FAILED IVF THIS WEEK.....POOR QUALITY EGGS....WHAT NEXT?

[Julie C]

Hello,

Another new person to the board. What a great site to learn and get feedback!

We just found out yesterday that the 3 eggs they retrieved on 9/12 did not fertilize. My FSH is high and as many of you know, that is a very good indicator of IVF success (or lack thereof). I only had 3 total follicles. The doc told me my chances were not great, but my husband & I both knew we HAD to try. I just turned 38.

The doc thought he'd only get 1-2 eggs, but he got 3. I pretty much got ahead of myself thinking the next hurdle was getting it to "take". Sure...I knew that the eggs many not fertilize, but I was overly optimistic thinking if they got 3 maybe I'd get 1-2 transfers back. We are bummed.

Doc does not recommend IVF again. Besides we are self pay and down $12,000 now. Doc feels there are no quality eggs left. My feelings....there has got to be some left we just have to get them. I only have 1 tube and that is in very poor condition (2 prev ectopic pg's), so IVF w/ egg donor seems to be my only options...or, adoption.

Was on follistim (300) and menopur (2 amps & 1/2 cc water). Anyone have advice on how to find the "mini-me" eggs??? Second opinion from another clinic? Not sure if I can mentally handle a donor egg....maybe in time as I come to terms with my current situation.

Doc highly recommended egg donor, but the cost on that is $18,000-$28,000. Have been all over the web in the last year.....researching IVF and clinics. Now, I have started researching egg donation.

I have heard about egg donor and IVF in the Czech Republic for 1/2 the US costs, and have located a few websites, but only 1 was in English.

Has anyone out there done egg donation w/ IVF in Czech? Results? Costs?

Thanks!!!

Julie

[shannon casey]

Julie,
I also have high FSH and 2 failed IVFs. I did get 6 eggs but was on max dose 450 follistiom and 200 menopur. It is a controversial dose and many doctors will not go that high. Only 3 eggs fertilized. Did you use ICSI?
I am considering donor as well and cost is a major deterrant. My doctor has a proven donor whose fees are less and you avoid the agency fees that way. Maybe you could try to find something like that.
Good luck!

[kellym]

Julie,

I too am a poor responder with a quickly rising FSH. What is your FSH level now? What protocol are you on?

I started with the long lupron protocol and I didn't seem to respond very well with it. With a higher FSH the suppression seemed to work against me. So, they put me on the antagonist protocol which doesn't start to suppress your ovulation until day 8 or 9 of your cycle (instead of day 21 of the previous cycle with lupron). I was able to get 8-10 good quality eggs this way so it seemed to help. The other thing that improved my egg quality was acupuncture. I was a non-believer before going but figured that I had nothing to lose. Well, I went from producing 8-10 eggs out of which there were only 2 good quality, to producing 8-10 eggs with 8-10 good quality ones. It was incredible!

Perhaps you can ask your RE about other protocols that might improve your chances, or go get a second opinion!

As for egg donation, I too am looking into that as my FSH creeps quickly and my BFP has not yet arrived. I looked at the Zlin clinic in Czech which is great. There are two individuals who live in USA and liaise with the clinic on your behalf - they are formerly from Czech Republic and went through IVF I believe. There is a cost associated with their service but even including their fee, the cost is substantially lower. To use donor eggs with ICSI, including the accommodations and their fee, the cost is about $7,500. Then you have to add airfare and spending money but still I thought it was pretty good! Donors are also readily available so the time from signing the contract to the 2ww is 2 months.

My DH has friends who live in Prague so we asked them to look into the clinic and its reputation and they came back with very good comments. So, if we end up going down the egg donor road (we'll know on Tuesday whether that is the case or if we'll try once more with my eggs) then Zlin is where we are going!

Hope this helps!