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

[MrsE75]

Yay Sarah sorry it's been a roller coaster week for you but all worked out in the end!!

Sorry I've been AWOL just been a very difficult few weeks and still not healed so to speak!

Bugs - can I ask did you go to serum in Athens or another clinic. Would be interested to hear should Cos prob will need to go abroad.

Good luck Sarah!!!

 

[bubumaci]

Hi Mrs E ... no need to apologise - you take the time you need!!! We are here for you, always!

 

[africaqueen]

Thanks MrsE and nice to see you back with us. It took me a long, long time to come to terms with our 3rd fresh fail so can imagine how you feel. You are strong and you will overcome this and have a plan B soon for that dream baby x

Well ladies i went for my baseline scan and nurse said all looking good. No cysts etc and 5 nice dormant follicles on each ovary. Start stimms tomorrow. I am on 4 amps per day then introduce cetrotide next week same as last cycle but half the stimms dose as firmly believe 8 amps just nuked my eggs and i think quality over quantity any day now xxx

 

[bubumaci]

for getting started Sarah! So very excited for you

 

[bugs]

Sarah that's great news, so glad you could start as planned. I've got everything crossed for you.

Yes MrsE it was Serum in Athens, I found the treatment abroad a lot more relaxed maybe a bit too relaxed if you stress easy and like to know every detail but I trusted Penny and after our 1st cycle didn't work and she suggested donor I knew it was the right way to go. Also a donor egg cycle is much easier on the body than a full cycle but just takes a little more to get your head round xxxx

 

[Unlucky41]

Ash so sorry the results are inconclusive. Can I ask what grade was the blastocyst?
Do you have any more frozen embryos? Hope you are ok and definately hope that youhave a late implanter.

AQ I am so glad things are starting to move forward for you again! Definitely will be reading up on your progress!

MrsE75 hope you find some comfort once a new plan is arranged! Sending you heaps of hugs

 

[ashknowsbest]

It's an official negative. Starting seeing a psychologist last Thursday and she has also been through infertility which is awesome since she can really understand what's going on with me.

We have a plan which is also comforting. I scheduled a phone consult with Dr. Surrey over at CCRM. After we talk to him we will probably be doing the one day workup that they do. I read what it involved a couple of days ago but I can't remember right now. It's a bunch of tests, pretty much we'll be there all day! We'll have to travel for that of course but we like traveling so .... should make it a tad bit easier. Unfortunately CCRM is out of network for us but they will reimburse us up to 70% so we're only responsible for 30% which is not bad at all. So ... consult on the 30th of this month. I have to send them all of our records which is a pain because our records consist of a huge pile of paper but ... I'll manage. We figured it we do one more cycle at CCRM they have the highest succuess rates and if that doesn't work we are moving on to adoption. We will still try to have our own biological child but we want to move on with our lives with a child. We feel stuck. Like we can't move out of this chapter of our lives and we're not happy with it. So ... we're taking steps to move on and ultimately get what we want.

I really wanted to feel a baby growing inside of me but the end goal is a baby and a family and I have to keep the end goal in mind and not get completely caught up in the idea of carrying a baby in my belly.

Anyways, sorry for the longish post. I hope you girls are doing great. I won't be on as frequently as nothing is really happening but I always support you girls in your journeys!

AQ - so exciting that you finally are getting started!

bubu - baby is going to be here so soon!

MrsE - I totally get why you've been AWOL. I just had my 4th transfer fail ... really hard. Take all the time you need

unlucky - The blastocyst was a 4BB and 3 BB. I have no more frozen embryos

 

[africaqueen]

Ash, i know it was expected but i am sorry you got a official negative. Think we all hold onto that shred of hope until its 100% and why not. Its what gets us through this hard life. I am glad you have a plan B. If this cycle fails, god forbid, we will be taking the DE route in a few years time. I am praying this cycle works and we dont have to wait that long for our baby. x

Hi to all the gang x

AFM- Did my 1st stimms injection before and was bit nervous as been over a year, but its like riding a bike- you never forget do you! lol. So officially back on the rollercoaster and praying for my follies to grow nicely so we get some encouraging news at Wednesdays scan xxx

 

[Unlucky41]

Ash sending you heaps of
I totally know I what you feel as with our 5th attempt the doctor did tell us to consider stop trying if it didn't work as we are just wasting money!

I hope you share our fate and get your bfp with this 5th cycle. Really like your plan to move ahead I think it gives comfort that you don't have to be stuck in this nightmare!
Let us know when you are going to do your next cycle.

AQ it is great to hear that things are moving long. Will be following your journey!

 

[ashknowsbest]

thanks unlucky I will definitely let you girls know when we have a date set for our next try. It won't be until next year I know that for sure, probably in February or March.

 

[africaqueen]

Urgh just done my injection and it really hurt as hit a tough bit of skin feeling sorry for myself now so me an dh are going to cosy up later with some chocolates and watch 'Non Stop'. Need some TLC and a relaxed night xxx

 

[Peachy1584]

Ash I am so sorry. At the same time I am so excited for you to go to CCRM I have heard amazing things about them and if we had had money and time we would have opted for them. Their success rates are the best and even though they're so busy it's worth the wait

Sandy I hope all is well with hubby

AQ I was so excited to see you were able to start! EEK! 5 on each side sounds great too! I know the shots aren't the funnest but the quality time tonight will be worth it

Unlucky huge congrats on your wonderfully perfect baby!

Bubu and Dovkav hope all is well with your beans and you aren't too uncomfortable yet!

 

[Plex]

all sorry ive been away for a bit

Just popping back to see how u all are

AQ - so excited that u have started again, sounds like it was a close call there what with those damn test results. I think waiting is far worse between cycles as u just want to be doing something! xx

Ash - Really sorry about ur FET its crap when the treatment doesnt work, its great that you have a way forward for ur next cycle (hoping that one does the trick for you!)

My husband and I have also discussed adoption, im more resolved to that than him. I agree with you that the goal is what we should focus on. I think it helps with the here and now xx

Sandy - I really hope ur hubby is doing better now and that you are well? xx


I really hope everyone else is well??

Im bored of waiting!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously BORED Not much going on with me. I actually ov'd this month - cd40 something i think??? im about 8dpo, secretly hoping that we get a sneaky bfp even though i know thats highly unlikely....A girl can dream though eh? lol xx

 

[bugs]

Sarah good luck with your scan today, hope there's some very nice looking follies on there xxxx

 

[africaqueen]

Thanks Clare

Well went for my day 5 scan and not great tbh. The left ovary has not responded at all, and only 3 follicles have responded on the right ovary. Sized 12mm, 11.5mm and 10.5mm. Obviously we were aware we would get less follicles than last cycle as my stimms dose is half the dose of last cycle, but bit disappointed that my left ovary has not responded at all... ah well obviously with DOR and poor egg quality the issue is only going to get worse with time and we have 3 decent looking follicles that we hope contain 3 decent eggs gotta stay positive and hope for a miracle as this is the last cycle with my own eggs and we are a long way off affording a DE cycle so please god let this work xxx

 

[bubumaci]

Sarah - have been thinking about you! That is frustrating, that your left ovary hasn't been responding! But I think the ones on the right sound nice and promising! All fingers and toes crossed, that they carry on growing nicely and that you have great quality eggies inside!

 

[bubumaci]

I am doing well, thank you Peachy! My Doula was just over and gave me a wonderfully relaxing ayurveda massage ... will be having another one on the 13th October

Ash - also here : I am so sorry that it was a negative! ... but I love the plan that you have in place!
I was just wondering about one thing - would you not want to try with donor egg? I totally get where you are coming from - for me, it wasn't the genetics that was so important, but the miracle of experiencing pregnancy, the little miracle of new life growing and being birthed... Or would you want to skip that and move right on to adoption if - god forbid - the CCRM try weren't to work?

 

[ashknowsbest]

Jason and I decided against donor eggs for right now unless the doctor thinks that it could really work. At this point we have no clue why the embryo is not attaching and donor eggs doesn't guarantee that it will work. Donor egg cycle is about $40,000 and in the US the rate for adoption is about $40,000. My feeling about it is that if we do adoption we're guaranteed a baby at some point, whereas paying 40,000 for a donor egg cycle we're not even guaranteed to get a baby. I think in the end we want to move on with our life. When we adopt we are not going to stop trying for a biological child. We will do both but most likely not with IVF every time. As we are going through the adoption process we are going to do our last cycle at CCRM. If I get pregnant that's awesome and we will have an adopted child and I will be pregnant. We can't wait! I don't know what switched in me but I feel ready for adoption. I feel that I can love any child and if I can give a child a great life that it wouldn't otherwise had that's not a bad deal. Things could be much worse.

So, yes I've considered donor eggs and if after all of our testing at CCRM the doctor things that's our best chance we will most likely go that route...despite it being a ton of money!

 

[Plex]

AQ -3 follicle is a fair number hun, hope u recruit more along the way!! The quality should be increased though? With the lower dose of stimms? Do u have a tentative date for retireval yet? xx

 

[bubumaci]

I see, Ash. Over here, if you choose to go down the route of adoption, you are not allowed to in parallel still be going through any fertility treatments. Plus (did think of it) - I am too old to be able to adopt a baby... You are still young, so I suppose that doesn't really factor in yet
At the end of the day, I suppose it is wanting to be a parent - and you can be a parent and give a child a good, loving home, without the child being your biological offspring
As you know, we went through many many cycles before we got our BFP - and it was basically explained that even if an embryo looks good on the outside, on the inside it may not be healthy - and if all other parameters (hormones, lining etc.) are good - then it is just likely that the embryo couldn't survive : i.e. nature "interferes with science". Our doctor had said to us, that he did believe we would get pregnant, he just couldn't tell us how many tries it would take. ... and he was right!
The only way to really know whether or not the embryo is good, is to have PID done (which we didn't have done, because we never had that many blastocysts develop per cycle) - and otherwise, just keep fingers crossed that the blast transferred is healthy and can continue developing.
As much as science can do and as far as we have come with it (so many of us would not be able to become parents without the miracle of fertility science) - at the end of the day, it is still Mother Nature that holds the key and the outcome in her hands