Premature overian aging, what are my chances?

[Lrowbie]

Hi ladies,

Wasn't sure where to post this but I just need some help. About our situation, we have been ttc since April 2013. Since then we have had 4 early miscarriages around 5 weeks. We got pregnant right away then the longest would be 3 months till we were pregnant again. We now haven't concieved at all since April 2014. I was put on 25 mg clomid starting July, progesterone suppositories and baby aspirin. Did that for 5 months and nothing.

In December we tried our first iui, unmedicated but with progesterone shots after iui. With the cycle monitoring they found a 22mm hemorraghic cyst on my right overy. I have since been to see an RE at an IVF clinic. He wanted to do an ultrasound himself, he was unsure if the cyst was a hemorraghic or an endometrioma. It was now measuring 17mm. He only saw 5 follicles on my left ovary and 1 and the cyst I my right. He thinks I may have low overian reserve, resulting in poor quality eggs.

Is anyone else in this situation or know of any success with this situation. I'm feeling very down with no hope and was just hoping to connect with people similar to my situation.
Thank you!

 

[LadyLovenox]

Hello!! Hopefully I can help a little. My diagnosis has been all over the board, and I was diagnosed as diminished ovarian reserve at one point. My lowest antral follicle count was 9, and I am 30. My husband and I tried for 2 years on our own before finding out any of this, and then moved straight to ivf. We did two cycles of ivf which both failed (antagonist protocol and Lupron stop protocol). I decided to do my research and found out about Dhea for aging ovaries. I took it for three months, and my antral follicle count went up to 22, and we got 17 eggs from that cycle! That cycle still ended in bfn, but the very next cycle of ivf (still on the dhea) worked and I am now 5w5d pregnant (cautiously optimistic!) both of those cycles we used microdose lupron flare protocol which I highly recommend. It might be harder, but you'll still get there!!

 

[Lrowbie]

Thank you so much for your reply! I'm so happy for you! I did forget to mention, I'm 26, turning 27 this week. I'm worried that ivf is our only option. Our RE said that success rate with ivf and pgs with someone in my situation is only about 30-40% and costs about $14,000. Seems very unattainable. Wondering if we should be focusing on adopting with that money instead.

 

[LadyLovenox]

No problem.... I know how scary it is to feel like you have reduced chances. Are you in the US? My clinic, and many others near me do shared risk. It was 20,000 dollars but they'll do ivf up to 6 times and if you don't get a baby, you get your money back. That doesn't include the drugs, which has been about an extra ten grand for us.

My RE constantly tells me that age is on my side, and age trumps all. So in theory, even if you have less eggs, they should still be good quality

 

[Lrowbie]

No, I'm in Canada. Its just scary to spend that amount and have such small chances. And my RE says thatlow count and poor quality go hand in hand. I have read a little about Dhea, is it a vitamin, something you can buy over the counter?

 

[LadyLovenox]

Google "Dhea center for human reproduction".. There is tons of great info there. It's sort of like a steroid but yes, it's over the counter in US. Don't be scared by all of the side effects listed... I was on it for 7 months, and had no problems. I wouldn't hesitate to go on it again! Cheap too!

 

[Lrowbie]

Ok! Thanks, I will look into that!

 

[hellodarling]

i have premature ovarian aging as well. LH and FSH are both over 27. I'm 37 though but looking back at my cycles, for the past two years they've been nuts, 12-25 days apart. Makes me so mad that no one thought to test me when it first became an issue.

anyway, i'm taking all kinds of stuff, dhea included. I'm still hoping for a miracle without ivf but i know my chances are beyond low. I appreciate hearing your story though, it gives me some hope.

 

[Vonn]

I don't know where you are in Canada, but there's a clinic in upstate New York called CNY Fertility. They have lower cost IVF, so if no insurance coverage and high cost is an issue, that may help. It may be cheaper, even if you have to fly there a couple times, that is the case for us. We haven't been there yet, just did a phone consult and priced it out. We will use them if my last IUI at a clinic near us doesn't work.

Was tissue from your miscarriages tested? If so, and it came back that there were chromosomal issues, then it might indeed be bad/old eggs. If not, however, it could be that you have some kind of immune response, not that your eggs are bad. REs "believe" in the field of reproductive immunology to various degrees, but there are reproductive immunologists and labs that specializing in this testing. I've seen many women get BFPs after testing and treating various immune issues. Might be something to look into.

Good luck!!

 

[hellodarling]

Vonn,

You make a really good point about it brig an immune response vs bad eggs.

I can't wait to get the testing that covers all these concerns now.