ivf

[Anonymous]

How many times can IVF be done? Is there a (physical) limit given the drugs it takes to produce extra eggs, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many times can IVF be done? Is there a (physical) limit given the drugs it takes to produce extra eggs, etc.?

I don't think there's a limit on times you can do IVF. At least I've never heard of it. There's women at my clinic that are past 8 times! I think having a break in between tries to be on BCP's is a good enough break in between cycles. I got better eggs as time went on than my first IVF.

[Anonymous]

There was just a story on ABC news of a woman who had done 20 something attempts and was finally preg.

[Anonymous]

Well...the cost is a bit prohibitive...I am sure some REs would run you through the process all the way up until you are bankrupt...but it just shouldn't happen that way.

When I was working with my RE (because I am AMA) he suggested we certainly stop at 44 yrs old. (I got lucky before that point, though)

But I would question an RE that runs you through the ropes over and over again, without protocol changes and without success.

If one is responding well, is under the age of 38, and is getting good embryos (embryos that make it to day 5 blast)...I would question an RE that put me through more than three failed cycles without doing some additional testing.

I would also expect that they would change up the protocol...like try 3 day transfers, or FETs, or some other types of immune dampening protocols...or maybe even give Natural Cycle IVF a try.

WLD

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to add that its important that you do give your body some rest in between cycles...maybe 1-3 months rest...I know women who had much better results/responses to stimulation when they did that rather than do back to back as their RE's encouraged them to or said it was OK..(think of IVF as if you were running a marathon...you can't run one race and expect to do just as well if you were to run a second race within a couple of weeks. Your body needs some rest and so do your ovaries!)

[Anonymous]

I've researched this question some. While the PP are correct that there has never been a stated "limit", some studies have shown that *some* women appear to build up a tolerance for the drugs used for stimulation, and that they would retrieve fewer and fewer eggs with each successive IVF (using the same protocol).

[Anonymous]

Emotionally it's tough. I'm on my 4th IVF, and I'm really feeling like I'm doing something bad to my body. All these drugs kind of get to you. I'm young <32 and good responder though. All my retrievals are between 12-16 eggs, so I'm not sure about the drug tolerance or getting fewer eggs. The limit is more about what you can handle financially and emotionally.

[Anonymous]

PP - has your RE given you any indication as to why 4 IVFs have failed in a good responder and someone who is young? Have you conceived but m/c or have the 4 tries been completely unsuccessful?

[Anonymous]

Poster 19:44...I'm curious as well. Had your RE given you any indication why 4 IVFs have not worked? Have you been successful at getting pregnant or have you had problems not getting pregnant at all?

[Anonymous]

19:44 here.
1st IVf- good cycle, 2 day 5blast, BFN
2nd IVF- hormone levels were all over the place, I may have messed up the meds, 2 day 3 embryos, BFN
3rd IVF- retrieved 16 eggs, 2 day 5 blasts, BFP, m/c&D&C at 10 weeks, trisomy 16 (very common random m/c)
1st FET- early natural m/c
4th IVF- trigger tonight

So yes, I've had 2 m/c's and one was genetically tested. My protocol hasn't changed much since I'm a classic 10 day stimmer. I also changed docs beginning with the 3rd IVF. I've also had 4 IUI's before all that. So I've had problems getting pregnant and getting the right embryo to stick. Totally unexplained.

[Anonymous]

PP...did you ever try assisted hatching in any of your cycles?

[Anonymous]

i think most stop at 6 attempts

[Anonymous]

19:44, I agree with PP, try assisted hatching. Perhaps even think about genetic testing on embryos. I'm 39 and had the same number of embryos (15-16) on first and second IVF respectively@ 38 and 39. Got pregnant first time with 2 3 day embryo transferred (singleton) and twins the second time (2 3 day embryos). I'm not sure this would have worked w/o assisted hatching, as we had 3 failed IUI (one chemical) and 5 years of unprotected sex. Unlike you, I never had any embryos make it to frozen blasts.

[Anonymous]

19:44- My doc only does assisted hatching with FET's mainly. Apparently mine are beautiful and normal, no ICSI or anything. Retrieval went well this morning....13 eggs retrieved. I have 5 still frozen so hopefully I'll add to that bunch with this round. I'm expecting a day 5 transfer. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the support ladies!

[Anonymous]

Well...just a quick comment. I stimmed extremely well...maybe too well. After a failed fresh cycle (with a high E2), we opted for a FET on my 3rd IVF. I firmly believe that it was allowing my body to recover from all the hormones and to proceed with 'preparing' my uterus on a frozen embryo transfer, that actually was what did it for us.

WLD