anyone over 35 going for fertility treatments this year? IUI, IVF etc

[sarahincanada]

Sarah: Congrats! That is very exciting, I bet you can't wait to meet your little one! I was thinking the same thing, maybe I could squeeze in a couple of IUI's if the IVF didn't work, or try IUI two more times then move to IVF. I guess there are options but I'm sure everyone can relate to the sense of panic I have about wanting/needing it to happen sooner than later. How long were you on Co-Q10 before your successful IVF? Did you do any accupuncture?

Thanks,Ladies! I knew I would get good advice on here. Guess I have some decisions to make.

if you do have the money for IUIs plus IVF I would do the IVF first, as it does seem to have the greatest chance, even though its a lot of $$ I think at our age its worth it if you can afford. I took the Co-Q10 for about 2 months before my retrieval. And I did acupuncture for my successful FET, not my fresh cycle, so I really believe in it too! really calmed my body.

 

[Rona]

LLBean,

Good luck with the IUI.

 

[LLbean]

Thanks!

 

[drsquid]

i did 4 iuis which all failed and found out at round 4 the donor sperm i was using was crap. i was so frustrated at that point i went straight to ivf with icsi. ended up with 12 mature (out of 13) and 11 fertilized and all 11 went to blast. put back 2 which both stuck and have 4 frozen. as much as it pisses me off that i dont think i needed ivf it is much faster. im 39 btw

 

[Suzi Q]

i did 4 iuis which all failed and found out at round 4 the donor sperm i was using was crap. i was so frustrated at that point i went straight to ivf with icsi. ended up with 12 mature (out of 13) and 11 fertilized and all 11 went to blast. put back 2 which both stuck and have 4 frozen. as much as it pisses me off that i dont think i needed ivf it is much faster. im 39 btw

How frustrating! Talk about adding insult to injury. So your first IVF worked with fresh embies? Congrats on your twins, btw! In looking at the signatures in this and other forums, I see a lot more success with the FET's. Does the icsi cost more? Can you just ask for it or do they have to see a reason to do it? Also, do you know if FET cost the same as the original IVF since they are not retrieving the eggs?

 

[LillyLove]

Suzi - At our clinic:
Fresh= $12,000
FET= $5,000

FET is considerably less. I am hoping that FET is the ticket for us because today was my beta and I tested beforehand and bfn. Just waiting for the call to confirm it. We have 3 embies on ice.

 

[DaisyQ]

LilyLove, I am so sorry. Hoping your FET will indeed be your magic ticket.

SuzieQ (ha! are we cousins? ) - welcome. I have done tons of research on all this IUI vs. IVF stuff, and IVF is the way to go if you are in the "older" age bracket - definitely 38 plus - if you can afford it. It has much higher success rates than IUI in general, and especially if you fall into the older age bracket. Unfortunately, the rate of aneuploidy (abnormal number of chromosomes) goes up and up in the 35+ group, and each egg basically has a ~45-55% chance of being chromosomally normal. So even if egg and sperm meet, and fertilization happens, and the embryo makes into the uterus, and the uterus is receptive and the embryo implants, there's a high chance it's abnormal and won't be a viable pregnancy. Most MCs happen before you even know you are pregnant. With IVF, at least you are working with a large number of eggs, so there are many more chances for a normal, healthy baby.

Personally I think IUI is great to try once or twice, especially if you have a diagnosis of anovulation - in that case it can totally work. But if you ovulate normally, and that's not the problem... seems like IVF is more likely to bypass the underlying problem. My two cents!

 

[drsquid]

yes i succeeded first try with fresh embies. both of the ones i put back stuck and i have 4 frozen. i didnt look into fet prices too much but i think my place they are about 3000 plus the meds. fresh with isci was nearly 11,000. i did icsi cause i was using frozen donor sperm and it is recommended for frozen sperm. as far as i know you can ask to have it done regardless, it just costs more. theoretically there is a higher risk of birth defects though that hasnt really been proven. got my full amnio results today and all is normal (i had normal 2 day results but that doesnt test for translocations and mosaics) so despite being 39 all was good

 

[Suzi Q]

Suzi - At our clinic:
Fresh= $12,000
FET= $5,000

FET is considerably less. I am hoping that FET is the ticket for us because today was my beta and I tested beforehand and bfn. Just waiting for the call to confirm it. We have 3 embies on ice.

Thank you LillyLove-that is helpful. I am so sorry about your bffn. Like I said, I have noticed more positives with FET than with fresh, and at my clinic the success rate is higher, so I think you have a good chance with your 3 embies!

Daisy Q- We very well may be cousins! Thanks for the two cents- makes a lot of sense. Since the FET is cheaper, I will likely go straight to IVF. My one big worry was that we can only afford to do this once, so if it didn't work we would have no money left for anything else. But $5,000 is a lot easier to come up with than the $15,000 IVF costs, so if it doesn't work there still may be hope that we can do an FET. Such a scarey thing though...what if there aren't enough to freeze, etc. Why is it so easy for everyone else on the planet???

 

[DaisyQ]

It is scary, and frustrating. Everyone is different. Some people like lilylove, drsquid and sarahincanada respond well to the stimulation drugs, have a fairly large number if eggs retrieved, good fertilization results, and good egg and sperm quality, which leads to a high proportion of blasts for transfer, so they end up extra embryos to freeze. Others are not so lucky. Out of 12 eggs retrieved, I only had three blasts. We had ours screened for chromosomal abnormalities, and one was abnormal, leaving us with 2. Of the two, one did not survive the thawing process so we were only able to transfer one. Thank goodness it worked, because if not, we would have had to started over from scratch. If we want siblings for this baby, we will have to do another cycle (or several). And I've seen others go through this and wind up with very few eggs retrieved, or poor quality, and have only one embryo to transfer. Its hard to know how it will go for you until you try. My only advice is to be an informed patient, do the research, pick a top clinic with high success rates in your age bracket, elect for chromosomal screening if it's available, and be your own advocate. I'd also consider starting on micronized dhea (25 mg three times a day) and coQ10 (600-800 mg daily) immediately to optimize egg quality.

 

[LLbean]

Sarah!!!! Congrats! He's soooooo cute!!!!

 

[sarahincanada]

 

[LillyLove]

HE IS GORGEOUS SARAH!!! SO HANDSOME! Congratulations!

 

[LLbean]

Omg I have no words. He is just perfect!!! I want to kiss those cheeks!!! Congrats mommy!!!!

 

[Sus09]

Sarah, Congratulations! He is gorgeous!!

 

[drsquid]

awww look at the cheeks.. and hair

 

[hockey24]

Oh Sarah - he's absolutely beautiful!! What a perfect little boy. And a great head of hair! Congrats!!!

 

[Suzi Q]

Wow, Sarah, thank you for posting pics of your gorgeous boy! It gives us all hope to see such a little miracle after a long journey. A very hearty congratulations to you and your family!

 

[Indigo77]

Congrats, Mama! He's adorable!

 

[DaisyQ]

Omg, Sarah!!! Holy moley! He is just beautiful. congratulations!