by TanyaVincent-Tomlinson » Fri Aug 20, 2004 4:12 pm
Hi Shellyann
I think what you're referring to is Natural Cycle IVF (or NC-IVF). There isn't an awful amount published about it, but I, like you, was also concerned about all the drugs and hyper-stimulation. In my first consultation, I mentioned NC-IVF to the doctor and that was the way we decided to go.
He recommended taking Clomifen (I think that's Clomid in the UK) for days 3-8 of your cycle. Then you have to do an injection before ovulation, in order to time it correctly.
The egg/eggs are then taken out- and the rest is the same as IVF, I guess.
He said that the quality of the eggs through NC-IVF are usually very good. You take the Clomifen to try to increase the number of eggs released (there have been studies of this done at Glasgow University).
We had 4 eggs, but I ovulate very quickly, so one was lost. All three that remained were of good quality and all fertilised. Two were replaced... we had our first scan this week and we saw two blobs, so fingers crossed, they will hang on.
I haven't got any experience of conventional IVF, but I think that this method is a lot easier and less stressful- and I would mention it to your doctor when you see him/her, as I don't think it's something that they would usually offer. There are also, of course, cost benefits of going this way, as you don't have to pay for all of the costly drugs either.
I hope that this helps.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Tanya
NC-IVF in July 2004.
BFP, looking forward to a little bouncing easter 2005 arrival!
me 30 yrs;
DH 30 yrs