# Transfer 1 or 2 embryos???



## Teta81

I am so torn about what I should do and am looking for some advice and curious as to what others have done and their success. I had my egg retrieval 2 days ago, 9 eggs retrieved, 8 of which fertilized, and 7 dividing today on day 2. I will either have a 4 or 5 day transfer. My re said he will recommend a single embryo transfer on day 5 if there is a good looking blast. But will give me the option of transferring 2 if I want. I am totally stressed out and don't know what the right answer is! There are so many factors, I would be devastated if one didn't take, and wish I did 2, but am very cautious about having twins, as I work in a field were I see many high risk pregnancies. I would love to hear what other people have done and how it worked out for you!! :hugs:


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## HandM

I am in my second pregnancy from IVF. I have a 2yr old son from IVF in '09. Both times 2 embryos were transfered on the 3rd day. Both times only one took. My doctor strongly recomended both times to transfer 2 and not 1 because of it being a better chance, and they said they would hate to see me only do one and have to try IVF again if the one didnt take. ( Its a " chances" thing!)

my first time after transfer the embryos didnt develop any more or well enough so they were disgarded. So if it didnt work i would have to start all over from begining.

this time I have 5 that developed and we now have them frozen incase we want to do again in future.

Hope this helps!! If I had to do it again for a 3rd time i would transfer 2 again!!!


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## Teta81

Thanks that does help! I have a 2 yr old daughter as well, not ivf tho, through iui which didn't work this time after 8 rounds of trying... So knowing that you understand the chances of twins with a toddler at home part helps a lot! Congratulations to you!! :happydance:


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## HandM

LOL! yeah, we definatly thought alittle more about the number to be transfered this time around with the toddler at home!!! but like I said, when i brought the conserns(sp?) to doc this is what they suggested.

Good luck to you!!!!!


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## Teta81

Thank you so much for your reply. It really helps to hear others input and reasoning. I know it's going to end up being a last min decision based on what they have to say about the embryos, there is just too much I don't know yet to make an informed decision. My dr will push for 1, but My gut is telling me 2, so that I can have one as "backup", but I think that is my miscarriage experience talking. (FYI I miscarried IDENTICAL twins in July, resulting from iui, a chromosomal abnormality- prob should have mentioned that!) But I know that one is safer and would be better for our family. At the same time I know that if I do have twins, it will feel like It was always meant to be!


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## icklefish

Hi teta81, I am having a 3dt tomorrow, I only had 3 eggs to collect luckily they all fertilised. We are going with a 3dt as that what has been recommended to us by our consultant and embryologist, we will be havin two put back in, DH & I have discussed it length and we'd be happy with twins if that was the outcome. 
Follow your heart and good luck
xx


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## ickle pand

This site is pro-single embryo transfer but it does explain the reasons why it's safer etc. It's always best to have all the information before you make a decision. One thing I took from it, is that transferring a single embryo rather than 2 doesn't halve your chance of getting pregnant like you'd expect. It's a very personal decision though, I just thought I'd pass this on to help make the right one for you.

https://www.oneatatime.org.uk/index.htm

HTH


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## Teta81

That site is great! Thanks so much for sharing it!! I seems from my research that SET is encouraged much more in Europe than in the US, and I get the sense that it is related to finances more than anything. I have learned a lot on the research that I have done, it's very interesting. It's going to be a last minut decision for my based on how my embryos look, how many are good to freeze etc. thanks again for your input!


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## ickle pand

Yeah it's a good site with lots of good info rather than just saying don't do it. I know that when our time comes I'm going to have to fight the urge to beg the doctor to put all the embryos back lol! 

Let us know what you decide and we'll send sticky bean vibes your way :)


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## Teta81

So I had my transfer yesterday. It went very well and we decided to transfer TWO embryos!!! The embryologist came in and told us that there were 2 good looking embryos (a 4AB blast and a 3AA blast) and acted like that's what we were putting in. Then she hesitated and said... Unless you want one?? Both my husband and I felt like she thought right off that we should put both in. Then the dr told us that there is a 40% chance of pregnancy and 25% chance of twins with both going in. The other factor was that there were only 2 "ok" looking embryos to freeze. I just felt like if I froze one of the good ones and didn't end up pregnant and lost that one in the thaw, it would have been wasted for nothing. I'm very comfortable with my decision which is a huge relief. Thank you again for all of your input!! 

NOW FOR THE WAIT...................


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## ickle pand

Good luck! Keep us posted when you test


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## HandM

Im excited to hear how it goes!! waiting takes foever!!!!:flower:


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## babydrms

I stalked your thread a little...having same dilema ourselves. Our clinic HIGHLY encourages SET and are roud of their low rates of multiples...That being said I am leaning towards two as well. My reasons are a little different...If we had two, I honostly feel we would be done and I would never have to go through the IVF nightmare again. I also work in high-risk obstretics, so I am also worried about the possible complications...Such a big decision. 

Teta - so glad you can make a decision you were comfortable, by this time next week I will be in the same position.


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## Teta81

Babydrms.... I'm not sure if I mentioned this is my previous posts, but I am a nicu nurse which also weighed heavily on my decision. So i 100% undstand where you are coming from. I can say at this point I am still happy with the decision and it just felt right at the time. I'll keep you posted!


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## babydrms

Teta81 said:


> Babydrms.... I'm not sure if I mentioned this is my previous posts, but I am a nicu nurse which also weighed heavily on my decision. So i 100% undstand where you are coming from. I can say at this point I am still happy with the decision and it just felt right at the time. I'll keep you posted!

Now that you mention it, it does ring a bell that you are a NICU RN from another thread. So many RN's in these threads!! 

I think we should all remember how many HEALTHY twins deliver. We delivered 5 sets last week, earliest being 36 weeks and they were the only ones to go to NICU (and only because any gestation less than 37 goes per protocol) - Many NICU RN's don't even realize how many are just fine because you only get to see the sick ones.


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## Teta81

It's so true I don't know such a thing as healthy twins bc I never see them. I actually called my OB before The transfer to ask them how many do well. They acted like I was nuts!!


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## babydrms

Teta81 said:


> It's so true I don't know such a thing as healthy twins bc I never see them. I actually called my OB before The transfer to ask them how many do well. They acted like I was nuts!!

haha, your too funny. I just looked at my hand-out from the RE which is from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the average length of pregnancy for twins is 35 weeks - so we obviously know some go earlier, but a lot go very close to term. 

Clearly the OB must know that ALL us IVFer's are nuts!!


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## Teta81

Hahaha true. I never used to be nuts. This all made me :wacko: into one of "those"


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## Teta81

Babydrms how did your retrieval/ transfer go? Did u have them yet?? Did u decide how many you will put back in?? As for me I go for my beta tomorrow morning but have had 3 days of bfp now!! Started testing on 6dp5dt and got a pretty solid positive, and only stronger from there. I am pretty convinced it is twins since with my daughter I didn't have a bfp until the 14dpo!!! My latest worry is that one embryo split and there are 3 in there!! Yikes, why can't we just enjoy it and not worry?? So beta in am, trying not to get my hopes up yet......


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## Care76

Teta we had our transfer on the same day. Mine were 3dt though as we only had 3 embryos and didn't want to risk loosing them. I won't have my beta until later next week though! I won't be testing for a while either as I was urged not to by my RE.

Congrats on your BFPs!!!!!!!!! 

FX for Babydrms too!!!


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## babydrms

Teta - my retrieval went well. I did have to deal with one nasty nurse, but otherwise things went well. They got 16 eggs, injected 15 (my clinic does ICSI for everyone) and now we have 11 embryos growing. We are planning for a 5 day transfer on Friday. 

Congratulations on your BFP!! Fx'd you only have a singleton or twinkies in there, I shudder at the thought of triplets! What kind of test did you use (which were so sensitive)? I may need to invest!


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## Teta81

Oh that's great news! How do you feel after the retrieval? Did you have to work this week? It took me a lot longer to recover than I expected. I think I was hit hard by the anesthesia bc I felt groggy for a few days. I'm still pretty bloated too. 

I used first response early result. They are supposed to be the most sensitive. I wish I tested earlier bc I'm curious how early that line would have shown up. You couldn't miss it 6dp5dt. I also had a digital that said "pregnant" but I like seeing how dark the lines get. I have taken on every day since to make sure it's getting darker and wasn't just the trigger. It has gotten darker and darker! 

Good luck with your transfer. It was way less climactic than I expected, but I did have acupuncture in the office before and after the transfer which dragged it out a bit. Keep me posted!


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## babydrms

I am still a little sore today but haven't needed anything more for pain. Thankully I didn't have to go back to work until tomorrow. It is definitely taking a little longer than I expected to bounce back. I am also VERY bloated. Gained 5 pounds in two days...drinking tons of gatorade and trying to get in tons of protein - do not want to end up with OHSS.


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## Teta81

Babydrms how did your transfer go? Did they say what grading your embryos were? How many did you transfer?? Hope all went well!


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## babydrms

Teta - we had one perfect 1AA (which is the best in our clinic), so we went with SET. They kept commenting on pretty it was! It looks like we are going to freeze 2-5, as there are few still in limbo. We were open to transferring two, but after a week of bedrest the last thing I wanted to do was push my luck and end up with a complicated twin pregnancy. I would die on bedrest. All the messing around made my belly get super distended again. My right ovary was over 9 cm!! No wonder I feel sooooo bloated. Transfer was quite a mess, they had a ton of trouble getting through my cervix. It was painful and made me super crampy. So they have me on valium to try and quiet everything down. 

Now I just need the bean to stick


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## AmesLouise

I just wanted to chime in to wish you guys luck! I'm eagerly awaiting your positive results!!! It gives me hope!


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## Teta81

Thanks Ames!

Babydrms that sounds so rough I'm sorry it happened like that for you and you have been feeling so lousy. It will all be worth it though! I'm excited for you to see your bfp! Are going to hpt? 

I'm back to work tonight for the first time since this all started. I dread it majorly and don't know how I am going to make it 7p-7a. I can barely make it until 10p at home. Ahhhh!

I got my second beta and it was 350. I'm slightly uneasy about it since I didn't exactly double in 48 hours (197 14dpo and 350 16dpo). I know it's still wnl but I still wish it was higher. Repeat on Monday!


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## babydrms

Teta - you can do it girl. Just have to get yourself back on the nights schedule. I am so glad to work days for the past year (spent 6.5 years on nights). However, in l and d, we are sooooo much busier during the days that the work is much harder. At least the 12 hours go by more quickly. I tried going back wed and ended up leaving by 9:30 with a horrible belly ache that would let me leave the bathroom. So I just called off for thursday too. So - tomorrow will be my first day back and I am scheduled for 12 also...Ugh. Hopefully, since it is a Sunday, it won't be as bad. 

I am torn about doing the hpt, afraid of false positive from trigger and don't know if I can deal with a negative either. 

Good Luck at work!


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## Miss Jennifer

Just wanted to drop by and give you some hope - I did a single embryo transfer of a perfect 6AA blast last week that is now a mini-me cooking in my oven! Just found out Friday that I was pregnant! The better the embryo, the more likely the docs are to push single transfer... best wishes and prayers to you!!


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## babydrms

Congratulations Miss Jennifer!!! 

The weird thing is they called ours a 1AA, but it looked like the pictures of 6AA, weird :shrug:. Anyways, they were very excited about how "pretty it was" the RE, ultrasound tech, nurse, and embryologist were all very excited about the quality. The rate of pregnancy in my age group with this kind of blast are about 65% at my clinic...I really hope to be the majority in this case!!! 

I can't believe how many frosties you got!! We only ended up with 3 but at least they are all very high quality.


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## Teta81

Babydrms have you tested yet??? 

Hoping maybe your have some good news!! 
:dust:


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## babydrms

:bfn: :nope: Sucks.


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## babydrms

Teta, how have the betas been going - still increasing?


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## Teta81

How many days post transfer are you? Whe. Is your official beta? I'm still holding out some hope for you! :hugs: If it doesn't work this time will you try again ASAP? I hope you don't have to

My betas have been rising nicely, today's was 5743!!!! 

So it's official, ultrasound is on Wednesday at 9am.

I don't think I have ever been as nervous for anything in my whole life! I don't know how I will make it 5 more days. It's torture!

With my previous pregnancy I had awesome betas and then no hb w identical twins, do I can't trust betas at all at this point. 

Keeping my hopes up for you!! :hugs:


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## babydrms

I am 7dpt5dt, should really have a positive hpt by now. Not getting crazy and taking off the strogen patches yet but I will be happy to stop the preogesterone suppositories and estrogen. Just ready to feel like myself again. 

I don't know what we will do as far as staring again right away. An April cycle will make for a Christmas baby and since I am one, and have always had such heartbreak when it comes to my Birthday, we are torn. We do have a consultation with the RE for tusday so we can go oer the cycle. I just hope AF comes soon, and I don't end up being one of those people waiting forever for AF and delaying more stuff.

Wow, Wednesday is so soon!! How many do you think are in there?


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## Teta81

That's really disappointing, are the going to draw a beta? When will they have to stop the progesterone? 

If it makes you feel any better, I had my iui with my daughter on April 17 and she was born jan 7. So she doesn't really have a Christmas bday, by the time her bday comes Christmas feels over. If this whole experience has taught me anything it's that I have no control over any of it, including the due date! I get so mad when my friends are like ok we r going to get pregnant to have a baby in may and boom it happens! :wacko:

I keep going back and forth about how many I think are in there. But all I care about is that there is one or two healthy beating hearts. I used to hope for one, but if there are two and they are healthy I will be just as happy :thumbup:


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## babydrms

I know what you mean. We definitely will be transferring two next time. Anything healthy is a blessing. 

We will still have a beta on Monday (the formality of it all!). I was going by April 5th as a retrieval date (two months after the last one) and it makes for a December 26th due date. So again, we will just wait and see what MD says. Def need some time to think things over. Would really like to take a vacation and go diving before we doe this again and I have a sky diving gift certificate which expires this summer...


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