Seeking advice from women who have gone through more than 5 IVFs

[Anonymous]

PP were you successful with Dr Davis? We did one failed cycle with Cornell but the travel was really hard and the cycle was a total bust. We gave ourselves a 6 month break then went back to our local clinic for our last ditch IVF and we got a positive beta (193) last Monday and I'm anxiously awaiting today's results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't bother with Dr Check, given you have decent insurance coverage and are getting a decent response. I agree that you should meet with Cornell, CCRM and SIRM, if those are covered by insurance. Natural cycle at Dominion might be worth considering too.

I agree with this. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

PP were you successful with Dr Davis? We did one failed cycle with Cornell but the travel was really hard and the cycle was a total bust. We gave ourselves a 6 month break then went back to our local clinic for our last ditch IVF and we got a positive beta (193) last Monday and I'm anxiously awaiting today's results.

crossing my fingers that the season brings the very best tidings to you, and everyone else, here.

[Anonymous]

I found this post from 2011 while searching for something. My story is so much like the OP of this posting. Is the OP still around? Very curious to know what happened. I am in 2014 the way she was in 2011.

[Anonymous]

OP: I was in your situation. You might try Dr Google for the results of low egg count cycles (not good). We moved on to DE and are VERY happy with the results. Overall, cost wize it was much cheaper than adoption which was our only other solution at the time. best of luck.

[Anonymous]

I did 2 IVF with OE and when both failed I quickly cut my losses and moved to DE. Pregnant on first try. I tried to just look at SART data and keep my emotions out of it. That strategy worked for me. I wish you best of luck!

[Anonymous]

I'm not the OP, but I actually had to read carefully to remember if I posted this because the details are pretty similar. I also did 5 OE IVF cycles and had pretty good insurance coverage, which is why I tried with OE so long. I went to DE and now have a 15 month old. I am doing it again next month to try for a sibling. DE was the best decision I ever made. It gave me a great kid and got me off the infertility hamster wheel and on with my life. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Actually, I am on the DE route as well. After multiple m/cs and 2 failed IVF cycles on the max dose, it was clear that even though I am young, the quality and quantity of my eggs is not good. After the second failed IVF round, my RE actually said it would be ethically questionable to put my body though more than a 3rd failed round of IVF. So, with the main goal of conceiving a child, and summoning the last vestiges of emotional strength, decided that DE would be the best chance of success (more than 90 % chance of a kid w/3 rounds).

My husband and I found it helpful to do a consultation with a social worker about the DE decision. It's actually required at my clinic, but we went to help us sort out questions and uncertainties, and it did.

Good luck making the decision.

[Anonymous]

I am 9/4/2014, 16:01 poster who found this posting. To all of you who did DE, I think you took a good decision rather than putting your bodies through never ending IVFs with own eggs. My issue is I am "relatively" young (35 now and I was 33 when we started the process), and I have a few normal embryos from PGD right now. My RE wants me to try those out before I take next steps. First 4 IVFs were done without PGD and all of them failed. Then we banked embryos through the next set of cycles and did PGD testing. I feel very exhausted now and not sure if there is any light at the end of the tunnel. I am in the 5+ cycles category.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am 9/4/2014, 16:01 poster who found this posting. To all of you who did DE, I think you took a good decision rather than putting your bodies through never ending IVFs with own eggs. My issue is I am "relatively" young (35 now and I was 33 when we started the process), and I have a few normal embryos from PGD right now. My RE wants me to try those out before I take next steps. First 4 IVFs were done without PGD and all of them failed. Then we banked embryos through the next set of cycles and did PGD testing. I feel very exhausted now and not sure if there is any light at the end of the tunnel. I am in the 5+ cycles category.

8:42 here again. I was also pretty young when we were going through this process (started trying at 32 and was 35-36 during the heart of our IVF tries. For some reason our RE had us do IUI's for a while before moving to IVF.) I think one of the reasons that our RE had us keep trying with OE was that we were relatively young. The truth is that most people who go for fertility treatments at this age end up with a kid, so I feel like REs keep thinking that they can figure it out. We took a 6 month break and then set up a donor egg cycle, so I was 37 when I got pregnant with DE (38 when I delivered.) For me, I wish I had gone to DE sooner. (Although then I wouldn't have my exact kid, who is amazing, so I like to think that things worked out the way they were supposed to.)

You are in a tricky spot because you have frozen embryos. We never had that so I have no advice. My instinct would tell you to go ahead and try them since you have them and just going the implantation is a (relatively) cheap part of the IVF process. DE is very expensive, so you have to consider that. Do you have enough money to use your embryos and then do DE if it doesn't work?

Whatever you decide, good luck. As a 5+ IVFer, you are in the small minority of the population who have really been through the infertility ringer. I hope that you have success with whatever decision you make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am 9/4/2014, 16:01 poster who found this posting. To all of you who did DE, I think you took a good decision rather than putting your bodies through never ending IVFs with own eggs. My issue is I am "relatively" young (35 now and I was 33 when we started the process), and I have a few normal embryos from PGD right now. My RE wants me to try those out before I take next steps. First 4 IVFs were done without PGD and all of them failed. Then we banked embryos through the next set of cycles and did PGD testing. I feel very exhausted now and not sure if there is any light at the end of the tunnel. I am in the 5+ cycles category.

8:42 here again. I was also pretty young when we were going through this process (started trying at 32 and was 35-36 during the heart of our IVF tries. For some reason our RE had us do IUI's for a while before moving to IVF.) I think one of the reasons that our RE had us keep trying with OE was that we were relatively young. The truth is that most people who go for fertility treatments at this age end up with a kid, so I feel like REs keep thinking that they can figure it out. We took a 6 month break and then set up a donor egg cycle, so I was 37 when I got pregnant with DE (38 when I delivered.) For me, I wish I had gone to DE sooner. (Although then I wouldn't have my exact kid, who is amazing, so I like to think that things worked out the way they were supposed to.)

You are in a tricky spot because you have frozen embryos. We never had that so I have no advice. My instinct would tell you to go ahead and try them since you have them and just going the implantation is a (relatively) cheap part of the IVF process. DE is very expensive, so you have to consider that. Do you have enough money to use your embryos and then do DE if it doesn't work?

Whatever you decide, good luck. As a 5+ IVFer, you are in the small minority of the population who have really been through the infertility ringer. I hope that you have success with whatever decision you make.

Well, we have to work out finances if we have to go the DE route. We did multiple cycles to get those normal embryos from OE. It's hard when it's out of pocket. Hopefully at least one of those works out. Thanks for your wishes.

[Anonymous]

Following. Had a very similar story as OP started trying at 29. Have MF (morphology) and FF with DOR, went thru IVF+ICSI and NCIVF, always only none-2 eggs, not great outcomes using high stim protocols, MDF etc. Then randomly got BFP at 34 after 5 years of trying and many attempts of intervention. Have a kid. Now at age 36 trying for #2, have done IVF+ICSI at another clinic getting 2-3 eggs/cycle but our insurance maxes out at 4 tries (and this can include cost of DE). Thinking we should save the last one for DE. Any thoughts from those that have done DE. I almost did DE the first time around but then we got pregnant. I didn't even realize I was pregnant until 8 weeks because I'd given up, and we have dual factor problems, also RE didn't believe me when I called to tell them, he kept telling me I had eggs of a 45 yo in a 30 yo body (not the nicest thing to say I suppose in retrospect).