Of course there are people who have been successful at SGF, but based on my experience it is a one size fits all and using birth control is more for their schedule than for patient success. If you have strong ovaries (AMH>2.5) then it's probably okay, but my AMH was normal (1.9) and BC definitely decreased the number of eggs retrieved and subsequently number of embryos. My RE admitted SGF satellite clinics are told to use BC in order to schedule ER/ET in Rockville. Now I'm driving over an hour to a different clinic in Bethesda.

I think it can affect the number of eggs. My RE said bc “suppresses” the ovaries for what that is worth.

i'm a little confused. does BCP to calm down ovaries before an IVF cycle affect quality of eggs, number of eggs or the success rate of the transfer??

Anonymous wrote:PP do you work for their over budgeted marketing team or are you an actual patient? The birth control issue is Shady Grove putting profit before patient success for most patients, unless your a 25 year old with Uber ovaries and tubal occlusion or male factor it decreases your response to gonal f/menopur

I’m an actual patient with an actual toddler sitting next to me thanks to SGF. I obviously am not saying BCP are right for everyone - just that they aren’t WRONG for everyone. Various posters are making SGF out to be terrible and I chimed in with my good experience. In my case, which may not be your case, they worked.

Based on my two cycles at SGF both with birth control and poor results this is a valid question for any SGF pt to ask their RE. Now, I'm with a different clinic and did a stop lupron protocol and had a much better response and getting ready for first embryo transfer. IMHO, SGF is cookie cutter and even my nurse told me they use birth control for scheduling purposes, if I stuck with them I would probably never get to the transfer phase.

Jeez people, we're usually better than this on the infertility forum. Birth control is fine to beneficial for most normal responders. It is important for hyper responders who are at risk of OHSS. It is contraindicated for poor responders for whom BCP can over suppress, so they typically use estrace priming. Down regulation using BCP or estrace priming is needed in most typical IVF cycles (not natural cycle or other unique protocols) to synchronize follicle growth. As you may know, follicular recruitment starts in the PRECEDING cycle, so if you do not down regulate before starting stims, that cohort will be heterogeneous size-wise and not respond evenly to the medications. Even clinics that do not batch cycles will put almost all patients on birth control. I've heard of patients being on birth control too long and getting over suppressed at smaller clinics or during the COVID shut down, but that's not what SGF is doing. If they put you on BCP when you thought you'd do better on estrace priming, that's a disagreement over your medical care, nothing else.

And I had consults at SGF, but never cycled with them, so no dog in this fight. It's just silly to see misinformation on this forum full of smart, well informed folks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP do you work for their over budgeted marketing team or are you an actual patient? The birth control issue is Shady Grove putting profit before patient success for most patients, unless your a 25 year old with Uber ovaries and tubal occlusion or male factor it decreases your response to gonal f/menopur

Not PP but just to get back to the realm of facts, it clearly is for scheduling and also has some benefit to prevent uneven follicle growth. However, studies only show negative effects if bcp are used for three or more weeks for most patients. Obviously for some it is clearly a bad move.

I'm not the PP either, but I have three children conceived through IVF at Shady Grove, all when I was over 35. I'm not expert enough to address the impact of birth control pills or who cycles are cancelled, but many patients have success using birth control.

Anonymous wrote:PP do you work for their over budgeted marketing team or are you an actual patient? The birth control issue is Shady Grove putting profit before patient success for most patients, unless your a 25 year old with Uber ovaries and tubal occlusion or male factor it decreases your response to gonal f/menopur

Not PP but just to get back to the realm of facts, it clearly is for scheduling and also has some benefit to prevent uneven follicle growth. However, studies only show negative effects if bcp are used for three or more weeks for most patients. Obviously for some it is clearly a bad move.

PP do you work for their over budgeted marketing team or are you an actual patient? The birth control issue is Shady Grove putting profit before patient success for most patients, unless your a 25 year old with Uber ovaries and tubal occlusion or male factor it decreases your response to gonal f/menopur

SGF patient here. I had a few weeks of birth control and had a terrific cycle. Many eggs and embryos. First FET success. So I think it depends on what you need, but in my case the protocol worked and I felt like the monitoring was extremely careful and tailored to my near daily blood work.

Anonymous wrote:Does estrogen priming have the same effect on IVF as birth control?

No, estrogen priming is often used for responders and is believed to help promote a better response.

Does estrogen priming have the same effect on IVF as birth control?

I questioned it for my first cycle but my RE assured me birth control wouldn't decrease my eggs, but he was so wrong and I wish I had done my research before wasting money. There's no doubt that Shady Grove uses them to manage their schedule and not because they are in the best interest of their patients. They also make more money if we have to do more cycles.

Anonymous wrote:Can you say you'd prefer not to use birth control? I've begun working with them, but we aren't at that point yet.

Based on my experience there, yes, you can.

Can you say you'd prefer not to use birth control? I've begun working with them, but we aren't at that point yet.