IVF/ICSI/FET in September!!!

[Doodar]

Well Ladies I'm plucked,preened,pruned,manicured,pedicured and packed. I'm off on my holidays tomorrow for two weeks of sun,sea,sand and and lots of eating and drinking. Going to completely chill and relax before treatment starts. Countdown begins when we get back.

Take care ladies. Speak soon. x

 

[mercyme]

Have a great vacation, Doodar!!!

 

[Isi Buttercup]

Enjoy your vacation, Doodar!

 

[mercyme]

Formal appearance of this morning. I'm really sad about it. I had hoped the IUI would work this month. I'm scared to do IVF. I'm wondering if we should try IUI one last time... Well, we have an appointment for Friday for a "chart review" with the RE. I like her a lot, and she's so pretty. (is that totally shallow to say??) Anyway, I'm glad we have an appt b/c it feels like forward movement. There's a next step to take, I'm not stuck in disappointment.

Hope you all are doing well!

 

[Blue12]

So sorry to hear about this mercyme........ looking forward to your next steps xo.

 

[Gracy 004]

Ok, so i was trying soooo hard to be all positive and stuff but today things may have taken yet another left turn
The FS rang and said thay they have results of the analysis of the D&C. Turns out the fetus had abnormal chromosome 15 causing it to abort. Then they said that because of this i have to go and have my chromosomes tested to see if i have a balanced translocation or something. They know dh's chromosomes are normal as they were tested initially because of the male factor. She stressed that the abnormal embryo was most likely a chance event but they need to be sure. She also said that if i do have this chromosome problem then we probably can still have a healthy baby but it will take longer and there will be more miscarriages and need to have expensive testing done on the embryos before they are put back.

I better not have this problem!!!!! but i havent got a a good feeling about it. Why does everything that is really improbable only happen with bad stuff? Like its really improbably that i will get preg naturally or win the lottery and those things dont happen.

So they said they are going ahead with the FET as long as the clomid works and i ov as they wont know the results of the chromosomes until probably after the transfer has happened. So not only are my chances low because so soon after a M/C and the fact its a FET, now it has a reasonable chance of miscarrying again due to genetic abnormality!

Seriously i really am starting to feel like we are pushing shit up a hill Started out as oh you will be fine its just a low sperm count and success is practically guaranteed.... to low sperm count, polycystic ovaries, long drawn out miscarriage, genetically abnormal embryo to now possible genetically abnormal mother.My enthusiasm for this is slipping away fast....

Sorry this was a rant but i had to get it off my chest.

 

[Isi Buttercup]

So sorry, Gracy. I do pray it was just a one-off, and your other embryos will not have that problem. I know it must be hard for you now, but try to think positive, hun. Will be praying for you.

So sorry about AF, Mercyme. Good luck with this new cycle hun....whether it's IUI or IVF you decide to do

 

[mercyme]

Gracy, I will be waiting on pins & needles to hear the results of your tests. I'm really sorry you're dealing with this -- and hopefully it's just a fluke, the chromosome thing. I had a mc in March, no testing as it passed naturally (@ 7 wks), but the RE said that when the embryo stops growing @ 5 wks (as mine did), it's almost always a chromosomal abnormality -- and that it is very common, not indicative of future results. I'm surprised that they're doing those tests for you -- have you had multiple mc's? (can't see your signature right now) If it's just your first one, it seems unlikely that you have that rare chromosome condition. However, I know what you mean about the negative odds!

Also, would you mind explaining what you were told about MF? Is there a better chance for IVF when that's the main issue? Do you (or anyone else, actually) know what factors are more likely to respond positively to IVF? Or is it all very random & chancy?

 

[Leilani]

mercyme - IVF is really the only option where male factor is the issue, as it the end of the day (or middle of your cycle) you need ridiculously large numbers of sperm, properly formed swimming in the right direction, 20 million per mil is what doctors ike to see, as many of them will be pretty useless (even in the best samples), and it's a treacherous journey for the spem to embark on in order to reach the egg. So yes, it only takes one to fertilise the egg, but that one needs an army of fallen soldiers to help it reach its target!! Unless your MF issues are cause by a blockage that once removed leads to normal production levels, there really is very little that can be done to significantly increase sperm count/motility and morphology, once basic changes have been made (boxers, no laptops on lap, no smoking, not a lot of alcohol). There are a lot of stories out there of men who have seen dramatic changes, however, I think the reality is not so rosey, as there are many more stories where nothing makes a difference. Unlike women, who have a variety of different options when facing infertility, as there seems to be that many different factors which can contribute to our troubles!

If MF is the only issue, your chances of getting pregnant per mature egg are slightly higher than "normal" couples. IVF success rates are higher, as instead of working with just one egg per cycle, there could be 20+ (though unlikely all would be mature enough to attempt fertilisation), and they are given a helping hand by not having to make the journey to the egg themselves! I was reading some research from my clinic and it's thought that only 25% of eggs are actually capable of maturing, fertilising and implanting - which is why, even when everything is timed to perfection, ladies don't get pregnant as easily as we'd like and others get lucky the first time.

For regular IVF embryologists would probably put about 200 000 washed sperm in the dish (not a test-tube), as this seems to be the viable number, but if the MF is severe and ICSI is used, your man only needs to produce one sperm per egg, and it doesn't matter if it's swimming in circles going nowhere, as it gets its tail broken and injected in!

Hope that helps!

 

[mercyme]

Leilani, thank you so much for that articulate answer! I guess what I'm hoping to hear is that our IVF odds are strong, but ultimately odds don't mean too much, since I'll either be pregnant or not at the end of the journey. At this point, MF seems to be our main/only problem, but I am 35 and may very well have issues that we don't know about. Ostensibly, I'm fixed. I had lap for endo, cyst, & polyps -- all factors that made me infertile -- and there was no scarring, as far as I know. I should be okay, so now we're just dealing with very low sc (5 million, 30% motility). IVF/ICSI is our next step, if we take that step. I'd like to tell DH that our chances for success are better than the average, but I don't know if that's technically/scientifically true. And then there's the statistic that I read on the board -- 85% get pregnant within 3 rounds of IVF -- which doesn't do us much good, as we'd be bankrupt before we could do 3 cycles, but which seems very hopeful to me in the big picture.

 

[mercyme]

Any news, Gracy?

I'm going to talk with the RE tomorrow -- I sure hope it's positive news about our chances of success! I also hope that DH gets excited about the possibility of IVF & we're able to start right away...

 

[MySillyGirls]

Hi, All! DH and I are doing an IVF/ICSI cycle in Sept with ER around 9/11 and ET of either 3 3-day embies or 2 5-day blasts that week. I am on a microflare protocal and taking BCPs for another 2 weeks before I start the injectables. I get my meds on Tuesday, but, as I understand, I will be using Gonal F, Cetritide and Repronex and then, of course, an HCG trigger. I will start those around 8/30 for 12-13 days.

This is our first IVF cycle so I am concerned about things like OHSS. We can't afford to pursue this option for long so I am praying that the cycle doesn't have to be canceled for some reason.

In July, we had an IUI cycle that was BFN and since our problem is male factor, we decided to move to ivf.

Glad to be part of this thread! I could use the support

 

[MummyIwanabe]

:wave: mysillygirls welcome

 

[mercyme]

SillyGirls, your situation sounds like ours -- we did an IUI in July (BFN) and are thinking about going to IVF this coming month. We're also male factor, although there might be issues with me that we don't know about yet. And we're almost completely self-funded (insurance picks up office visits, but none of the really expensive parts), so the financial aspect concerns us a lot. Well, good luck to you this cycle!! Hoping for a for you right away!!


I'll post an update later today, after our appointment .... eeek!

 

[MySillyGirls]

mercyme, i thought the same thing when I read your post! I am 37 so there may be unidentified issues, but, at this point, I seem to be ovulating and have a good antral follicle count. IVF is so expensive. Insurance will cover one time about 7k of this and then we will cover the rest. We have chosen cryopreservation though as our FS said it would only be like 25% of the cost for future cycles if we can use frozen embies and the success rate at our clinic is only slightly lower with frozen. So, if this cycle doesn't work and we are able to get frozen embies, we may try one more.

Good luck at your appt!! I look forward to hearing what you decide

 

[Gracy 004]

hi ladies well its all been happening my end. Here goes...
So i took the clomid to kick start my system and it seemed to have worked a treat, had scan and blood friday that showed 2 big follies and the beginning of my LH surge. They said that my FET may be as soon a 5-6 days away, i was sooooo excited.
That arvo the doctor rang me to have a chat about this genetic thing. She said the reason they are testing me is that it was indeterminate from the results whether the tissue they sampled was from me or from the pregnancy. She said it was because i was so early they couldnt tell. Also the abnormality they found was not typical and apparently lends itself to there being a translocation rather than one of the more common chromosome problems. She said the chances are quite low but they still need to test. It will take them at least 3 weeks to get a result. So she said i could go ahead with the FET anyway but on one condition: That if i become prengnant from the FET and the pregnancy continues i have to consent to a CVS or amniocentesis if this genetic test comes back positive. I said of course - i really dont want a chromosomallhy abnormal child!
To me it seemed like a lot of ifs anyway
1) i even have this gentic problem
2) i actually get pregnant from the FET as i havent had a period since the m/c and they embies are not that great
3) if i did get a bfp that the pregnancy would continue if it was abnormal

That was yesterday. Today i had bloods again to confirm ov and guess what they missed it anyway and the cycle has been cancelled!!!!! My clomid finished on tues and looks like i o'd as soon as the thursday two days later. Because they didnt take bloods til friday they only caught the tail end of the LH and thought it was on the rise but it was actually falling! By todays bloods i have entered the progesterone phase of the cycle, but becasue they cant be exactly sure of when the lh surge was the FET cannot go ahead.

So another month of waiting. By then the results of the genetics will be back and if i do have this thing i am not sure whether they will even let me use the embies we have.

I am a bit down really, but its sort of getting a bit comical just soooooo much going wrong i am starting to give up a bit. BUT i am trying to remind myself that we will probably get there in the end and a few months of setbacks isnt really going to make much difference in the big picture. This means that hopefully i will definately be cycling with you lovely ladies in september!

 

[Gracy 004]

Hi mysillygirlsl, i just noticed in your signature that you have and adopted daughter. What is the adoption process like in the USA? Here in australia we are unable to adopt children from overseas except in a rare few instances. Last year in the whole country they allowed only about 200 adoptions from overseas and there are few to no domestic adoptions. I would actually really have liked to pursue this but its impossible from here. Australia is pretty backwards like that and there is sooo much red tape in so many aspects of life that DH and i get frustrated often.

We are always talking about how we'd love to live in the US. We holidayed there last year for 5 weeks and didnt see anywhere that we didnt absolutely love and have talked about it everyday since! We did live in the UK for a couple of years which was great too but decided to return home to try and start our family. still waiting

 

[mercyme]

Wow, Gracy, a lot is going on with you! So many variables...

On my end -- met with RE on Friday. My antral(?) follicles are "normal to low", boo. Also, looks like my endo is back. Talked about doing a fast protocol b/c of that. Going back Sept 8 to get another scan for the endo.

Cried & stayed in bed most of day yesterday. I feel so bleak & hopeless. A little better today. It just seems like so much money/time/pain/hormones -- for a 40% chance, which means so little to me as it's either 100% baby or 0% baby. You don't take home 40% of a baby. And maybe I'd still be depressed if I got pregnant, what with the chances of miscarriage. And then I'd probably get severe postpartum depression . . . The only certainty here is $12,000 gone. I guess we're going to go through it, as pointless as it all seems right now.

Sorry to be such an Eeyore. Maybe I'll perk up later.

 

[MySillyGirls]

Hi mysillygirlsl, i just noticed in your signature that you have and adopted daughter. What is the adoption process like in the USA? Here in australia we are unable to adopt children from overseas except in a rare few instances. Last year in the whole country they allowed only about 200 adoptions from overseas and there are few to no domestic adoptions. I would actually really have liked to pursue this but its impossible from here. Australia is pretty backwards like that and there is sooo much red tape in so many aspects of life that DH and i get frustrated often.

We are always talking about how we'd love to live in the US. We holidayed there last year for 5 weeks and didnt see anywhere that we didnt absolutely love and have talked about it everyday since! We did live in the UK for a couple of years which was great too but decided to return home to try and start our family. still waiting

Hi, Gracy! There are no restrictions in the U.S. on adopting from abroad. In fact, all adoptions qualify for a $12,500 adoption credit. It can be difficult to adopt domestically here, unless you adopt from foster care, which, in itself can be emotionally heartwrenching. We chose to adopt internationally. My daughter was 13.5 mos when we brought her home from Russia and she is amazing...healthy, smart. My sister-in-law and her husband also have battled infertility and they adopted their little boy from Russia a few years ago. They are getting ready to adopt again from Russia and should finalize an adoption by the end of the year.

The main problem with international adoption is the cost and the unpredictability of the process. However, you do know or are at least very certain of the outcome. The key is to sign with an agency that works in multiple countries and be flexible. For example, my friend who adopted from Russia (a baby girl), planned to go back for a boy but ended up coming home with two more baby girls

I am sorry to hear adoption is more difficult in Australia. I never knew that! If this IVF fails (we are willing to give it two tries) we are switching back to Russia as my husband's company offers an adoption credit. Hopefully, we will all have success with our september IVFs!

 

[MySillyGirls]

Oh, Mercy, I am sorry! I am also doing the "short" protocal if that is what you mean by the fast protocal? My antral follicle count is good but with my age and willingness to only do this once or twice, they are being aggressive.

Please keep your spirits up!! I have heard the short protocal or microflare protocal can be a God-send!!