quinoa, and reduced my coffee intake from 2 cups per day to 1 cup per week. During those two days, I felt like I was conducting a pre flight inspection on the plane, checking the adjustable fuel level, tire pressure, and screws, fearing that the faulty lights would only be discovered over the Pacific Ocean.

Day 4 Landing LAX: Customs only asked three questions

The flight arrived 45 minutes early, and the customs officer found my medical record invitation letter and only asked:
1. How long will you stay?
2. Who is your doctor?
3. Do you have cash or card to pay?
The entire process takes 90 seconds and is released with a seal. After leaving customs, I followed the route map given by the nurse and took an Uber to Torrance Residence Inn, which took 28 minutes. The driver was a second-generation Chinese who talked in Cantonese about Hong Kong style tea restaurants all the way. It was almost midnight when I arrived at the hotel. I stuffed the growth hormone pen wrapped in an ice pack from my suitcase into the room fridge, set up a 2-8 ℃ alarm, and then went to sleep peacefully.

Day 5 First Visit: Draw Blood Like Starbucks Calling

At 7:00 in the morning, I arrived at the hospital on an empty stomach. I checked in with my iPad at the front desk, and the system automatically converted my Chinese name into pinyin. The call screen then scrolled and played. 7: 15 drew 7 tubes of blood, had a vaginal ultrasound at 7:30, and saw a doctor at 7:45. Dr. Lin pointed to the antral follicle on the screen and said, "Left 4, right 5, size all around 5mm, perfectly synchronized." As he spoke, he circled the screen with a stylus, like an NBA commentator drawing a tactical board. 8: 15 hysteroscopes, intravenous injection of propofol, I had a fragment after 20 seconds. When I woke up and heard the nurse patting my shoulder and saying, 'All clear, no poly, no adhesion.' The biggest stone in my heart fell to the ground.

Day 6-13 Promotion: Check in to the gym like every day

The hospital will dispense all the medicine at once, store the refrigerated medicine in a transparent insulated bag, and include a set of discarded needle recycling boxes. The nurse taught me how to rotate the scale of the Gonal-f pen, emphasizing that 'you must hear a second click to complete'. Starting from the 6th day, come to the hospital at 7:30am every day for blood draw and ultrasound, and the doctor will call at 9:30am to adjust the dosage. On the evening of the 8th day, my stomach began to swell, as if I had eaten 5 pounds of hot pot, and I had to support my waist with both hands when turning over. The nurse asked me to drink electrolyte water, at least 2 L per day, plus 2 spoons of protein powder. On the 10th day of monitoring, the dominant follicle was 18 mm and estradiol was 2850 pg/mL. Dr. Lin decided to receive a night shot at 21:00 that evening. I took the hCG pen home, pinched 2 cm below my belly button in front of the mirror, silently counted "1, 2, 3" in my mind, and after injecting that 0.5 mL, it was like setting up the final water station for this half marathon.

Day 14 Egg Retrieval: A Harvest of 23 Eggs

The surgery is scheduled for the earliest shift, reporting at 05:30, inserting the indwelling needle at 06:00, the anesthesiologist comes to discuss the pain relief plan at 06:30, and advancing to the operating room at 07:15. The mask is pulled down, and the screen goes black after 3 seconds. Opening my eyes again, I was already in the recovery room. The nurse held up a small whiteboard and said, "23 eggs, you did great!" My first reaction was that my nose was sore, but I couldn't cry and could only repeatedly say thank you. Drink apple juice and eat Saltine biscuits 2 hours after surgery, observe no bleeding before release. On the way back to my apartment, I stopped my Uber at Walgreens and bought electrolyte water, acetaminophen, and a $5 plush rabbit as a reward for myself.

Day 15-20: The Invisible Marathon in the Laboratory

I don't have to go back to the hospital these 6 days, but I receive emails from embryologists around 11:00 every day with the same title "Embryo Update - Day X". On the second day after ICSII, 20 out of 23 mature eggs were fertilized; On the third day, 16 pieces split well; On the 5th day, 11 embryos formed; On the 6th day, add 1 more. The final 12 PGT samples were sent to the Third Party laboratory by refrigerated transport vehicles in liquid nitrogen tanks at minus 190 ℃. Every day I wait, I print out my emails and stick them on the refrigerator door, like when I checked my final exam scores when I was a child. On the evening of the 20th day, the results were released: 7 diploids, 5 males and 2 females. I folded the report into small blocks and stuffed them into my wallet, as if wearing a talisman.

Day 21-26 Inner Membrane Conversion: Loosening the 'Land'

Due to the high hormone levels after egg retrieval, Dr. Lin suggests freezing the embryo cycle and allowing the ovaries to rest first. So I started taking Estrace orally, 2 mg every 6 hours, plus vaginal Viagra 25 mg, to dilate blood flow. Starting from the 4th day, apply 4 estrogen patches to your stomach every day, like applying a patch. On the 24th day, upon returning to the hospital, the endometrial thickness reached 10.3 mm, the third line was clear, and estradiol was stable at>200 pg/mL, meeting the standard. The nurse smiled and said, 'Your lining looks like a fluffy pillow.' At that moment, I felt for the first time that my body could also be praised as' cute '.

Day 27 transplant: 5 minutes, but it feels like walking a lifetime

On the day of the transplant, I wore a pink sports suit because the nurse reminded me in advance, 'Dress please, you'll have a full bladder.' I started watering at 10:30 and entered the operating room at 11:00. The B-ultrasound probe pressed down, and the bladder looked like a balloon, but the doctor said he needed to "drink another 200 mL". 11: 10. The embryologist handed in a catheter carrying 5BB embryos, and Dr. Lin adjusted the camera focus by softly counting "1, 2, 3". The release was completed in 30 seconds. The small white dots on the screen flickered like shooting stars in the night sky. The nurse handed me a heat map to print and said, 'This is your baby's first photo.' I took it with both hands, my fingertips sweating.

Day 28-30 Luteal support and waiting

After the transplant, I didn't lie flat for 24 hours. The nurse asked me to go home and live a normal life, just not to lift heavy objects or take hot baths. The Crinone gel should be cleaned carefully every morning and evening. The residue is like coconut paste. On the third day, I couldn't help but use test strips and whiteboards, and my heart skipped a beat. My husband said, 'Trust the process.' So I put all the test strips in the drawer and set the countdown: there are still 9 days left until Beta. To distract my attention, I wrote this long article about my 30 day record, like sending a long letter to my future self.

Expense details and 'hidden expenses'

8 "Avoiding Pits" Suggestions for Later Learners

1. Stop traditional Chinese medicine 90 days in advanceMany herbal preparations contain phytoestrogens, which can interfere with basal hormone readings and may cause doctors to misjudge the dosage.
2. Bring a Visa/Master credit card with zero transaction feesOn site card swiping at the hospital does not incur any additional charges, while ATM withdrawal fees can reach up to 3%.
3. Prioritize renting an apartment with a full-size refrigeratorHalf of the freezer compartment is occupied by the medication for promoting ejaculation. If the hotel mini bar cannot accommodate it, an additional medical refrigerator will be rented for $25 per day.
4. Drink plenty of water before drawing bloodAmerican nurses are accustomed to using thick needles, which can easily cause the pump to stop halfway due to insufficient blood volume. Repeating the needle is equivalent to getting lost.
5. No sexual activity for 36 hours after the night shotOvarian volume increases, intense exercise may induce torsion, and emergency surgery costs at least $10000.
6. Do not 'lie flat' after transplantationLong term bed rest reduces blood flow and actually affects endometrial permeability. Official data shows that the clinical pregnancy rate is higher in the daily activity group.
7. Save embryo photos in the cloudPaper thermal printing paper will fade after half a year, but uploading the original image to Google Drive will never lose it.
8. Fill out the customs health declaration in advance when returning to ChinaIf there is a recent record of general anesthesia, you may be required to use an artificial channel and reserve 2 hours for transfer.

In conclusion

30 days may not be long, but it is enough for a person to rediscover themselves. It made me understand that childbirth is not a test of 'hard work always pays off', but a collaborative project involving multiple games of probability, time, emotion, and money. What we can do is to stretch every controllable step to full marks, and then calmly wait for life to give its answer. Regardless of whether my blood level is negative or positive after 9 days, this journey has planted a seed called 'hope' in my heart. May you, who have read this, also embark on your own path with more comprehensive information and a more confident heart. I wish that in the near future, we can all hold the 'little white dot' in our arms and say to it with our own mouths: Welcome to the world, we’ve been waiting for you.

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