How many cycles can you do at Shady Grove?

[Anonymous]

I'm 40 and doing my second retrieval cycle at Shady Grove now. First cycle we only got 4 eggs and this cycle seems to be going about the same. I'm not interested in donor egg, but would be willing to do as many IVF cycles as needed. My doctor already mentioned donor eggs once, and I'm getting worried that they won't let me continue trying with my own eggs. If you were like me, did Shady Grove let you decide when to continue or stop trying IVF?

[Anonymous]

Are you in the shared risk program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you in the shared risk program?

No, we have insurance coverage. I don’t believe there is a cycle or dollar max on that, but haven’t checked the details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40 and doing my second retrieval cycle at Shady Grove now. First cycle we only got 4 eggs and this cycle seems to be going about the same. I'm not interested in donor egg, but would be willing to do as many IVF cycles as needed. My doctor already mentioned donor eggs once, and I'm getting worried that they won't let me continue trying with my own eggs. If you were like me, did Shady Grove let you decide when to continue or stop trying IVF?

My doc at shady grove never stopped me. I was nearing 41 and he was helping with trying other protocols etc. It felt like he was trying to help whatever way he could. He eventually did mention donor once but more because I asked of all the options.

[Anonymous]

Well to give you an idea I got 29 follicles and 13 mature eggs, only 1 normal embryo (I'm 38). So you'd need to do at least 4 cycles for 1 egg :/

[Anonymous]

Are you DOR? I did 6 cycles with them, and I feel it was 4 too many. I never saw success with them, but it always felt like it was one cycle away and always getting closer (I later found out it wasn't). They missed so much and when I failed with normal embryos, they just told me my eggs must be bad despite having a naturally easily conceived three year old. Nope, y'all didn't care to check for the multiple blood clotting disorders including MTHFR it turns out I have despite the fact that I had severe pre-eclampsia at 29 weeks, a key part of my history that didn't interest them at all. And when I got many fewer eggs than the number of measurable follicles or estrogen count and many fewer mature eggs than the follicle sizes/estrogen indicated, they insisted it was poor egg quality and dismissed my concerns that they were triggering me too late. I found a new doctor that listened to me. Turns out I was right about all of it.

Anyway, I tell people, do two cycles with SGF, and if you aren't pregnant, go elsewhere. If you are an easy case, they are great. But sometimes you don't know that you aren't until you try. They thought I was a easy case when I came to them. Anyway, if after two transfers or retrievals, you aren't pregnant, there's something else going on that SGF is missing and is going to keep missing or you need a DOR specialist and SGF doesn't do hard cases well at all. They'll tell you donor eggs rather than think outside the box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you DOR? I did 6 cycles with them, and I feel it was 4 too many. I never saw success with them, but it always felt like it was one cycle away and always getting closer (I later found out it wasn't). They missed so much and when I failed with normal embryos, they just told me my eggs must be bad despite having a naturally easily conceived three year old. Nope, y'all didn't care to check for the multiple blood clotting disorders including MTHFR it turns out I have despite the fact that I had severe pre-eclampsia at 29 weeks, a key part of my history that didn't interest them at all. And when I got many fewer eggs than the number of measurable follicles or estrogen count and many fewer mature eggs than the follicle sizes/estrogen indicated, they insisted it was poor egg quality and dismissed my concerns that they were triggering me too late. I found a new doctor that listened to me. Turns out I was right about all of it.

Anyway, I tell people, do two cycles with SGF, and if you aren't pregnant, go elsewhere. If you are an easy case, they are great. But sometimes you don't know that you aren't until you try. They thought I was an easy case when I came to them. Anyway, if after two transfers or retrievals, you aren't pregnant, there's something else going on that SGF is missing and is going to keep missing or you need a DOR specialist and SGF doesn't do hard cases well at all. They'll tell you donor eggs rather than think outside the box.

Did you end up finding success at a clinic you would recommend here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you DOR? I did 6 cycles with them, and I feel it was 4 too many. I never saw success with them, but it always felt like it was one cycle away and always getting closer (I later found out it wasn't). They missed so much and when I failed with normal embryos, they just told me my eggs must be bad despite having a naturally easily conceived three year old. Nope, y'all didn't care to check for the multiple blood clotting disorders including MTHFR it turns out I have despite the fact that I had severe pre-eclampsia at 29 weeks, a key part of my history that didn't interest them at all. And when I got many fewer eggs than the number of measurable follicles or estrogen count and many fewer mature eggs than the follicle sizes/estrogen indicated, they insisted it was poor egg quality and dismissed my concerns that they were triggering me too late. I found a new doctor that listened to me. Turns out I was right about all of it.

Anyway, I tell people, do two cycles with SGF, and if you aren't pregnant, go elsewhere. If you are an easy case, they are great. But sometimes you don't know that you aren't until you try. They thought I was an easy case when I came to them. Anyway, if after two transfers or retrievals, you aren't pregnant, there's something else going on that SGF is missing and is going to keep missing or you need a DOR specialist and SGF doesn't do hard cases well at all. They'll tell you donor eggs rather than think outside the box.

Did you end up finding success at a clinic you would recommend here?

Well the clinic I would recommend just closed, and I still have embryos, so success still evades me, but I have moved to CFA where I am undergoing a recurrent loss panel to prepare for transfer. I was at GW with Dr. Frankfurther, who was great for DOR and willing to think outside the box. The loss of Dr. Frankfurter and that clinic was a kind of blow to the DMV fertility community. Kind of a hidden gem and very friendly, knowledgable place. He was familiar with all the ways that SGF was wrong for patients like me. He's up at Yale now.

[Anonymous]

If you can swing it, I would recommend going to Dr Davis at Weill Cornell in NYC. If you are only getting 4 eggs, you are likely a poor responder with DOR. I also saw Dr Frankfurter at GW and liked him a lot (and the nurses), but I think that the staffing was insufficient. It took a few rounds, but I was ultimately successful after moving to Weill. I got pregnant at 40 and had my child at 41.

All that said, improving egg quantity isn’t the same as improving egg quality, which no clinic can do.

[Anonymous]

For DOR you need either CCRM Lone Tree (Lone Tree CO location only!) or Dr Davis at Weill Cornell in New York.