Support thread for ladies who have had 3+ failed IVF cycles

[africaqueen]

Hi ladies.

I thought i would start a support thread for those of us who have had multiple cycles of IVF and still don't have our rainbow.
I do post on a lot of threads on here and have done for 4yrs but i do now feel that although other IVF ladies know the process etc of what we go through, they can't relate to the emotional aspect of multiple fails.
For this reason i thought we could all support eachother on here? i know there's a lot of 'old timers' on these threads as well as myself.

For those that don't know my story, i am 32yrs old, dh is 33. I lost both my fallopian tubes in 2010 due to ectopic pregnancies within 6mths of eachother so obviously IVF was the only step to us having a biological child of our own. We have had 3 failed cycles. 2 cycles were NHS and the 3rd self funded. We are going to start saving again after xmas to try one last cycle with my own eggs and if that fails, go abroad for DE as we cannot carry on like this.
I have DOR and very poor quality eggs. Dh's swimmers are fine and my womb is fine as i had a lap in January. So other than having no tubes my eggs are not great. Long road ahead of us but DETERMINED to get our rainbow one day no matter how that comes about

xxx

 

[Unlucky41]

africaqueen,

so glad you started this thread. I am 33 and just had our 4th failed ivf cycle. Yesterday I was suppose to have an embryo transfer at day 2 however it arrested. The doctor called me and I wailed like a baby!!! This cycle was pretty baby 3 eggs retrieved only one fertilised and it arrested on day 2.

Like you our main reason for failure is quality of eggs. I have endo stage 3 which was only found out from our new RE and DOR. What is so painful is with losing weight and the laparoscopy there was no improvement in my egg quality. My RE said we should try one more time and then consider donor egg. Here in Australia it is so difficult to get I rather still try until we succeed.

When are you considering doing your next cycle? What protocol have you been using?

 

[africaqueen]

Unlucky- I am so sorry to hear you have been through hell too
With our 1st cycle i was on the long protocol with 3 amps of stimms and we got 2 eggs with 1 embie which was transferred on day 2. With our 2nd cycle i was on the short protocol with 6 amps and we got 6 eggs with only 1 embie of low quality that was a late developer and again a 2 day transfer. Our last cycle was short protocol with max dose of stimms (8 amps) and i had a lap and endo scratch prior to it and 7 eggs were collected with only 1 embie again and we used ICSI... Our consultant said it is egg quality that is the issue as we only ever get 1 embie and never great quality.
We will try one more cycle once we have the funds and then if that fails we will go abroad for DE as i cannot take more than 4 fails. Its soul destroying isnt it?

I took high dose vitamin E, L-arginine and DHEA last cycle too as all supposed to improve egg quality but made no difference xxx

 

[Unlucky41]

africaqueen,

I am sorry to hear this. Yes it is heartbreaking, soul destroying event. You put so much hope into all of this and the news just get worse and worse. 3 years ago when we first starting trying we got pregnant within 3 months unfortunately I miscarriage at 8 weeks. Ever since that it was all downhill.

First ivf cycle short protocol 4 eggs only no matured ones BFN
2nd ivf long protocol 5 eggs 2 matured only one fertilised BFN
3rd ivf long protocol + saizen 7 eggs 5 matured two fertilised BFN - Best cycle though
4th Ivf zoladex to suppress the endo 3 eggs 1 fertilised but arrested on day 2 I found out yesterday so once again bruised and depress !!! See the doctor on Monday. You should ask about Saizen it has worked for others just not me.

Do you know what protocol your RE wants you to do next?

 

[africaqueen]

Yes it is soul destroying for sure.
I have never heard of that drugs, what is it supposed to do?
We will be changing clinics for our next cycle so yet to save enough cash to see some new clinics etc. It costs a fortune here. What about you? xxx

 

[bugs]

Hi AQ my old friend also Hi Unlucky, well my brief history is in my siggy. Haven't got the energy to type up now but promise I will. AQ I know you know it already xx

Well after worst cycle to date I had my follow up to day and aswell as having no tubes and a multitude of immune issues I now also have shitty eggs that have decided after 6 cycles they no longer want to fertilise. I'm not 100% convinced that the high dose of menopur didn't totally fry them but the consultant doesn't agree. So we are looking at cycle #8 abroad and are going to let them decide if it's worth one more try with my eggs or do we jump ship to donor eggs. That's me briefly and It's lovely if not heartbreaking to have others in the same position to chat too xxxx

 

[bugs]

Oh and my names Clare I hate my daft name I picked xx

 

[africaqueen]

Hi Clare.
Soooo hope you get some good news abroad when you go over. Any ideas what clinic you will be using yet? we are going to try one more cycle with my own eggs and if that fails we will defo be going abroad for DE as cannot take anymore. You have been so strong to get going this far and i KNOW no matter how we manage it, we will be pregnant and give birth to our rainbows

Hi Unlucky x

My name is Sarah btw xxx

 

[bugs]

AQ would you not consider going abroad yourself for your next cycle it's so much cheaper. We're looking at Serum in Athens, I'm having a few tests done with them in Sept and they do the consult over the phone so we'll see if they recommend donor eggs first or have 1 more go with my own. We're hoping to go in November.

Part of me wants to just jump straight to donor eggs coz at least then we're pretty much guaranteed some good embryo's but then part of me isn't ready to give up on my own eggs yet. It's a difficult decision to make xxx

 

[africaqueen]

Bugs- Yeah we would consider going abroad for treatment but something in the pipeline in this country if all works out... if not we will have to go abroad for our next cycle as cannot afford it here. How often would you have to go to Greece? iv heard good things about Serum. Il be honest if our 4th cycle doesnt work il be more than ready to go for DE. I think 4 goes will give me the peace of mind that it would never work with my own eggs and id be ready to move on if it comes to that kwim? I would be carrying and giving birth to our baby so it would be just as much my baby in my mind and my friend had a DE baby and adores him and said he makes her life complete after 4 fails xxx

 

[bugs]

Oooohhhh I'm intrigued, yeah I feel the same coz I do get a good number of eggs and I've had decent embryo's in the past I'm struggling to give up but after the next go I'll take 20 year old eggs no problem xxxx

 

[Unlucky41]

Hi Clare and Sarah,

I am Joanne. Saizen is a growth hormone that apparently improves egg quality. It is quite expensive so RE don't normally give this out but I suggest do ask your RE. They have been stories that 40 + ladies have success with their own eggs using this !!

About Donor eggs here in Australia we don't have such luxury really you have to really know someone that is willing which is soooo hard. Young and willing ??

So we have decided for now that we will continue to try ! Going to see my RE this coming Monday so hopefully get some answer to how to further improve the eggs.

Sarah what is a blighted pregnancy ?


Also what supplements you guys using?

 

[dovkav123]

Hello Ladies,
I am reading this thread and I am so sorry for so many heartaches you have experienced...
I am doing my first spontanious IVF treatment this month. I'll not take any drugs. I'll be happy to share my story with you. https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/assisted-conception/1934573-first-natural-ivf-cycle-august.html
I found very encouraging study about natural IVF cycle treatment, please read it
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582079/

What are the prices of IVF in Greece?
3900 euros for stimulated and 425 euros for spontanious IVF cycle in Germany.

Thank you and baby dust!

 

[bugs]

Hello Ladies,
I am reading this thread and I am so sorry for so many heartaches you have experienced...
I am doing my first spontanious IVF treatment this month. I'll not take any drugs. I'll be happy to share my story with you. https://babyandbump.momtastic.com/assisted-conception/1934573-first-natural-ivf-cycle-august.html
I found very encouraging study about natural IVF cycle treatment, please read it
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582079/

What are the prices of IVF in Greece?
3900 euros for stimulated and 425 euros for spontanious IVF cycle in Germany.

Thank you and baby dust!

Hi Dokav

It's €3000 for 1 cycle or €4000 for 2 but you do not get a refund if it works first time. This does not include meds but still a lot cheaper than the Uk. Also the embryologist decides on the day if they will use ICSI and there is no extra charge.

Good luck with your journey xxx

 

[bugs]

Hi Clare and Sarah,

I am Joanne. Saizen is a growth hormone that apparently improves egg quality. It is quite expensive so RE don't normally give this out but I suggest do ask your RE. They have been stories that 40 + ladies have success with their own eggs using this !!

About Donor eggs here in Australia we don't have such luxury really you have to really know someone that is willing which is soooo hard. Young and willing ??

So we have decided for now that we will continue to try ! Going to see my RE this coming Monday so hopefully get some answer to how to further improve the eggs.

Sarah what is a blighted pregnancy ?


Also what supplements you guys using?

Hi Joanne a blighted ovum is when the pregnancy starts to implant and a gestational sac is formed but the pregnancy does not progress but it takes a while for your body to realise it. I had mine diagnosed at 6 weeks but did not miscarry I had to have surgery at 9 weeks to have it removed. Very similar to a miscarriage except that a miscarriage will spontaneously happen and is normally over in a few days.

Good luck with your appointment, hope you get a good plan of action xxx

 

[africaqueen]

Joanne- Wow i will be mentioning that drug for our next cycle! can't hurt so why not. We tried DHEA leading up to our last cycle as that has been known to improve egg quality but sadly did not. Anything is worth a try though. That's strange there are so few egg donors in Oz! I would go abroad for that anyway if that's the route we have to take x

Dovkav- Thanks for sharing and wow what a difference in price in natural IVF! I have heard its good for women with low amh so will follow your story let us know how u get on in here too and good luck x

Clare- Just thinking after our chat before that we will have to get cvaeh on this thread to help her through this 2ww x

 

[bugs]

Yeah definitely her 2ww is nearly up xxx

 

[africaqueen]

Aww i hope to god she gets her miracle! is this her 5th or 6th cycle? xxx

 

[bugs]

I think looking at her siggy it's number 6.

I've got to pull my finger out and fill in the forms for the new clinic they want to know everything about my previous cycles so that's gonna take some doing at least I've got the bank holiday weekend to do it xxx

 

[africaqueen]

Ah well lets hope an pray that she gets her miracle this time around. We need some good news amongst us!

Good luck for filling in your forms and hope all goes smoothly. This whole quest to motherhood is a long nightmare we thought we would never have to go through but one day we will all have our family somehow and every heartache and tear would of been worth it xxx