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

[bubumaci]

@ Dovkav!

 

[MrsE75]

Big hugs Dovkav hope you are feeling a little better.

My DH says to me that we shouldn't be bitter when others get pregnant because it's negative energy which sits in your womb and does our health and mental welbeing any good. I know easier said than done cos I'm jealous of others too so know how you feel sweetie.

Well I had my consultation on Monday in London. Very interesting. Long story short I'm doing what they call Chicago immune tests as they are over 50% sure I have immune issues given what they called my young age (ha nearly fell off my chair!) cos I'm 38 and my amh level vs what quality of eggs I seem to get. They think I have an active immune system which is what has attacked my eggs basically they cannot reverse it but they can surpress it for our cycle. So I'm doing the tests next week £800! Plus I'm doing a monitoring cycle so had a blood test last week on day 3 so having a mid cycle scan also next week then I need to get a blood test from GP to test my progesterone to see if I ovulated. They do a monitoring cycle so that when you are on a cycle and your levels change they know what's normal for me so they can deal with it. They said depending on results I will either be on a short cycle or a medicated natural cycle. It will be tests and scans everyday for 2 weeks during stimulation but have relatives down there so this is the Bootcamp for Ivf by the sounds of it and it's not going to be cheap esp if I have immunes but as this is our last try I want to leave no stone unturned! They also said that they would not take my eggs to blasto cos of the few I get it's too traumatic for them cos what they have to go through to get from day 3 to 5 or 6. They think it's better to out them back where they belong. That may change if I have 4+ eggs and they need to choose but we will see.

So that's it in a nutshell. Oh and they are doing sperm DNA fragmentation test on DH sperm not that it has been a problem but they want to check as they may put him on tablets for 3 months before treatment to help improve fragmentation which can lead to lack of implantation and miscarriages. Fx he doesn't have this prob x

 

[dovkav123]

MrsE75,
My dh's age could cause his sperm dna fragmantation.
What pills your dr. would recommend? Could you ask?
I am putting my dh on VitC 1gr and VitE 1 gr a day.

 

[bugs]

Hi girls I am lurking, just to jump in my OH was on a 40 day course of Doxycycline 100mg twice a day and is count went from 62 million to 121 million. Not bad for a 51 year old xxxx

 

[bubumaci]

Dovkav - has your DH had the DNA fragmentation test done to determine if he has DNA damage?

Here is some information I have found that you may find interesting :
https://www.fertilityauthority.com/articles/fertility-clinic-testing-sperm-dna-fragmentation

Perhaps you will find something useful there?

 

[MrsE75]

Dovkav - I don't know yet as he's got to have the test first and find out if he has any problems but yes if they put him on anything I will let you know. X

 

[Unlucky41]

Just catching up on everyone's news!

Sandy how are you and dh going? Has he been through any treatment an how are you both coping?

Bub have you started your next cycle? Really hope you have gotten rid of all your bad luck and have one perfect embryo for you!! It is good to see that you RE believes that it would work

Dovkav - have you decided what you will be doing next round ?

MrsE75 - it seems like your RE has given you a complete treatment plan when are you starting your cycle and monitoring?

AQ - How have you been ? Has your relationship with dh strengthened over these tough times ?

Really wishing you all helps of love and blessing in the year 2014 !!!

 

[dovkav123]

Just catching up on everyone's news!

Sandy how are you and dh going? Has he been through any treatment an how are you both coping?

Bub have you started your next cycle? Really hope you have gotten rid of all your bad luck and have one perfect embryo for you!! It is good to see that you RE believes that it would work

Dovkav - have you decided what you will be doing next round ?

MrsE75 - it seems like your RE has given you a complete treatment plan when are you starting your cycle and monitoring?

AQ - How have you been ? Has your relationship with dh strengthened over these tough times ?

Really wishing you all helps of love and blessing in the year 2014 !!!

Unlucky, how are you feeling?

Today we received info about a sperm dna fragmentation. My RE put an extra brochure from the synlab and it states that the sperm dna fragmantation problem could be fixed with antioxidants! Hell, my hubby got mad on our RE! She stated it's not proven! We are doing this test she wants it or not...
Also I am checking out my tubes on Thursday, if they're open we'll try for IUI.

Anyway, I have drank alcohol every day since I found out our embryo didn't make it.
Tonight was the last 3 glasses of wine I drank, cos tomorrow will be the 3rd day of my cycle and my follilcle will start growing.

Few days ago we went to the art gallery to Heidelberg and we saw a beautiful painting and I was so sure I can paint it myself. The castle, the bridge and Necka river. it looked so easy!!!! My hubby's mother's birthday is on February and she always wanted a painting of Heidelberg. I want to do it for her.
Today I bought the canvas for a painting and I realised I needed to paint it for us. For me and my hubby cos we had our first romantic walk by the river in Heidelberg a night before my first IVF. I injected myself with HCG shot in the car, with the light of the street lights. And we were dreaming of big...maybe too big....

 

[bubumaci]

Jo, not started yet. Have all the media ... just waiting for AF to turn up (expecting her any day now, probably tomorrow) and then I will start the belly-jabbing again on day 3. Our doctor has been saying the whole time that he thinks it is just a matter of time, that it will work, he just doesn't know how many tries it will take ...

 

[MrsE75]

Unlucky - currently on my monitoring cycle got my scan this week then ovulation sticks and progesterone tests. We don't plan to cycle until April assuming immunes come back ok otherwise they could delay us so we will see.

Good luck Bub xxx

 

[Unlucky41]

dovkav, I am glad you are doing these tests. Hopefully you get answers and able to cycle better next round. Good on dh for telling off the RE sometimes I think they just don't give enough time to each case!!
Are you good with drawing ? that is a great gift !! Let us know how the drawing goes. I am okay trying just hoping everything goes okay this time round but nothing to complain about. 3 weeks to go before the scary scan.

Bub fingers cross this is it and you get plenty of good quality blastocysts!! This whole thing is a big fat waiting game forcing us to be patience but it is so hard! Let us know how it goes

MrsE75 Wishing you all the best with your monitoring. Hopefully you don't have to push out the next cycle past April. Hoping that this round goes perfect for you in every way!!

 

[africaqueen]

Jo- Thank you! fingers crossed. Dh Still continues to apply for many jobs but as yet no luck so he is starting to build up a small business selling electrical goods so hoping that pays off in the end but we shall see. How are you doing? x

MrsE- All sounds very promising for your next cycle! everything crossed for you. I hope by the time we have managed to scrape the money together that we can come up with a different plan but tbh we can only afford the bare minimum so we won't be able to have any immune tests etc. Just hope 'luck' is on our side for once. I truly do believe no matter what we will get our miracles but as you said, who knows how that will come about. Its exhausting wondering. I know that much x

Dov- Aww bless you. I often feel very down. My friends 14yr old daughter had a beautiful baby girl the other day and all i can think of is 'why has a 14yr old kid got the baby i should have'??! i know bitter thoughts don't improve the situation but dont worry about negative thoughts effecting you. It won't. I know some very horrid bitter women who have 3 or 4 kids x

Andrea- How are you doing? hope our luck majorly improves asap! x

Bugs- How are you? i havent posted much lately as seems pretty pointless to post a lot just moaning about having no money to try again but i will drop in to check on the others as you do. Not long until you go again is it? x

Hi to everyone else who i may of missed out. xxx

AFM- Tbh ladies, i have felt majorly low since the new year as the enormity of the situation has really hit home. At the moment the limited income we are on, means we can save next to nothing for our 4th cycle and it is depressing me so, so much to think there is a strong possibility we may not even have a shot at being pregnant this year. Praying for a miracle in the way of funds to cover it. If we cant get the money together we just cant have a chance, simple as that but i am really stressing over it, which im sure is doing me no good and dh is so stressed he has been getting bad headaches every day please god give us a break xxx

 

[MrsE75]

AQ - aw bless you I wish to god there was something other than words that I could do to help. We a furiously trying to clear the credit cards so we have a shot as this is our last go with my eggs unless I get told it's not my eggs then we will move to surrogacy otherwise I will have to accept it will be DE unless we come into major money and can afford to keep trying. But I'm 38 now so need to just get on with having my family now. Thinking of you, big hugs xx

 

[bugs]

Hi ladies well I was hoping to come on with good news but afraid not. Me and my OH went to Athens in Jan and we're there for 12 days did full immune cycle with steroids and intralipids and was on a mix of 150 gonal f and 75 menopur so a pretty standard dose. Ec got us 10 eggs which looked good on the day however as you know in the past we always have a high percentage of immature eggs well this time was no different of our 10 4 could be used and all 4 did fertilise using natural IVF. So the immature thing was explained as some of my eggs are missing an enzyme which prevents them from maturing apparently this is very rare and Penny has only seen it once before but it means that no matter what meds I will only produce a low number of useable eggs. So anyways we had 3 put back on day 3 which were all 8.

OTD was Friday and it was a BFN so that pretty much ends my journey using my own eggs. So moving forward we are starting the journey of donor eggs it's not going to be cheap but I think this will be our last shot I'm hoping we'll got some frosties so if the fresh cycle doesn't work we have them to fall back on but we have to draw a line somewhere.

Hope everyone else is as well as can be expected on this nightmare of a journey xxxx

 

[Unlucky41]

Bugs I am so sorry that your last cycle did not work

Really hope your first donor cycle works and you have some frosties for baby 2. Is it hard to find donor eggs where you are Bugs?

AQ really hope you come across some treasure so you can go for another cycle. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you

MrsE75 hopefully this cycle works fingers cross and toes cross for you.

Bub have you started your cycle yet?

 

[bubumaci]

Bugs ... to you Sweetie! I am so sorry!!!

Sarah - I don't know whether or not you have thought about this, but on another thread, there was a lady, who had gone through IVF and they had basically sucked their funds dry ... and she wanted to go DE. She startet a fund at GoFundMe and basically, people donated (I gave $100 for example) - enough people (people she knew, people she didn't know) donated and the first try she got pregnant with a little boy (and several ) ... perhaps that might be something to consider?

Yup ... started the belly-jabbing this morning. It looks like DH will have the TESE done. We would have preferred PESA (so needle aspiration) but apparently his testicles are too small and so the doctors have recommended doing the TESE. I am not sure if that is the right thing to do ... we have (with one exception) managed to have enough sperm in his sample on the day of ER to fertilise (once they had to thaw a frozen straw)... but our ER is concerned that it is the quality that is impairing our embryos and so he wanted to see if they could perhaps get more and better directly from his testicles. I feel so sorry for him - it is bad enough that he feels like he is half a man, not being able to reproduce naturally ... he is terrified of the surgery and the recovery afterwards ... What is the likelihood that we will retrieve better sperm from the TESE?

 

[MrsE75]

Bugs - not words can help but sending you lots of love and hugs for this latest challenge. Where are you going to get you DE from?

Bub - ouch that sounds uncomfortable however nothing in comparison with what have and will have to do when we get pregnant! Good luck xx

AQ - hope you are ok and worth thinking about what they call crowdfunding xx

Afm - had my mid cycle monitor scan and all ok one dominant follicle on my right apparently. Bloods were fine too. Had the Chicago immunes done yesterday 11vials of blood they took to send to the states. I was a tad light headed after! So now I'm doing ov sticks call them when I getting surge and the have a blood test with GP 4-6 days later to make sure I ovulated. Then wait for OH sperm frag results and my immunes. Hopefully we will be able to cycle in April unless I need to have immune treatment beforehand. So going to keep eating healthy, going to gym, take vita but otherwise just forget about it until April. Xx

 

[dovkav123]

Bugs, I am so sorry. Please take care of yourself and your hubby. I know you'll get your rainbow soon. Never give up!
Bub, what is your hubby's sperm dna fragm? I found some info. Sperm quality is better and dna fragm is less when the sperm is taken out from testicular and than ICSI is done.
https://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/7/2031.full

DR. Sher advices to transfer 1 embryo a time and he is talking about dq match, if you're interested please read here https://haveababy.com/fertility-inf...g-its-effect-on-reproduction-and-ivf-outcome/

MRS, sounds all so good! You'll know lots of new info about your and your hubby's fertility and the knowledge is power!I hope and pray you'll O this month. Please eat red beats, spinach, steak and chocolate it will help you to produce more blood cells. Are you doing IVF in April? I am very interested what kind of immune testing did you do?

Africaqueen, please give an extra hug to each other every single day. You'll go through this. You'll be blesses with your miracle soon.



TODAY.........I had a contrast U/S. My procedure took looong time! RE couldn't put catheter in...She wanted to use a baloon catheter but they didn't have it. She kept trying till she succeeded. It was painful! More painful than an egg retrieval! The dye went throught the tubes, so my tubes are open. However, we don't know if my tubes are damaged from the pelvic surgery.
Anyway, Everything looks normal. My follicle on the left was 12mm. On Monday we may do IUI.
The Sperm dna fragmentation we'll check when we know the result of this cycle. My RE has never seen sperm with a very bad fragmentation. She thinks this testing will not tell us much. She doesn't beleave there are treatments for that. I know there are!

I asked my RE about ureaplasma, mycoplasma in sperm(bacteria could cause dna problems). She told me it's always there, if you have too many you treat with antibiotics and in two weeks the bacteria comes back.
I don't know if we'll test for that.
I asked about the white blood cells in sperm. Durind SA they check that. DR. worry if they find a big number of those cells

 

[bugs]

Thanks MrsE we are going back to Serum in Athens. I really regret not going there sooner, she's hoping to match me for March xxx

 

[MrsE75]

Dovkav - I have what is called Chicago tests. If you google it there is lots online to tell you all about it. The samples are sent to Chicago as the only place in the world that does these tests. I'm told they check all different immune issues like ones that prevent ovulation for example which I think is my issue, NK cells and a whole load more. The results take 2-3 wks. Already had basic immunes done with GP x