When do you stop doing IVF or move on to a donor?

[Anonymous]

20:12 Poster Here Again...

I was 30 and DH was 31 when we started IF treatments. Our diagnosis was high FSH for me (I always produced a low number of eggs on the highest amount of stims that Shady Grove would "allow.") We also unfortunately were dealing with a chromosome issue called a translocation which causes no other problems other than infertility - it causes a high rate of miscarriages and in our case a 50% chance of a Trisomy 13 or 14 baby. So for most of those cycles we also did PGD with our IVF.

So in that regards I can relate to your frustration of putting back beautiful blasts on Day 5 and not having a positive result. We were putting back beautiful blasts that were supposedly "PGD normal" and I would miscarry still. Heartbreaking.

What is your RE telling you? Is he saying bad luck...suggesting other testing...suggesting other drug protocols? He should be suggesting something different.

As an aside - have you done a Karotype test? It's a simple blood test which will map your chromosomes - Shady Grove does it as part of its baseline testing - that's what showed this chromosome issue for us. Unlikely you guys have it because it's not very common but definitely get that test if you haven't already.

We did shared risk at Shady Grove. I know there are pros/cons to that clinic but I did feel like we were getting great care and working with a great lab. Since you're not going there you might consider getting a second opinion if nothing else - just to have another set of eyes look at your case. If you can - I would recommend doing it in person - I sometimes felt when we were doing second opinions over the phone I didn't have the RE's full attention.

Again - I'm sure that people will also debate pros/cons to the REs at Shady Grove. I saw Sagoskin out of Rockville even though we live in VA. I honestly can't say enough great things about him. If anything - he does not give up on hard cases, he is open to trying new things if you read about other protocols you want to try, etc. And he isn't afraid to go against the grain. On our last cycle - we only had 3 embryos left on Day 3. Our fear was that PGD was too hard on our embryos and we had been suggesting maybe we should forgo it but the PGD department kept telling us that wasn't a good idea. Thankfully Sagoskin agreed with us and on that last cycle let us forgo PGD and that resulted in our twins. If you do Virginia - I liked Dr. Greenhouse (out of Annandale and Faifax).

I think we felt like we needed to exhaust all of our options - I didn't want to be left wondering "what if we tried one more time or what if we tried doing x." We were in shared risk so the financial component wasn't as hard as having to pay out of pocket for every cycle since we paid so much up front (although we did have to pay for meds for each new cycle - no coverage there either and we did have to pay for PGD when we did it each cycle). I just felt like I had to try - maybe I'm stubborn - but I just couldn't give up until I felt we had done everything possible. Just don't let all the treatments take over you and "become you."

I think it's hard to feel like nothing is in your control but deciding what steps you take next are in some respect are in your control. Don't do anything irrational - gather information, seek additional consults, don't rush into anything. And do what's best for you and your family.

If it were me - I would start with 1-2 second opinions on your case - what would others do different in your protocol but also any other testing.

Good luck - the process sucks - no other way to put it. I feel for you. I really do.

[Anonymous]

I totally agree that you should get tested. Also get your food intolerances tested. I was having repeated miscarriages only to learn I had a strong intolerance (not allergy) to eggs. Alos an herbalist checked my BBT, which was generally around 96 degrees - way too low. Got me on a natural thyroid supplement, and my temp rose a full degree. Traditional doctors kept doing blood tests on my thyroid and said it fell "within normal parameters"...albeit sometimes on the low side of the scale.

[Anonymous]

Poster 13:41...who is your herbalist?